Rurouni Kenshin (2012 Film) - Analysis and Review

Hey! Where's the U.S. Blu Ray Release?

That is the question that I asked myself when I first saw this film recently. How I did that, I will not say, but just know that when this film finally gets to the states I will BUY it. I'm currently writing this in the year 2014 when this film premiered in Japan and some U.S. cities in 2012 which to this day has still not been given a Blu Ray release in the U.S. Now I'm writing this review to pave way for the inevitable premier of its two sequels this year in August. And I can guarantee that I will not be able to see them here in the U.S. until later or through alternate means.

The Plot

When a wandering swordsman with a reverse blade enters the lives of a young dojo instructor, their world gets completely turned upside down when an opium drug dealer wants to claim the instructor's land for their own. It is up to this mysterious kind swordsman with a strange scar on his face to protect the instructor and those that the drug lord put in harm's way.

Analysis

I don't consider myself an otaku. That was me in Freshmen and Sophomore year in High School. But I do still love me some good anime. And what I always hoped for was a good live action adaptation. However, when this film was announced, I wasn't very interested. Anime and manga adaptations that I have seen prior to this film have always come off looking a little bit cheap. The storytelling was still there but it looks like the production values and cameras used were not up to par with what the story requires. Sometimes I would give those films the benefit of the doubt by just thinking maybe that's how Japanese films look like. But then I saw Japanese films that are not based on a manga or anime. They looked incredible. Which had me thinking, does Japan care about their anime properties enough? Sure, in manga and anime there is more room for storytelling and less money to spend on spectacular effects. But in a world where America is really starting to embrace the goldmine that is the comic book industry, would Japan finally start to pay more attention to their anime properties. From the looks of this film and the latest live action iteration of Lupin the 3rd premiering this year, it looks like it.

Though I am aware that this film was produced by the Japanese branch of Warner Bros. Pictures, which may have contributed a little bit as to why this movie looks like a legitimate movie. It even looks like a film made by the home American Warner Bros. studio, but with Japanese stars. Am I wrong in thinking this way? Because for all I know it was the Japanese studios intent on making it look like an incredible stand alone film. And from the looks of it, whoever idea it was, they succeeded.

Review

I remember seeing this anime when I was younger. Dubbed in English of course, but still had the story in tact mostly. I did read the first few volumes of the manga, so I knew what I was getting into. And I can tell immediately that this story was a mixture of the first story arc all rolled into one big plot. While hardcore purists will immediately be displeased by this. But for anime fans who are just happy to see their characters being brought to life on the big screen with a story that seems familiar yet new, this is definitely the movie they've been waiting for. As someone who remember very little, I can even say that I saw this as a viewer with almost no knowledge of the source material yet still enjoyed it. This is a really great movie.

The casting of this film is incredible, with character that really breathe life into these famous hand drawn characters. Takeru Satoh does an incredible job playing Himura Kenshin (the titular Rurouni Kenshin), the seemingly harmless man who gave up a life of violence yet is capable of switching on his badass fighting abilities when needed. A key component of the portrayal of Himura was someone who is able to switch back and forth between innocent and vicious which Satoh does extremely well. Emi Takei does an excellent job portraying the eager dojo instructor Kamiya Kauru. She exudes the right amount of brash thinking, hopeless romantic, yet mature young woman that her character is suppose to be. I could go on and on forever about the cast of this film as they all give really great performances that work well within the story of the film.

Some may be disappointed that the backstories of characters such as Myojin Yahiko, Takani Megumi, and fan favorite Sagara Sanosuke are not flushed out enough, but then again some of the other major players are not flushed out with other major players being left out in general. This is no way a detraction, as I said before, for how they were all utilized in this story it works perfectly fine. That is something that anime AND American comic book fans need to learn about adaptations: THEY CAN'T COVER EVERYTHING. The best filmmakers can do is to hope to craft a story that does the characters justice, and lucky for them they did.

And speaking about craft, this is the second manga/anime live action adaptation that looks really well done, but the first that I actually would consider looking extremely clean throughout the whole movie. I say this because the first film that I'm referring to is the 2010 film Space Battleship Yamato, which had extremely high production values but the CGI didn't look completely rendered and not smooth. Contrast with this film that didn't really need such things (though I have to wonder if Sanosuke's sword was CGI) it is a really beautifully crafted film. From the look, to the costumes, to the incredible sword fights. It found that line of being true to the design of the characters while at the same time grounding it in the historical reality that it is based on. Yes, the fight sequences are heightened, but not to an overblown extreme. I haven't seen samurai sword fighting done this way since 13 assassins, but this is heightened sword fighting that makes it incredible to watch. My props to director Keishi Otomo and his team for a great accomplishment

Final thoughts

An extremely well done film that is a definite crowd pleaser. The story is simple, yet anime fans will appreciate how much of their beloved story lines and character get nicely packed into this simple story. It is a definite good look at the future of anime/manga adaptations. If DeathNote was a stepping stone that led to the higher production values of Space Battleship Yamato then this film is definitely a giant leap to something good.

SCORE: 8/10 - This is a good film that definitely shows a promising future for anime 

Party 7 - Analysis and Review

Don't judge a movie by its cover

This is definitely one of those cases. I mean, just look at that cover. That could be anything. It literally could be anything. I can guarantee that someone who is unaware of the indie Japanese film scene would definitely think that this is the poster for an Asian Porno! I mean, come on who wouldn't think that this looks like a porno. But that's just the cover. And why do I say don't judge a movie by its cover? Because by some miracle, the actress on this cover never appears in that outfit in the film. I'm being serious. Not once does she strip down into that number. In the film she's conservatively dressed...okay so her abs are showing but she's pretty much mostly covered. But back to the point, just by looking at this cover, what the hell is this movie about???

