Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends

When the live action movie of Rurouni Kenshin was announced, I was not pleased. I feared the adaptation would just kill this great story, and because of that, I ignored the installments. Yet here I am, beyond satisfied with the trilogy. Actually, I am thrilled to be alive in a time where stories like this one are respected and loved to be told in such a beautiful way by cast and crew. In every frame, you see the efforts in sound, photography, directing, writing and acting (among others) to make the most enjoyable moment for the audience, whether it's made of anime/manga fans or not. There is only one word to describe the AWESOMENESS in this flawless adaptation: subarashii (magnificent). I thank you all involved. And congratulate you on the marvelous job done.

Keishi Otomo returns with the conclusion to the Kyoto arc, the writing and directing, and honestly everything with the production design holds up in Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends. The reason being that it was shot back to back with Kyoto Inferno which was the first part of this duology. I decided to watch this film a day after Kyoto Inferno because of how the story takes place immediately after as Kenshin recovers following losing Kaoru at sea, and that was the right choice to do. I don't have anything bad to say about the writing, it keeps the same level as Kyoto Inferno and the characterization as well. But one thing that I felt they fixed even more so than the previous movie was how they shot the dialogue and more drama sequences, the first film (Origins) had the tendency to not be engaging in the drama sequences but it feels like the director and actors got better with the experience, as with the previous film I found it engaging and The Legend Ends keeps up with engaging character interactions and dialogue. The scenes with Kenshin Himura and Hiko Seijuro were great, containing some of the best acting of the film. Tatsuya Fujiwara's performance as Makoto Shishio is another highlight in terms of acting. I'm glad Ryunosuke Kamiki who plays Seta Sojiro got more time to shine, especially in the fight sequences, the rematch was astonishing and epic like a lot of the fights are. There's one more character I want to write about and it's Saiko whom is important to the Kyoto duology but doesn't really have a big character arc, but I have loved him since his first appearance. The way he fight and the skills he posess, he is just so entertaining to watch and the actor does a phenomenal job.

Though the first act isn't as action packed like Kyoto Inferno first act was, I found it extremely well written and truly a strong point of the long length, it did everything it needed to do to build up for the climax and ending fight with Kenshin and Shishio. It tells us more about our main character and hero, and the darker characterization is truly perfect here. The second act is where The Legends Ends truly begin to shine, story and individual character arcs that Kyoto Inferno started come full circle, and it's where Aoshi Shinomori makes his anticipating return. Something that have been in the ten years making and something he told us in dialogue multiple of times, his need to kill Kenshin. I would actually say the fight sequence between them was way better than the one Aoshi had with Okina "Elder", it was fast and engaging but also epic in terms of quality and how the music played into it. The second act is stronger but the act that truly brings this samurai film to a 10 is the third and final act. Everything about it is breathtaking and incredible, a satisfying and action packed climax.

The fighting choreography and action sequences are like the previous film, truly superb and also beautifully shot. The sets that are used in this film are great, especially where Kenshin trains with his old master. Many sets and locations in these two films are beautiful, this second installment of the duology having the most stunning ones. The musical score during action sequences and in other scenes, are like Kyoto Inferno, quite brilliant. The music is powerful and memorable, edited well into the scenes so it flows really well.

Now this is far from the best film I have ever seen, but these two films together are some of the most entertaining films I've seen. Not a single minute went by that I found myself bored, Keishi Otomo created a film worth coming back to. If not just for the brilliant and epic action sequences, Kyato Inferno and The Legend Ends will become classics in the samurai/action genre. Without a doubt.

I've read a few reviews on here about how wishy-washy the action was and the twisting of the plot. As a super fan of Samurai X, I really see no other way of having recast this story without overkill of CGI and long meandering plots. I doff my cap to the producers of this as trying to remake the history up Battousai, leaing up to the final battle with Shshio, was no mean feat. The character replications are exemplary, the sword fights are memorable and even some of the remakes of Kenshin's signature moves are brought to life in the most realistic ways possible. Condensing a series that went 96 episodes + 4 OVAs each going on average 23 min (though up to the Shishio battle would be about eps 50 something) into a trilogy of 2hr 15 min each is not easy, especially while trying to build some level of intimacy and depth with the characters is not easy.

Cons: I' have loved them to develop some characters further, or give the backstory at least (Sojiro, Aoshi and some of the Juppongata) to create more drama and depth, as well as inclide some more epic fight scenes.

Overall: 8/10

A reflective first act may prove to be too slow for some viewers, but these moments contain the most imperative lessons for Kenshin in the entire trilogy. This film contains-easily one of the greatest third acts I've ever seen, and any martial arts/action film buff worth their salt needs to see this film. Once again I applaud Satoh Takeru, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Kenji Tanigaki and the rest for the unbelievable devotion to realizing these dynamic characters as authentically as possible. Aside from some character development gripes, the assuredness of direction, cinematography, pacing, acting-chops, choreography and perhaps most importantly, appreciation for the source material, it's lessons and essence, this is easily one of the best, ( if not the best) in contemporary Japanese action cinema. This trilogy was seriously on point. Purists open your eyes: this is what all adaptations should strive to achieve, creating an ending that is far more impactful, and ultimately improves upon its source. Next to "The Raid", unparalleled fight choreography.

.... is that you need an even bigger movie to kill them.

A story so big it steals from the characterization and the development of the themes that made the Kenshin tale so interesting in the first place.

I have already questioned why anyone in their right mind would want to spend the better part of 6 hours building up to the "final fight" behind Kenshin and the super-baddie (who is so overdrawn he could just as easily have appeared in a Bond film) ....?

And I see in the IMDb, at least so far, one or two fans have been brave enough to make the very same points I am making.

To be honest, I enjoyed the children's TV series more than this opus. Whether that makes me a poor critic or a child at heart is another matter entirely.

I repeat my view that the point of film is to entertain. If a film fails to entertain, it fails, period.

In this film, the only one who seems to be having fun is Masaharu Fukuyama, playing Kenshin's original Master, conveniently appearing to assist a very tricky plot arc.

The first time he finds Kenshin on the beach, almost dead, he remarks how astonished he was to see his "stupid student" again after almost 15 years.

But he says it with a smile, and we know he is happy to see Kenshin.

At that single juncture, I thought, for one brief shining moment, that this saga was finally going to be fun.

And it was. For the 15 minutes or so that Masaharu Fukuyama appears on camera, we get a peek at what this film might have been.

But just a peek.