In the mid to late 1990s place
around the world with access to anime would be introduced to a groundbreaking
new series, “Rurouni Kenshin.” Based on the manga by Nobuhiro Watsuki, this
historical drama set in early-Meiji Japan about a former assassin atoning for
his bloody past was a hit with audiences. Nearly two decades later, hype for
the story returned with the release of a live-action movie starring Takeru
Satoh, which was followed by two sequels. Through it all however, one segment
of the original manga has never been adequately adapted, until back-to-back films
for that were announced before the COVID pandemic hit. Now a trailer has come
out.
The Philippine Star reports that an official trailer for “Rurouni Kenshin:
The Final” was released online by Warner Bros. Pictures Japan. The long-awaited
fourth entry to the live-action films about Kenshin Himura aka Battousai will
be releasing in its home territory next month, some two months ahead of its
immediate follow-up. They were originally to premiere last year, but were moved
to 2021 for obvious reasons. These two movies will bring the vital “Jinchu”
manga arc to the big screen, with its spotlight on Kenshin’s past as the
assassin Battousai and the introduction of his most powerful and personal
adversary.
Since coming up on Wednesday, March
10, the “Rurouni Kenshin: The Final” trailer has escalated excitement for the
classic franchise to levels unheard of. It shows master swordsman Kenshin (Takeru
Satoh) confront the ghost of his past in Enishi Yukishiro (Mackenyu), brother
of the woman who was Battousai’s wife until her death at his hands. Driven by
hatred and insanity that gives him superhuman abilities, Enishi becomes a
Chinese mob boss with plans to commit Jinchu, or “human punishment” on Kenshin
by attacking his allies, friends and loved one Kaoru Kamiya (Emi Takei), and
then destroying Japan to literally make the former Battousai’s world hell.
Nearly all of the principal cast
from the 2012-14 film trilogy return for what are most likely the last
installments of this runaway hit movie series, which has been one of Japan’s
most recognizable exported franchises. Also coming back is Japanese rock band
One Ok Rock, which has provided the theme songs for all live-action “Rurouni
Kenshin” movies so far. For “The Final” they are contributing “Renegades,” a
portion of which can be heard during the trailer. “Rurouni Kenshin” was a
blockbuster in the Philippines, primarily shown on SM Cinemas. The cast have
even visited the country to promote the first two sequels in 2014.
“Rurouni Kenshin: The Final”
premieres in Japan on April 23, with hopefully an international release to
follow somehow. Its follow-up, “Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning,” will come out
on June 4. Nobuhiro Watsuki has actually done a direct continuation to his original
manga, “Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc,” which began in 2017 and still runs
today.
Image from Tokyo Otaku Mode
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