Rurouni Kenshin live action "The Final" and "The Beginning" Review

Every scene is a splendid work of art! For example. 

Once again, I am very impressed with the choreography in RK live-action series. Kenshin's fighting techniques are gracefully presented. The filmmakers did not speed up the fight scenes at all. What we see is the actors' REAL speeds in real time. The fight scenes look so authentic as a result! 

Absolutely love "THE FLOW OF TIME" soundtrack! So fitting for a series like RK!

The RK live-action series is easily THE best live-action ever made! 

The acting is perfect! The entire cast did an awesome job! Takeru Sato is the perfect cast as Kenshin! 

Hiko was such a big part of Kenshin's childhood and should've been included in this movie!!! 

Tomoe's actress is very pretty but her face looks a bit too cheerful for the role.

Seta's reappearance is a pleasant surprise. 

Jinchu Arc has a lot of substance in the manga but here it feels empty because these movies focused too much on the fight scenes that they neglected the characters' developments. It bothers me that Kaoru is treated like an extra in the movie when in fact she should be the heart of this Arc. A complete let-down for me is how indifferent Kenshin is towards Kaoru. Manga at this point shows how clearly their relationship has grown stronger and how important she is for him in his path to redemption.

I guess the director is more of a Tomoe's fan than a Kaoru's fan. Because he cut out 50% of Kaoru's scenes and added 50% extra scenes for Tomoe. Two particular scenes that I'm pissed about them being cut out: 

1. Kaoru's "death" and its impact on Kenshin : This is a very impactful scene in the manga for their relationship as well as for Kenshin's character development. When Kaoru "died" in the manga, he hit his lowest point, completely gave up and joined a homeless camp waiting for death until HE found a new strength and a new purpose to live to pull himself out of that place. Kyoto Arc taught Kenshin how to live for his loved ones. Jinchu Arc taught him how to live for himself and his ideals. The movies did not deliver this. 
2. Kenshin-Kaoru's leisure walk when Kenshin paused to appreciate the beauty of a normal life and talked about how everyone would eventually on and then Kaoru straight-up proposed to him and his reaction was awesome : Instead, the LA had Kenshin very low-key propose to her in "The Legend Ends", and the scene ended abruptly. I guess Japan still doesn't like women proposing to men, huh? Or at least the director doesn't? LOL. The whole scene was a very meaningful and beautiful "peaceful moment" in the manga. As Ghibli director Miyazaki Hayao has said, a film needs to have those "peaceful moments" to balance out the action scenes. If packed with too many action scenes in a row, the audience won't have time to "breathe".

Manga Kaoru is much more badass and in charge than LA Kaoru. The LA made Kaoru a damsel-in-distress too many times.

LA Tomoe has more personality than manga Tomoe.

MOVIE TITLES:  Before watching, I thought that "The Final" meant "the past, the end of hitokiri" and "The Beginning" meant "a new future", and I thought that that was a very thoughtful order for the films because "putting the past behind and looking toward the future" is the central theme of RK. But I was disappointed to find out that "The Final" includes everything in the Jinchu Arc except Kenshin's past and "The Beginning" is solely Kenshin-Tomoe's past. Dedicating a whole movie to Kenshin's past was unnecessary. It feels dragged out. I think that half or 2/3 of a movie would've sufficed. I was expecting the scene to shift from the past to the present to convey the flow of Kenshin's life but that continuity was lost when the movies were organized this way.

I do not like how they added an extra scene in which Tomoe told Kenshin there's nothing worth fighting for. Not even ideals. Not even a peaceful world. I disagree hard. Because this is the "I don't care what's happening in the world" apathetic mentality. I understand that a path of bloodshed isn't Kenshin's favorite, but it's better to try to work toward a better world, to have ideals, than not. 

Scenes that I wished the movies had included:

1. How Kenshin parted with Hiko
2. When the swordsmith gave Kenshin his reverse-blade sword
3. Kenshin-Kaoru's leisure walk 
4. Kaoru's "death" and Kenshin's reaction to it
5. Geezer's (Tomoe's father) interactions with Kenshin and Enishi

Rurouni Kenshin - the best live action so far!

