"The Hitten Mitsurugi is a style meant to fight many. As long as it is this sword, none of you will die."
Cast:
Takeru Satoh (Kamen Rider) as Himura Kenshin / Hitokiri Battōsai
Emi Takei as Kamiya Kaoru
Munetaka Aoki as Sagara Sanosuke
Yu Aoi as Takani Megumi
Koji Kikkwaka as Udō Jin-e
NOW THIS IS WHAT I CALL A LIVE ACTION MOVIE OF A JAPANESE ANIME THAT WE WILL ALL LOVE AND TALK ABOUT FOR YEARS TO COME!
I have to admit, I love Japanese Anime! Yes, yes I know, I'm a little "too old" according to some people to still be watching cartoons or anime but what the heck. (^_^) This movie is the real definition of a live action film based on an anime series. Plus, this is the only, and I mean ONLY Japanese cartoon that was made into a movie with Japanese actors, not like what they did to the legendary Dragon Ball franchise. Great job by the producers and director of the film by combining a wonderful story and cast. I couldn't have asked for any other person to play Kenshin Himura other than Takeru Satoh who, in Japan, have played the famous Kamen Rider or we so popularly know as Masked Rider. If you ask me, he is the perfect guy to play Battousai. Each of the actors have also done a fantastic job portraying their roles like Koji Kikkwaka who played the villainous Jin-e as well as Munetaka Aoki as the hard headed fighter Sagara Sanosuke. Each and everyone of the cast have researched their characters very well.
One of the most interesting things in this film was the amazing speed and agility of Takeru. Look at that sick and wicked, super high back flip and picking up the wooden katana was really jaw dropping. He is almost like a meta human or some sort of being. I quote this by saying, "DAMN!" Most films would be using CGI or stunt doubles for these kind of action scenes but they surprisingly held up each scene very nicely.
Japanese fighting techniques have been well executed in this film. Many of the techniques from the anime were applied here and all of the main characters did a swell job. From Saito Hajime's Gotatsu to Kenshin's Hitten Mitsurugi were all but brilliant. I so loved the last battle against Jin-e when Kenshin did the Hitten Mitsurugi Battou-Jutsu. I was thinking to myself, "was it possible to execute that in a live action film?" The answer of course was a big YES!
My Evaluation
Story: 5/5
A well deserved rating I might add.
Watching this movie for 2 hours and 14 minutes is worth it. The musical score for Rurouni Kenshin was also very excellent, bone chilling, spine tingling, gives you goosebumps all over. Every single movie's musical score should in fact make the audience feel the message of the entire story. The fight coordinators have done a brilliant job in all of the fight sequences in the film. We know that in the world of cartoons heroes move fast but boy oh boy did this film not disappoint us huh. Took us all to a whole new level. It was also good that they have come up with a really nice story where it makes us realize that we can make a difference in this world for a better cause. Great story telling helps a film get positive recognition from its audience no matter if it is in Japanese, French or Italian language. In the end, no matter how dark our past is, if we are willing to seek forgiveness and start a new life, nothing is impossible. I am so looking forward to the sequels which are going to be released in August and September of 2014.
As always, comments and suggestions are very much appreciated. Thank you and have a wonderful day.
Emi Takei as Kamiya Kaoru
Munetaka Aoki as Sagara Sanosuke
Yu Aoi as Takani Megumi
Koji Kikkwaka as Udō Jin-e
NOW THIS IS WHAT I CALL A LIVE ACTION MOVIE OF A JAPANESE ANIME THAT WE WILL ALL LOVE AND TALK ABOUT FOR YEARS TO COME!
I have to admit, I love Japanese Anime! Yes, yes I know, I'm a little "too old" according to some people to still be watching cartoons or anime but what the heck. (^_^) This movie is the real definition of a live action film based on an anime series. Plus, this is the only, and I mean ONLY Japanese cartoon that was made into a movie with Japanese actors, not like what they did to the legendary Dragon Ball franchise. Great job by the producers and director of the film by combining a wonderful story and cast. I couldn't have asked for any other person to play Kenshin Himura other than Takeru Satoh who, in Japan, have played the famous Kamen Rider or we so popularly know as Masked Rider. If you ask me, he is the perfect guy to play Battousai. Each of the actors have also done a fantastic job portraying their roles like Koji Kikkwaka who played the villainous Jin-e as well as Munetaka Aoki as the hard headed fighter Sagara Sanosuke. Each and everyone of the cast have researched their characters very well.
