Fellow ravers, this is WimpLo with a special announcement! Some of you may have heard about it already but for those of you who haven't, there is great news for fans of the classic anime, Rurouni Kenshin. That great news is that there is a live-action movie adaptation coming in August of this year!
Rurouni Kenshin is a popular anime/manga series that featured a wandering samurai named Kenshin Himura. At the start of the series he befriends a dojo instructor named Kaoru, and later, Yahiko, a young orphan, Sanosuke, the fighter-for-hire, and Megumi, the doctor. Their advantures takes place during the Meiji period of Japanese history, where samurais were becoming obsolete due to the modernization of Japan. Kenshin does what he can to help those around him to atone for his bloody and shady past. Although trouble always manages to find the former assassin, Kenshin holds on to policy of "not killing" and even wields a sakabato, a katana sword that has its blade reversed with the dull side being the part that makes contact with his opponents.
Rurouni Kenshin is a popular anime/manga series that featured a wandering samurai named Kenshin Himura. At the start of the series he befriends a dojo instructor named Kaoru, and later, Yahiko, a young orphan, Sanosuke, the fighter-for-hire, and Megumi, the doctor. Their advantures takes place during the Meiji period of Japanese history, where samurais were becoming obsolete due to the modernization of Japan. Kenshin does what he can to help those around him to atone for his bloody and shady past. Although trouble always manages to find the former assassin, Kenshin holds on to policy of "not killing" and even wields a sakabato, a katana sword that has its blade reversed with the dull side being the part that makes contact with his opponents.
Now, some of you may be skeptical about it: "Live-action animes suck!"
You have a point, many live-action adaptations of a popular anime/manga do end up in failures (with Dragonball Evolution being one of the worst of all, but keep in mind it was American made). However, I did find some to be quite successful or at least entertaining, like the Death Note movies and the popular Korean drama Boys Over(Before) Flowers (which was based off a manga series). In other words, it is way too early to draw any conclusions whether this movie will fail or succeed.
Personally, I am looking forward to this movie. After watching the teaser trailer, I am so far very impressed. The actors look accurate to their respected characters without being too over-the-top (very difficult when it comes to anime). Judging by the casting and scenes they show in the trailer, this movie seems to cover the entire first season of the anime series. I am most excited about seeing the fights between him and Jin-e (character confirmed) and possibly Aoshi (unconfirmed). Hopefully this movie will be successful and they will continue it with the "Kyoto story arc". Also, good news for me, I will most likely be in Japan when it arrives in theatres in August!
I really hope that this Rurouni Kenshin live action lives up to the anime name.
ReplyDeleteGood point about the DB Evo movie. It was american made and the only way you could have enjoyed it, was if you didn't know anything about DB in the first place. But because DB was so well known, it ended up being a complete flop. Boys Over Flowers (to me) stayed true to the drama and comedy, so that was a pretty successful k-drama.
Rurouni Kenshin is one of those anime that the film makers need to be VERY careful with to appease the audience. Especially the die hard *classic* anime fans.
For this film, I hope for the best, but am preparing for the worst.
:3