Movie Musings: My thoughts on the Rurouni Kenshin (Live Action) Movie

Caution: Contains spoilers and Anime comparisons 

One of the first promotional material for the movie. From the movie's Facebook page. 

This is more than just a movie review since I will not only be talking about the movie itself but I will also be blogging about how a decades old hero still has a presence years after his ideals and principles touched the lives of a generation of  children who have now grown into adulthood.

All in all I could sum up my Rurouni Kenshin (Live Action) Movie experience in the words of my sister 'It was my childhood coming to life'. 

Creator Nobuhiro Watsuki wrote and illustrated the manga in 1994 and it ran until 1999. An anime series was developed and was shown from 1996 to 1998. The series was not only a big hit in its' native Japan but in other countries as well. It is one of the most recognized anime titles all over the world. 

3 Mediums of Himura: The reluctant assassin. Haunted by his past, Himura seeks to atone for his sins by wielding a reverse-edged sword to help people in need. He has graced pages of a well loved manga, appeared in a well accepted anime series and is now alive on the big screen and fans have followed him no matter what medium he is featured on. 

Source. Posted on the movie's Facebook page. 

More than a decade after the manga was released, news of a live movie production took the Otaku world by storm. 20-30 year old fans of the series were very vocal about their excitement to see their beloved samurai slash his way on the big screen. 

Promotional material from the movie. Source: Rurouni Kenshin the Movie Facebook page.

FROM ANIME TO MOVIE: Fans have been raving about the spot-on casting of the characters. From Satou Takeru playing the legendary assassin (sometimes clueless) Kenshin Himura to Kikkawa Kouji playing creepy villain Udou Jin'e. (Yes he did lick his sword like that). 

Promotional material from the movie. Source: Rurouni Kenshin the Movie Facebook page.

CASTING: (No racial bending here) 

Fans were more than pleased with the casting of the characters. (And we all know how rabid fans can get when you mess with the adaptation of their beloved animated series into a movie. Yes! The Last Airbender I am looking at you!).  Oftentimes you would be convinced that the actors in the movie simply stepped out of the anime version and went on to play their parts on the big screen. Even minor characters (extras even) like Chief Uramura (the old policeman with glasses) was cast perfectly. 

In an interview, creator Nobohiro Matsuki has said he was also happy with the casting, even the girls at the Akabeko restaurant, Sekihara Tae and Sanjo Tsubame were perfect according to Matsuki. (I did recognize Tae but I don't remember seeing Tsubame, my husband said he saw Tsubame. So maybe when I watch it for the third time, I will keep an eye out for her! :p ). 

When I watched the movie for the first time I was very happy with everyone's portrayal except for Eguohi Yosoke as Saito Hajime. I found him too chubby to play the tall, lean and sunken cheeked former Shinsen-Gumi captain. I personally think that local Cosplay legend JM Chua looks more like Saito Hajime. Of course this is not cosplay but acting so maybe if there will be a sequel he could loose some pounds. I was also really distracted by his big ears (I know, I can be so mean) but when Eguohi Yosoke (who is a legendary TV actor by the way) did Saito's signature wolf fang thrust pose I was sold. People in the movie house were cheering and if this scene was enough to send chills down creator Nobohiru Matsuki's spine then it's good enough for me. 

Loose a few pounds and smoke more! Legendary TV actor Eguohi Yosuke as Saito Hajime. Source: Rurouni Kenshin the Movie Facebook page.

During the second time of watching the movie, I paid more attention to Eguohi Yosoke's portrayal of Saito Hajime and I could see that he was really a good actor. The pain and anger in his eyes when he confronted Kenshin about innocent policemen being murdered was so genuine. I never thought Saito cared that much for his fellow police officers and of course his delivery of the line 'We live and die by the sword' just gets you really thinking. So yeah I might not have liked you the first time but I was sold the second time around. 

THE LADIES OF THE MOVIE: 

Takei Emi plays the headstrong assistant instructor of the Kamiya Kashin Dojo and love interest of Kenshin, Kaoru Kamiya. Source: Rurouni Kenshin the Movie Facebook page.

Aoi Yuu gave a great performance as the mysterious Megumi Takani. Source: Rurouni Kenshin the Movie Facebook page.

The cast of the movie also included great actresses who brought the strong female characters to life. While some fans found a lacking 'tomboyish' side from Takei Emi's Kaoru Kamiya, Aoi Yuu had more chances to show her acting prowess as the runaway doctor Megumi Takani given that the story arc revolved greatly around her character. Aoi Yuu was able to deliver a believable performance of a lonely doctor turned opium maker who at first only wanted to survive but towards the course of the movie wanted to make her past sins right. 

In the series, Kaoru was greatly insecure of the beautiful Megumi but I really didn't see that in the movie. The anime Kaoru was also very loud, rough and bossy towards the only student of her dojo-Myoujin Yahiko-this really didn't translate in the movie either.  Although Takei Emi's performance during the last scene was hands down Kaoru-just thinking about that last scene causes tears to form in my eyes. 

