Rurouni Kenshin: The Final
Genre: Action, Drama, Adventure
During the Boshin War in Japan, people gathered under the Meiji Emperor to topple the Shogun rule, inorder to tear down a system built upon corruption and discrimination, which was in effect for over 500 years. In this civil war the Meiji government employed assassins. One of them was Himura Kenshin, a young swordsman with unparalleled skills and an idealistic outlook. He believed in the abolishment of the caste system, where the samurai were the apex of authority, second only to nobility. That and his wish to fight for the good of the people made him take the side of the Meiji Emperor. During his years-long career as an assassin, he earned himself the nickname of “The Manslayer.” Everytime he killed someone, regret and remorse filled his heart. Finally, during the battle of Toba-Fushimi, when the Meiji Emperor won and a period of restoration started, Kenshin buried his blood soaked sword and walked away. Vowing to never kill again.
Rurouni Kenshin takes place after these events, where Kenshin(Takeru Satoh) has become a wanderer in-order to repent for the crimes he had committed. Rurouni Kenshin: The Final is the fourth movie in this insanely successful live action adaptation of the manga(going by the same name) and takes the daunting task to cover the final arc. It’s watchable on its own as an action movie, but the experience is much better if you binge the previous 3. They are very well made.
The fourth installment picks a few days after the third one. Shishio Makoto is defeated, Tokyo is saved and our group is enjoying lunch at a restaurant. That’s when someone attacks and tries to destroy this peace to make Kenshin suffer for what he has done. That someone is Enishi Yukishiro, energetically played by Mackenyu.
During his Manslayer days, Kenshin killed an official who was supposed to be married. His woman, Tomoe, decides to take revenge and tries to get close to her husband’s killer. Upon seeing how tormented he was by this “responsibility,” to kill for a better future, she slowly falls in love with him instead. In their last days together, Tomoe’s brother, Enishi Yukishiro see’s his sister die, and blames Kenshin for it. He vows to ruin his life. As he states repeatedly in the film, he’s not there to kill him, but to make him suffer.
Most of Rurouni Kenshin’s antagonists come from titular character’s past, but they don’t come for him directly. They stand against the era he has helped create. Kenshin usually finds himself in between this conflict, and confronts them. Enishi Yukishiro’s story is more personal though. Here the plan doesn’t happen around Kenshin, here he is directly challenged. However this confrontation only works because of our connection to the backstory where Kenshin transforms from a manslayer to a human. Where we spend time with Tomoe, Kenshin and Enishi. When you take that away, the stakes during their final battle and the psychological deconstruction of Kenshin before; it doesn’t feel right or carry the same weight it could have had if the emotional core of this arc was given more time to develop.
That being said, these movies are exhilarating! While Enishi isn’t as skillful as Makoto Shishio, the previous villain or Seta Sojiro, Shishio’s top henchmen— somehow their sword fight is on par or even better in certain sequences. Part of the reason is how the director(Keishi Otomo) and cinematographer(Takuro Ishizaka), have refrained from using quick cuts and fast camera movements as much, which makes these extremely fast and dynamic fights comprehensible. Using long shots for action doesn’t take away from the momentum of the fight tho. It is really well balanced in my opinion. Kenji Tanigaki, the choreographer, has created action set pieces with destructible sets that better translate characters strength too. Especially in the second act. There are multiple instances where Kenshin slashes a guy and he crashes through a wooden construct, destroying it.
Shots with high contrast, some fun colour grading to show where our characters stand or their emotional state help keep things fresh after 3 movies. One technical criticism which I would like to point out specifically is the lack of use of the soundtrack, Hiten by Naoki Sato, which has become synonymous with these adaptations. I hope they bring it back.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I went into this one, hoping they’d adapt the tragic story of Tomoe and Kenshin before the final arc in the fifth one. Seeing how that was religated to just ten minutes of screen time was shocking. It’s one of those stories which is very important in understanding the motivations of different character’s in this film. Cramming everything into a single movie not only takes away from the gravity of this situation but also the time which could have been devoted to flesh out some of our side characters, like Yahiko, Sendo(which are just there, doing their thing), Kaorou or even Enishi. He is one note and the strong emotions he feels, I think, aren’t portrayed very well on screen. No matter how well acted his scenes are, there isn’t enough material here for him to shine.
I do not understand why this bizzare decision was made though; as previous parts are written very carefully. They are able to capture the essence of the story despite watering down the series for a theatrical runtime. Since they will be adapting the flashback in the fifth movie, they clearly understand its importance. Perhaps, after the last film in this series is released sometime this year, we will be able to appreciate this one more. Currently, it is the weakest for me but a great watch nonetheless! It’s high octane action and your connection to the cast from previous installmentss will carry your experience.
Anyone interested in the flashback I keep mentioning, they can watch a 4 episode animated special called Trust and Betrayal.
