*SPOILERS AHEAD*
Firstly, I grew up with the original manga series. It was one of the first tastes of Japanese media I ever had and, 10+ years later, it is still a series I hold very closely to my heart. When I heard a Japanese live action was being released, I had my doubts. Still, I was excited to see a real life Kenshin on the big screen. The first movie I could excuse many of the missing plot pieces, I found it far to reminiscent and enjoyable. The second movie...well, my worst fears for this mini-movie series started to come true. Here we are at the final installation and all I could do was say, "ARG" and compliment it with a deep, highly disappointed, sigh.
If you haven't read the original manga, or watched the Rurouni Kenshin TV series, I can see where folks might think this was a pretty fun romp through a period piece world. Who cares that character development and common sense went out the window! There was flashy sword fights and explosions. YEAH! Unfortunately for a die hard fan, the well choreographed sword play and cast just wasn't enough to save it. Here are my gripes and likes for this film:
First, what I liked: -Takeru Satoh as Kenshin Himura was, hands down, the PERFECT choice. -Though repetitive and poorly placed at times, the music was fun. -All of the sets and places our characters visit really felt natural and well done. -Let's face it, the flashy sword fighting was superb. Very big thumbs up on the choreography. -The Shishio fight was a tad over dramatic, but it was the one point in this movie that I found kept me on the edge of my seat. Plus, key elements of the original story were where they needed to be. -Seta Sojiro was one of my favorite villains, I'm glad he got the screen time he did. Although, I *really* wish they had done away with the screen time of the other Juppongatana (who barely made any worthwhile appearances, anyways) for more depth to be allowed to his character. -Saito Hajime, in my opinion, finally got the bad ass screen play he needed. I was afraid for his character, after the whole chandelier fiasco... -Hiko Seijuro, well cast and well played. I especially enjoyed the flash backs that added a little more depth to both Kenshin and Seijuro. -Megumi Takani, in my book, to be the next best portrayed character.
What I disliked: -Lack of character development in far too many characters. -What did they do to Kaoru's character? These movies made her into the stereotypical weak little girl she fights so hard in the original story to *not* be portrayed as. Kidnapped twice. Comatose. Heck, I was waiting for her to get amnesia or something else totally out there. -Yahiko? Who's that? Oh, he was that little kid that showed up every now and then... -Sanosuke. I realize in the manga he had goofy moments (they all did) but they turned him into an underplayed comic relief. Who uses the same fighting moves over and over and over again each fight. It gets old. His was another character I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know in the comic. -Aoshi, need I say more? His story was flimsy and, quite honestly, unnecessary by the third movie. They either should have left his character's story in tact (could've easily been done), or left him out period. -Poor Seta Sojiro. His entire backstory was whittled down to one nonsensical line read off by the monk Anji. As far as the movie goes, his mental break down (if that's what you could call what happened) made him look ridiculous. I didn't feel anything for this fight. Sure, you could argue his "weak vs. strong" mantra was appropriate, but coming out with no build up or reason left this scene lacking. Terribly. -The Purgatory. Maybe they left the ship in there to act as a better "final stage", I could live with that. But taking it from Kyoto, which held very dark memories for the former assassin Kenshin, and moving it to Tokyo? Why? To what point? The ship never lived to sail out of Kyoto, originally. If anything, it should have stayed in Kyoto. And don't even get me started on the sudden blind eye Shishio turned to the police who were building a defense within visible distance of his ship. That whole relationship with Shishio and the police was ludicrous. -Shishio's fighting style. They didn't really explain why his sword kept bursting into flame. -Kenshin's scar. They explained what happened to give him one side to it (via repetitive scenes that really didn't need to be shown 4-5 times), but never delved into how he came to get the cross shape. Maybe this is a subtle hint of a fourth, and final, film? One could argue the origin of the scar doesn't surface until far later in the original series...
Those were my biggest pet peeves. Considering they left plot holes and unfinished story, I'd say they've made room for at least one more film. What I would like to see is a mini-series (TV or otherwise) to tell the origin story of the Hitokiri. For those out there who are curious, you can watch the OVA called "Samurai X". It's only 4 episodes. I recommend either watching the complete "Rurouni Kenshin" TV series or reading the original comic, in addition to Samurai X. These shed a much needed light on characters and succeed at telling a masterful samurai story.
