After some months of waiting I finally managed to watch the sequels to one of the best Japanese movies of 2013, Rurouni Kenshin, Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika Hen (Kyoto Inferno) and Rurouni Kesnhin: Densetsu no Saigo (The Legend Ends) which cover ten volumes (7 - 17) from the original manga created by Nobuhiro Watsuki, divided into two movies directed by Keishi Otomo. This review will focus on the first part, Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika Hen (released August 1st 2014), leaving the second part to my next review.
Like the first movie Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika Hen starts by presenting the main villain of the story. We are in a 1878 Hyogo at an apparently abandoned building which is being swept by the police, led of course by Hajime Saito (Yosuke Eguchi). They search for Makoto Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara). Despite the efforts, most policemen end up dead and Hajime Saito fails to capture the former Hitokiri Battousai.
In Tokyo, superintendent Kawaii visits Kamiya's dojo to ask Kenshin Himura (Takeru Sato) if he could accompany him to Ministry Toshimichi Okubo's (Kazufumi Miyazawa) presence. Knowing Shishio pretends to attack and overthrow the new government and that Kenshin is the only one whose technic can be compared to his, Okubo asks for help. Despite initially declining the proposal, not wanting to kill again, Himura has no other choice but to accept after Shishio sends someone to murder Okubo.
During his way to Kyoto, trying not to be seen, Himura chooses for a more remote path that leads him to a village, which is already overthrown by Shishio's men. Aside from ruins, the protagonists finds Sojiro Seta (Ryunosuke Kamiki) who in addition of being Okubo's murderer is also Shishio's right arm.
Disappointed with Kenshin's new life style, underlined by his Sakabatou, Shishio asks Sojiro to "play" with the protagonist while he would return to his lair. The fight between the two shows the young assassin's real skills. After some minutes of fighting, both swords give away - Sojiro's sword ends up completely damaged and Kenshin's Sakabatou breaks into pieces. Sojiro's bids farewell with a "see you soon".
Now in Kyoto, Kenshin is taken by Misao Makimachi (Tao Tsuchiya), a girl he met on the way, to Aoi-Ha, a pension masking the headquarters of a ninja clan called Oniwabanchu. Here, Kenshin meats Nenji Kashiwazaki (Min Tanaka) also known as Okina. Feeling his clan could still help their country, Okina offers Kenshin help and the protagonist asks if they could find Sekku Arai - the Sakabatou's father. Although Sekku has already died some years ago, Himura visits his son, Shakku Arai, hoping that he could make a new Sakabatou. But the main character isn't the only one looking for this new sword.
Cho Sawagejo (Ryosuke Miura) is one of Shishio's mercenaries and a sword lover who knowing of the existence of Sekku's last sword, kidnaps his grandson so he could acquire it by force. Himura confronts him, trying to save the child, and seeing this act of sacrifice, Shakku decides to get the sword for Kenshin. The duel ends, Cho is arrested and Himura finally gets his new Sakabatou in addiction of reencountering Kaoru Kamiya (Emi Takei) and Yahiko Myojin (Kaito Oyagi) who headed to Kyoto in search of the protagonist.
In prison, Cho confesses that Shishio intends on burning Kyoto and the police immediately alerts the population. Everyone start to prepare for the attack, including the Oniwabanchu, Kaoru, Yahiko, Kenshin, Sato and Sanosuke Sagara (Munetaka Aoki) who had just arrived to the city.
By the end of the night, when all seems resolved, Sojiro kidnaps Kaoru to lure Himura to Shishio's warship, built to bomb Tokyo, his real plan. In the ship, Shishio tries to duel Kenshin but fails when sends someone to throw Kaoru out the ship into the ocean, forcing the protagonist to leave everything behind and save the girl.
Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika Hen ends with Kenshin being found on the beach the next morning by his former Master, Seijuro Hiko (Masaharu Fukuyama).
In terms of the cinematography, I confess that Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika Hen deeply disappointed me despite the fact that it was created by Takuro Ishizaka. For those who don't remember, one of the main characteristics I loved in Rurouni Kenshin was the fact that its photography wasn't just a simple lighting work but an amazing piece of Art, where pretty much every shoot had a subliminal message or meaning. On the other hand, Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika Hen completely leaves behind that approach, leaving us with a Photography that is not bad but could be much better.
