[JAPAN MOVIE 2012-2014] るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚- / RUROUNI KENSHIN

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id="page_header"2014 Rurouni Kenshin FIlms' Promo Boasts High Reviews

The staff of the Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno (Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika-hen) and Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends (Rurouni Kenshin: Densetsu no Saigo-hen) films began streaming a "Bridge" promotional video on Monday. The promotional video connects the two films together.

Takeru Satoh

: Please experience the moment this film changes history in theaters.

Narrator:

Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno

. The super-popular comic boasts overwhelming quality!

Text: Satisfaction - 90% (from Yahoo! reviewers)

Text: Want to see the continuation - 95% (those who want to see the

Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends

film)

Narrator: The live-action adaptation returns with its super-extravagant cast!

Sanosuke: Now you've done it, you ass!!

Kenshin: Oro?

Narrator: Continuing on, it has been decided that film

Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends

will premiere on September 13.

Kenshin: There is an opponent that I must defeat.

Narrator: The entire world is watching! Don't be late to riding these two films when they set sail!

Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno/The Legend Ends

.

Text: These films will change the history of Japanese cinema.

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Movie Review: Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika-Hen
By Tetch Torres-Tupas | INQUIRER.net
August 9, 2014

MANILA, Philippines – He’s back! The smooth-looking, soft spoken master swordsman Kenshin Himura is back on the big screen in Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika-Hen (Kyoto Inferno), the first of a two-part finale of the franchise based on the hit Japanese comic, or manga.

Actors Takero Satoh (Kenshin Himura), Emi Takei (Kaoro Kamiya) and Munetaka Aoki (Sanosuke Sagara) have returned to reprise their roles.

The Manga and Anime fans first saw the trio in the 2012 movie Rurouni Kenshin: The Movie. This time they return to do a story with a darker tone.

In the first film, the deadly imperialist assassin Hitokiri Battosai laid down his sword in the Battle of Toba-Fushima and swore never to kill again. He started his journey carrying a sakabato, a reverse edge sword that could only knockdown an opponent but cannot inflict a fatal wound. In his journey, he met his friends Kaoro, Sanosuke, Yahiko Myojin (Kaito Oyagi).

In this next movie, Kyoto Inferno, Kenshin struggles to fulfill his oath not to kill again after Makoto Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara) and his Juppongatana (10 swords) surfaced threatening to overthrow the government.

The performance of the characters was spot on but fans who have seen the 2012 movie know how well the actors own the characters they play. In Kyoto Inferno, Tatsuya Fujiwara effectively transformed himself from Shuya Nanahara who flinched when he killed his psychotic teacher in Battle Royale to Shishio, a heartless dictator who laughed menacingly when he hanged the companions of Hajime Saito at the start of the film.

If the fight scenes in the first film were top notch, fight scenes here were perfection – if ever there’s such a thing. Here, we can also see the other characters in action like Kaoro, Yahiko, Misao and the rest of the Onibawanshou group and Soujiro Seta.

Audiences will also see Japanese-Filipino actress Maryjun Takahashi as Shishio’s lover Yumi.

However, there are some scenes that deviated from the original Manga series especially the part about Aoshi Shinomori whose appearance was like a lost piece in an otherwise perfect movie.

As for the girls, our favorite “firefly scene” in the animation was omitted in this movie. But do not fret because there are other parts that will still make you swoon.

Knowing that there will be a second installment, audiences will know what to expect.

Kenshin’s fiercest battle will unfold in “The Legend Falls.”

The fast-action film by Warner Bros. Japan begins its regular run in the country on August 20 while The Legend Falls will open on September 24.

credit: inquirer

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Actor, entrepreneur Yusuke Iseya feels affinity to ‘Rurouni’ character

August 28, 2014

By Taro Karasaki/ Asahi Weekly Staff Writer

Actor, filmmaker and entrepreneur Yusuke Iseya says playing a swashbuckling Meiji Restoration era swordsman bound by a sense of vengeance in the latest film adaptation of the popular period manga and anime “Rurouni Kenshin,” touches on an issue he can relate to.

“He cannot move on with his life because he is held down by the past,” Iseya said, carefully choosing his words in English to describe his character, Shinomori Aoshi, a former spy loyal to the Tokugawa Shogunate who is betrayed by his superiors on the battlefield.

In “Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika-hen” (Kyoto inferno), Aoshi directs his wrath toward Himura Kenshin, a former assassin who has vowed to kill no more, and who makes it his mission to convert people like Aoshi.

“It takes Kenshin to clean out that dark side in everyone, including Aoshi, for the future of Japan,” Iseya explains.

Iseya--who may be more familiar to Japanese TV viewers as the groom who talks a foreign interloper into not stealing his bride in an ad for an English language school--spoke in his adopted tongue about his experiences as an actor and a socially aware entrepreneur.

Just like his archrival, Kenshin, played by Takeru Sato, the real life Iseya is very much about bringing about change.

Aside from acting and directing, Iseya is head of a socially conscious business called Rebirth Project, whose aim is to promote a revival of traditional crafts and recycling in a bid to create a sustainable lifestyle that is “in harmony with nature.”

“In our society we constantly use and throw away things. It’s a bad cycle,” said Iseya before adding, “I wanted to break this cycle.”

