Customer Reviews

Samurai X - The Motion Picture (Rurouni Kenshin)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

To get it out of the way first, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie--I am huge fan of the Rurouni Kenshin series, and the movie, while not quite as good as the series' best parts, succeeded in giving me more of the same stuff I love so much (as long as you don't watch the horrific English dub--even compared to the series' English dub it's horrible).

Now on to the important part--the confusion that has been steeped upon this release. Here's what everyone should know, but seems to ignore (at least in reviews): "Samurai X" is the American title used to replace the Japanese title, "Rurouni Kenshin," when this movie and the OVA's were released by ADV. The original series (it came first, only after the comic) is being released under its original title by Anime Works. The Kenshin OVA's (under the American titles "Samurai X: Trust" and "Samurai X: Betrayal") were made later as a prequel to the series, chronicling the early days of Battousai the Manslayer/Hitokiri. By the time the series begins, 10 years later, the main character Kenshin has given up his past role of Battousai in order to somehow make up for his evils, so he lives as a wandering swordsman (note: not a samurai by any means, ever!) who refuses to kill. The Rurouni Kenshin movie takes place around the time of the series--as in, the same supporting cast appears, and Kenshin is currently a wanderer. Not only does the movie's story occur within the context of the series, but stylistically it fits as well.

Comparing the RK movie to the OVA series, in terms of story or style, is useless. They are two completely different works based on the same series, one made to portray the dark and violent aspects of Kenshin's early life, and the other meant to act as a direct companion to the material in the series. One reviewer relates the series and OVA's as being two seperate universes, and the movie an amalgamation of the two. Well, that is just flat-out wrong. All three works have been created along a timeline in terms of story, and in the case of style, have been created to reflect the period of Kenshin's that is being chronicled. The only reason the name "Samurai X" was given to the OVA's and movie was to make them look "cooler" for an American audience by Sony & ADV after they acquired the rights. The American name says nothing about the contents.

The timing of this film is after the 'Samurai X' OVA's. The year is 1879, sometime during the progress of the 'Rurouni Kenshin' television series. The bloody overthrow of the Tokugawa Shogunate has been followed by the Meiji restoration, but all is not well. Samurai led by Takimi Shigure regret the passing of the old days and plan to start a counter-revolution. Himura Kenshin, one of the samurai who fought to overthrow the Shogunate, finds himself forced by destiny to oppose Shigure. In the past, a mistake by Shigure left his closest friend, Takatsuki Gentatsu without sufficient resources for a raid. Unknown to Shigure, Kenshin is the samurai who killed Gentatsu. Both men were deeply affected by this, at the restoration of the Meiji, Shigure was sworn to vengeance. And Kenshin had his sword blade reversed, determined never to kill with his sword again.

Now, in Yokohama, Shigure plots the death of the British Governor. When Kenshin helps protect Takatsuki Toki (Gentatsu's sister) Shigure befriends Kenshin and eventually asks him to take care of Toki if something should happen to him. In the meantime, forces in the government intend to use Shigure as a means for achieving their own ends, creating a multi-layered scenario of betrayals that will culminate in the final battle between the two honorable opponents.

Despite (or perhaps because of) the highly romanticized depiction of samurai behavior and swordmanship, this becomes a dramatically engaging story instead of a simple tale of blood and swashbuckling. Kenshin's youthful appearance and the antics of his friends keep the film from being overwhelmingly tragic. Thus it is a well-balanced plot with many subtexts to add to its richness.

Artistically, the film is first-class. The battle scenes are cleanly detailed, and the choreography of the sword fights is beautifully done, if a bit fantastical. The scenes have a fluid grace that will cause the viewer to stop action often, just to admire the illustration. This film, and the related tales of Rurouni Kenshin set a new standard for Samurai based anime, that is rarely equaled. Watching the OVA series before seeing the movie version will provide the viewer with useful background information, but the film stands quite well on its own, making it a fitting introduction to this popular and long-running series.

Let me start first by saying that RK is currently my favorite Anime - I think the Trust/Betrayal set and the entire TV series so far are FANTASTIC and worth 5+ stars. Unfortunately, Samurai X - The Motion Picture is neither "here nor there".

