Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning

Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning
Japanese theatrical poster
Directed by	Keishi Ōtomo
Screenplay by	Keishi Ōtomo
Based on	Rurouni Kenshin by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Produced by	Hiroyoshi Koiwai Satoshi Fukushima
Starring	Takeru Satoh Kasumi Arimura Issey Takahashi Nijirō Murakami Masanobu Ando Kazuki Kitamura Yōsuke Eguchi
Cinematography	Takuro Ishizaka
Edited by	Tsuyoshi Imai
Music by	Naoki Satō
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures (Japan) Netflix (Worldwide)
Release date	June 4, 2021 (2021-06-04) (Japan) July 30, 2021 (Worldwide)
Running time	137 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Box office	$21.3 million[1]

Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning (Japanese: るろうに剣心 最終章 The Beginning, Hepburn: Rurouni Kenshin: Saishūshō – Za Biginingu) is a 2021 Japanese live-action film directed by Keishi Ōtomo. It is the fifth and final installment in the Rurouni Kenshin film series based on Nobuhiro Watsuki's manga of the same name, and was produced alongside Rurouni Kenshin: The Final. The narrative of the film approximates the plot of the manga's Tsuiokuhen (追憶編, "Recollections / Reminiscence") arc, earlier adapted into the 1999 OVA Trust & Betrayal.,

The film is a prequel to the other Rurouni Kenshin films (Rurouni Kenshin, Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno, Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends, and Rurouni Kenshin: The Final) and depicts how Himura Kenshin received his cross-shaped scar.^[2] It focuses on Kenshin's past as the assassin Hitokiri Battōsai during the final years of the Bakumatsu and also explores his relationship with a woman named Yukishiro Tomoe played by Kasumi Arimura.

Plot[]

During the Bakumatsu in Kyoto, and a carnage of killings, Himura Kenshin, also called Hitokiri Battosai is a political assassin, who is part of the revolution that is poised to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate and which eventually leads to the Meiji Restoration. He joins the Chōshū clan and soon works for their leader, Katsura Kogorō, as an assassin alongside Iizuka, the examiner of executions.

During one of the assassinations, a member of the Kyoto watch refuses to die, which results in Himura receiving a cut on his face. In contrast to the cold demeanor with which he kills the person, as he walks away, Himura is clearly disturbed. It is Katsura who later notices that Himura has a scar on his face, and from his response, that despite having killed 100 people Himura is still uncomfortable with killing people. Katsura recalls the day Himura was recruited. Himura had stated that he had not killed anyone at that time but that he could kill provided that the new age they believe in could bring about a peace of mind to all. Katsura realises that Himura is still pure at heart which is why the killings still make him uneasy.

One evening, as Himura is out having a drink on his own, he steps in to intervene with supposed members of the revolution who demand to be treated as heroes by a woman named Yukishiro Tomoe who had come in to drink alone. After leaving the establishment, Himura is attacked by an unknown assassin but manages to slay him. In the aftermath, Himura finds a shocked Tomoe watching him, drenched in the blood of the assassin he has just killed, and takes her back to his hideout, an inn for Choshu revolutionaries. The next morning, Tomoe decides to stay and work at the inn, seemingly grateful that Himura had protected and looked after her, and he is unable to persuade her to leave. He is stunned particularly when she questions and twists his philosophy on who he chooses to kill.

Despite their silent nature, Himura and Tomoe seem to bond. Although remaining elusive, Himura accepts and co-exists with her as she serves him food during the day reminding him to finish his food, helping him to wash the blood off his hands when he returns from his slaughters, keeping watch over him during the day so that he can sleep. When Katsura is informed of the odd relationship, he visits Tomoe, and asks that whatever she intends, she does not stop Himura from performing his role in the revolution.

During the Ikedaya incident (1864), an armed encounter between the shishi which includes masterless samurai (rōnin) formally employed by the Chōshū and Tosa clans, and the Shinsengumi, the Bakufu's special police force at the Ikedaya Inn in Sanjō-Kawaramachi, Kyoto, Himura rushes to the site to protect the Choshu and rescue Katsura who is believed to be attending a meeting there but is delayed by the Shinsengumi captain Okita Sōji. As reinforcements from both sides arrived, Katsura is said to be safe, Himura and the Choshu are forced to withdraw from the area.

When the Shinsengumi track them down and arrive at their hideout, Himura and Tomoe manage to escape along with the other revolutionaries. Before Katsura also goes into hiding, he arranges for Kenshin and Tomoe to hide in the village of Otsu, outside Kyoto, asking Tomoe to look after Himura and pretend to act as husband and wife so that Himura would not be suspected. After Katsura leaves, Tomoe states that she has no where else to go. Himura doubts her statement but nevertheless asks her to come and live with him for real and not just as an act. Tomoe agrees.

During their time in the village, Himura learns to be a farmer and starts to understand the meaning of peace and happiness which he had never encountered before. One day, when Himura is out, Tomoe's brother, Enishi, comes to meet his sister, revealing both the siblings as spies working for the Yaminobu who are pro-shogunate and have been planning to entrap and kill Battosai all this while. Tomoe refuses to continue working with them, and asks Enishi to return home to Edo, causing Enishi to run off in anger. When Himura returns, he learns from Tomoe that she was previously engaged to be married, however her fiancee was assassinated before the wedding. She breaks down as she blames herself for allowing her fiancee to leave Edo, who had joined the Kyoto watch for her sake, rationalising that if he had stayed in Edo he would not have been killed. Himura consoles her and tells her that she has done enough and that she should no longer carry the pain. As they bond as husband and wife, Himura promises her that he will find a way to stop killing in the new age and that he will protect her happiness.

