1. Kaoru talking with Megumi about how hard it must have been for Tomoe and how she felt so sad for her.
2. Kenshin apologizing to Enishi.
3. Enishi...just...Enishi.
4. Hand holding
5. Sano and Meg
The whole of the movie was action. Don't get me wrong, the action may have surpassed the rest of the movies.
But that's it.
And I think the problem lies in the fact that Jinchu is just VERY heavy, with a lot of nuanced moments between a lot of people. There were SO MANY missed opportunities between, for example, K&K(honestly you send her after him in the rain just for him to take it, say thank you with zero feeling...that's it, that was the scene), Kao&Enishi, K&E and even K&T...
Also they did Kaoru dirty with lack of action scenes (though I do get it cause the Japanese are hella careful with actresses that are mothers) AND they did Sano dirty too...
Also we honestly didn't need Soujiro...
All in all, it was a whole lotta action with a whole lot of attempts at feeling but falling incredibly short.
For bringing the characters to life, though, Otomo&co will have my eternal gratitude.
He's my childhood manga hero and I grew up reading the manga. Watching my favourite Takeru reliving Kenshin is like the strawberry and cream on top of a really delicious vanilla cake!
The Final's storyline was a bit different from the manga. They didn't insert the part where Enishi faked Kaoru's death that it totally threw Kenshin to the bottom of his life. Her (faked) death hurts him so much that he couldn't even swing his sakabato anymore. Then again, for Kaoru's sake, he's up and faces his fate again.
But it doesn't mean I didn't like the movie. I mean, they put Himura Kenshin and Seta Sojiro fighting together side-by-side, so who am I to complain?! I really love the part Kenshin and Kaoru left Tomoe's grave while holding hands, exactly the way it was in the manga. The cinematography, fighting scenes, all those have been really awesome since the first instalment.
I hope there's an epilogue in the upcoming The Beginning, the one where Kenshin and Kaoru gotten married, have a son, and Kenshin cut his hair short. Then he hands down his sakabato to Yahiko. I personally think that part is so iconic and significant, showing the new era has really, really begun.
It legit felt like they watered down Kaoru and Kenshin's story just to highlight Tomoe when the whole point of the manga and animated version were to emphasize Kenshin moving on from his painful past to being able to face his present and future with a new hope and life and yeah, fvck that!
Hard rant up ahead. Like I've just seen it and I'm still really, really incoherent but I just needed to let this out.
This is like the raw, knee-jerk reaction.
Also spoilers. Please do not read this if you have not seen the movie yet.
I'm not kidding.
Like, step away and just forget about this post.
*takes a deep breath: here we go*
First of all, I feel like Otomo really has no love for Kaoru.
Look, I get it that they wanted the movie to be different from the anime and the manga which is truly fine with me as it gives the audience something new to look forward to. There are welcomed additions and changes. But I have always thought that by the third movie, it was clear that Kaoru was being treated unfairly especially when she had been taken by Seta. WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?!
I am still so sad that we did not get to see Kaoru perform her Hawatari. That was just --- for a Kaoru fan like me, it was brutal to have to watch her reduced into being the girl kidnapped in 3 of the 4 movies. LIKE NO. My girl Kaoru is not that kind of girl.
My Tanuki Girl did not deserve this. She defeated one of Enishi's henchmen - what's his face? I can't remember and I'm too angry to research shit.
I am so bummed that I didn't get to see that!!! Instead what I got was a Sojiru Seta-insert that didn't even make sense.
Also, what a miss on the whole point of Enishi's Jinchuu.
It wasn't to fight and defeat Kenshin. It was to ruin Kenshin as much as the trauma of seeing his sister die had ruined Enishi.
When Enishi's Jinchuu was revealed it was utter devastation for EVERYONE.
And no Kenshin in Rakuninmura (?!!!)
Remember what Hiko told Kenshin in the last movie? Before he went back to Tokyo to fight Shishio? It was about not throwing his life away. He told Kenshin TO LIVE.