Rebirth has teamed with automakers to create a stylish line of bags from used airbags and has also worked with builders to reuse construction materials.

“Creators have to use their skills to create good products, rather than cheap things. That is the worth of a creator, and the responsibility,” he said, adding, “If people choose our products then it will be a step forward to changing the world.”

Iseya said he first came up with the idea to seek ways to live a more sustainable life while doing postgraduate studies at Tokyo University of Fine Arts. A student of film, he had already starred in his first movie, “Wonderful Life,” (1999) by Hirokazu Koreeda.

“My dream had been accomplished. But I realized that this is not the purpose in my life. I am an actor and a director, but that is not the purpose of life. It is a means for life.”

It was a photograph taken by the crew of the Apollo 8 mission showing the Earth rising over the horizon of the Moon that prompted him to take action.

“(With that photo) Humans had gained the viewpoint of God,” Iseya said, adding he became aware of the issues of rapidly depleting resources and exploding populations.

“We have to get out of this situation,” Iseya recalls thinking, adding, “But what can one person do?”

Hoping to find an answer, Iseya and a friend traveled to Okinawa on a shoestring budget, sleeping in a tent for two weeks in the wilderness.

During that time, Iseya subsisted on fish caught in the sea and edible plants gathered in the dense woodland. While foraging for food, he discovered a leafy plant and tried to pluck the whole shoot from the ground.

However, his friend advised him to peel off only the leaves that he needed. That way, he said, the plant would continue to grow and provide more food in the future.

“I learned so much. It was the most exciting experience in my life,” recalled Iseya. “Since not everyone can experience that kind of thing, I wanted to share what I learned with others through my work.”

Iseya took an unconventional approach to acquiring English, too.

He said he was reluctant at first when his mother encouraged him to sign up for English conversation classes in sixth grade.

“I told her ‘No,’ but she kept on, so I gave her a condition: Buy me a Toshinobu Kubota cassette tape,” Iseya said, referring to the Japanese pop and soul singer songwriter. She did, and Iseya kept his end of the deal, developing an ear for the language in the process.

The experience spurred his interest in English in junior high school. “But I didn’t learn like the other people. I ignored the teacher, and tried to memorize how to pronounce the text. So I learned my own way.”

Iseya improved his conversational abilities traveling abroad as a fashion model for shows by such houses as Prada. But it was only after he enrolled in a filmmaking course at New York University that his communication skills soared.

He said he met many people there from other countries who spoke English with different accents.

“I realized that the most important thing was not pronunciation, but how to express yourself and how to listen.”

(This article originally appeared in the Aug. 17-24 issue of Asahi Weekly)

By Taro Karasaki/ Asahi Weekly Staff Writer
credit: asahi

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Rurouni Kenshin’ returns with fiery martial style
The Japan News/Asia News Network
August 20, 2014



Japanese kengeki (swordplay dramas) may change forever after this film. That’s how impressive the innovative action scenes are in “Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika-hen” (Rurouni Kenshin Kyoto Inferno).

The film is a sequel to “Rurouni Kenshin,” and both films are based on the Nobuhiro Watsuki manga of the same name. The latest film, the first of a two-part story, surpasses the original in both action and scale.

The second part, “Rurouni Kenshin: Densetsu no Saigo” (Rurouni Kenshin The Legend Ends), will be released in September.

A much-feared assassin from the final years of the Tokugawa shogunate, Kenshin (played by Takeru Sato) becomes a wanderer after the Meiji Restoration in 1868 and helps ordinary people using a blunt-edged sword. However, Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara), who took over Kenshin’s job as an assassin, holds a grudge against the new government that betrayed him and gathers private soldiers to carry out a coup. To stop Shishio, Kenshin sets off for Kyoto.

The film’s main crew, including director Keishi Otomo, returns from the previous film. The cast from the original is joined by some new faces, including Fujiwara and Yusuke Iseya, complementing and completing a fantastic lineup.

The film’s action also reaches levels unseen in Japanese cinema.

Action director Kenji Tanigaki has worked extensively in Hong Kong, and “The Great Fire” benefits from his Hong Kong-style techniques even more than the previous film. Particularly outstanding is the groundbreaking fight scene inside a house involving an old man (Min Tanaka) who battles with tonfa, stick-like weapons used in ancient martial arts, and a man using two swords (Iseya).

Past Japanese period films, such as “Zatoichi,” provided inspiration for wuxia martial arts films, the sword-fighting dramas of the Chinese-speaking world. The action of wuxia evolved from there, while Japanese period films actually regressed somewhat, spreading the gap between the styles wider and wider.

This film incorporates the progress made by wuxia films and strives to surpass them, which is a moving story in itself.

credit:  inquirer

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id="page_header"1st Rurouni Kenshin Sequel Earns Best Opening Among 2014 Japanese Live-Action Films posted on 2014-08-05

Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno (Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika-hen), the first of two live-action Rurouni Kenshin sequel films, opened nationwide in Japan on Friday. In three days, it sold 645,086 tickets for 822,734,430 yen (about US$8 million). In the process, it garnered the biggest opening of any Japanese live-action film this year.

Most films open in Japan on Saturday, not Friday. For comparison's sake, Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno sold 433,346 tickets for 592,230,000 yen (US$5.8 million) on 439 screens from Saturday to Sunday. Since the first of the month is "service day" for discounted tickets in many Japanese theaters, more people saw the movie on Friday than usual (for a weekday). The movie sold 211,740 tickets for 230,499,400 yen (US$2.2 million) on Friday.

