MovieChat Forums > Rurôni Kenshin: Meiji kenkaku roman tan (2012) Discussion > Great adaptation, like it or not.

Great adaptation, like it or not.

posted 11 years ago by bw-patterson
50 replies | jump to latest

After watching this finally I have to say that I'm very impressed with the film. I know a lot of fans of the series will complain about some characters and storylines not present in this film but I have to say, get over it. Here are a few points I'd like to make about it so the fanboys don't blow up about how it's not "true" to the manga/anime.

First off, the movie does an incredible job with bringing the characters to life. I thought the cast was very good. My only complaint would be that Kenshin is supposed to have blue eyes as that is one of his indistinguishable features. The casting was done very well and the actors do a terrific job.

This is the Tokyo arc pretty much. There are some characters missing from the movie that were in the manga but I honestly don't mind that they're not present in the film because they are not the main characters. There is a lot of talk about the oniwabanshu missing, but it's not the end of the world. Sure they were cool in the series, but they are really only minor characters. Kanryu is essential in the fact that it is his actions that bring about Kenshin ultimately realizing how to protect life without killing. The arguement about the oniwabanshu is a moot point because they are nothing more than hired henchmen in the first place.

That being said, let's focus on the real subject. This film is excellent. The cinematography is excellent. The swordplay and stunt work is well above average. Watching this film I truly get the sense of Kenshin's inner turmoil with killing and his sense of remorse. I also get the sense that Kaoru is more to him than a friend. The way the relationship is played out between Kenshin and Kaoru stays very true to the manga/anime and nobody can deny that.

My only complaint other than Kenshin not having blue eyes is I so wanted Yahiko to say "busu" but it never happened. That doesn't detract from the film at all and it's really my own inner fanboy wanting it.

The bottom line is this. If I had no knowledge of the manga/anime I would still like this film. I hope that it is given a theatrical realease in the U.S. and left in it's original format with english subtitles. If it does get a U.S. release I pray that it doesn't get dubbed because I truly think that it would detract so much from the film. Unfortunately, people in the U.S. can be very narrow minded and will refuse to watch anything not in english.

My best advice to any fans of the series is to watch this film and enjoy it for what it is. It's one of the best anime adaptations I've ever seen and it does not deserve criticism for not having every damn character present in the manga/anime. And for the record, Aoshi, Shishio, and Seijiro Hiko are not in the film. Why would they be if this is about the Tokyo arc anyways? Besides, it's already been confirmed a sequel has been greenlit so I'm sure we'll see them in the future. Enjoy the film for what it is and be thankful that somebody with a true vision and love for the series made this film. It could always be worse, Uwe Boll could have made it.

[–] gantz8596 11 years ago

I think they tried to make the movie as realistic as possible, that's why the hair is not that red, the blue eye will only make him look weird.

Can't wait for the sequel.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ballastud20 11 years ago

It was a solid adaption, but I feel like they dropped the ball a bit by not using the Oniwaban. And while most of them are just henchman, Aoshi isn't, not even close to being a minor character. I'm not hating on the film here, I loved it, I'm just saying it's a bit baffling to me the route they went here. Saito was completely unnecessary for this movie, he literally does nothing the entire time but Gatoutsu a chandelier. They could of easily passed off the 2 thugs with Kanryu as Hannya and one of the other Oniwaban and it would of fit just fine. In fact I thought that guy was supposed to be Hannya until I saw someone say it was Gein. Replace Saito with Aoshi, and it would of pretty much been a near perfect adaption in my eyes.

That's really my only complaint, and I'm sure we will see Aoshi sooner or later in the next movie anyway, but it just seems like it would of made more sense to do that here.

[–] bw-patterson 11 years ago

I thought Saito was used effectively in the movie as he really doesn't have a major role in the Tokyo arc though he does have a strong presence in it. As far as Aoshi, he shouldn't be in the film since he supposedly died of collera or something at the end of the revolution.

[–] ballastud20 11 years ago

What? Lol, what does that have to do with anything? What happens to Aoshi at the end of the series is irrelevant, he's still a major player in Kyoto and Jinchuu arcs. And for the record, I don't believe he dies from anything in the anime or manga. As for Saito, like I said he was pretty much useless in this movie. He played no role whatsoever and didn't contribute anything at all to the plot. They didn't even establish the Saito and Kenshin rivalry very well, the movie depicted the opening scene as their first encounter, when they were supposed to have fought several times and built up the rivalry.

This also takes away Saito's badass entrance where he pretends to be someone else and owns Sano, there's no way they can do that in the movies now because he's already been established. I don't even really know why you're arguing this unless you just have a biased hatred towards Aoshi. Plain and simple Aoshi would of fit this movie better from every logical viewpoint, and made it a much more faithful adaption.

[–] guaili 11 years ago

Saitou was still a badass and he can still kick Sano's ass in the Kyoto arc movie, remember how he beat up Sanosuke to show him he would be out of his league in Kyoto.

