Rurouni Kenshin Live Adaption JMovies Review
- 1 hour ago
- 8 min read
This review and me watching these movies are LONG OVERDUE! Now, I am going to be reviewing all 5 movies in 1 blog post because SPOILER ALERT - I LOVED ALL THE MOVIES! I could nitpick things and pull-out things from every movie that I disliked but it was not enough to bring down my rating of 10/10 across the board. I will probably name what I would nitpick about in the review but just know these are all very small and did not change my rating of 10/10.
Now a little history of the Rurouni Kenshin series. Rurouni Kenshin originated as a manga which came out in the 90s. The first anime came out also in the 90s. The anime was remade in 2023 as well. Rurouni Kenshin was also adapted into 5 live adaption movies spanning from 2012 to 2021. It is these live adaption movies that I will be reviewing and discussing in this blogpost.
My history with Rurouni Kenshin. I remember watching this anime along with Sailor Moon and Yu Yu Hakusho on Toonami in the late 90s/early 2000s. I do not remember if I have seen all of the anime from watching it on Toonami and I have not rewatched the anime since then. So, When I chose to dive into the live adaptions, I vaguely remembered the characters and some of the early story arcs but not everything. So, this anime was one of my first anime ever and I have fond memories of this series. I have always wanted to watch these live adaptions, but they were not east to find and once they started coming to streaming sites, they were never on 1 streaming site. WELL NOW THEY ARE ALL ON NETFLIX so, I finally could binge watch them and watch all of them. LET ME TELL YOU, THEY DID NOT DISAPPOINT EITHER! I went into these movies expecting the best thing and I will say they lived up to expectations. I can see why these films are considered the standard when it comes to anime live adaptions. This review is not going to be a comparison to the anime because as I said, I barely remember the anime and I have not rewatched it so, it is just going to be a review of the movies.
Short Synopsis of Rurouni Kenshin: Kenshin is a former legendary Assassin who fought in the revolution against the Shogunate (military dictatorship) during the Meiji era (around 1878). He becomes a wandering samurai after the war to atone for past sins/assassinations. He carries a reverse-blade (meaning the sharp end faces him) to avoid killing people During this time, he meets a variety of characters such as Kamiya Kaoru, and old enemies comes back like Yukishiro Enishi that he has to deal with and thus deal with his past.
Now, there are different ways you can watch these movies aka what order you watch them in. You can watch them in Chronological order in terms of story. You can also watch them in the order they were released. I watched them in the following order:
I was satisfied with this order especially with how the story flowed through it, but it really depends on the watcher and what their preference is.
My OVERALL review for all of these movies is that they are 10/10 with some minor nitpicks which I will state at the end. They are definitely worth the time to watch them. You do not have to have watched the anime beforehand. The movies have a stylized anime look that doesn't come off as cheesy at all. As I said, there is a reason why these movies are the standard when it comes to anime live adaptions. Now I want to check out some of the other Anime Live Adaptions and/or Japanese movies like Kingdom that have been on my plan to watchlist for Netflix for a long time.
WHAT I LOVED
FIGHT SCENES
WATCH THESE MOVIES FOR THE FIGHT SCENES!! These movies are known for the fight scenes. These movies are known for the crazy swordplay. The movie kept some of its anime feel through these fight scenes. The characters seem almost inhuman for what they do in the sword fighting scenes, somehow defying gravity or having superhuman strength. It works because you know this is based off of an anime so, you expect these over-the-top fight scenes. The newer the movie was, the crazier and more outlandish the fight scenes got. What was great about the fight scenes as well is it isn't just Kenshin who has amazing fighting skills. He is fighting against people and with allies by his side who are equally skilled and fun to watch fight against and beside him. Just to give you an example, in Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends, Rurouni Kenshin and his foes were literally sandwiched together and horizontal to the ground and fighting with swords. It is close quarters combat with swords. The characters are also very fast.
EMOTIONAL/IMPACTFUL
You would not think movies based on an anime and movies where the fighting shines would be very impactful or emotional. I think the Rurouni Kenshin Movies prove you wrong in this regard. You become attached to these characters and root for them. You get some great backstories with both the heroes and villains in these movies so, you can't help but be affected by these characters and their motivations.
TOPIC OF PTSD
Speaking of the movies being emotional and impactful, a topic that comes up a lot in these movies is Rurouni Kenshin's PTSD. He carries a lot of guilt for what he did as an assassin. There are some goofy and comedic moments within the character and the story, but Kenshin also gets very serious and becomes a killing machine when triggered, especially when his loved ones are affected. He also gets flashbacks to when he was fighting in the war or dealing with seeing a person, he assassinated loved one mourn that loss. You can tell these events have affected him. He also sleeps in a defensive mode most of the movies so, he would be ready to defend himself at all times. Part of the messaging throughout the movie is Kauro pulling him back from the edge and not letting him kill someone since he has made a vow not to. He slips into his assassin persona which is personified in a more animalistic stance and does it so easily because he has flashbacks and reverts to survival mode that he was in during the days of the revolution. A lot of the enemies he fights have not tried to reform or let go of the trauma they experienced during the war. Satoh Takeru who portrays Kenshin in the live adaptions plays Kenshin perfectly.