The film's distributor anticipates that this sequel will outdo the first live-action Rurouni Kenshin film and eventually top 4 billion yen (US$40 million). The first film just aired during the "Friday Road-Show!" timeslot on Japanese television on August 1 and earned a 16.3% rating.

Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno will open in The Philippines — the first Asian country outside Japan — on August 6. The second sequel, Rurouni Kenshin: Densetsu no Saigo-hen (Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends), will then open in Japan on September 13.

The sequels feature the return of the following cast members:

• Takeru Satoh as Kenshin Himura
• Emi Takei as Kaoru Kamiya
• Munetaka Aoki as Sanosuke Sagara
• Yuu Aoi as Megumi Takani
• Yosuke Eguchi as Hajime Saitō

Additional cast members include: 

• Tao Tsuchiya as Misao Makimachi
• Ryunosuke Kamiki as Sōjirō Seta
• Yusuke Iseya as Aoshi Shinomori
• 68-year-old min Tanaka (Tekkonkinkreet, The Twilight Samurai, 47 Ronin remake) as Nenji Kashiwazaki/Okina
• 47-year-old Kazufumi Miyazawa (The Boom music band) as Toshimichi Ōkubo
• 39-year-old Yukiyoshi Ozawa (Umi no Hotaru) as Hirobumi Itō
• 12-year-old Kaito Ōyagi (Ninja Kids!!! Summer Mission Impossible) as Yahiko Myōjin
• 25-year-old model Maryjun Takahashi as Yumi Komagata

The cast of the Juppongatana (Ten Swords), a group of elite swordsmen led by Shishio (played by Tatsuya Fujiwara), include:

• Ryōsuke Miura as Chō Sawagejō
• Kenichi Takitō as Hōji Sadojima
• Tomomi Maruyama as Anji Yūkyūzan
• Matsu Murata as Usui Uonuma
• Hiroko Yashiki as Kamatari Honjō
• Yuuya Hara as Henya Kariwa
• Takao Yamada as Iwanbō
• Kentarō Shimazu as Saizuchi
• Kōta Yamaguchi as Fuji

Taketo Tanaka played Yahiko in the first live-action Rurouni Kenshin film. Director Keishi Ōtomo (Ryōmaden) returned from the first film along with character costume designer Kazuhiro Sawataishi.

The first live-action Rurouni Kenshin film opened in Japan in 2012. The film had its North American premiere in Los Angeles in December 2012.

Watsuki's manga ran from 1994 to 1999 in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine and sold more than 58 million copies. The creator also drew the Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration retelling that launched in Jump Square magazine in May 2012 and ended last year. He is now drawing a new Rurouni Kenshin spinoff manga about Shishio.

An anime series aired in Japan from 1996 to 1998 and spawned several anime film and video projects. Viz Media publishes both manga in North America, while Media Blasters released the television anime. ADV Films released two later original video anime projects and a film on DVD, and Aniplex released these three titles on Blu-ray Disc. Sentai Filmworks released the two more recent video anime series on Blu-ray Disc and DVD, which also covered the Kyoto arc.

Source: animeanime.jp

credit:  animenewsnetwork

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Rurouni Kenshin - Kyoto Inferno
by Jay Seaver

"Superior samurai sequel."

SCREENED AT THE 2014 FANTASIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL: The first "Rurouni Kenshin" movie had the look of a franchise starter in the best sort of way, an introduction to an appealing setting and group of characters that leaves the door open for new adventures. The second follows through on that promise, delivering a bigger adventure with even higher stakes, and its a fine place to start on its own.

In November 1878, a maniac murders dozens inside a Hyogo mine. He is Makoto Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara), a samurai who took on the role of assassin when "Battosai" laid down his sword ten years ago, until the new Meiji government found him a liability, though the attempt to eliminate him only resulted in his being badly burned. Now that he has re-emerged as a terrorist, the government calls upon the former Battosai, Kenshin Himura (Takeru Sota), despite his pledge not to kill that extends to carrying a "back-bladed" sword with a blunt leading edge. But with a monster like Shishio...

This isn't just a one-on-one match between Himura and Shishio, of course - Shishio has a fair number of mercenaries working for him and other followers, including the ominously named Ten Swords. When Himura makes a couple of new friends on the road to Kyoto, including Misao Makimachi (Tao Tsuchiya), it looks for a while like the series is going to go full wandering-ronin and leave the last movie's supporting cast behind after a relatively brief reprise at the start, but that's not the case, and as a result things are actually fairly crowded by the end. It feels a bit like director Keishi Otomo and his co-writers Kiyomi Fujii & Nobuhiro Watsuki are trying to fit a lot of Nobuhiro Watsuki's manga (published as "Samurai X" in the United States) into three movies that can't quite expand and contract or give the audience time to pause and process the way that comics can.

Even with a couple of extraneous subplots, this is still quite a satisfying, fast-paced movie. Otomo and company have progressed the themes of the first movie in a way that doesn't change its heart too much, with Himura worried more about becoming the man he was rather than whether he deserves to be treated as a human being now, and play up the uncertainty brought about by the end of an era without having anybody but the lunatic villain actually miss the shogunate. For a movie with a large cast, there's very little filler to keep everyone busy or on-screen, and the detours are enjoyable.