Promotional Movie Poster with the cast. Source. Rurouni Kenshin (Live Action) Facebook page. 

The movie also boasted of great cinematography which was especially tricky since the time was set in the Meiji era where in Japan was greatly influenced by western cultures. The movie maintained an authentic Japanese tone while mixing it with a western feel. 

Just a wanderer. You would never have thought twice about this guy. Movie still. Source: Rurouni Kenshin the Movie Facebook page.

CHANGES WERE NOT DISAPPOINTING 

Like all movie adaptations, changes had to made in order to fit the screening time. While the usual case is for hard-core fans to nit-pick the tiniest details and complain about changes, I really didn't see much complaints from reviews that I've read. Simply because the changes worked! The changes made sense and were not disappointing at all. 

While most of the obvious changes were with villain Takeda Kanryuu's crew of bodyguards-since in the series Kanryuu's bodyguards were the Oni wa Banshu led by sometimes villain/sometimes not villain Aoshi Shinamori. 

In the movie Kanryuu's bodyguards consisted of movie villain Jin'e and some new faces. Fans would immediately recognize Hanya with his mask but apparently he wasn't Hanya after he removed his mask to reveal a scar and bleached blonde hair (Ancestors of J Rock stars maybe?) but watching the movie a second time I realized that blondie was actually a combination of Hanya and Aoshi. Hanya's contribution was the mask while you could see Aoshi since blondie used a kodachi (short dagger) like Aoshi (although Aoshi has another longer blade).Blondie's movements were also similar to Aoshi's 'dancing' technique. 

Also his fight with Kenshin was held in a dark library- just like when Kenshin faced Aoshi in the series. 

A lot of fans were looking for Aoshi in the movie, like my brother, since they knew that the Oni wa Banshu was in the arc with Kanryuu. I think that they purposely did not feature Aoshi and the Oni wa Banshu in the movie since it actually opens up to a longer and deeper story arc. Maybe, just maybe, they were not featured in this movie, because they would be featured in the next (hey an otaku can hope right? ;) ) 

Shishio Makoto and the Juppongatana. Still from the anime series. 

Aside from the Oni wa Banshu. Shishio Makoto and the Juppongatana make up another exciting and more extensive arc that would definitely make a great (movie) sequel! 

Since we are in the topic of Aoshi, the Oni wa Banshu and Kanryuu, one of the saddest and memorable scenes in the anime series for me was when the Oni wa Banshu (Oni gang) sacrificed their lives to save  Aoshi when they faced Kanryuu's gatling gun. I mean this is one of the most heart breaking scenes in anime history-ever but they had to sacrifice that in the movie and change the scene to a lighter comedic tone. This is probably the most disappointing change for me but still goes to show how a good adaptation can turn a dramatic scene into a comedic relief. 

Since we are in the topic of comedy, the movie had some subtle comedic scenes to it- thanks in part to the performance of Aoki Munetaka as Kenshin's tough side kick Sanosuke Sagara. People in the movie house would just howl in laughter every time he would appear  on screen, even if he did nothing! :p Props to Munetaka for the best kitchen fight scene ever! 

Child actor Taketo Tanaka also gave a very impressive performance of orphan and student of the Kamiya Kashin Dojo- Myoujin Yahiko from how we would hungrily wolf down food to how he would tease Kaoru it was like Yahiko came directly from the series to the movie. 

It wasn't just the good guys who were making the audience laugh but bad guy, opium dealer Takeda Kanryuu played by Kagawa Teruyuki was a crazy funny villain and Teruyuki gave a great performance. He represented the Japanese man who was loosing his culture for a western one and with that also the lust for money and power. 

Another source of comic relief was Kanryuu's trio of identical assistants who all wore the same white suits- they were not in the anime series but they were also a nice addition to the cast of characters in the movie. 

Movie still. Source: Rurouni Kenshin the Movie Facebook page.

Movie Soundtrack: Great music for a great movie. 

I have read in blog posts and posts on Facebook that there was a degree of disappointment from fans when the original soundtrack of the anime series was not featured in the movie. 

Now I know where these fans are coming from since the soundtrack of the anime series (whether songs or background music are one of the best ever). If the movie did use the background music from the series I would have cried (nay, wailed) right in my seat from overwhelming happiness! 


Even if the movie had their own soundtrack which is a great soundtrack for a great movie it still really worked. There were great music that featured the Japanese shamisen being played in a heated frenzy and also a violin piece (which could be reminiscent of the western influences during the era to which the movie is set in). 

The soundtrack of the anime series featured some of the best J Rock acts of the 1990's such as Larc en Ciel, Siam Shade, Judy and Mary and T.M. Revolution and so it was just fitting that the movie soundtrack would feature one of today's rising J Rock acts- One Ok Rock. 

The song 'The Beginning' which you can listen to below is an upbeat song with rock elements and is just fitting to be played in the movie's ending credits. 

