Rurouni Kenshin: Origins

The Meiji Restoration brought stability, modernization, and westernization to Japan. That was good news if you wanted to quietly work and raise a family, but bad for business if you were a super-villain. Hitokiri Battosai was the exception who proved the rule. He did his duty as a cold-blooded killsword to hasten in the new era, but renounced his old violent ways once the Shogunate fell. However, he might have to break his vow to protect the innocent in Keishi Ohtomo’s Rurouni Kenshin Part 1: Origins (trailer here), which releases today in a DVD/BluRay collector pack, from Funimation.

Kenshin Himura’s backstory will be teased out over the course of the full live-action trilogy, but Origins establishes who he is right now and how he fell in with the friends who stand by him throughout the chaotic events of Kyoto Inferno and The Legends Ends. As Origins opens, a rogue killer is further besmirching the Battosai name, by impersonating the killsword while committing a series of murders. He also falsely claims to adhere to the “life-affirming” style of martial arts taught by Kaoru Kamiya’s late father. After a bit of miscommunication, Himura and Kamiya will team up together to clear their respective reputations.

Things will get even more awkward when the mysterious Megumi Takani also takes refuge at the Kamiya family dojo. However, her medical skills will come in handy. She has fled from Kanryu Takeda, an opium smuggler determined to undermine the Meiji government, who forced her to concoct especially addictive designer drugs. The spacey but flamboyant drug lord has made common cause with several former samurai, who also wish to return to the old days of warlordism. However, Himura’s old nemesis, Hajime Saito has opted for law and order, so he now serves the new government in a similar, hard-charging capacity. Yet, just like the sinister assassin Udo Jine, Saito is determined to push Himura back into the killing business.

Of the three films, Origins most easily stands on its own. It also gives significant screen time to Takani, which helps explain why a major star liked Yu Aoi occasionally drops into the second two films to offer a bit of sage advice or bandage a wound. She is terrific as Takani, wringing all kinds of intrigue and dignity out of the mysterious role. Takeru Satoh and Emi Takei notably start to develop the subtle chemistry that will be so appealing as the trilogy progresses. Yosuke Eguchi also already starts to steal scenes as the flinty Saito. Teruyuki Kagawa is bizarrely weird as Takeda, but that is a good thing. Likewise, Koji Kikkawa is appropriately menacing as Jine. When he and Himura finally face-off, it does not disappoint.

The live action trilogy clearly demonstrates why the manga series had such a long run. The swordplay (skillfully directed by Kenji Tanigaki) is spectacular, but the characters and their relationships really keep you hooked. You can see it coming together right from the start of Origins. Very highly recommended for martial arts and manga fans, Rurouni Kenshin Part 1: Origins is now available on DVD/BluRay from Funimation.

Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends

The Meiji Restoration modernized feudal Japan at a remarkable rate. However, you do not revolutionize society without breaking a few eggs. The samurai class were most definitely among those with broken shells. However, the Meiji government will learn a few samurai can be handy to have around when a super villain threatens the new peace. The former Killsword Kenshin Himura (a.k.a. Hitokiri Battosai) was supposed to be their stopper, but the megalomaniacal Makoto Shishio got the drop on him in the previous film. One way or another, the epic proxy battle or Japan’s future will decided in Keishi Ohtomo’s Rurouri Kenshin: The Legend Ends (trailer here), which starts a special three-day engagement in select theaters this Monday.

Picking up exactly where the Kyoto Inferno cliffhanger left off, we join Himura where he has washed up on shore. We quickly learn the mystery figure dragging away his battered body is his old master, Seijuro Hiko, who will nurse the hero back to health in the safety of the Dagobah Swamp. Kaoru Kamiya is presumed lost at sea and Himura’s new allies in the underground Oniwabanshuu have turned against their former captain, the deranged Aoshi Shinomori. That even includes Megumi Takani, who once loved Shinomori (and probably still does), but is now more concerned with the grievous injuries her grandfather Nenji Kashiwazaki suffered in his duel with Shinomori.

Himura is understandably anxious to face Shishio again, but Hiko will force him to undergo a transformative training regimen first. While Himura is sidelined, the armed skirmish threatens to become an all-out war, when Shishio’s ironclad warship starts strafing coastal cities. Eventually, Himura will have his showdown with Shishio in the spectacular battle fans of the franchise deserve.