[–] bw-patterson 11 years ago

Lol, ok, I really need to review the facts before I make stupid mistakes like that again. You are right, I was getting Aoshi and Okita mixed up. Aoshi would have been a good addition to the film, but I'm hopeful that the director chose to leave him out in order to give him a more prominent role in the sequel.

I am not upset with how Saito was done in this film because it establishes him as a character and leaves a lot more for the sequel. I admit, seeing Saito own Sano would have been cool, but again, it's unnecessary to the story at this point in time. The movie is about Kenshin, not Saito or anyone else.

Hopefully in the Kyoto arc Saito will be more badass and maybe we'll get Aoshi. Either way, the fights can only get more epic from this point on so I can't wait to see what they do in the sequels.

[–] guaili 11 years ago

Aoshi's subplot would have needlessly dragged the movie. Remember you have to stick to one main plot, which is easy in the manga/anime because you have several episodes to tell all those stories, but in this movie if they were going to cover up to before the Kyoto Arc, they couldn't have both Jin-E and the Oniwabanshuu. Jin-E was crucial to RK as he is the one that shows the Hitokiri is not buried forever, whereas Aoshi's arc is just that he wants to avenge his fallen comrades. Aoshi is a cool character but if you completely delete him from the RK storyline you don't lose much in terms of story or character development; when making decisions like this you have to prioritize, so I'm ok with them using Jin-E as a sub to Aoshi.

[–] OmegaWolf747 11 years ago

I loved the movie too. My only complaint really is that they seem to have changed the history of how Kenshin acquired the cruciform scar. I really hope they don't completely do away with the BattousaixTomoe tragedy as that was the thing that opened Kenshin's eyes to the wrongness of what he had been doing as a hitokiri.

--
"House. My room. Can't walk. My medal. My father. Father, don't!"

[–] gwydion_mordred 11 years ago

I don't think they changed the story about the scar. The first part was received by Tomoe's fianze and the second part by Tomoe. He explains it to Megumi, doesn't he (the subtitles weren't very good, so I'm not totally sure but I think that's what he explained without using name's or saying Tomoe was his wife once).

[–] guaili 11 years ago

They didn't change it, they just didn't explain it in detail, but it was shown how he got the first scar and Kenshin did explain the second one as being Tomoe's.

[–] chester-castaneda 11 years ago

>My only complaint really is that they seem to have changed the history of how Kenshin acquired the cruciform scar

No, it really didn't. What the hell are you talking about? The first part of his scar was from Kiyosato, and the second part was from Tomoe.

[–] land-on-the-moon 10 years ago

the recollection part, that was wonderfully made actually, one of my fav in the movie.

I'm not a hard-core fan of RK , I only saw Samurai X and read some things about the story... but, if I am not mistaken, Tomoe's character was associated with plum blossoms , and in the sequence which triggers Kenshin's memory (him, acting as a killer)there's the wife of one of the dead soldiers which has a blue kimono with white plum blossoms, then it's switched to the events which led to those samurais' murder and the introduction of a feminine silhouette which reminded of Tomoe (mourning the death of her husband, the samurai)... then, returning to the thoughtful Kenshin standing in the bamboo forest, there is Kaoru entering the scene and worying about his whereabouts ... :) v.nicely rounded

[–] guaili 11 years ago

Kenshin has violet eyes, not blue. They already went with a reddish hair, which is his actual physical defining trait, using blue or violet contact lenses would have been too much.

[–] Tequillla 11 years ago

They should have switched Jin-Ei with Aoshi. He fits much better with the overal theme the movie portray about samurai's (and ninjas) having no place in the new era. Oniwabanshu are a great example of it.

They should have shown Kenshin's hitokiri's instincts in the fight with Saito (particularly in the 2nd movie).

I think the adaptation was quite good considering they change so much. But they should have sticked with the original. It flows better and his much more consistent with the story about wandering war heroes.

Instead of so much going on , they should have spend some more time with Kenshin , Kaoru , Yahiko and Sano.

But its a good movie. I was very very surprised by it.

[–] mota-prego 11 years ago

Loved the movie! A great adaptation of the anime/manga, the fights were very well done with barely any CGI which is something very comendable nowadays.

The characterization was spectacular. Can't wait for a sequel with Shishio and Aoki. :)

[–] chester-castaneda 11 years ago

Jine's part in the movie is more important in establishing Kenshin's character than Aoshi and him practicing sword-catching and disarmament drills.

[–] alwaysplanb 11 years ago

This is by far the best adaptation I have ever seen! Not a major disappointment like Dragon Ball Evolution! And yes there are many sub plots missing. However, I couldn't believe a better adaptation could have been made. The story has been made simple for audience who haven't seen Rurouni Kenshin before!

In the climax, when Kenshin runs a semi circle while fighting an army almost parallel/touching the ground, was outright amazing. I have seen such stunts in Anime but never in a movie!

Kudos to the director for making such a gr8 film! Waiting eagerly for the sequel!

[–] vanethe 11 years ago

easily a great movie/adaption film , i didnt read the whole manga , but they really did an awesome job with translating this into a movie , i really want to see the other films , my only complaint is that the middle was a bit long .
it's a 8 for me.