The Trust/Betrayal series takes a little getting used to (because it's different from the TV series), but the pair is a masterpiece - the quality of the Anime, the music, and most of all, the storyline, are all first rate. At first, when I saw the cross scar on Kenshin, I thought the Anime may be somewhat cheesy, but the Trust/Betrayal series totally dispelled that idea...

The TV series from Media Blasters isn't as deep or dark as the pair, but the storylines are tight, the action fast, and there's a great mix of lighthearted situations along with deeper tales - you'll care about the bad guys as much as the good!

Now, we get the Samurai X - TMP. The animation is in the style of the TV series, but it's as long as a movie. The story is flabby and doesn't get anywhere until the second half (not as well written as the TV series) and the animation quality tries to be more than the TV series, but doesn't quite do it. If you are an RK fan, there's nothing I can write here to convince you of anything, but I would just suggest that you RENT this one first.

So far, I have purchased ALL the RK DVDs and I intend to purchase the entire TV series on DVD. The one exception is this one - I've cancelled my order after having rented it. It truly deserves 3.5 stars - suggestion: rent it first, before you buy.

Reading the previous reviews, I've decided to speak up. I love Rurouni Kenshin. It's my second favorite Anime out of all the Anime's I've seen. (I've see quite a lot) However, in the release of this wonderful story, there are a few mishaps that have caused general confusion. First of all, ADV, who released the OAV's went and released the Movie...without letting people know that the movie was based on the character personalitys of the origional seres. (released by Anime Works) The movie takes place somewhere in the storyline after the Kyoto arc of the TV series, which is quite a few years after the OAV's which took place at the end of the bakumatsu. (The revolution Japan underwent before the Meiji era began.) In the OAV (Trust/Betrayal released by ADV) Kenshin was a ruthless murderer. In the TV series he's become a Rurouni (wanderer) who only fights to maintain peace and refuses to kill. This is the Kenshin we see in this movie.

I don't find it very fare to call this Samurai X the movie, cause when you think of Samurai X, your first thought is the 4 part OVA series. This isn't it. This is the movie based on 98 episode TV series Anime Works is currently producing. That doesn't mean you shouldn't see this film however. Just make sure you see Rurouni Kenshin from Anime Works first before you see the movie.

I'm a HUGE fan of Rurouni Kenshin, and this my favorite movie. After watching the TV series and OVAs, I needed some more Kenshin, and I bought this movie, and it was excellent. The animation is superb, the soundtrack (which I'm listening to as I write this) is a masterpiece and the story is very good (altough it has some flaws...). We all know the characters, Kenshin, Kaoru, Sanosuke and Yahiko, and we are also introduced to Shigure Takimi and Takatsuki Toki. These two characters play a big roll on this movie, specially Shigure. There's politic involved in this story, and some good (but somewhat cliched) plot twists, with the usual greediness, betrayal and last-minute realizations that you were walking the wrong path. The fighting scenes are pretty cool, involving Kenshin, Saitou (something on this later), Sanosuke and Shigure. Near the ending, Kenshin does a new move, one never before seen thats pretty cool and I don't wanna spoil it. The chronological order is a little confusing if you want to put it "within" the series, but it is safe to watch after seeing the second season. What I mean is that, like some other reviewers have said, Kenshin after the second season has "suppressed" or "overcome" his hitokkiri nature, and in this movie he was "possesed" once again by his anger. Also Saitou...well...something happens to him on the ending of the Kyoto Arc, and he still appears here, so this has something that put it after the Kyoto Arc (knowing the Amakkakeru Ryu no Hirameki and Sano's Futae no Kiwami) and other things that put it before the Kyoto Arc (the appearance of Saitou and Kenshin's manslayer nature emerging), so we'll never know for sure. Still, this is a pretty good story, with a sad but satisfiying (to me at least) ending, pretty good animation and extremly cool fighting scenes. A must buy for Rurouni Kenshin fans and fans of anime in general.

ah samurai x, the blood the guts the.....HORRIBLE ENGLISH DUBBING!!!! seriously I dont know what ADV was smoking when they picked the voice actors for this movie....but it makes the english version unwatchable,watch in japaneese.
as the title of this review tells you this is a steaming turd compared to the ruroni kenshin show and manga and the samurai x ova...in fact the first half of the movie is downright bad,but after the people start to fight....then it gets good,the action is well animated, all the main characters from the show are present (hagime saito is the best by the way)

if you are a diehard ruroken fan then by all means get this,if not then there are better anime movies out there.

also I find it interesting that the amazon reviewer (charles solomon) liked this movie....he usually gives all the anime he touches bad reviews.....although to me it seems like a crime to give this a better review than last exile, I guess its a matter of opinion.