Plus, the action is great. The filmmakers start things off with a downright hellish opening sequence that is thrilling but also shockingly effective at how it establishes Shishio as a monster. The one which shows how he got burnt yet didn't die is clever, too - Otomo and cinematographer Takuro Ishizaka take a sequence that could leave Shishio sympathetic - he is ambushed, set on fire, and let for dead - and make the snow look like ashes, a descent rather than a rebirth. Most of all, though, there are the swordfights. Just like in the first movie, they're faster-paced and more acrobatic than traditional samurai movie duels, with some American-style swashbuckling added to the Hong Kong-style action. Otomo gets in close without making things choppy, all the better to let the audience see how Himura's emotions are playing out and whether this is becoming more of a rush than a desperate necessity.

I still think Takeru Sota looks a bit young to play a character who, having built a reputation he walked away from a decade ago, should at least be in his mid-thirties, but it works better here than last time, and he's got any easy, unforced chemistry with Emi Takei. Tatsuya Fujiwara does most of his work behind bandages and makeup - kind of a surprising choice for a good-looking young actor - but he dives into this villainous part with relish, getting the audience to believe he embraces his role as a monster without the need to justify it. The other newcomers are strong, too: Tao Tsuchiya fills the spot of capable-with-a-sword ingenue that Takei's Kaoru has somewhat outgrown without repeating it, and Min Tanaka is a delight as her grandfather, an innkeeper who seems to have come to enjoy that as much as the other career he never officially retired from. Yusuke Iseya gets dropped into a role that mostly seems extraneous here, but will likely become more important in the next installment.

That things are being pushed off for a third movie - the ominously-titled "The Legend Ends" is due for Japanese release in September, hot on the heals of "Kyoto Inferno" - is a bit of a disappointment, especially for those of us who walked in not realizing that this was a "one plus two" trilogy. Nothing wrong with those, though, and the "Rurouni Kenshin" series is seeing itself as a superior example if the third party lives up to the first two.

credit:   efilmcritic

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Takeru Sato and Director Otomo promoting  "Rurouni Kenshin" at the 2012 BIFF in Seoul, Korea.
video credit: pd SIM

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class="page-title"INTERVIEW: Nobuhiro Watsuki

Interview originally appeared in Jump SQ #6 2012
Translation by Joe Yamazaki

With a new manga series, anime, and a summer live-action movie, the classic SHONEN JUMP series, Rurouni Kenshin, is making a big-time comeback with multimedia projects that have all of us salivating! As the original creator, Nobuhiro Watsuki shares his thoughts on the Kenshin revival and how it inspired him to draw the new Shonen Jump Alpha series, Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration.

Q: How did Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration come about?

Nobuhiro Watsuki (NW): With the production of a new anime to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the original anime series and the release of a live-action movie, I thought I’d contribute to that excitement by creating a new manga. I sat in on a production meeting for the live-action movie and had some ideas and stories I came up with for the film, but some of them weren’t used.

Those ideas that emerged from the planning of the movie were intended to give readers a glimpse into Himura Kenshin’s origin. It made me want to repurpose the ideas by drawing the new manga Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration in a way that will reintroduce it to readers.

 

The other thing was, while it was running in Weekly Shonen Jump, I was in a “charge-ahead” mentality. I didn’t get an overall perspective on my work. Twelve years after the fact, I finally took a bird’s-eye view of it. That’s when I thought about things like “this part could be interpreted like this” or “why did Kenshin feel this way?” I noticed things I never would have during the serialization, and it made me want to include those ideas.

Q: Did you make any changes to Kenshin or the other character-design settings in Restoration?

NW: I was going to, initially. For example, I could have redesigned the characters or changed the setting, but I didn’t want to play around with them too much, so I stuck to the original style. I did make subtle changes, like Kenshin wearing a scarf or Saito wearing a uniform that was actually worn during the Meiji era. I also changed Jin-e’s appearance, so that’s something you can look forward to. Also, the art is a mix of Kenshin and the middle part of Embalming.

Q: You’re scheduled to have a new Kenshin one-shot story in Weekly Shonen Jump this summer. What’s that going to be like?

NW: I first thought about making it a side story that takes place in between some of the original chapters. But after struggling to come up with a story that fans of the original as well as new readers would enjoy, I decided that it should be a supplement to the manga. It begins right before Act 1, before Kenshin arrives at Kamiya Dojo. When I reread Act 1 in preparation for Restoration, I felt I could expand on Kenshin’s motivation to stay at Kamiya Dojo. I’m hoping to write about one of the factors that led to him staying.

Q: You’ve watched the live-action movie. What did you think of it?

NW: It was right on! Takeru Satoh played Kenshin’s dual personality well. He truly was Kenshin. Yosuke Eguchi who played Saito Hajime, Koji Kikkawa who played Udo Jin-e, and Munetaka Aoki who played Sagara Sanosuke really took on their characters’ expressions and movements in the action sequences. It drew me in, especially the scene with Saito’s Gatotsu pose. It sent chills down my spine! I thought Emi Takei playing Kamiya Kaoru was really cute and Yu Aoi playing Takani Megumi was also fantastic. It was great to see the roles of Sekihara Tae and Sanjo Tsubame, who work at the restaurant Akabeko, and Chief Uramura thoughtfully cast.