The answer...may be a little bit weird. And as an American, the view of weird films from Japan is actually not shocking, but we're still shocked. However I wouldn't call this film shocking nor confusing, but rather...head scratching? Yeah, I'll call it a head scratcher.

The Plot

A gangster steals money from his boss. A man he sees as a brother is charged with finding him. His ex-girlfriend demands payment for all his debts. Her new boyfriend is afraid she's leaving him. A peeping tom discovers a secret lair. In that lair is the mysterious Captain Banana. A psychotic hitman plans on eliminating the gangster. And all of this takes place in a hotel! Who will come out rich?

Analysis

If you find yourself confused by that, it's okay, I was confused too. But all in all the plot is about a string of interesting characters that converge in a hotel room. The best way to describe is fairly simplistic but for an American audience to understand it has to be said this way: It is a collection of Anime Characters thrown into a Tarantino style story.

Each character is an archetype of an anime character. The cocky laid back protagonist. The badass rival. The sexy criminal. The lovesick nerd. The pervert. The costumed hero. The psycho clown. All of them are characters that can fall easily into an anime archetype. It should be more evident due to the anime opening title sequence.

I should point out that how I discovered this film was through an anime. I was a huge fan of the 2009 anime film, Redline, that was frequently touted as the first full hand drawn anime in a long time. It was a visual spectacle that shows just how far hand drawn animation can be pushed without the aide of cell shaded CGI. The director of that film was Takeshi Koike, and I wanted to find out more about this ambitious director. That's how I discovered this gem. He wasn't the director of the film, but he was the creator of the aforementioned anime title sequence. The chair of director actually belonged to the man who gave Takeshi the story for Redline: Katsuhito Ishii.

Review

As I've said before, this is an unusual film. The setting is very standard. In fact there are several American low budget films that dominantly take place at a hotel or even a single hotel room. What the film has going for it though are a cast of really interesting characters. You got Shunichiro Miki (Masatoshi Nagase) the pompadour gangster with a pink leather jacket. Shingo Sonoda (Keisuke Horibe) the badass (or at least he thought so) clad in black gangster who grew up with Miki. Kana Mitsukoshi (Akemi Kobyashi aka the hottie on the cover) the ex-girlfriend of Miki. Todohei Todohira (Yoshinori Okada) Kana's new very nerdy boyfriend and fiancé. These four make up more a majority of the titular Party 7. Their plot in this story mainly consists of Miki stealing money from his former boss in order to leave a life of crime. Kana and Sonoda track him down to the hotel he's staying at for different reasons while Todohei arrives at the hotel simply because he was afraid Kana was cheating on him.

Their story consists mainly of conversations that reveal some hidden secret about themselves to everyone. And that's pretty much it. They talk and they reveal hidden secrets. The opening anime title sequence makes this movie seem like its going to be an action movie where all hell will break loose. But no, its just people talking and revealing secrets they didn't want to reveal. That's the A-Plot.

The B-Plot revolves around two peeping toms: Captain Banana (Yoshio Harada) and Okita Souji (Tadanobu Asano). Okita is a recently released inmate who discovers that his father built a secret room in a hotel room specifically for peeping, which ironically is what got him in jail in the first place. It is there that he meets Captain Banana, a pro peeping tom pervert in a superhero outfit that wishes to make Okita his new sidekick. They spend a majority of the movie watching the A-Plot. And...That's what happens. They talk, and watch the A-Plot.

Then there is the final member of this titular Party 7. Wakagashi (Tatsuya Gashuin) the psychotic hitman who is hired to kill Miki and Sonoda to retrieve the stolen money. His badass action scene was mostly in the opening anime title sequence. He barely shows up in the film but makes himself prominent at the end of the film when the real action goes down. However that action, if choreographed better, could've been truly a funny end but it was funny because it was so horrible. I would've preferred if that final action scene was done as an anime due to how over exaggerated it would've been.

It really seems like there's nothing interesting here, but as I stated before, the CHARACTERS are what would keep one locked into watching this whole movie. The dialogue is interesting and does drive whatever plot it is trying to drive. Though halfway through you do wish something else would happen besides talking. Some might even wish that Kobyashi did strip down into the striking number she posed in for the cover just to add more visual. You just keep hoping for SOMETHING to happen. And when it does happen it is rather comical. Whether intended or not, it is very comical.

I can't really comment on the acting due to having only seen a few Japanese films but seeing a young Tadanobu Asano did caught me off guard. Some might remember him as being Hogun in Thor. I look forward to what his performance will be for legendary anime character Zenigata in the live action Lupin III film.

Final Thoughts

This movie is not for everyone. Especially if you're looking for action or hoping that Akemi Kobyashi does something sexy (the cover is the only thing you're going to get from her), then this movie is not for you. However if you want to see an interesting play of words among really weird characters being watched by two peeping toms that are all being hunted by a crazy hitman then this is for you. I enjoyed it, but again, its not for everyone. But a little curiosity doesn't hurt, right?

SCORE: 6.5/10 - A fairly entertaining Tarantino story starring Anime Characters