After a long hiatus from the blogging world, I have returned and am posting, yes, an RK movie review. Enjoy ;P
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At this point in time I have not read any spoiler nor reviews of Rurouni Kenshin Kyoto Taika Hen as I have been diligently avoiding Tumblr for the very reason that I won’t be tempted to read anything about it. :D Currently writing this at 3 o clock in the morning…. Can’t sleep until I put my thoughts into writing. ;-P
In a nut shell, I liked the Sequel. I didn’t love it, I just liked it. Hold thy horses, let me explain. Maybe it’s because like any hardcore purist and lover of canon, I was nitpicking every nuance and heavily comparing it to the manga and the first movie while I was watching it. For those who haven’t seen it, there were radical changes to the storyline and even REACTIONS of characters to certain situations. Be warned that if you are one who is not receptive to adaptations and want it as it is in the manga AND anime, don’t bother watching it. I for one tried to keep an open mind, and remembered after watching as I mulled over things that Nobuhiro Watsuki did say that he appreciates different takes and perspectives and any alternate universe of his masterpiece as long as it is faithful to the heart of the story. Which is what team Otomo has done on their artistic interpretation of the Kyoto Arc, as a continuation to the retelling of Ruruoni Kenshin the movie.
SPOILER ALERT. DO NOT GO BEYOND THIS PART IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED BOTH MOVIES. DANGER DANGER DANGER. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. THERE WILL BE A LOT OF CAPITALIZED WORDS AND EXCLAMATIONS POINTS.
So here are my spoilers….. I will tackle the “bad news” before going in depth with my good reviews as I myself like hearing the bad before the good….. So I feel better afterwards even when I hear negative stuff. Hehe. These are just my opinion and I am open to friendly debate but no rabid fan reactions, please.
There were some lag scenes throughout the movie… Scenes that could’ve been forgone or shortened so as not to make some parts dragging. One was the opening sequence where Saito and his men attacked Shishio’s forces, another was when Kenshin was with Arai Shakku’s son, and when Kenshin went to meet Saitou and the other police/officials during night time in Kyoto.
Second on my list of rants is one I couldn’t stop complaining about —- The Attack of the Clones Scene. @_@; When those Shsishio decoys showed up all I could say was, “What da hell?! Was that even necessary?” If I was Kenshin, this would be the time I would be Oro-ing my heart out. *upward rolling of eyeballs ala seizure mode*
Another one is Yahiko. Unfortunately, they’re not able to get a Yahiko as good or better than the original cast…. He didn’t have the smart-ass attitude and arrogant confidence Tanaka Taketo had.
Next is one that’s super irritating —- Kaoru was wielding a long stick instead of the regular bokken. I really do not understand why they had to change it. Come on, wouldn’t it be more difficult to handle that than a bokken???? It made Kaoru look clumsy and inexperienced. Why does she have to look weak beside everyone? So that Kenshin will be worried for her?? Regardless of how strong she is, he will ALWAYS be worried for her…. That’s what I would like to see translated on screen because that’s what’s faithful to the manga.
Lastly, I was left wanting with Kenshin’s fight scenes. They were not shot as fluidly, dramatic and as amazing as I was expecting they would be. I liked his fight with Cho the most, but even then it wasn’t as awe-inspiring as the fight scenes from the first :,( I’m hoping against hope they’re just tempering and will give all they’ve got on the next movie since it will have Kenshin’s more major fights - with Aoshi, Soujirou, and Shishio.
Now that I’m over my ranting (I have more but most are trivial —- I will intersperse these rants with my good news probably), I’ll be raving in all it’s glory. 😊
I will of course start with the most climactic and most important scene of the whole movie (for me anyway)…. The May 14 goodbye scene.
