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!"

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 have never even seen a manga so approached this movie with no preconceptions or prior knowledge of the characters. A bit like seeing a Batman movie without ever having read a comic, I imagine. The result was a very pleasant surprise. The principle characters were largely convincing, the photography was very attractive and the story line reasonable given the limits of the genre. The fact that it kept me interested for the entire 2+ hours speaks for itself. I found the sub-titles very effective in keeping me involved which is normally not the case. I am not sure if they are integral to the movie or a third party add-on, but were much better than a dubbed English version which would have taken away much of the authenticity of the movie. I am looking forward to the next episode.

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.

Lets get this out of the way: Im no kenshin fanboy. I've read the manga and have watched the anime. That's it. So when I heard about a live action movie I thought 'Oh my god'. Uwe Boll-like crap induced horror scenarios crossed my mind. But what a pleasant surprise. They haven't cocked it up. In fact, they did a pretty damn good job of making the manga come to life.

STORY

The story is basically the first 2 arcs of the manga mixed up and slightly changed to fit into a 2 hour movie. It's pretty good. nothing too fancy but it works and doesn't bore.

EFFECTS & CHOREOGRAPHY

No. Bleeding. CG. Like, none. everything you see is done by real humans. thank god there are still directors who know their stuff. a rope helps here and there but nothing as stupid as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. there was but 1 instant in the entire movie where a move looked slightly 'unnatural'. You'll know what I mean when ya see it.

the fights are simply awesome. real swordfights and at speeds that make your eyes go 0_o. slick moves, smooth as silk with a great pace. and the occasional brawling, courtesy of Sanosuke. the action is top notch. some of the best, if not -the- best sword fight scenes I've ever seen.

ACTING

The characters are all portrayed as they should be. there is no crappy acting. Kanryu is slightly over-acting but I guess it kinda fits his character anyway. solid acting all over. some dayplayers in the background seem to have been given little instructions of what to do at times though, it seems. they sometimes look rather lost or keep repeating the same motions. but no matter. you wont notice unless you re nitpicking.

OVERALL

The entire movie has a slightly 'cartoonish' feel over it. the way people talk, the way they move. but it still all seems very natural and appealing. The music is very nice as well. no tunes from the anime, but some nice original scores that fit the bill.

all in all this movie is what so many game/anime-turned-movies should have been. It's well made, with good actors, good music and it doesn't bore you for a second. Word has it there will be a sequel. if it can rival the quality of this movie, Ill be back for part 2.