Another negative thing that I cannot avoid mentioning is the adaptation of some events from the manga, specially Shishio's characterization and the "laziness" to build a solid argument, leaving the plot with some serious holes.
Makoto Shishio is one of my favorite villains of all time but there was one simple element that I didn't like in his live-action version: the bandages. Yes, seems weird but I still think that the anime's bandages were much more realistic than the movie one's.
For those who read the manga, and even for those who watched the anime, you must recall Kaoru's deep depression after Kenshin leaves Tokyo "forever". Despite of that , in the movie her character seems perfectly fine aside from excluding herself from the group (searching for some loneliness). When Meguni tries to convince Kaoru that she should follow Kenshin, the manga's serious argument becomes a casual conversation between two friends.
Then there's Sanosuke's trip, which is indeed curious. In the manga his character encounters Yukuyzan Anji (who appears later on the second movie), a monk who teaches him a technic called Futae no Kiwami, capable of pulverize rock. In Kyoto he meets Saito and Kenshin before the fire. But in the movie we see Sano leave the city to never again see him until Kyoto's fire, his location is completely unknown. Did his trip took more time for him then for Kaoru and Yahiko? Did he meet someone? Were we as audience expected to do homework (read the manga)? Or did the screenwriter failed to create a logical sequence? I'm sorry Sano but someone forgot about you.
Aside form all of this, Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika Hen has some elements that did positively surprise me.
Ryosuke Miura's and Ryunosuke Kamiki's, who played Cho Sawagejo and Sojiro Seta respectively, surprised me a lot, maybe since I'm not familiar with their work. Both manage to grant their characters an unique personality from Cho's laid back personality to Sojiro's quick and agile technique.
I also enjoyed some of the scenery adaptations like the fact they ended up making the final battle in Shishio's warship (although it's a shame they never mention its name, The Purgatory, which meets Shishio's mental and physical state) and not in the mansion that many probably remember. This change brought some necessary rearrangements that weren't well executed in some cases but after Kanryu Takeda's mansion was the stage for the final conflict of the first movie it was good to see a different scenery.
After discussing this with some friends I conclude that Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika Hen is a victim of rushed work, with the only intent of making profit. This can be seen in the Photography which even though created by the same Director is far from the art of the first movie. The scrip that the first movie had, full of auto-reflective moments, became almost trivial specially in the most important events.
I can probably blame the producers who chose to make two movies with the time of one, with the money of one, lacking the ambition that first movie contained. A movie that wastes time in unimportant moments leaving others, fundamental to the story and characters, aside.
Do I recommend it? Yes, to the fans. Even with its big stumbles, specially when compared to the first movie, Taika no Hen manages to bring some of our favorite characters to life. Aside from the big discontent I would like to see the rest of the manga adapted to Live-Action.
Disappointed with Kenshin's new life style, underlined by his Sakabatou, Shishio asks Sojiro to "play" with the protagonist while he would return to his lair. The fight between the two shows the young assassin's real skills. After some minutes of fighting, both swords give away - Sojiro's sword ends up completely damaged and Kenshin's Sakabatou breaks into pieces. Sojiro's bids farewell with a "see you soon".
Now in Kyoto, Kenshin is taken by Misao Makimachi (Tao Tsuchiya), a girl he met on the way, to Aoi-Ha, a pension masking the headquarters of a ninja clan called Oniwabanchu. Here, Kenshin meats Nenji Kashiwazaki (Min Tanaka) also known as Okina. Feeling his clan could still help their country, Okina offers Kenshin help and the protagonist asks if they could find Sekku Arai - the Sakabatou's father. Although Sekku has already died some years ago, Himura visits his son, Shakku Arai, hoping that he could make a new Sakabatou. But the main character isn't the only one looking for this new sword.
Cho Sawagejo (Ryosuke Miura) is one of Shishio's mercenaries and a sword lover who knowing of the existence of Sekku's last sword, kidnaps his grandson so he could acquire it by force. Himura confronts him, trying to save the child, and seeing this act of sacrifice, Shakku decides to get the sword for Kenshin. The duel ends, Cho is arrested and Himura finally gets his new Sakabatou in addiction of reencountering Kaoru Kamiya (Emi Takei) and Yahiko Myojin (Kaito Oyagi) who headed to Kyoto in search of the protagonist.