Can I just say that without that one line from Kaoru-dono (“stay with us! laugh with us!”) that scene was utter perfection at its best??? (Super superlatives ^_^;) I was so scared that it will change the essence and feeling of that part with Kaoru NOT CRYING AND NOT CALLING OUT HIS NAME but no, IT DID NOT CHANGE THE FACT THAT I WAS BAWLING MY EYES OUT THE MINUTE THIS SCENE STARTED. I was stopping myself from sniffling and sobbing (at humikbi ng humikbi) because people might think there’s a crazy woman crying inside the theater. :-P One just has to look at Takeru Sato’s face and you know this was tearing him apart to say goodbye, EVEN WHEN HE WAS SMILING THROUGHOUT HIS GOODBYE SPEECH. Even now I cry when I remember this scene ( and with Against All Odds in the background, oh gawd). You can see how much Sato Takeru understands and loves this scene. I am so in love with him right now for doing it so heartbreakingly as Kenshin….
(I was already tearing up when they left the theater because Kenshin looked so happy and content then and yes, knowing that he was going to leave this happy place and be all miserable, the scene felt happy and melancholy at the same time.)
I was not so moved with Kaoru’s reaction at first…. And was actually pissed I didn’t get my dose of angst from her crying, and that there was no cat fight between the kitsune and the tanuki. But Otomo made up for it when Kaoru was crying ONLY when she finally saw Kenshin again and that he did not kill Cho. I was again crying during that part, seriously. It wasn’t supposed to be a cryfest scene but it showed that Kaoru was so worried about Kenshin killing and breaking his vow that she cried in relief that he didn’t, even when he already meant to. I guess Otomo didn’t want it to be an overly dramatic scene (FFF scene), so Kaoru’s reaction had to be diluted/toned down and spread throughout the first half of the film. The Cho fight easily became one of my most favorite scenes because if it weren’t for it, the May 14 would have been included on my rants. It wrapped up The May 14 part so sufficiently… I’m forever happy. :,D I have always said I don’t care if there are no fireflies (since that’s just in the Anime), that it’s morning, etc etc as long as they do it perfectly and they did.
I can go on and on about that scene, but this is getting too long and we don’t have the whole year for it. ^_^
Next fave are the characters I WASN’T expecting to like but did. One is Aoshi. Amazing, amazing, amazing. I swear, I look forward to seeing him onscreen every time. He WAS Aoshi!!!!! Super cool, not a smile on his face, straight to the point, anger simmering on the surface but not full blown, the ice man. Luv luv luv his portrayal. And his clothes are crazy cool…. You can tell Otomo likes Aoshi and his storyline a lot… Meticulously done and even his fight scenes were superb. Okina and his fight was what I wish to see more - raw, with masterful techniques clashing against each other, and dramatic, chair-gripping. :D That Aoshi-Okina-Misao face off was really beautifully done…. Except for what Aoshi said in the end. Why couldn’t they just stick to Aoshi’s line in the manga??? I don’t know if the translation was off or done incorrectly but saying “If we meet again, I will kill you” sounds better, and is more stirring than “I’m not the Aoshi you once knew.” :-P
I also love Cho! Minus the Naruto-styled hair, he was perfect as Cho. He was crazy, brash, and just all around maniacal… Luv it. Especially his facial expressions. Haha, the best. Sadly, no broom head-rooster head interaction… It would’ve been hilarious., with Aoki so uproariously funny as Sanosuke. :D I can forgive not having the Hakujin no Tachi, it would have been stretching the reality too thin and they would have to spend too much time with CGI. They also captured Kenshin’s hesitation to kill so perfectly and Cho made it all possible.
Another fave is, yes, Hoji. You might ask, why?? Because he was so funny as Hoji….I was laughing out loud every time he had his screen time because he was so good as Hoji. He really embodied Hoji’s crazy fanaticism….. And it would be difficult to act like that without bordering into looking stupid and irritating. Thank you Takito Kenichi for giving this character justice.
I liked Shishio’s voice and kudos to Fujiwara Tatsuya for acting as well as he could, with all those bandages covering his expression, it’s hard to see how menacing Shishio could be. I just miss the Shishio that smiles so maliciously while being so arrogant…. It must have been hard to do that in the movie.
I have more comments for the other movie parts…. But nothing too important to cover for this review. Overall, I would give the Kyoto Taika Hen a 7/10. Great acting from the cast, the storyline could have been better, but overall it was a good watch. And this rating might change after I see it for the 5th to 10th time. Hehe. Hopefully for the better. I hope they release a DVD soon with proper translations of subtitles too. :)
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