It’s been almost  5 years since I’ve found the fire to write commentaries on manganime again.  It’s been 18 years since Rurouni Kenshin manga ended, and I was so glad to find that some people (the film makers) found the fire to recreate the series in another medium.

First of all, praises to the music!  “Flow of Life” is a brilliant OST and extremely fitting for RK!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW1Ze8IkH6c .

I love the scene in which Himura Kenshin is riding a boat into a new era with this song playing in the background in LA 1 - like an echo of time with life flowing from the past to the present - perfect!

Second, let me come right out and say that although there are A FEW scenes that I believe could have been done better, this is unquestionably the THE best live-action (LA) ever done so far!

Third, let’s comment on the acting:

Kenshin by Takeru Satou:  Before the movies came out, I had reservation about the actor who would play Kenshin because of the way he looks.  I could not imagine him as Kenshin from just seeing him.  But when it comes to acting, I was pleasantly surprised:  He doesn’t play Kenshin.  He is Kenshin!  Yes, his face does not look as gentle as Kenshin’s but he proved that he’s the perfect pick for the role.  He even did all the fight scenes himself without stuntmen.  I cannot think of another actor who could replace him.  “Kenshin” is perfect, from acting to character design!

Kaoru by Emi Takei:  The actress looks way prettier than Kaoru.  The design is not exactly like Kaoru but still good enough.  But her acting leaves something to desire.  No, it’s not about her acting skills; it’s about how the film makers decided to portray Kaoru that disappoints me:  Kaoru is supposed to be a tomboy, an energetic Kenjutsu instructor - NOT a soft-spoken, gentle, typical girl like the LA wanted her to be.  

Seta Soujiro by Ryunosuke Kamiki:  Here comes my #1 favorite character in RK!  And I had very high expectations for the actor who would play him.  But I was disappointed so much by (1) how the film makers chose to adapt this character, and (2) how the actor does not have “the Seta’s smile” (TBH, I found Kamiki’s smile a bit… evil at times, which is not at all like Seta).  Seta is supposed to be an innocent-gentle-looking young man with an angelic smile, all the while mysterious and having a lot to hide behind that smile.  As one of the chief antagonists (besides Shishio), his disarmingly harmless appearance strikes a jarring juxtaposition with his formidable combat prowess, and this makes for a uniquely interesting character.  Sorry to say, the way they designed “Seta” in the LA failed to convey the essence of this character.  I feel like the only thing that was done rightly about this character is his sword fights, which are impeccable choreography.  If I could pick who would play Seta Soujiro, I would pick Koike Teppei.

Sanosuke by Aoki Munetaka:  Loud, energetic and abrasive - that is Sanosuke.  Grade A acting!  The ONLY thing that disappoints me about this character is his appearance.  Of course that real people cannot look exactly like anime characters, but at least they could have done a better job at designing him.   

Finally, let’s comment on the movies:

RK LA actually has broken the record of ANY Japanese films ever shown!
The cast was so overwhelmed by passionate fans who came out and greeted them in the Philippines! (I wish I were at such event :D)

Choreography is impeccable!  I was so impressed when I found out that all the sword fights were NOT sped up or camera tricks, which means that the actors moved with such speeds in real time!  When the first RK LA came out, it pretty much set the standard for how LA should be.

LA 1 (The Beginning) is IMO the best out of the 3 movies.  The pace is perfect.  The script-writer did a great job at blending an entire Arc into one movie.

LA 2 & 3  go a bit too fast with the pace, with too many fights and events unfolding at once that it looks a bit messy at times.  I love how the movies take the time to shed light on how “dirty” and weak the Meiji government is throughout the movies.  I especially love the ending scene where Kenshin proposes to Kaoru and I wish it hadn't just stopped there!  

Now, only IF Seta Soujiro character were done well, these two movies would easily trump the 1^st LA.  The movies missed the key part of his character; they could have shown short scenes of his past or made him say brief lines that could explain it a little more.  It would have been easier to understand his mental breakdown. I know it doesn’t have to be the same as in the anime and that he is a minor character, but his story is important to understand what Kenshin is standing for in a way.  At least they could have shown how important Shishio’s beliefs were to him, because at the end it was the only thing that kept him alive and survive. 

Rating:  9/10

The best live-action so far!