Firstly, I grew up with the original manga series. It was one of the first tastes of Japanese media I ever had and, 10+ years later, it is still a series I hold very closely to my heart. When I heard a Japanese live action was being released, I had my doubts. Still, I was excited to see a real life Kenshin on the big screen. The first movie I could excuse many of the missing plot pieces, I found it far to reminiscent and enjoyable. The second movie...well, my worst fears for this mini-movie series started to come true. Here we are at the final installation and all I could do was say, "ARG" and compliment it with a deep, highly disappointed, sigh.
If you haven't read the original manga, or watched the Rurouni Kenshin TV series, I can see where folks might think this was a pretty fun romp through a period piece world. Who cares that character development and common sense went out the window! There was flashy sword fights and explosions. YEAH! Unfortunately for a die hard fan, the well choreographed sword play and cast just wasn't enough to save it. Here are my gripes and likes for this film:
First, what I liked: -Takeru Satoh as Kenshin Himura was, hands down, the PERFECT choice. -Though repetitive and poorly placed at times, the music was fun. -All of the sets and places our characters visit really felt natural and well done. -Let's face it, the flashy sword fighting was superb. Very big thumbs up on the choreography. -The Shishio fight was a tad over dramatic, but it was the one point in this movie that I found kept me on the edge of my seat. Plus, key elements of the original story were where they needed to be. -Seta Sojiro was one of my favorite villains, I'm glad he got the screen time he did. Although, I *really* wish they had done away with the screen time of the other Juppongatana (who barely made any worthwhile appearances, anyways) for more depth to be allowed to his character. -Saito Hajime, in my opinion, finally got the bad ass screen play he needed. I was afraid for his character, after the whole chandelier fiasco... -Hiko Seijuro, well cast and well played. I especially enjoyed the flash backs that added a little more depth to both Kenshin and Seijuro. -Megumi Takani, in my book, to be the next best portrayed character.
What I disliked: -Lack of character development in far too many characters. -What did they do to Kaoru's character? These movies made her into the stereotypical weak little girl she fights so hard in the original story to *not* be portrayed as. Kidnapped twice. Comatose. Heck, I was waiting for her to get amnesia or something else totally out there. -Yahiko? Who's that? Oh, he was that little kid that showed up every now and then... -Sanosuke. I realize in the manga he had goofy moments (they all did) but they turned him into an underplayed comic relief. Who uses the same fighting moves over and over and over again each fight. It gets old. His was another character I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know in the comic. -Aoshi, need I say more? His story was flimsy and, quite honestly, unnecessary by the third movie. They either should have left his character's story in tact (could've easily been done), or left him out period. -Poor Seta Sojiro. His entire backstory was whittled down to one nonsensical line read off by the monk Anji. As far as the movie goes, his mental break down (if that's what you could call what happened) made him look ridiculous. I didn't feel anything for this fight. Sure, you could argue his "weak vs. strong" mantra was appropriate, but coming out with no build up or reason left this scene lacking. Terribly. -The Purgatory. Maybe they left the ship in there to act as a better "final stage", I could live with that. But taking it from Kyoto, which held very dark memories for the former assassin Kenshin, and moving it to Tokyo? Why? To what point? The ship never lived to sail out of Kyoto, originally. If anything, it should have stayed in Kyoto. And don't even get me started on the sudden blind eye Shishio turned to the police who were building a defense within visible distance of his ship. That whole relationship with Shishio and the police was ludicrous. -Shishio's fighting style. They didn't really explain why his sword kept bursting into flame. -Kenshin's scar. They explained what happened to give him one side to it (via repetitive scenes that really didn't need to be shown 4-5 times), but never delved into how he came to get the cross shape. Maybe this is a subtle hint of a fourth, and final, film? One could argue the origin of the scar doesn't surface until far later in the original series...
Those were my biggest pet peeves. Considering they left plot holes and unfinished story, I'd say they've made room for at least one more film. What I would like to see is a mini-series (TV or otherwise) to tell the origin story of the Hitokiri. For those out there who are curious, you can watch the OVA called "Samurai X". It's only 4 episodes. I recommend either watching the complete "Rurouni Kenshin" TV series or reading the original comic, in addition to Samurai X. These shed a much needed light on characters and succeed at telling a masterful samurai story.