Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno (2014)

Hello, I’m Han, on old member popping up for a visit. Since I live in Japan I had the privilege to be able to watch this movie on opening day. Sadly, work got in the way so I went the next day. Since I know many of you are anxious to see this movie I thought I would share my feelings on the movie to whet your appetites for this amazing movie... or torture you, depending on how you wish to take it. Any spoilers would only be in referencing to the manga and will be in their own section. I also can’t get too specific anyways as I only understood the movie in my heart, not my head. Well, I could understand it in my head a lot more than the first one but the point remains that there were no English subtitles. The movie covers from the start of the Kyoto arc until the journey to Edo.

The movie opens in a glorious, if a bit cliche, horror movie like set with Hajime leading his troop of soldiers into what is revealed to be Shishio's self designed version of hell. This very clearly set the movie up. You are left with NO doubts about exactly who the big bad is. This scene also sets up one of the reasons I really like the series: The action, and the entire movie really, are very reminiscent of old Japanese samurai movies.

When we come upon the Kenshin gumi they are watching Kabuki in Asakasa (the historical center of kabuki) and boy is it funny! This I like for the comedy of the scene. I won't summarize the movie any farther but the first two scenes do a wonderful job setting up the movie.

I would like to point out that the director paid attention to details many modern movie makers are forgetting! From what I could tell, everyone's sword etiquette was taken seriously. When Kenshin is sitting down, you better believe his sword is on his right side and he sheathes his sword correctly.

The action scenes were great with only three or four moves that were truly impossible and obviously wire work. The action was BEAUTIFUL, exactly what I expect from this director and series.

Another great point is that the costuming is AMAZING! Do not expect Kenshin to stay in his classic red and white, he changes OFTEN. Not only that but there are so many beautiful outfits! The attention to detail is stunning. All of the yukata people are wearing are period appropriate and this entire movie is costume porn. The only thing I noticed that may peeve someone is that Yahiko uses a bokuto instead of a shinai for his 'sword'.

Further on this, EVERYONE looks like their manga counterpart, 100%. They did an amazing job with that. Shishio, oh boy is he great. Sejiro? Batshit insane, just like he should be ^_^

While the movie does try to give you an extended sense of time, it does not really manage to do it. The movie starts in winter and ends in summer (I am guessing, there were no hard dates posted besides the years).

Kenshin is very classical Kenshin the entire movie and has a beautifully choreographed play fight scenes with Masao and had everyone in the theater laughing.

On Masao, Karou, and Yahiko... Masao ended up being more of a token comic relief, just like in the manga, but when the fighting came down to it she was badass. On the other hand, I feel like Karou and Yahiko were a bit depowered from the manga which disappointed me. That is not to say Karou did not kick a LOT of ass, just not as well as I had always thought of her as doing.

The music was a disappointment to me because there were so many modern instruments and melodies. I really think the movie would have benefited from having significantly more classic Japanese music to really take you back. While there were some classic instruments and scores, there was also a lot of jarring modern music that brought me out of the movie.

Overall, I really loved the movie and felt so bad for the couple sitting next to be because I was quizzing the guy next to me on what it said on screen when kanji came up. For ALMOST the entire movie there is no point where you could point and say “CGI!!!” which I think is really important for this genre. There are lots of laughs in this movie and all the actors did a superb job holding true to the source material. This series has become the best anime turned movie. I wish Hollywood would take note and see what truly makes a movie good. I really hope they keep it up. Luckily, the next movie comes out in a month!

If you have any questions, spoilery or otherwise, please feel free to ask, I will answer them to teh best of my ability!

~~~~~Now for the potential spoilers! If you are super sensitive, stop here.~~~~~

The movie does a great job of following the manga while cutting some less relevant stuff right until the Battle for the Baby. After that, some stuff is a bit swapped around and changed. Not too incredibly jarring, but not great either.

Back to costuming: Crazy sword collector does not have his belt whip sword which I was VERY happy about. There was no way to do that without CGI and just... no. The costuming department and director do make an homage to it though. You will see about two or three glimpses of his belt being slightly shiny and metallic. There is also one point where, for a brief moment you see a hilt and it looks like it is for his whippy sword. That scene was great.

After this scene, some stuff does get condensed and jumbled, it almost feels like the first half of the movie they said: We have a third coming, we have plenty of time so we can do the manga justice. Then, by the time for the Kyoto fight came around they said: Oh crap! Look how long this is already! Let's cut some stuff but still end at the same point! The oniwabanshu do not get their amazing manga end, sad to say.

My one, true, horrible disappointment with this movie is during the horse scene (I am trying to be as unspoilery and obscure as possible here). At the end of it, there is some OBVIOUS CGI which made me really sad.

Other than that, the movie ends in a cliffhanger: Kenshin, washed up on a beach, is taken to an encampment by someone. They show his face, and I bet you are suppose to know who it is, but I had no clue. I bought the movie's book (which as a complete timeline on all the scenes in it) but it does not mention the mysterious person’s name. I felt really bad for his sword though, salt water is so bad for steel!