Q: What did you think about the theme of the live-action movie?

NW: It’s mainly based on the Jin-e and Takeda Kanryu stories featured in the manga. The battle against Jin-e is shown in great detail. The story is told in a way that makes the Kanryu/Jin-e arc, and the overall “vow to never kill” theme in the manga version of Kenshin, memorable. Parts I felt I didn’t explain well enough in the manga were improved. There were actually lines in the movie that made me think “I want to use that line in the manga!”

Q: Lastly, do you have a message to the fans?

NW: I hope you all enjoy Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration together with the live-action movie. The manga contains ideas and stories that aren’t in the film and vice versa. There are a few other projects coming out in relation to the big Kenshin reboot this summer, so I hope you check them all out.

About Nobuhiro Watsuki
Nobuhiro Watsuki earned international accolades for his first major manga series, Rurouni Kenshin. Serialized in Japan’s Weekly Shonen Jump from 1994 to 1999, Rurouni Kenshin inspired an animated TV show and the upcoming live-action movie. Watsuki’s next hits, Buso Renkin and Gun Blaze West, were also serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump. His most recent series, Embalming and Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration are currently seriazlized in Jump SQ.

credit: shonenjump

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Thousands Attend Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno Asian Premiere

posted by kenryoku on 9 August, 2014

"Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno" had its Asian premiere in Manila, Philippines last August 6. Fans came in droves to welcome lead stars Takeru Sato, Emi Takei and Munetaka Aoki plus director Keishi Otomo. Fans during the red carpet event on August 6 were estimated to be 5,000 while those who flocked to the public press conference the day after was pegged to be even more.

During the public press conference at Glorietta Activity Center on August 7 which JpopAsia was able to attend, the Japanese luminaries candidly answered questions amidst shrieks and chants from the crowd which started building up in the morning, hours before the event scheduled to begin at 6PM. Only Takeru Satoh, Munetaka Aoki and Keishi Otomo were present during the presscon as Emi Takei had to fly back to Japan earlier.

Director Otomo disclosed that Nobuhiro Watsuri, creator of the manga in which the movie trilogy was based, was really involved in the preparations for the live action adaptation. He said they had a lot of collaborative meetings before the cameras started rolling.

The cast also shared some interesting anecdotes while shooting the "Kyoto Inferno" and the final movie "The Legend Ends". Aoki said that he lost a tooth while taping. However, he was excited to fight and had a lot of fun getting hit and being bloodied. Satoh, on the other hand, said that the toughest scene for him was the last fight with Shishio in "The Legend Ends". It was also his favorite and where he was able to bring out everything.

When asked how they personally connect to the story of Rurouni Kenshin, Satoh stated that Kenshin had already become like a mentor to him. He explained that in his daily life, he would now always ask himself, "if I were Kenshin, what would I decide to do?" For Aoki, he loved his character Sanosuke for being very passionate, protective and reliable.

On to the topic of what is it about the Rurouni Kenshin movies that resonates with other Asian cultures, Director Otomo believed that it's the actors' dedication that was translated into film for everyone to feel and appreciate. For Satoh, the action goes beyond countries and cultures and that through the film, they hope they would be able to convey the delicate intricacies of Japanese culture. Aoki had the audience laughing when he declared that the reason was

The cast also shared some interesting anecdotes while shooting the "Kyoto Inferno" and the final movie "The Legend Ends". Aoki said that he lost a tooth while taping. However, he was excited to fight and had a lot of fun getting hit and being bloodied. Satoh, on the other hand, said that the toughest scene for him was the last fight with Shishio in "The Legend Ends". It was also his favorite and where he was able to bring out everything.

When asked how they personally connect to the story of Rurouni Kenshin, Satoh stated that Kenshin had already become like a mentor to him. He explained that in his daily life, he would now always ask himself, "if I were Kenshin, what would I decide to do?" For Aoki, he loved his character Sanosuke for being very passionate, protective and reliable.

On to the topic of what is it about the Rurouni Kenshin movies that resonates with other Asian cultures, Director Otomo believed that it's the actors' dedication that was translated into film for everyone to feel and appreciate. For Satoh, the action goes beyond countries and cultures and that through the film, they hope they would be able to convey the delicate intricacies of Japanese culture. Aoki had the audience laughing when he declared that the reason was because every character is attractive. He also added that the new characters made the movie more thrilling and exciting.

And what if Hollywood decide to do an English-language remake of "Rurouni Kenshin"? This question had the audience booing. Satoh conceded that the audience's reaction would probably be his reaction too. As for Director Otomo, he dared Hollywood to "go ahead, try it!"

"Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno" is currently showing in Japan where it is ruling the box office. It will have regular screening in the Philippines on August 20. "Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends", meanwhile, will premiere in Japan on September 13 and in the Philippines on September 24.

credit: jpopasia

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id="ns_pagetitle"Shooting of Rurouni Kenshin in 11 Prefectures Is Finally Finished. “This is the First Time I’ve Loved My Role,” Says Takeru Satoh

Jan. 12, 2014

The sequel of the 2012 hit movie Rurouni Kenshin will be released in two parts this summer. The Great Kyoto Fire Arc and The Last of a Legend Arc will be released in theaters Japan-wide on Aug. 1 and Sept. 13, respectively.The shooting of the movie, which started July 1, 2013, has ended recently at last. It lasted six months and took place in 11 areas of Japan––nine prefectures, one urban prefecture, and one metropolitan prefecture. Locations included Ibaraki, Yamagata, Kumamoto, Shiga, Hyogo, Kyoto, Nagano, Tochigi, Chiba, Kanagawa, and Tokyo. The gross distance between these locations add up to roughly 20,000 kilometers, half the circumference of our globe.Having finished such a large-scale shooting spanning Japan, Takeru Satoh (Himura Kenshin) and Emi Takei (Kamiya Kaoru) shared their feelings regarding the movie.

Takeru Satoh, who also played Kenshin in the previous movie, talks about his attachment: “As I was thinking deeper about this person, Kenshin, I rapidly became attached to the character. This is the first time I’ve loved my role.” He added, “If I look at Kenshin objectively, it feels like he’s a friend living inside me. He’s a friend I love, a friend I can’t leave alone and want to protect, I love him that much...he’s a really nice guy. This is the first time ever that I’ve felt like this,” speaking from the bottom of his heart. It seems Kenshin has become an irreplaceable role to him. “Since the intense action continued, there was always the probability of getting hurt. If you do it all over, there’s even the possibility of suffering a serious injury. For that reason, we had to be a dozen times more concentrated than as if we were shooting a regular scene. We had to stay focused all the time,” he commented about the swordfights that had a scale-up since the previous movie. Having finished the shooting without problems, an expression of relief appeared on his face.

Kamei also challenged herself in the genuine action: “Compared to the previous movie, practising took more time, so I thoroughly engaged in action practise,” she said. “This time, I had a new weapon called a naginata, so the training was really worthwhile, and I gradually came to understand the parts that came to me even when moving and those that didn’t, it was a lot of fun,” she continued, showing confidence in her results.The movie depicts the Great Kyoto Fire Arc, the climax of the original manga and most popular part of the animated series, in two parts. Keishi Ohtomo, director of Hagetaka: The Movie and Platinum Data, continues to have the director’s seat. We are looking forward to this movie that took the daring actions of having 5,000 people credited and shooting all across Japan in a period of six months.Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire Arc will be released on Aug. 1 (Fri) and Rurouni Kenshin: The Last of a Legend Arc on Sept. 13 (Sat) Japan-wide at Marunouchi Piccadilly, Shinjuku Piccadilly, and others.

[Comments on finishing the shooting]

Takeru Satoh: “Everything is bound to end sometime (laughs). In the case of this movie, even before the worries of whether I did good acting or if it will become a good movie, there was always this uneasy feeling of whether or not we’ll be able to complete the shooting, so I’m really relieved that I managed to survive until now. Also, in regards to the movie, I feel a certain emotion, I feel that I’ve experienced so many things it can hardly fit into a lifetime.”Emi Takei: “I enjoyed having the chance to do real action. Although director Ohtomo was hard on us (laughs), I had a lot of fun. I’m honored to be able to appear in Rurouni Kenshin, so I’m looking forward to seeing the complete movie. Thank you very much!”
Source: animeanime
Source article written by Katsunori Takahashi
credit: otakumode

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class="entry-title" ‘Rurouni Kenshin’ star Takeru Satoh in love with PHL class="entry-meta" August 8, 2014

“I’m glad I came. I am now in love with the Philippines,” Satoh said during the press conference of “Kyoto Inferno” on Thursday.

He added that through the “Rurouni Kenshin” trilogy they are able to show and share the delicate intricacies of the Japanese culture with Filipinos.

credit:  gmanetworknews

class="story-title"Wandering warrior puts life on the lineAkshita NandaThe Straits TimesFriday, Aug 29, 2014 - See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/showbiz/wandering-warrior-puts-life-line#sthash.3kviy6VQ.dpuf

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Wandering warrior puts life on the line
Akshita Nanda The Straits Times Friday, Aug 29, 2014



Watching the fight scenes in Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno makes Japanese actor Takeru Satoh wince, but not for the cuts, bruises and bumps he sustained from tripping over his old-time robes several times while filming.

"When I see myself on screen, all I see are my weak points. I keep worrying about how I will appear in the next scene," the 25-year-old says in Japanese.

Satoh wears his stardom lightly. An established TV star in Japan, he has in two years become an international name attracting hordes of screaming fans in South-east Asia, thanks to the Rurouni Kenshin action-adventure movie franchise adapted from a hit manga series by Nobuhiro Watsuki.

The sequel to the 2012 movie Rurouni Kenshin, Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno opens in Singapore tomorrow and ends on a cliffhanger to be resolved in a third movie, Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends, which will open here in October.

All three movies were directed by Keishi Otomo, who made his name with Japanese TV dramas for broadcaster NHK.

Satoh plays Himura Kenshin, the wandering or "rurouni" warrior of the title. In this movie, he fights a former ally Makoto Shishio (played by Tatsuya Fujiwara of Kaiji 2: The Ultimate Gambler fame), who is determined to destroy the new imperial government in late 19th-century Japan.

"I didn't think people in the Philippines and other countries would be so excited about the movie," Satoh tells Life!, overwhelmed after greeting a mob of 5,000 fans at a sneak of Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno at SM Megamall in Manila recently.