I thought they were going to tie that up with the final because that was what Enishi's Jinchuu did to him: HE DIDN'T WANT TO LIVE ANYMORE. HE WAS LITERALLY DEAD INSIDE.
I wanted very badly to hear Sato say, "Enough. No more. I'm tired."
BUT NO. NOTHING. He was more anguished when Kaoru ended up in Rengoku - which now actually makes sense if they had been planning on doing The Final this way. UGH.
Looks like we're going to get all the Kenshin/Sato angst in The Beginning.
With Tomoe.
Look, I have nothing against Tomoe. Over the years as I try to grow and be more mature - still an on going process - I've learned to appreciate her.
What I really detest is how one has to overshadow the other and I have a feeling this is what's going to happen with the next movie and I'm just rally saddened by that.
I'm still forever grateful that Rurouni Kenshin was made into five movies. And I don't hate this movie; it's too strong of a word and it feels like dismissing all of the heart and hardwork everyone had put into making this film. I'm just painfully disappointed about the things that I had expected - which is yeah, all on me. It's my fault.
Anyway, I will rewatch without my shipper eyeglasses on and will probably immensely enjoy this movie for the acting, the jaw dropping, graceful, work of art fight scenes and everything else.
AND THEN I WILL CURL UP WITH MY MANGA to get all the real feels.
It's a little bit annoying that Kaoru is always kidnapped and needs to be saved by Kenshin. If you feel the same, you need to read this fanfic!
This story takes place after Jinchuu. Kaoru as Kenshin's wife, and they have Kenji. Kenshin's enemies seek revenge by trying to kidnap Kaoru, and they fail of course, not because of Kenshin' rescue but because of Kaoru's Kenjutsu skills. She's a shihandai afterall.
This is the summary written by the author :
An old enemy of Kenshin's from his days as a rurouni has finally tracked him down to extract his revenge, but first he needs leverage to bring him to his knees. "You're after Kenshin…" Kaoru's eyes widened in revelation before they became ablaze and her brows narrowed in exasperation. "…and you're… kidnapping me to get… him…" This has to be a bad joke! Do they not realize she is shihondai of Kamiya Kasshin-ryū?!
“Moving gradually from dear friends to love interests to husband and wife, Kenshin and Kaoru share a relationship that serves as one of the largest focal points of the series. Though initially seeing Kaoru as merely another Japanese citizen in need of his protection, Kenshin is immediately struck by her remarkable philosophies regarding katsujinken and the unimportance of one’s past self, quickly coming to see her as a particularly special person. Additionally, having been rescued from death, dishonor and loneliness by the mysterious rurouni, Kaoru greatly values Kenshin’s company after he appears in her life and is rather insistent that he stay. The two grow steadily closer as time goes on, with Kaoru keeping Kenshin’s darker nature in check with her kindness and Kenshin’s eager support giving Kaoru the courage necessary to deal with the hardships of her life, until it becomes clear that neither can go on living happily without the other. ”
… I love that description from the Rurouni Kenshin wiki. Sigh.
Sailor Moon has Sailor Moon Crystal anime that fully adapts the manga without filler episodes, hopefully there will be a Rurouni Kenshin anime without filler episodes, starting from Tokyo Arc to Jinchuu Arc!
Just finished reading this. Set in time after Jinchuu. This is really good! Kenshin and Kaoru are so in character, you can imagine Kenshin and Kaoru in manga / anime when you read them. The storyline is good.
Oneshot collection of Kenshin Kaoru relationship. Perfect in every way, characterization, the situation. Bring me a lot of joy and warmth. Chapter 7 makes me cry.
I just bought Rurouni Kenshin Restoration days ago. It has similar art style as Hokkaido Arc. The storyline is rather different, but it's quite okay, it's not too far from Tokyo (Jineh) Arc. Kaoru is more mature in here. Also Kenshin is more badass when fighting with Jineh in this version.
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