It would be spoilery to say just who shows up for the climatic sword fight to end all sword fights, but the mix of styles and temperaments makes it enormously cinematic and hugely satisfying. Words like "rousing” and “crowd-pleasing” don’t do the third act justice. It also underscores just how much the large supporting cast contributes to the franchise.

Takeru Sato plays Himura with stone cold resolve hitherto unseen in the trilogy, but maintains his ambiguous endearing chemistry with Emi Takei’s virtuous yet down-to-earth Kamiya. Memorably capitalizing on limited screen time, Yosuke Eguchi is so massively hardnosed, he makes a compelling case for a Hajime Saito spin-off series. Likewise, Yu Aoi appeals to our fanboy emotions in the right was as the good doctor Megumi Yakani. Yusuke Iseya was also good as Shinomori in Inferno, but the way he steps it up in Legend Ends really makes the film a trilogy-closing homerun.

It is hard to not sound fannish when a Chanbara series (Meiji setting not withstanding) ends on such a high note. Action director Kenji Tanigaki keeps the inventive swordplay coming and the charismatic cast keeps us deeply invested. Very highly recommended for fans of samurai and manga-inspired cinema, Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends screens this Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (10/3-10/5) at select theaters, including the Village East in New York.

Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno

Kenshin Himura (a.k.a. Hitokiri Battosai)) is like the A-Team of the Meiji Restoration. His reverse-blade allows him to lay a beatdown on opponents without killing them. As Battosai, he was once the most feared “Killsword” assassin of the Bakumatsu revolt, but he has since renounced all forms of violence. Of course his peaceful retirement will not last long in the middle film of a trilogy. The facially-scarred swordsman will inevitably rejoin the fray in Keishi Ohtomo’s live-action Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno (trailer here), which starts a special three-day engagement in select theaters this Monday.

For the sake of the public good, Himura has already picked up his sword Rurouni Kenshin: Origins, but he still scrupulously avoided killing, in large measure due to the influence of Kaoru Kamiya, at whose kendo dojo he now resides. Even when it was his duty, Himura never enjoyed killing, unlike his sadist successor, Makoto Shishio. Recognizing they had bred a rabid dog, Shishio’s masters tried to kill him after the decisive Battle of Toba-Fushimi, but they merely left him severely burned and thoroughly hacked-off.

Himura already feels some responsibility for leaving the vacuum that created Shishio, so when he witnesses the aftermath of the super-villain’s handiwork up-close-and-personal, he reluctantly agrees to take up his sword once again. Along the way, he forges an alliance with an Oniwabanshuu cell once loyal to the Shogun, who have accepted the peace and stability of the new order. The one exception would be their long missing champion Aoshi Shinomori. Things will come to a head during a massive conflagration intended to parallel a key battle against the Shogunate.

Kyoto Inferno could easily be dubbed the Empire Strikes Back of the Rurouni Kenshin trilogy. It ends on a decidedly dark cliffhanger, but of course you need it to follow third installment, which Funimation is releasing in relatively short succession. (In contrast, Inferno is quite accessible for those who have not seen part one.) Yet, the second Rurouni is still a satisfying feature that offers some mature meditations on personal responsibility, modernization, and the costs and benefits of social stability, in between some spectacular swordplay. Frankly, Kenshin probably doesn’t even factor in the most cinematic duel. That features Yusuke Iseya and Min Tanaka as Shinomori and Nenji Kashiwazaki, the steely old leader of the Oniwabanshuu.

Takeru Satoh can certainly wield a sword as Himur and he continues to develop some pleasingly ambiguous chemistry with Emi Takei’s Kamiya. Yosuke Eguchi adds plenty of hardnosed flintiness as Hajime Saito, Shishio’s driven government nemesis, while Ryunosuke Kamiki brings plenty of evil flamboyance as his chief henchman, Soujiro Seta

Even though the Rurouni Kenshin series is based on a successful mange franchise, there is nothing cartoony about the action. In fact, Kenji Tanigaki’s fight direction incorporates some of the most impressive swordplay choreography you will see this year. Yet, these films still have soul. Highly recommended (especially if you are already planning to come back for part three), Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno screens this Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (9/12-9/14) at participating theaters, including the Village East in New York.