ACTING
Satoh Kenshin stands out with how he portrayed Kenshin in these movies. I really can't picture anyone else doing this character. It really seemed like this role was made for him because he portrays the character so well. On one hand, he can make Kenshin seem almost childlike and quite innocent especially in the comedic parts but then a switch is flipped and he immediately becomes this dark and murderous character. You can tell Kenshin carries a lot of guilt within him and Satoh portrays this character in such a brilliant way with this sort of quiet presence. Everyone holds their own with their acting in these movies, but I think the villains really stand out. It might be because they are a little bit crazier and out there than the other characters. Everyone who played a villain or someone with a darker past acted so well. A memorable fight scene that comes out of these movies is the opening scene in The Beginning. Kenshin literally fights people with a sword in his mouth because he was tied up!
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The cinematography is amazing and gets better with each movie. I think one of the reasons why the cinematography is so good is how well these fight scenes are shot. The swordplay is very fast. As the movies progress and the newer ones start coming out, the sets get more epic, the fight scenes get more epic and thus the cinematography stands out more. The camera moves with the fight movements. It highlights the speed that these fighters are fighting at. A lot of the fights were the actors doing the fighting themselves with practical stunts. I think there are also some beautiful scenes that have an emotional impact such as a couple of the standout death scenes. The visual contrast within these films also stands out. When you have a high-tension fight scene, the color can be more vibrant or darker. The are some really beautiful scenes in The Beginning that stand out because it is of a quieter moment surrounded by snow and thus has a colder palette to the cinematography.
BASED ON ANIME BUT NOT CHEESY
Now, I know we have been burned before with anime live adaptions, but Rurouni Kenshin is the standard of how an anime should be adapted and adapted well. You can tell it is based off of an anime with some of the character costumes and how gravity defying some of the fighting is, but it does not come off as over the top or cheesy which I know a lot of people worry about. There is a reason why these films are highly regarded when it comes to Anime live adaptions.
OST
Last but certainly not least, I need to call out the OSTs. One Ok Rock (an AMAZING Jrock band) did all of title tracks for these movies and THEY ARE AMAZING! The scores of these movies are fantastic as well. Something that is noticeable and impactful that the movie does is where the music disappears. I think the movie uses empty space so well throughout the films especially when it comes to the emotional scenes.
I DIDN'T DISLIKE ANYTHING BUT I WILL WARN PEOPLE ABOUT THESE THINGS:
-The Older Movies do show their age just a bit but not by a lot. As the movies get newer and newer, they get crazier and crazier with the fight scenes and special effects.
-If you do not like violence or gore or blood, these movies are not for you. There is a lot of fighting in these movies so, there is a lot of violence and gore in them.
NITPICKS I HAVE:
Kaoru and Yahiko were a little annoying to me in the first 2 films - especially Kaoru. They grew on me as the films went on. Kaoru did have some cliche damsel in distress moments that I wish were different, but it was fine.
Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno felt like a filler movie because it did end on a cliffhanger and rolled right into Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends
Did not like some of villain deaths in both the first and second film. I thought it was too easy for them. It didn't have as much of a fight for me as I would have wanted but again, I am nitpicking here.
The Beginning was slower than the other movies in the franchise, but it did build up to an impactful and emotional ending. Just compared to the rest of the films, this one seemed very slow and a slow burn in comparison because it concentrated more on romance. That doesn't mean it was bad at all, just different.
That is the end of my Review for the Rurouni Kenshin Movies.
Have you seen these movies?
What did you think of them?
Is it on your list to watch?
Will you watch these movies now after reading my review?
Do you agree with my review?
WE NOW ALSO HAVE A DISCORD SO TALK TO US ON THERE AS WELL!
NOSLEEP4DRAMAS now has a podcast as well.
You can listen to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts right now.
NOSLEEP4DRAMAS now has a YouTube Channel as well.
You can go to YouTube and search NoSleep4Dramas/NoSleep4Dramas Podcast and it should come up.
I JUST OPENED A KO-FI PAGE FOR THE BLOG!
Donating is optional.
Anything is appreciated.
All donations will go back into the blog
ONE OF THE PERKS IS YOU CAN DONATE WITH A REQUEST FOR A DRAMA THAT I WILL WATCH AND THEN WRITE A FINAL REVIEW ON FOR THE BLOG!
Comments