Rurouni Kenshin - Live Action Movie

The Rurouni Kenshin live action movie was the highest-grossing film in Japan in 2012.

Starring Takeru Satoh as Kenshin, the movie covers the first 30 chapters of the Rurouni Kenshin manga, with a few details combined or switched around.

In brief, the Rurouni Kenshin story is about Kenshin Himura, an assassin known as the Hitokiri Battousai who works for the Imperialist side at the end of the Bakumatsu era in Japan. After the Imperialists prevail in 1868, Kenshin disappears from public life, reappearing ten years later in Edo.

The Meiji era has brought substantial changes to Japan. Kenshin meets Kaoru Kamiya (Emi Takei), the owner of a dojo whose good name is besmirched by being falsely associated with a killer calling himself the “Battousai.”

This fake Battousai, Jin’ei (Koji Kikkawa), desires to duel the real Battousai should he meet him one day.

When Kaoru’s dojo is attacked by thugs representing a greedy businessman seeking to buy the dojo, Kenshin defeats all the attackers and is hauled off to jail for his efforts. Kaoru is waiting for him when he’s released.

Kaoru’s sole student is an orphan boy, Yahiko (Taketo Tanaka), but they’re soon joined by Megumi, a woman with a mysterious past.

Megumi (Yu Aoi) is a doctor who makes opium packets for Takeda Kanryu (Teruyuki Kagawa), a dealer in the illegal opium trade. Kanryu lives in a huge western-style mansion, dresses in western suits and proclaims the old era of samurai principles is over.

When Megumi tries to leave Kanryu, he sends assassins including Jin’ei the fake Battousai after her. Megumi winds up at Kaoru’s dojo and joins Kaoru, Kenshin and Yahiko.

The crew soon includes Sanosuke Sagara (Munetaka Aoki), a brawler whose weapon is an impossibly huge sword used to kill horses.

Megumi has a change of heart while living at the dojo and comes to regret her part in the opium trade that ruined so many lives. She returns to Kanryu’s mansion to kill him, but her attempt fails and Kenshin and Sanosuke go to the mansion to rescue her. When they reach Megumi, she tells Kenshin that Kaoru has been taken by Jin’ei.

Rurouni Kenshin is an entertaining and well-crafted film. The story is easy to follow for those with no prior knowledge of the Rurouni Kenshin story, and there’s a good balance of action, exposition and flashback scenes, particularly regarding Kenshin’s background and his pledge never to kill again.

The Meiji era setting presents the conflict between the samurai ideals as represented by Kenshin and Hajime Saito, once of the Shinsengumi and now a police officer, and the oily and rapacious Kanryu for whom money is the only ideal.

I wasn’t sure what I thought of Takeru Satoh’s performance at first, but on second viewing I found it more interesting and effective. Kenshin Himura is a difficult role to play. He was a cold-blooded assassin who believed he was working on principle, but who came to regret his choice to use his superior fighting skills in such a manner. Ten years later, his mild mien initially seems deceptive but we see that Kenshin has genuinely changed by his behavior throughout the film.

Satoh chooses to keep Kenshin’s face a blank slate much of the time, forcing the viewer to read into it what she will. It was probably the safest way to play Kenshin, and overall I think it works.

Munetaka Aoki is letter-perfect as Sanosuke, the guy who lives to fight. His battle royale with Banjin Inui (Genki Sudo) down the hallway of Kanryu’s mansion and into the kitchen, breaking everything in sight, is a holy wonder to watch. ;) The action scenes are all excellent, with choreographed moves that are exciting to watch and look realistic.

The film would fail if there was no chemistry between Satoh and Takei as Kenshin and Kaoru. Fortunately, the two match well. Takei is a combination of strength and shyness, and Satoh’s attraction to her strong yet compassionate nature is very believable.

“Everyone has something in their past they wish to hide,” Kaoru says to Kenshin. By the end of the movie, the five former strangers have become a family of sorts: Kenshin, Kaoru, Yahiko, Sanosuke and Megumi.

Rurouni Kenshin has been green-lit for a sequel film. Whether you’re a Rurouni Kenshin fan, or have never read the manga or watched the anime, this movie is a great introduction to one of Japan’s most famous stories.