great film, stuff I didn't realise on 1st viewing
Stuff deduced which I did not fully comprehend/register on 1st viewing and made 2nd viewing more complete:
Ryunosuke is only a student at the beginning (his father's student, having been expelled from the prestigious Ittoryu school) and his first killing on screen is possibly his first ever killing.
Ryunosuke killed Bunnojo with one move with a wooden jousting stick, not a sword. Pretty rare feat I assume!
Ryunosuke then defeats every one of the attackers revenging Bunnojo's death. Again, a pretty outrageous feat for a student to kill so many prestigious students just outside their school.
Shichibei is much more than a petty thief - he might be something like a (working class) ninja version of Lupin or Raffles - only breaking into the most difficult of homes. Also, I liked the way Shichibei promises Omatsu he will visit her 'regularly' when she goes to work for Lord Kamio. Regular break-ins I assume.
Edo is the Shogunate's capital, Kyoto the Imperial loyalists' capital.
Shinchogumi and Shinsengumi are the Shogunate's private goon squads.
Shimada Toranosuke's slaughter of every single Shinchogumi assassin (except Ryunosuke) is phenomenal, even for a master (hence the effect on Ryunosuke).
& one thing I haven't understood yet - what was Shimada Toranosuke doing there? Obviously the Shinchogumi were misinformed, but I'm interested to know if there's more to it than that.
A truly great film and looking forward to any comments or corrections.