Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning is the 5th and final film, despite its name, in the franchise. It is a prequel focusing on Kenshin’s past as the assassin Hitokiri Battōsai during the final years of the Bakumatsu. The premise “Before he was a protector, Kenshin was a fearsome assassin known as Battosai. But when he meets the gentle Tomoe Yukishiro, his story begins to change”. So is this a wonderful final outing or a story not worth watching?
Firstly, a lot of what makes Rurouni Kenshin great is still here. The actors are all phenomenal including the new cast in this entry, the set design is as authentic as ever, the costumes are all great, the score by Naoki Satō who returns from previous films is still wonderful, the cinematography by Takuro Ishizaka is still as gorgeous as ever, the story is still really engaging even if it is slightly predictable. I’m not going to rinse and repeat my reviews from previous entries in the franchise, but they are all still here and still as excellent as ever.
What
this entry does differently is that it is a prequel and explores the
more violent Himura Kenshin. This is interwoven into the action scenes
as we see him move more coldly and the people are killed with a lot of
gore and brutality. There is little to no wire works or superhuman
abilities which makes it feels very gritty and real compared to the
previous entries over the top style of fighting. The biggest new
addition that this entry adds is Tomoe Yukishiro played by Kasumi
Arimura. She and Kenshin’s relationship is the heart of this film. Since
it is a prequel we know it is going to be a tragic story and the
director, Keishi Otomo, knows this too and doesn’t try to hide the
suspicious nature of Tomoe. He uses this to mess with us by making us
root for both Kenshin and Tomoe even though we know it isn’t going to
end well. They are both broken people but their growing relationship is
so endearing yet melancholy at the same time.
However, a fair amount of people will probably be disappointed by the lack of action scenes in The Beginning. There is not a lot and the action scenes in the last act are mildly underwhelming in terms of impact. The pacing is also quite slow with a lot of points throughout the movie being a lot of just downtime and melodrama. I was mostly fine with the lack of action and melodrama but I can certainly understand if a person would be disappointed with these. My biggest issue and nitpick has got to be with this being the final entry in the franchise. It’s a good film but it is certainly not a satisfying way to end the Rurouni Kenshin movie experience, especially considering it is just a prequel. Additionally, a lot of this movie makes the 4th entry, Rurouni Kenshin: The Final, more meaningful.
Overall, Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning is a great film and a unique entry into the franchise. It’s a lot more grounded and gritty while being more focused on the drama and relationship of the characters. It was an enjoyable experience, but not a great final outing. I recommend that people watch this as the “4th entry” so after Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends and before Rurouni Kenshin: The Final. It leads to a more satisfying experience in my opinion.
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