This is divided into two parts, the first part pertains to those who are Kenshin fans, the second part pertains to those who are not familiar with Kenshin.

Let me start by saying that if you are a Kenshin fan, you'll want to have this movie. It shows an aspect of Kenshin's character we rarely get to see- the results of his prior days as the manslayer. While in the t.v. series Kenshin suffers in a more generic, non-specific kind of way for his past sins, that is, he doesn't see the direct results of his actions, such as the suffering of the families of those he killed, in this movie he is slapped in the face with it. He learns of the suffering first hand, from the relatives of one he had previously slain in the name of justice. This is much the same as the first movies, Trust and Betrayal. The only thing I could complain about was the difference in the voices of the English dub of the series and the English dub of this movie. While most of the changes weren't distracting, the voice of Sanosuke was absolutely horrendous to the point of distracting me. Other than that, kudos to this film for being entertaining and giving a little further development into the Kenshin character.

For those who are not Kenshin fans, this movie might be confusing. It is chock full of history and characters that are prevalent throughout the series but are not exactly things you would hear or be able to relate to in every day life. The movie is rather violent if you are not used to Kenshin, but no more so than any of the other animes out there that contain violence. Again, I would suggest watching the series first, and then trying the movies out.

Finally,Kenshin remains true to the ideal of the series, trying to resolve differences, atone for his sins and make up for the hurt he has caused in the past, to the point where he is willing to die to even the score. Kenshin is a man who is gentle and full of compassion, but can also kick butt and protect those who need protecting. He rocks in the movies just like he rocks on the series.

I have seen this movie as well as the series and the OVA's about 8 times total and I still have yet to see what is wrong with this movie besides the fact that you need some knowledge of the series to understand it. The writers did a good job into not potraying the two opposing sides (kenshin and takimi) as either good or bad as we see that the main point was that although killing was necessary to create or defend a government during what is potrayed as the Dark Ages of Japan which was during the time of the Tokugawa Shogunate there is no such thing as a perfect government thereby making all that bloodshed very much pointless. The animation is a little better than the series and it is good for it's time. The music is by far the best with the exception of the intro song. The music provides a melancholy tone and makes the listener feel pitiful with the events that are going on. I do somewhat agree with some reviewers that the plot is predictiable but this movie is supposed to reinforce the fact the eventhough kenshin has seen the light and is bound by his will to keep the promise he made after killing another man slayer named Gentatsu who's death haunt's Takimi constantly and is portrayed as such in the movie by a constant flashback of that moment. For the reviewer who did not see the artistic side of the fact that the same scene was repeated over and over you need to understand that if you were to see a loved one die in front of you while you could not do anything about it you will have the same exact harsh memory in your head it's part of the human mentality. Since I am cutting it close to 1,000 words I will just say that the movie is Worth buying if you are mature enough to understand the plot.

First thing that came to my mind when I first watched the movie was: It's the TV series! I thought the motion picture was going to take place when Kenshin becomes a wanderer, but it doesn't. In fact, the viewer should only watch this movie after the OVAs and the TV series. I have watched the first two seasons thus far and the series gets better and better each time I watch it. The motion picture's animation is similar to the TV series and the character designs are still as extensive. I personally didn't enjoy the opening song but the end credits song is pretty good. You really become concerned about the characters in the movie which is a sign that the direction of the character development is excellent. This motion picture explains further about Yahiko's father's clan which I like a lot because even in the TV series, the young samurai's life has never really been explored. In all, I highly recommend this motion picture to anyone who loves the story and character development in Rurouni Kenshin TV series and in the Samurai X OVAs.