Armed with lethal sword fighting skills and an equally deadly smile, Rurouni Kenshin is set to return to the cinemas on 23rd April in Rurouni Kenshin: The Final, the fourth movie of the series. Before the movie premiers here is a quick guide to all you need to know about Rurouni Kenshin.
Rurouni Kenshin or Himura Kenshin, is the main protagonist of a popular 90’s manga Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story by mangaka Nobuhiro Watsuki. The manga follows the adventures of the infamous samurai assassin and warrior, Himura Kenshin, widely known as Hitokiri Battousai (sword-drawing manslayer). Kenshin leaves his sword and his bloodstained existence at the end of the final battle of Bakumatsu and takes a vow of not killing anymore. He becomes a ‘Rurouni’, wandering samurai, carrying only a Sakabatō (Reverse-Blade Sword), helping people as best he can to atone for his past.
Manga:
The manga has a total of 28 volumes published from April 1994- September 1999 in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. The Manga had three major arcs. The Tokyo Arc, which is comprised of 6 mini-arcs, serves as an introduction to the characters. Kenshin meets his new friends and manga illustrates their daily lives and adventures. Next was the Kyōto Arc followed by the Jinchū Arc in which Kenshin faces strong antagonists linked to his past as Hitokiri Battousai.
In 2012 'Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration' was published which was a remake of the original manga 'Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story' by Nobuhiro Watsuki. It was done to promote the movie Rurouni Kenshin: Origins.
'Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc (2017)' is a sequel to Rurouni Kenshin, also written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki, being published in Jump Square and weekly Shonen Jump with 5 volumes out so far.
With more than 72 million copies in circulation, Rurouni Kenshin manga is one the best-selling manga series to date.
Anime:
Rurouni Kenshin anime, also known as Samurai X, began airing in Japan from January 10, 1996, and ended on September 8, 1998. It was later aired on cartoon network in 2003 in Toonami block.
The anime has 95 episodes and three seasons. The anime was unfortunately canceled in season 3 as it caught up to the manga and filler episodes were not able to keep up the interest of the audience.
There are also two OVAs ( original video animation) of Rurouni Kenshin anime. Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal was released in 1999 and had four episodes, which were combined to make a 2 hour animated movie in 2003. The OVA tells the story of Kenshin as the assassin, Hitokiri Battōsai, during the final years of Bakumatsu.
The second OVA is Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection. It has two episodes, released on December 19, 2001, and March 20, 2002, in Japan. The story is from point of view of Karou, Kenshin's love interest, following Kenshin’s attempt at atonement of his past sins.
Live-action adaptation:
In 2011 it was announced that Rounoui Kenshin will get a Live-action adaptation. Produced under the banner of Warner Bros. Japan, the films are directed by Keishi Ohtomo (Museum, Million Dollar Man, The Vulture). The films feature Takeru Satoh as Himura Kenshin, Emi Takei as Kaoru Kamiya, Yu Aoi as Megumi Takani, Munetaka Aoki as Sanosuke Sagara, and Yosuke Eguchi as Hajime Saito as the recurring cast.
The Live-action adaptation movies of Rurouni Kenshin are often hailed as one of the, if not the best anime live-action adaptation movies. The movies stay true to the source material. The casting is perfection, the music is outstanding and the fight sequences are just heavenly!
The fight choreography of these movies are highly praised by critics and regular film fans alike, all over the world. The fight scenes rarely use CGI and wire work is kept at minimum giving us the feel of real action. Also, Takeru Satoh does not use a stunt double. The fights are fast with neat movements and are beautifully captured ( A huge huge shout out to the action director Kenji Tanigaki).
The Rounoui Kenshin movie franchise includes the following movies:
Rurouni Kenshin: Origins (2012)
Rurouni Kenshin: Origins is the first film of the series. Other than the aforementioned main cast, this movie also features the acting talents of Koji Kikkawa, Eiji Okuda, and Teruyuki Kagawa.
10- years after the events of Bakumatsu, someone is using Himaru Kenshin's former title ‘Hitokiri Battousai’ to kill and terrorize the people. When people close to Kenshin are threatened, can he protect them without breaking his oath of not taking a life? The movie adapts the first arc of the Manga, the Tokyo arc.
The film was theatrically released on August 25, 2012, in Japan and was distributed in 60 countries. Made with a budget of $20 million, the film did a business of $62.5 million. It was also Japan's eleventh highest-grossing film of 2012.
Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno (2014)
Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno, was the first sequel to Rurouni Kenshin: Origins. The film has all of the main cast reprising their former roles. New additions to the cast include Yusuke Iseya as Aoshi Shinomori, Tao Tsuchiya as Misao Makimachi, and Tatsuya Fujiwara as Makoto Shishio. Over 5000 extras were hired for the film.
The newly formed Meiji government is facing a threat from Makoto Shishio, the successor of Himura Kenshin as Hitokiri Battousai. Hajime Saito implores Kenshin to help the government fight this threat to the new era he had sacrificed so much to create. Kenshin agrees, with reluctance, despite objections from Kaoru. To protect the new era Himura Kenshin takes up the sword that he vowed to never draw again. This film adapts the Kayoto arc of the manga, continued in the next film Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends.
The film, released on August 01, 2014, in Japan, became the top movie at the box office upon its release and held the spot for a week. It was also the third highest-grossing film of 2014 at the Japanese box office. The film did a business of $52.9 million worldwide.
Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends (2014)
Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends is the third film of the series; it has most of the same cast as Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno as this film is the continuation of the same story.
After their first encounter with Makoto Shishio, Kenshin is convinced he needs to learn the final technique of Hiten Mitsurugi school, the Amakakeru Ryu no Hiramek to defeat Shishio. Will Kenshin and his comrades be able to defeat Makoto Shishi and at what price? Will this be the end of the legendary of Hitokiri Battousai? (Well clearly not since we have two new films of the series coming up. Still it gets pretty close!)
The film debuted at the Japanese box office in second place and went on to attain the first spot during its fourth week and held it for four consecutive weeks. It was the fourth highest-grossing film of the year 2014, preceded by its predecessor Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno. The film did a business of $44 million worldwide
Rurouni Kenshin: The Final (2021) and Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning (2021)
The final two installments of the movie series Rurouni Kenshin: The Final and Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning were originally set to be released in July 2020 and August 2020, respectively. However as the world came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the release of these movies were delayed as well. Now, "Rurouni Kenshin: The Final" will screen on April 23, 2021, and "Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning" will premiere on June 4, 2021.
The movies have the main cast reprising their roles as well as Mackenyu Arata playing the lead villain Yukishiro Enishi in Rurouni Kenshin: The Final. Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning cast includes the addition of Kasumi Arimura as Yukishiro Tomoe, Nijirō Murakami as Okita Sōji, and Kazuki Kitamura as Tatsumi.
The movies follow the Rurouni Kenshin: Junchuhen, the third and final arc of the Rurouni Kenshin manga. Rurouni Kenshin: The Final will follow the story of Himura Kenshin meeting Enishi who is bent on revenge against Kenshin for killing his sister. Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning will tell the origin story of Kenshin’s X-shaped scar on the cheek.
The official theme song, Renegades" for 'Rurouni Kenshin: The Final is song co-written by Ed Sheeran and ONE OK ROCK.
So are you excited for the new upcoming Rurouni Kenshin: The Final? Fans have a lot of expectations from the long awaited sequel and from the looks of the trailer it's a good bet that Rurouni Kenshin: The Final will not disappoint us. Fingers Crossed! Oro?