~~~~~~~~Spoilers about what is not there and I hope will be~~~~~~~~~~~

I really hope in the next movie we will see Kenshin as a child burying the three sisters and being taken in by his master. Maybe an early life training montage? I don't think so, but I hope for it badly because it is one of the most powerful scenes in the series, in my opinion.

I also really want to see the Enishi arc played out with Kenshin flipping out and becoming a street bum but I think they have their hands full finishing the Kyoto arc. Considering the title of the next movie, I don't think we will ever see Enishi's story line but one can hope.

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So I watched this like yesterday and .... It was AMAZING it lived up to my expectations and beyond , I truly wish I could rate it even higher xD this movie is a true masterpiece , it didn't feel like 2 hours at all , like when it finished I was like it's the end ? wait really!!!
Now the story was really interesting the direction was perfect the actors all were good and on spot .If we talked about Rurouni Kenshin we must talk about the -samurai - sword - fighting scenes and I have always enjoyed how realistic they appear although they are very fast in an unrealistic way LOL *watch it and you will get it * But I have to say I liked the sword scenes in the first movie better it was EPIC T-T
The Music was very similar to the first one if not the same ? it gets you to the scene and it is nice and all but not to the point that it would stick to your mind , but overall it is very enjoyable and well produced .
I did re-watch it and I even feel like re-watching it now it is just as exciting as the first time .. Really good job.
Finally this really is one amazing movie you MUST watch NOW ! especially if you have watched the first movie .. if not then What are you waiting for ? you have 2 amazing movies awaiting you ! , also it makes me even more excited to the third movie like I want it NOW ! and I am sure it will be just as good as its brothers..

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This is my first time reviewing something so it's going to be a tad short while trying to avoid spoilers..

Sato Takeru did a great job in his acting, I love him as Rurouni Kenshin and if there are ever anymore movies in the future of this series - I kind of hope he plays Rurouni Kenshin still! His facial expressions and body langauge goes hand and hand together which makes it all the more exciting when he actually gets into a fight, when Kaoru lets him anyways...it's like um he's trying to save you would you please shut up with the no killing thing?

In this movie, Kaoru didn't really have a huge role she was just mostly..like I said about the whole 'no killing' thing which would irriate me in scenes where it looked like it was going to get good but then she would come in and meh. Not much else I could say about her expect she's useless. (Note it's been a long time since I've watched the anime or read the manga, so I'm going off the movies for now.)

The fighting scenes was what I was looking forward to and they were great up to a point but some of the fighting scenes just seemed off to me, it was awkward a tad and a bit cringe worthy but still enjoyable non-the-less. It's noticeable at times but otherwise it's still a enjoyable watch.

Most of the actor/actresses I loved seeing and they pretty much all played their role well, there was a steady flow, there wasn't any awkwardness (much anyways) between them all and it's what made it a joy to watch because basically...they were their characters.

I didn't give much away so I hope this is a good enough review!

Story: 8.5/10 due to some random parts of the story I didn't understand/why was this put in the movie??

Acting/Cast: 9.5/10 due to two characters/actor/actress I wasn't a huge fan of and kind of eh about.

Music: 7.5/10 could of been better and I think like a reviewer before me said it could of had some more classical music?

Rewatch Value: 9.0/10 it's definitely rewatchable, but it isn't as good as the first movie I'll say that but if you have time to watchi this for two hours go ahead.

Overall: 9.0/10 just bringing all the reasons above together in a way.

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Absolutely LOVED the movie, was a perfect sequel. I would say it was even better than the manga itself. Takeru satoh as Kenshin was perfect, he was really into his role, I think his acting is improving a lot with each movie and drama. Both the leads has great chemistry. The whole cast was outstanding.

Right from the start Rurouni Kenshin shows its excellent direction and fight choreography, and it doesn't use any CG, apart from the blood in the entire movie - now that's what I call a real action movie.

When I first started watching it I thought it was going to be a cheesy retelling version of the manga (like most live-action adaptions of manga's that have been coming out recently) but it wasn't, I would say it portrayed the manga perfectly if not better.

The hard worl put into the direction and acting in this movie really shows, and it all paid of as the movie was a great success.

Simply put, Rurouni Kenshin may be the single best Japanese live-action adaptation I have ever seen.

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The sequel of the first samurai movie has a lots of action but some unsolved plot twists. The main character, having finally found peace, he is summoned back into the world of killing in order to preserve that peace. Honestly, the girl who always gets disappointed over the non killing thing was annoying, but other than that, she wasn't in the film much. The action sword scenes were really good and the whole thing was once again a big production when it came to settings, costumes and special effects. The performances were good as well. But, my only concern was that everything seemed to just pave the way towards the third movie. So, 8 out of 10.