The English lyrics are actually spot on, unlike other Japanese-English songs and the pronunciation is not bad either. 

One OK Rock's: The Beginning which was featured in the movie's ending credits. 

You can also listen to 'Hiten' a sample of the movie's soundtrack (Background music) below. An interesting trivia is that Hiten features Lisa Gerrard, who was on the score of the 2000 movie "Gladiator". 

The official soundtrack of the movie has songs which are composed by Naoki Sato and can be purchased here. 

Original Sountrack of the Movie: Hiten 

Promotional material from the movie. Source: Rurouni Kenshin the Movie Facebook page. 

Battle to get to Philippine Shores 

I actually already have a blog entry of the complications to bring Rurouni Kenshin to the Philippines. You can check the blog post here. 

Let me just give an overview since it is also part of my Rurouni Kenshin experience. 

Rurouni Kenshin was released in Japan in August 25, 2012. Surprisingly the Philippines was initially not included in the list of 64 countries to which Rurouni Kenshin was going to be released in. Warner Brothers Japan is the official distributor of the film so a lot of people thought that Warner Brothers Philippines would be the one to distribute the film here. But in a post on their facebook page last August 23, 2012, WB Philippines said that they did not have the rights to release RK in the Philippines. 

This disappointed a lot of fans (with some thinking of resorting to piracy and just downloading the film online) and soon after online petitions to have the film shown in the Philippines started to surface. (I signed one and asked my friends to sign as well) :) 

After online petitions were signed, Movie Punch (Pioneer Films Philippines) announced that they would be the official distributor of the movie in the Philippines. While all seemed good to go there were still some challenges with the negotiations of the films release. The news of an initial date of October 17, 2012 as the movie's date of showing spread like wild fire across social media sites. 

Unfortunately the October 17 date did not push through and for a while there were no updates of the movie's release. Movie Punch has then posted that they have partnered with SM exclusively to show the movie. 

After a long battle to get Rurouni Kenshin to show in the Philippines, an official date of December 5, 2012 was announced, although screening seemed limited to 4-5 days only. 

Hearing the news, I immediately reserved tickets online for the 11:00AM showing on December 5, 2012 (one of the first screenings- I would be catching the movie right after work :) ) 

I would always check the SM Cinema website to see how many people have made reservations online to watch the movie and every time I checked there were more and more red seats that were showing up on screen. (Red indicating that the seats were already reserved) I encouraged friends and families to watch right away due to the limited screenings and since cinemas were near to full. 

Sold out screenings, additional cinemas

Everywhere the story was the same, screenings were already sold out hours before that people had to wait 4-5 hours for the next available showing. There were long lines after each show and for fans who watched the movie two-three times, each instance was always a full house. SM branches in the cities and the provinces even had to open up new cinemas in order to accommodate the eager movie goers. 

SM Cinema obviously underestimated the love of the series' fans as they only had the movie scheduled to be shown for only a few days but because of the overwhelming response from fans screenings were extended! :) 

There were also a Cosplay competition, event to promote the movie. Cosplayers could also be seen around the cinemas in order to help promote the movie. 

Rurouni Kenshin cosplay event for the movie. Source: Movie Punch's Facebook page. 

Rurouni Kenshin cosplay event for the movie. Source: Movie Punch's Facebook page.

Rurouni Kenshin cosplay event for the movie. Source: Movie Punch's Facebook page.

TRENDING TOPIC: My screenshot showing Rurouni Kenshin was trending in the Philippines. It would trend again in the following days. 

Catching Rurouni Kenshin for the second time. 

Movie Date with my baby brother. I'm 11 years older than him but he's a lot taller than me :) He used to watch Rurouni Kenshin the series with us when he was just little. 

Long line of people who will catch the next screening. 

It was easily noted that there was not much ads for the movie. Even the cinemas only had a few movie posters. It was through the power of social media such as Facebook and Twitter that the news of the movie was spread.  Just goes to show that a good movie does not need a big promotional budget in order to become successful and that the word of mouth (or in this case post/tweet) is still always the best form of advertisement. 

THE AFTERMATH of Battousai: 

In a blog post dated last September 25, 2012 the movie has been reported to have been seen more than 2 million times and has earned over 2.5 billion yen (approximately US$32.1 million) they haven't even included the earnings from the Philippines yet! :P 

Rumors of a sequel to the movie have been circulating the internet and with great story arcs just waiting to be  transferred onto the big screen (Why, hello there Mr. Makoto!) fans only have the best to look forward to. 

If comic book superheroes can fly in the movies and wizards and giants can battle it out why not a wandering samurai wield a reverse edge sword in Japan's Meji era? This new movie has allowed fans all over the world to relive the story of the red headed samurai and the best part of it is that his story continues on and you can just see that in the long lines outside the cinemas, you can hear it in the applause at the end of the movie. 

The wandering samurai has just found his way home and it's a good one.