"It will show in Singapore too? I'm very grateful."

Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno and Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends were shot in six months, with a production budget of 3 billion yen ($36 million) and a cast of more than 5,000 spread out over 30 locations across Japan.

The investment appears to have been worth it.

Kyoto Inferno is rocking box offices in Japan and the Philippines with record-breaking takings - 8.1 million yen in three days, the highest box-office opening of any non-animated film in Japan, while opening-day takings in Manila last Wednesday were 7.34 million peso (S$210,000), according to production company Warner Bros Japan.

The heated fan interest in the franchise has inspired movie distributor Warner Bros Singapore to bring in 16 prints of Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno for "as long a run as possible", compared to just nine weeks and the two Filmgarde Cineplexes for the first film in 2012. "We're confident that Rurouni Kenshin has its fan base," says a spokesman.

Many fans in South-east Asia grew up with a 95episode anime series based on the manga, as well as several full-length animated features, all of which were broadcast on local television in Singapore and the Philippines in the late 1990s and early noughties.

Apart from the weight of nostalgia, credit for the success of the movies goes to Otomo, 48, who slashed dialogue and condensed plot points with the blessing of the original writer. He also reduced wire stunts and CGI in favour of getting the actors to fight without stunt doubles.

Known for more subtle dramas such as the movie Vulture (2009), about a company in trouble, Otomo tells Life! that he wanted to try an action film after studying film-making in Los Angeles for two years in 1997. The experience showed him what would interest a global audience.

"I thought if I ever had the chance to make this kind of movie: action, samurai and based on a manga, then with these three factors, the film would definitely do well in the rest of the world."

Having scooped several Japanese awards for his NHK dramas, Otomo left the broadcaster in 2011 after completing work on the samurai series Ryoma-den (Story Of Ryoma), also set in late 19th-century Japan.

Satoh played an assassin in the drama so when Otomo was invited to direct the first Rurouni Kenshin movie, he brought the young actor in, having heard that he was keen to try out for the role.

"After watching him, the producer and the writer also agreed it could only be him," he says.

It was Satoh's first time playing the main role in a movie, though he has anchored well-received TV dramas such as this year's father-son comedy cop show Bitter Blood.

"I was nervous not because it was the main role, but because it was the role of Kenshin. It's a really popular manga. As a child, I really loved the character and pretended to be him with my classmates. I knew how difficult it would be to make this manga and anime into a movie."

To prepare for the role, he practised sword- fighting and brandishing the katana. He also had to learn to walk all over again, this time wearing a kimono and the formal divided skirt known as the hakama.

"Very simply, I had to practise how to carry myself and hold myself," he says. "Today, a person wearing a kimono walks very differently from how a person would have in the past."

He often tripped over the edge of the hakama while filming the fight scenes, several times bruising his head, but insists that these were his favourite parts of the movies. "When Kenshin runs, he runs all out and you can see who he really is," he says. Otomo interrupts him.

"Yes, but I have heart palpitations thinking of how you ran. You ran full tilt on rocky ground which was dangerous. Filming would have had to stop."

Indeed, Satoh's colleague Aoki Munetaka (who plays Kenshin's buddy Sanosuke Sagara) lost a tooth in one of the fight scenes. "We did put our lives on the line making this movie," Satoh says.

"And I don't think we lose out to the manga at all," Otomo adds with a smile. "I think this is a good film."

This article was first published on Aug 27, 2014.
credit: asiaone class="story-title"Wandering warrior puts life on the lineAkshita NandaThe Straits TimesFriday, Aug 29, 2014 - See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/showbiz/wandering-warrior-puts-life-line#sthash.li47eR0e.dpuf

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On fire for Kenshin
Jason Johnson The New Paper Friday, Aug 08, 2014



When I attended the screening for Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno yesterday, I had no idea what I was in for.

As it happens, I was in for one heck of a flick!

Kyoto Inferno is the sequel to the very successful Rurouni Kenshin movie that came out in 2012.

A live-action adaptation of a popular manga franchise from the 90s, it's the story of a battle-weary swordsman (Takeru Satoh) who must once again take up arms to save Japan.

His enemy is Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara), a former samurai who was almost burned to death and is now taking vengeance against the government with an army of malcontents.

So basically, a bunch of long-haired guys in bathrobes and flip-flops whack each other with katanas.

I could watch this sort of thing forever, and I'm a pacifist who despises war movies.

Guns suck, but sword fights are neat.

Our hero Kenshin is a very interesting fellow with a particularly interesting sword.

Like me, he's kind of a pacifist. Only cooler. Loads cooler.

Earlier in his career, he was apparently way too good at killing dudes, and he ended up killing way too many dudes, so now he fights with a reverse-blade sword.

That means the edge of the sword that normally slices is dulled. Instead of cutting right through foes like butter, he gives them painful bruises.

The sword's cutting edge is still there, it's just facing the wrong way.

Something tells me he'll eventually have to use it, though.

The thing I really like about these Japanese franchises is that you're only ever seeing the tip of the iceberg.

If you like what you see, as I did with Rurouni Kenshin, there's a whole world waiting for you to explore.

There's the original manga, the later additions to the manga, the various anime versions, and of course the toys. There's also a passionate fanbase to help guide you.

With Rurouni Kenshin, I'm two decades late to the party, but the important thing is that the party is still going on.