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Part 2

So if you haven't figured it out yet this is part 2. I haven't read the manga but with my anime experience I'm quite sure if I had read it I would've loved it more than this movie. None the less I loved it all. It seemed a bit rushed at the end so the prequel is still my fav...so far but I'm still not disappointed. Luckily there's still more to the story and I can't wait. The acting, of course, is pretty on point. For someone who doesn't wanna kill anyone the action still gets handled well. The music was pretty awesome, especially the closer I decided to even look it up. I'll definitely see this series through till the end. On a side note... Sanosuke is bae.!lol

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Cinematic Beauty

I’ve had this series on my mind for a while now since I’m a huge Takeru Satoh fan and wanted to devour all his work. I can confidently say that he is undoubtedly the magic everyone seems to be enthralled by in these movies.

The character ‘Rurouni Kenshin’ itself is really enticing but to have Takeru play this role is almost as perfect as things get. He brings life to the strong, kindhearted Kenshin. His moves throughout the combat scenes are intricate and so beautifully executed, like an artist displaying his finesse. His warm smiles and agonising screams during emotional sequences give this the exact spark it needs.

The supporting characters are pretty great too; however, the female lead is a problem. It’s not the fact that she’s the weak, damsel in distress because I personally do not think weakness is a flaw. Though, her delusion and innocence are infuriating. She wants to live and see Kenshin safe but his hands are tied because “killing is bad”? The narrative is so flawed and I am annoyed with her attitude towards vital scenes in the movie. If he won’t kill, how do you expect him to live? Unbearable.

Don’t even get me started with the kidnapping. I can’t believe the writers threw that in again despite adding the same plot line in the first movie. It seemed illogical.

Looking past that, the cinematography, costumes, direction, music and acting is phenomenal. I feel like I’m watching history run its course in actuality and that gives me goosebumps.

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Fun and intense

This movie is different from the first one — there are some things I liked better and some things I liked less.

I thought the plot was great — it was a lot more high-stakes than the first one, and the villains seemed to have more backstory and be more layered than the caricature money-hungry villain from the first movie.

This goes without saying but the fight scenes were great (cinematography, choreography, audio, and all).

There was a little less humor in this one, but it was still enjoyable nonetheless, and I don't have a problem with this movie having more intensity and seriousness.

Kaoru is not my favorite character and it doesn't help that both movies ended a similar way because of her; even with that, however, this was a fun movie with a great performance especially by the main actor.

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This one felt much more serious than the first movie. There was still a little humor here and there but it felt like the stakes were higher so it couldn't be funnier because then it would feel like a parody so...

I loved Kenshin's relationship with his found family at the martial arts school, especially with Sanosuke. When Sanosuke punched Kenshin after finally catching up with him in Kyoto because he was so worried when Kenshin just took off to, basically, get himself killed! Sanosuke was so pissed at him.

The action in this movie was so very, very good again. And the music! I don't think I've mentioned the score before but, boy, the OST is just top notch, so much so that it gives me goosebumps!

And the cliffhanger! Gosh, I'm so glad that I have the next movie in the franchise handy or I would be very, very... miffed, to say the least.

Also, I just really noticed it in this movie but Satoh Takeru as Kenshin looks so... tiny and slight next to every other guy in it because they're all pumped up giants and he's, well, he's not. It's cute!

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Things Begin To Heat Up In This Gripping Second Film!

Kenshin is trying his best to live a peaceful life. He lives at the Kaoru's dogo along with his new friends, Miss Megumi and the humorous Sanosuke.

Of course, a man with the past that Kenshin has, there are always those desiring his downfall. Others seek him out for help. And the new government does just that when Shishio shows up with a massive army and colorful lieutenants, each one embodying a different form of crazy. Shishio, however, seems to be every dark trait rolled into one. This is a guy that makes the Joker look partially sane.

After Kenshin sees the decimation of Shishio's first attack, and the weeping and wailing families of Shishio's victims, he agrees that Shishio must be stopped.

I love how, in each film, Kenshin's enemies become harder and fiercer, bringing about more difficult challenges. And with each challenge comes the ultimate one for Kenshin: will he resort to killing in order to save?

Once again, the characters are spot-on. They are colorful and flamboyant, each bringing something interesting to the table. New characters are introduced, and none of them disappoint.

And, of course, the action sequences are unparalleled. At least, for me, as I've not seen anything remotely close to this. I've seen some featurettes on youtube, and I'm astounded by how fast and precise the action sequences are put together.

But, as good as the action sequences are, they are not hollow because they go together with a fantastic story, with Kenshin as its centerpiece. A man trying to change, and being challenged at every turn. Being told that he's insane to even try by virtually everyone except the one person who believes in him: Kaoru.

Pathfinders are those who create their own path. And most of the time, it's unique and original to the point where they are mocked by society and those who say, "You're crazy! It can't be done!" Pathfinders prove that it can if we only have the courage to try.

I'm also not sure you can stop with this film. A cliffhanger almost invites you to look at your clock and then say, "The hell with it!" before immediately starting the next one!

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