Rurôni Kenshin: Meiji kenkaku roman tan: Tsuioku hen (1999) (V)

Director:

Kazuhiro Furuhashi

Writers:

L.B. Bartholomee (american version)
Masashi Sogo (screenplay)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Drama | Horror | Romance | War

Plot:

In the era of Japan's Meiji Restoration, an assassin regains his humanity.

Plot Keywords:

Tragic Ending | Anime | Assassin | Katana Sword | Revolution

Cast

Mayo Suzukaze	...	Kenshin Himura
Junko Iwao	...	Tomoe Yukishiro
Nozomu Sasaki	...	Enishi Yukishiro
Masami Suzuki	...	Shinta
Shûichi Ikeda	...	Seijûrô Hiko
Tomokazu Seki	...	Kogorô Katsura
Wataru Takagi	...	Shinsaku Takasugi
Ryûsei Nakao	...	Îzuka
Hirotaka Suzuoki	...	Hajime Saitô
Yôko Ogai	...	Sôshi Okita (as Akari Hibino)
Minoru Uchida	...	Tatsumi
Tetsuya Iwanaga	...	Akira Kiyosato
Satoshi Tsuruoka	...	Jubei Shigekûra
Mitsuaki Hoshino	...	Katagai
Hiromi Setsu	...	Ikumatsu

Also Known As:

Rurôni Kenshin (Japan) (short title)
Rurôni Kenshin: Reminicense (USA) (second part title)
Rurôni Kenshin: Romantic Tales from the Meiji Era (USA) (first part title)
Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal (USA) (director's cut)
Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal (International: English title) (director's cut)

Runtime:

USA:120 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Singapore:M18 | UK:15 | Australia:MA | Spain:13

Company:

SPE Visual Works

Trivia:

Among the events in this OAV is included a fictionalized version of what became known as the Ikeda-ya affair, when in June 1864 the Shinsengumi in Kyoto raided an inn, the Ikeda-ya, being used as a hideout by pro-Imperial fighters. The alleged plot was to destroy Kyoto through fire, hopefully destabilizing the Shogunate's grip on the people. In the end, the Shinsengumi broke up the ring, killing 8, wounding another 4, and arresting 20. This made them national heroes in the eyes of the Tokugawa bakufu.

Quotes:

Shisengumi Warrior: [referring to Kenshin] That's the one! He's the assassain!
Kenshin: [to Tomoe] You must leave this place, quickly.
Tomoe: [holds Kenshin's hand] I am your sheath. I am destinted to stand with you, no matter what.
Kenshin: You will die...
Tomoe: ...by your side.

Movie Connections:

References Mononoke-hime (1997)

An investment

I'm not easily impressed by a movie. Even worse with an animated one. But this one got me drooling. I picked this one up by recommendation, and I'll recommend it to anyone from now on. I was familiar with the story of the TV series, but that didn't excite me in the least. But at least I knew what I was looking at (and I suggest that people considering to watch this should familiarize themselves with the TV series first).

Although the violence is very graphic and the dialog can be a bit of a drag if you lose track, everything else perfectly makes up for it. The animation is fluid, the art is beautiful, the pacing is impeccable and the soundtrack is gorgeous. Now combine all these elements in a single concluding scene, and you've got at least half of its viewers reduced to tears.

This movie is very re-watchable. I've seen it at least 6 times already, and I'm eager to watch it again. Like most people advice; you should avoid the dub like the plague, but even the subs can be a bit misleading. I've had the pleasure to have seen 3 different subtitles on this movie, and the degree of accuracy of any of them is debatable. Although the plot doesn't suffer from this, the story and especially the details and references to factual Japanese history do.

But this shouldn't stop you from watching this movie, instead, it should encourage you to set out and find out as much about this movie as you can.