Rurouni Kenshin

...you will love this live action version. The actor portraying Kenshin was perfect. So are Saito, Sano and Megumi--so perfect in fact, that I recognized each of them at first sight. And was filled with all sorts of warm/fuzzy feelings as if I was seeing long lost friends again for the first time in years.

I am not sure how people new to the Kenshin franchise will respond, because the film's creators leave out a lot of character development that we get in the slower paced manga and anime TV series in order to jump straight into the action. Since this is one of the best manga/anime series to come out in a long time, I suggest reading the manga, seeing the anime and THEN watching the live action film for maximum enjoyment.

"Oro!"

I have heard of "Samurai X" but I have not really read the manga or seen any of anime about this character named Himura Kenshin. This live action movie had come with very high recommendations or else I may have just given this a pass. I am glad I made time for this movie.

Himura Kenshin is an assassin of the highest skill during that transition between the Imperial/Samurai Age and the New Age adapting Western practices. After a particular assignment plants in him a massive guilt-trip, he decided to "disappear" and become a wanderer, using his fighting skills to defend the helpless WITHOUT KILLING.

In this story, Kenshin meets and helps a young lady named Kaoru, whose fencing school was vandalized. They then get entangled in the affairs of a notorious ruthless drug dealer Kanryu Tanaka, when his drug chemist Megumi escapes and seeks shelter in Kaoru's school. On top of all this, there is a mad killer on the loose with mad sword skills calling himself the Battosai, a title bestowed on Kenshin in his murderous past which he would rather disown.

With all of these stories and more that the movie tries to tell, the running time is about two hours. However you will not feel the time at all as you get enthralled by the fantastic look of the movie and its spectacular fighting scenes. Either with sword, bare hands or firearms, the fights were choreographed with excitement. The cinematography, color palette and visual effects were impeccably executed.

I did not know how the anime drawings of each character before I watched, so I could not comment on that. It is sort of odd looking that with lead actor Takeru Sato, a highly skilled sword fighter looks so androgynous. Afterwards we see that he really does look like that in the anime series. So did the cute Emi Takei (as the feisty Kaoru), Munetaka Aoki (as the rash and brash street fighter Sanosuke)or even Yosuke Eguchi, the samurai turned police chief Hajime Saito.

As someone who had no prior knowledge about Samurai X, I was completely taken by this very good-looking film, enough that I may even seek out the animated TV series. This is highly recommended for fans of historical fiction and Japanese culture. Catch it only in SM Cinemas, as this is being locally shown exclusively there.

When I was a teenager, I used to love watching the highly-popular anime series called Samurai X (an international title otherwise known as Rurouni Kenshin in its native Japan) back in the late 1990s. Now, over ten years later, writer-director Keishi Otomo finally brings RUROUNI KENSHIN to life. At first, I was doubtful whether a live-action adaptation from such a popular manga can live up to its high expectation since most like-minded movie like this always ends up as a rip-off. But thankfully, fans of the anime/manga series will be (mostly) satisfied the way this first live-action adaptation of RUROUNI KENSHIN has turned out admirably.

The movie opens briefly on a gritty battlefield in 1869 during the battle of Toba-Fushima, where a young samurai named Hitokiri Battosai (Takeru Sato) almost single-handedly defeated a score of enemies. He walks away from the battlefield as the Empire is finally declared victory and thus a new era has born.

Ten years later, Battosai becomes a wanderer and now calls himself as Himura Kenshin. He vows himself not to kill people anymore and even carries a reverse-edged sword. He arrives in a countryside of Japan and subsequently meets Kamiya Kaoru (Emi Takei), the owner of a fencing school used to run by her late father. After Kenshin manages to save her from getting killed by a fake Battosai named Jin-e (Koji Kikkawa) and also helps her to stop a group of thugs trying to take over her dojo, he moves in with her. Apart from them, Kaoru also has an orphaned boy named Myojin Yahiko (Taketo Tanaka) who happened to be her only student.

Meanwhile, Jin-e is actually a hired ex-samurai who works for a wealthy businessman named Kanryu Takeda (Teruyuki Kagawa). Takeda is also a notorious criminal who runs a huge opium operation. Megumi (Yu Aoi), who is being forced to make opium, manages to escape from his mansion and subsequently seeks shelter at Kaoru's dojo. Things get worse when a number of innocent people around the countryside are suffering from rat poison in the community wells, but luckily Megumi, who used to be a healer, manages to cure them with sufficient medication. She knows that this is the work of Takeda, and prompts her to return to his mansion so she can kills him. However, she fails to do so and ends up being a hostage. To save Megumi, Kenshin and his newfound friend, Sagara Sanosuke (Munetaka Aoki), who was a street brawler, make their way to Takeda's mansion and settle the matter once and for all.

Most of the cast are spot-on excellent. Takeru Sato is excellent as the titular character and he certainly looks the part fans have to use to see him in the anime series -- his trademark red-haired and long ponytail, curvaceous lips, wide eyes, his outfit and even the way he runs, jumps and draws his sword. Not only that, fans will also be delighted with Sato's signature delivery, "oro?" as well. As the street brawler Sagara Sanosuke, Munetaka Aoki carries that familiar rough-and-tumble attitude effectively, while Teruyuki Kagawa is gleefully over-the-top as the villainous Kanryu Takeda. The rest of the supporting cast are equally captivating -- ranging from Yu Aoi, Koji Kikkawa and even Taketo Tanaka. The only (slight) disappointment is Emi Takei as Kaoru. Her character is supposed to be a tomboy-ish type, but yet she is too pretty to pull off the part convincingly. Most of the time you'll see her more of a damsel-in-distress than a so-called tough vixen she meant to be.