The next day, Tomoe meets with the leader of the Yaminobu but realises too late that she was used as a pawn by them to weaken Himura. Despite learning that Tomoe is a spy, Himura goes to the Yaminobu to rescue her. As intended by the Yaminobu, Himura is visibly distressed and distracted as he has also found out that Tomoe's fiancee is the member of the Kyoto Watch he had assassinated. Upon reaching the abandoned temple, at each stage, he is met by a member of the Yaminobu. Despite his emotional state, he is skillful enough to instinctively fight and defend himself. Himura manages to defeat his enemies but each time he is weakened by the explosions that end each fight. The first explosion takes away his hearing by virtue of loud sound it produces. The second explosion takes away his vision due to the use of certain yellow powder it throws up in the surrounding. Upon reaching the leader Tatsumi, Himura has reached his limit and can temporarily neither see nor hear. As Tatsumi is about to defeat Himura, Tomoe intervenes by restraining Tatsumi. Unaware that Tomoe was right in front of him, Himura deals a death blow, killing Tatsumi as well as fatally wounding Tomoe. In her last breathe, Tomoe carves another scar on a distraught Himura's cheek with her dagger, thus completing the cross-shaped scar that her fiancee had started, whilst apologizing to him for the pain she has caused.

Shortly after, Katsura visits Himura at the village house to inform him that they found out Izuka was also a spy, and someone who is as skillful as Himura would be going after him. This person would also continue to be used as an assassin for the Choshu to replace Himura. However, he still needs Himura to join them on the battlefield. Himura agrees to continue fighting, as all the killing he has done would have gone to waste if they do not bring in the new age. However, he declares that once the new age arrives, he will never kill again. After Kastura goes off, Himura goes to Tomoe who is lying in wake inside their house. Himura finishes reading Tomoe's diary which explains how she changed from seeking revenge for her fiancee to falling in love with her fiancee's killer and finally resolving to do all she can to preserve him. After having a last meal, he sets fire to his house, cremating Tomoe's body within it.

The film ends with the Battle of Toba–Fushimi (1868) where the Choshu are victorious over their rivals. With the Bakumatsu finished, despite being challenged to a last sword fight by Saito Hajime, Himura abandons his sword as he leaves the battlefield. The narrative tells us that Battosai disappears for the next 10 years on an unknown journey as Japan enters the Meiji era.

Cast[]

• Takeru Satoh as Himura Kenshin
• Kasumi Arimura as Yukishiro Tomoe
• Issey Takahashi as Katsura Kogorō
• Yōsuke Eguchi as Saitō Hajime^[3]
• Nijirō Murakami as Okita Sōji
• Kazuki Kitamura as Tatsumi
• Masanobu Ando as Takasugi Shinsaku
• Towa Araki as Yukishiro Enishi
• Shima Ōnishi as Iizuka
• Takahiro Fujimoto as Kondō Isami
• Sōkō Wada as Hijikata Toshizō
• Mansaku Ikeuchi as Katagai
• Mayu Hotta as Ikumatsu
• Makiko Watanabe as a landlady
• Wataru Ichinose as Sumita
• Kinari Hirano as Nakajō
• Eita Okuno as Murakami
• Eiki Narita as Yatsume Mumyōi
• Masataka Kubota as Akira Kiyosato

Production[]

This fifth entry was produced at the same period of time as the fourth entry. The film started shooting on November 4, 2018 and finished on June 28, 2019. Large-scale shooting for more than 7 months was carried out at 43 locations nationwide, including Kyoto, Nara, Shiga, Mie, Hyogo, Kumamoto, Hiroshima, Tochigi, Saitama, Shizuoka, Osaka, and Nagano. It utilized a total of 6,000 extras.^[4]

Takeru Satoh has portrayed the character of Kenshin Himura since 2012, and has been doing all his own stunts since he first took on the role. Kenshin is an expert in "Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu," a sword technique that allows the fighter to attack multiple assailants at once. And, keeping in line with the source material, Satoh is regularly put up against multiple actors that he has to fend off through a series of intricately detailed moves in all five films. Embodying his samurai character, Satoh reportedly spends weeks perfecting the sword fights with choreographers, going through the moves multiple times both in and out of costume in a studio before heading out on set.^[5]

In an interview with InCinemas in 2012, Otomo explained: "The goal for me was to portray the humanity and drama of the characters within the fight scenes and action. "The action sequences weren't just action, but rather an important factor in portraying the characters. That is why the main cast, including Takeru, performed almost all of the action sequences without stunt doubles." He added: "I always take acting scenes in one sequence without cuts, and the action scenes in this film were basically shot with the same approach." The director added that while it might be "difficult" for his cast to do the stunts themselves he felt it made the action scenes "more emotional" as a result.^[6]

The theme song "Broken Heart of Gold" is performed by One Ok Rock.^[7]

Reception[]

Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning has grossed $21,318,560 at the Japanese box office.^[1]

Release[]

Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning was released in Japanese theatres on June 4, 2021.^[8] It was released on Netflix globally on July 30, 2021.^[9]

See also[]

• Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal (1999), an original video animation adaptation of the same storyline.

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning at IMDb