One of the most interesting things in this film was the amazing speed and agility of Takeru. Look at that sick and wicked, super high back flip and picking up the wooden katana was really jaw dropping. He is almost like a meta human or some sort of being. I quote this by saying, "DAMN!" Most films would be using CGI or stunt doubles for these kind of action scenes but they surprisingly held up each scene very nicely.
Another interesting thing is Sanosuke's Zanbato. In the anime, it was a really large and heavy sword which, for me, was a really impossible to handle sword even for anime characters (but what the heck, everything is possible in the world of cartoons) but good job by the director for having used a much more practical sword in the movie. Although it was still big and quite impossible to handle, good thing they stuck with that idea. If they had gone with the same zanbato used in the anime, that would've probably ruin the whole thing. I mean could you imagine if they did a live action film of Final Fantasy 7 wherein Cloud Strife would also be wielding a very very large buster sword and people would go like, "How much does that thing weigh?" "Is it even possible to get a first strike if this was used in a real battle?" (^_^) It is really nice to see the same stuff used in the anime but sometimes we need to be realistic as well.
This was the fight sequence I was telling you guys about having a huge zanbato to fight with as a weapon. In the anime, Kenshin fought against Sanosuke to prove his point that fighting and hurting people is not the way to live our lives but instead to protect the people that matter most to us and forget the past and create a meaningful future. In the movie though, he had to run and avoid Sano which was kinda not okay for me. I know several things were changed from the original story but this was a bit odd for me. He could have at least used the Hitten Mitsurugi Ryu Son Sen like in the anime. But heck, at least he made him realize that it was not necessary to fight to please Kanryu. Still was a nice way to execute how they resolved their little conflict with one another.
Another round of applause for making the love triangle of Kenshin, Kaoru and Megumi really unforgettable. I loved the scene at the restaurant wherein Megumi was making Kauro jealous as she even kinda flirts with Kenshin a bit when Kaoru was asking questions about who Megumi was and where she came from. We all know Kaoru will marry Kenshin in the future but if this was like DC or Marvel and they had an alternate universe, Kenshin and Megumi would also work as a great couple. Don't you agree? (^_^) I really loved how the connection between these three characters developed in both the cartoon and the movie. Kudos to Takeru, Yu and Emi for portraying their roles wonderfully. Just look at the look on Kenshin's face when Megumi rested her cheeks on his shoulders, he was like, "Oh boy what am I going to do?" And Kaoru's reaction is like, "Taena ka akin sya!" hehe.
Japanese fighting techniques have been well executed in this film. Many of the techniques from the anime were applied here and all of the main characters did a swell job. From Saito Hajime's Gotatsu to Kenshin's Hitten Mitsurugi were all but brilliant. I so loved the last battle against Jin-e when Kenshin did the Hitten Mitsurugi Battou-Jutsu. I was thinking to myself, "was it possible to execute that in a live action film?" The answer of course was a big YES!
My Evaluation
Story: 5/5
A well deserved rating I might add.
Watching this movie for 2 hours and 14 minutes is worth it. The musical score for Rurouni Kenshin was also very excellent, bone chilling, spine tingling, gives you goosebumps all over. Every single movie's musical score should in fact make the audience feel the message of the entire story. The fight coordinators have done a brilliant job in all of the fight sequences in the film. We know that in the world of cartoons heroes move fast but boy oh boy did this film not disappoint us huh. Took us all to a whole new level. It was also good that they have come up with a really nice story where it makes us realize that we can make a difference in this world for a better cause. Great story telling helps a film get positive recognition from its audience no matter if it is in Japanese, French or Italian language. In the end, no matter how dark our past is, if we are willing to seek forgiveness and start a new life, nothing is impossible. I am so looking forward to the sequels which are going to be released in August and September of 2014.
As always, comments and suggestions are very much appreciated. Thank you and have a wonderful day.
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