RUROUNI KENSHIN is particularly noted for its impeccable technical values here. It is clear that Keishi Otomo has poured his heart to make this live-action adaptation as stunning as possible. The art direction and costume design are perfectly detailed, while Takuro Ishizaka's lush cinematography is right on target. The action sequence is also top-notch. The sword-fights choreography is fast and furious, yet it's well-staged with an adequate help of elegant slow-motion. The particularly final 30 minutes is downright entertaining -- Kenshin vs. Gein (Gou Ayano), the masked ex-samurai; Sanosuke vs. Banjin Inui (Genki Sudo) in a brutal fisticuffs; and of course the final sword-fight between Kenshin and Jin-e in a forest. Added to the excitement is Naoki Sato's energetic score which often gives the already well-choreographed action scenes a much-needed kinetic boost.

The movie has its flaw, though. Clocking at over two hours long, the story feels laborious at times, especially in the middle section. At the same time, the movie is a bit overlong as well. But such flaw is forgivable because RUROUNI KENSHIN manages to accomplish a rare feat for being a highly-satisfying, Japanese live-action adaptation I've ever seen so far.

I went to see this film last night with absolutely no knowledge of the manga upon which it was based, which was both a good and a bad thing. Good, because I understand how the average movie goer like myself will feel about this film. Bad, because I feel like as a fan of the original comic, I would have taken a lot more out of this film.

I'll start with the positives - this movie is beautifully filmed. There is not a single unattractive shot within it. I really feel like this movie was made for fans, by fans, because it is so lovingly crafted. The sets are gorgeous, the lighting and colour palette lovely, and the choreography of the fight scenes? FUN. It's actively enjoyable to watch Kenshin dance around with his sword. You actually believe that he is this extraordinary swordsmen, agile and swift.

Which brings me to Sato Takeru, who plays Kenshin himself. Again, I feel like he was a fan of the series, as he seems to be so invested in the role. I've no idea what the character of Kenshin was like in the manga, but Sato's portrayal is so layered and believable, I can't imagine it strays far. On that note, I felt like all of the actors did quite a good job. I've a friend who assures me the personalities of all the female characters do not line up with the manga, but I was actually completely satisfied with them! I was particularly enamored with Aoi Yu (whom I don't think has ever disappointed me in a role) who did her best with the script given to her in the role of Megumi.

But this brings me to what I felt were the weak points of the film. First, was the over inclusion of bit characters. I said this to friends afterwards, I'm sure if I was a fan of the series they would have been charming cameos from beloved fan favourites. As it is though, to me their inclusion seemed pointless, and stole time that could have been better spent on plot development.

And honestly, the plot for the film? A bit weak, and never properly fleshed out. A lot of characters who seem important to the story are never given proper motivations, leaving them seeming 2 dimensional - and the story as well, as a result. Particularly at the end, I feel like the storyline fell to pieces in a series of rushed character inclusions/fight scenes. This is the problem with a film made by fans for fans - while you can feel the love that's been poured into it, you can also see that they're trying too hard to put EVERYTHING in to a two hour film. These sort of films really suffer because they don't have someone ruthlessly eliminating the excess, and making the film more accessible to the public at large.

I read that they're hoping for an international release for this film, and I'm not terribly convinced that it will succeed. Fans of the original anime overseas will be at best a niche market (at least for the domestic release, there's a good chance the majority of the audience will have at best a passing familiarity with the series) and I feel like the rapid inclusion of bewildering useless characters will leave many in the audience feeling somewhat alienated.

I thoroughly enjoyed the film, don't get me wrong, and I intend to seek out the manga as a result. However, I feel like they've pigeonholed themselves somewhat with their audience, if not so much domestically, then definitely abroad. However, if you can manage to be like me and just sit back and let the beautiful cinematography and Sato's truly excellent portrayal of Kenshin wash over you, you'll derive plenty of pleasure from this film.

In 1868, after the end of the Bakumatsu war, the former assassin Kenshin Himura (Takeru Sato) promises to defend those who needs without killing and wanders through Japan with a sword with inverted blade during the transition of the samurai age to the New Age.

When Kenshin helps the idealistic Kaoru Kamiya (Emi Takei) from the gangsters of the powerful opium drug lord Kanryuu Takeda (Teruyuki Kagawa) that wants her school for his production of opium, Kaoru invites Kenshin to stay in the school. But the drug chemist Megumi Takani (Yû Aoi) escapes from Kanryuu and seeks shelter in the school. Meanwhile the killer Battosai is murdering police officers and leaving messages attached to their bodies. When the cruel Kanryuu poisons the population to get the school, and Kenshin and the street fighter Sanosuke Sagara (Munetaka Aoki) join forces to attack their common enemy.

"Rurôni Kenshin: Meiji kenkaku roman tan" is an excellent samurai movie with spectacular choreography of the fights and a good story. I have just learned that it is based on a manga and I really liked a lot. I saw this movie in the airplane and unfortunately my flight arrived and I did not see the conclusion of the story. The worst thing is that I will have to wait since this movie has not been released in my country yet. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Note: Fortunately Internet does exist and today (30 December 2012) I have just finished watching this awesome movie again, this time until the very end.

On 13 August 2016, I saw this film again on DVD.