Keishi Otomo returns to the Rurouni Kenshin franchise with its fifth and final installment, Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning. It's a prequel to the four other films which takes place in the year of 1864, when the samurai Kenshin Himura was known as the Battosai, a deadly assassin whose fierce swordsmanship had killed over one hundred men in one year. But all that changed when he saved a young woman named Tomoe Yukishiro. From the previous film we know what happened, how she dies and how her brother Yukishiro Enishi witnessed it and swore to avenge her. This is the origin story fans of Rurouni Kenshin have longed for, it shows the horrors Himura Kenshin struck as the Battosai and how he went over to the good side. It's brilliantly told, Keishi Otomo nailed it with this prequel, there's some great writing but also incredible direction from him.
There aren't a lot of returning characters except for Himura Kenshin, Saito Hajime, Yukishiro Tomoe and Yukishiro Enishi. But the characters which were introduced, many being historical characters. The likes of Katsura Kogoro, Okita Soji and Takasugi Shinsaku stood out the most. Interesting and likeable, a pair of well written characters. The Yaminobu are the main antagonist of Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning, they're a group of assassins who were once called the "Oniwabanshu of the West" and has a plan to kill Kenshin. I have praised Takeru Satoh's performance since my first review, I absolutely love him in this role and it's a role he have played since 2012, and has been doing all his own stunts since he first took on the role. Satoh reportedly spends weeks perfecting the sword fights with choreographers, going through the moves multiple times both in and out of costume in a studio before heading out on set. That's talent and love for the craft. Seeing him as Kenshin during his time as the Battosai was so entertaining as there were nothing holding him back from killing and that leads to some much more refreshing fight and action sequences after watching four movies of him being a pacifist.
The locations and sets are like the previous film (The Final), remarkable and beautiful. But the most astonishing part of the film is of course its cinematography, the way they shoot things and line up the shots. Breathtaking. There's also some things that I never brought up in my past reviews, scenes shot like a one take, dramatic and fight sequences. The musical score is incredible, Naoki Sato created music that fits perfectly in with the dramatic scenes which there are plenty of.
Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning doesn't try to do anything big, it retells the events before the first movie in an excellent way and the director did a great job with making each second count as it never got boring. Though, I did expect more action sequences but I think it was for the better to keep it as a more dramatic story as more fight sequences would only make us despite Kenshin as the story is trying to tell why he changed and Keishi Otomo succeeded. This isn't the best film in the franchise but still worth watching. I hope this isn't the end but if so, The Final and The Beginning tied up things nicely. Giving us a satisfying beginning and conclusion.