In prison, Cho confesses that Shishio intends on burning Kyoto and the police immediately alerts the population. Everyone start to prepare for the attack, including the Oniwabanchu, Kaoru, Yahiko, Kenshin, Sato and Sanosuke Sagara (Munetaka Aoki) who had just arrived to the city.
By the end of the night, when all seems resolved, Sojiro kidnaps Kaoru to lure Himura to Shishio's warship, built to bomb Tokyo, his real plan. In the ship, Shishio tries to duel Kenshin but fails when sends someone to throw Kaoru out the ship into the ocean, forcing the protagonist to leave everything behind and save the girl.
Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika Hen ends with Kenshin being found on the beach the next morning by his former Master, Seijuro Hiko (Masaharu Fukuyama).
In terms of the cinematography, I confess that Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika Hen deeply disappointed me despite the fact that it was created by Takuro Ishizaka. For those who don't remember, one of the main characteristics I loved in Rurouni Kenshin was the fact that its photography wasn't just a simple lighting work but an amazing piece of Art, where pretty much every shoot had a subliminal message or meaning. On the other hand, Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika Hen completely leaves behind that approach, leaving us with a Photography that is not bad but could be much better.
Another negative thing that I cannot avoid mentioning is the adaptation of some events from the manga, specially Shishio's characterization and the "laziness" to build a solid argument, leaving the plot with some serious holes.
Makoto Shishio is one of my favorite villains of all time but there was one simple element that I didn't like in his live-action version: the bandages. Yes, seems weird but I still think that the anime's bandages were much more realistic than the movie one's.
For those who read the manga, and even for those who watched the anime, you must recall Kaoru's deep depression after Kenshin leaves Tokyo "forever". Despite of that , in the movie her character seems perfectly fine aside from excluding herself from the group (searching for some loneliness). When Meguni tries to convince Kaoru that she should follow Kenshin, the manga's serious argument becomes a casual conversation between two friends.
Then there's Sanosuke's trip, which is indeed curious. In the manga his character encounters Yukuyzan Anji (who appears later on the second movie), a monk who teaches him a technic called Futae no Kiwami, capable of pulverize rock. In Kyoto he meets Saito and Kenshin before the fire. But in the movie we see Sano leave the city to never again see him until Kyoto's fire, his location is completely unknown. Did his trip took more time for him then for Kaoru and Yahiko? Did he meet someone? Were we as audience expected to do homework (read the manga)? Or did the screenwriter failed to create a logical sequence? I'm sorry Sano but someone forgot about you.
Aside form all of this, Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika Hen has some elements that did positively surprise me.
Ryosuke Miura's and Ryunosuke Kamiki's, who played Cho Sawagejo and Sojiro Seta respectively, surprised me a lot, maybe since I'm not familiar with their work. Both manage to grant their characters an unique personality from Cho's laid back personality to Sojiro's quick and agile technique.
I also enjoyed some of the scenery adaptations like the fact they ended up making the final battle in Shishio's warship (although it's a shame they never mention its name, The Purgatory, which meets Shishio's mental and physical state) and not in the mansion that many probably remember. This change brought some necessary rearrangements that weren't well executed in some cases but after Kanryu Takeda's mansion was the stage for the final conflict of the first movie it was good to see a different scenery.
After discussing this with some friends I conclude that Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika Hen is a victim of rushed work, with the only intent of making profit. This can be seen in the Photography which even though created by the same Director is far from the art of the first movie. The scrip that the first movie had, full of auto-reflective moments, became almost trivial specially in the most important events.
I can probably blame the producers who chose to make two movies with the time of one, with the money of one, lacking the ambition that first movie contained. A movie that wastes time in unimportant moments leaving others, fundamental to the story and characters, aside.
Do I recommend it? Yes, to the fans. Even with its big stumbles, specially when compared to the first movie, Taika no Hen manages to bring some of our favorite characters to life. Aside from the big discontent I would like to see the rest of the manga adapted to Live-Action.
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