Rurouni Kenshin
I was meaning to write this last year but I did a lot of things (and I was lazy) so I wasn't able to do it. XD
2 years ago, when it was first rumored that they will be doing a live-action of RuroKen I was honestly worried that they would really do it. ( You can visit the post right here, if you want XD) RuroKen, for me is one of those manga-anime that seemed 'untouchable'. I was afraid to see it "screwed over" since I grew up watching the anime. Also, live-action adaptations can still be a hit or a miss. Learning that Takeru was chosen as Kenshin, I knew that he would be able to deliver and give justice to the material.
As the rumors got confirmed and pictures started popping up, I got more and more excited but I was still nervous. I had high hopes.
Moving on, the movie was great. It was action packed and very entertaining. It was worth it. I could easily say that it is one of the best live-action movie adaptation made.
The Good:
> Sato Takeru as Himura Kenshin
I have been a Takeru fan since 2009 so I was able to watch his appearances on Ryomaden as samurai assassin Okada Izo, while it was airing in 2010. He did a good job with the choreography and the fight scenes. So when the rumor came out that he was up in the running to be Kenshin, I knew he would give justice to Kenshin (which I already said above). I'm really glad that he did deliver and performed better than what was expected of him and turned those haters and doubters into fans. Having seen his performance with my own eyes and in the theaters nonetheless, I felt very happy and proud.
> Aoi Yuu, Aoki Munetaka, Eguchi Yusuke and Kagawa Teruyuki and Tanaka Taketo
I'm glad that these actors were chosen for their parts. They really performed what was expected of them. To be honest, I envisioned Aoi Yu would fit Kaoru more but she did an awesome job as Megumi. Aoki Munetaka was great as Sanosuke. It was a perfect decision to have him as Sano (Confession: I actually imagined Hayama Mokomichi for the role back then XD). I have recently seen him in Hatsukoi and Taira no Kiyomori (he was in a couple of dramas that I have seen before too) but he is a very good actor. When he first appeared on screen as Sano the crowd cheered he easily became a crowd favorite. Eguchi Yusuke and Kagawa Teruyuki being veterans, performed as expected. It was hard for me to imagine Kagawa Teruyuki as Takeda Kanryuu when it was first announced but I know he'd do a great job. Eguchi Yusuke on the other hand, was easier for me to see as Saito Hajime and he lived the part. I haven't seen Tanaka Taketo prior to this movie but he was cute as Yahiko.
> Kikkawa Kouji, Ayano Gou and Sudo Genki
Kikkawa Kouji was a good choice for Jine, imo he really looked and acted the part. Ayano Gou, aside from the eye candy that I knew he would give me, performed well. I honestly really enjoyed Gein's fight scenes with Kenshin more than the one with Jine. I just enjoyed the contrast between Kenshin's Sakabato and Gein's weapons. The choreography was really good too! (And I can't deny I liked the eye candies dueling XD) The fight scene between Sano and Inui was really entertaining!
> BGM/Score/Soundtrack
We all know that the bgm/score can make or break the scene, imo they did a great job with it. They had chilling music for chilling scenes. My favorite was the one near the opening which was what they used for the trailers and the one they used on the scene were Kenshin assassinated Tomoe's husband-to-be. The score along with the falling cherry blossoms made the scene. It was superb. It was also great to hear ONE OK ROCK's The Beginning play at the end along with the audience singing to it.
> Stunts and Fight scenes
Need I say more? It was action packed and well choreographed. Takeru's breakdancing skills were very useful and he showed great flexibility and agility in his stunts. They really worked hard to make the action scenes look cool and intense.
> Setting
With a director experienced in doing Taiga dramas, one would expect he would do a great job with the setting and capturing the spirits of the period era. Imo, Ryomaden had really good cinematography from the episodes I have seen (Please note that I haven't finished a single taiga drama. I manage to see them through bits and pieces. So my take on this is not really valid. Sorry. XD)
The Weak (I wouldn't say it was bad) :
> Takei Emi as Kaoru
Actually, I think she did an okay performance though, she came up a little short against the others who where all good, if not great. Honestly, I'm still trying to think if she really had chemistry with Takeru or if the chemistry I felt was because I knew there was something between Kaoru and Kenshin as the characters which were made really obvious in the movie. Uhh... did I sound confused? Sorry. XD I'm basing this with their former co-stars since I felt more chemistry between Takeru & Kutsuna Shiori in 'Beck' and even Takeru & Kato Rosa in 'Fuyu no Sakura' (I can't compare it with Maeda Atsuko since I wasn't able to get past episode 1 of Q10. orz) as well as Emi & Matsuzaka Tori, well, they are always working with each other XD and Emi & Kaku Kento 'Asuko March' but this is just my personal humble opinion, please don't kill me, I know they have very passionate shippers.
Also her speech towards the end... err-- kind of killed(? it's not exactly the term that I was looking for...) it for me. Maybe, I just find her portrayal of Kaoru as too feminine --- I meant that it went over just a bit. It's hard for me to pinpoint. Also, as she was speaking, I can hear whispers in the theatres while some were stifling their laughter. You know it's not a good sign when the audience behaves like that in that particular scene not just in my first viewing (maybe they had various reasons but why on that particular scene, right?) but up until the third. Maybe, if they do a sequel (I'm pretty sure they would) I really hope that they could fix that. :D
Favorite Scenes
I actually made gifs, though I placed two in this post, it's taking me a long time to upload them because of it's size so I took some from heckyeahruroken at tumblr. Credits to the respective owners. XD
This one is mine. XD
These aren't.
*with hearts in the eyes*
*drools /you still look good even with that scar*
bask in glory, my dear~
source: mikanpurin
Of course, this infamous scene. XD
source: kisumai
Also this: (This mine... I'm reaaally having a hard time uploading the others because of it's size. orz)
That lead to this (these are not mine) (we'll see her again!!! I'm sure of it~ XD)
Last and also the most EPIC:
source: kateviardo
So there. I'm ecstatic that RuroKen was well received in our country. All of those months petitioning, and the people who were involved in talking with the local distributor, I'm very proud of them. I'm happy to see a Japanese movie doing really well in our local theaters and competing against other foreign --hollywood-- films.
Yay! My first post for 2013!!!