One should never feel bad about discovering something late - it's better to be a slow nerd than no nerd at all.

I'm just grateful to the longtime fans who have kept the property alive.

jjohnson@sph.com.sg

This article was published on Aug 6 in The New Paper.

credit: asiaone class="story-title"On fire for KenshinJason JohnsonThe New PaperFriday, Aug 08, 2014 - See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/showbiz/fire-kenshin#sthash.p0ncA6N5.dpuf

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Rurouni has regional fanbase
Akshita Nanda The Straits Times Friday, Aug 29, 2014



The Rurouni Kenshin movie franchise is based on a best-selling manga comic series by Nobuhiro Watsuki, which was originally published from 1994 to 1999.

A semi-historical action-adventure story about a 19th-century Japanese swordsman who gives up killing, the comics sold 5.8 million copies, were translated into 20 languages and inspired a 95-episode TV anime series which aired on Japan's Fuji network from 1996 to 1998 in Japan.

This anime was also broadcast in South-east Asia, as were other movie- length features such as Samurai X: The Motion Picture, back in the Noughties, resulting in a regional fanbase made up mainly of 20somethings and 30somethings.

Rurouni Kenshin (2012) and this year's Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno and Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends (opening in October) are the first live-action adaptations of the manga, and have been keenly anticipated by fans.

In Singapore, about a dozen cosplayers dressed up in handmade costumes for the sneak preview last Saturday at GV VivoCity. Dressed in the red robe and hakama pants of the titular character, Himura Kenshin, teacher Jaslyne Chia, 36, said she watched the anime and enjoyed the manga as a child and was excited about the movie.

"I watched it for the fight scenes and because I like the main character. I'm happy to see that the movies really do the character justice."

Indeed, Watsuki, the original creator, said in a press statement: "Because there was too much in Kyoto Inferno to fit into one movie, I was ready for huge cuts and big changes, so I'd made up my mind right from the start, from the first movie, to respect the opinion of director Keishi Otomo. But the script has got everything into it very nicely. The movie is very close to the original, so I hope that audiences will feel very close to it."

credit: asiaone

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Blades of glory
Jason Johnson The New Paper Friday, Aug 29, 2014
EXcerpt:



SINGAPORE - Guns are dumb.

It takes no real skill to pull a trigger, and even less courage.

Death can be dealt so easily and so impersonally with a gun that life - human or animal - is utterly devalued.

Killing becomes a casual decision.

Swords, on the other hand, are not casual. They require skill, athleticism, even artistry.

You have to get up close with a sword, putting your own life in peril.

There's a romance to them, a beauty in the way they look and richness to the way they're crafted.

Shining steel forged by hand.

Of course it would still suck being hacked up by a sword, but when it comes to movies and such, there's absolutely no question that they're way cooler than guns.

Exhibit A: Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno, opening in theatres here tomorrow.

In the film, swordsman Kenshin is a former assassin who defends the new Japanese government against a mad rebel - and he's glorious.

Let's take a closer look at Kenshin and some of his greatest swashbuckling fellows.

Sexy Swordsmen

RUROUNI KENSHIN: KYOTO INFERNO

You'll never see a sexier guy than Takeru Satoh as Himura Kenshin.

Satoh may be as pretty as a girl, but with a sword in his hand he gets that extra boost of bad-boy manliness - deadly and dashing.

The 25-year-old has been acting in TV and films since 2007, but this is his biggest role to date.

Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno is the sequel to Rurouni Kenshin, a live-action adaptation of a mega-popular manga and anime series from the 90s.

The swordsman with a distinctive X-scar on his cheek is a former assassin who has sworn off killing, and now uses a unique reverse-edged sword, so that he can deal non-lethal blows.

His mission is to stop the evil Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara), who is out for revenge after being burned and betrayed by the new government.

As expected, the sword-fights are the highlights of the film.

Kenshin always starts from his trademark crouched position, quickly launching himself into battle, zipping and twirling around his opponents with balletic grace.

Whether fighting a couple of lowly goons, or his nemesis Shishio, it's a sight to behold - no gunfight is ever so pretty.

Of course, a handsome fella like Kenshin doesn't spend all his time fighting, he also has a lovely lady friend in Kamiya Kaoru (Emi Takei). How could she resist?

An eternal symbol of alpha-maleness, a sword gives a guy swagger like nothing else.

THE SEXIEST

1. Legolas (Orlando Bloom) in The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (2013)
2. Jon Snow (Kit Harington) in Game of Thrones (2014)
3. Himura Kenshin (Takeru Satoh) in Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno (2014)
4. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi (1983)
5. Westley (Cary Elwes) in The Princess Bride (1987)

credit: asiaone

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class="fbPhotoAlbumTitle"The Legend Ends Stage Greeting 9.3.14

credit:  Rurouni Kenshin るろうに剣心

The Premiere Screening event and Stage greeting for Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends -
sources : @momoiro08111 | @kanae_ruroken
http://news.walkerplus.com/article/50087/image270153.html
http://www.cinematoday.jp/gallery/E0005811/DSC_5564.JPG.html

and then this...

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class="title" id="page-title" The feisty women of 'Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends'  (philstar.com) | Updated September 3, 2014



Kaoru, Megumi, and Yumi fights with what they believe in “Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends.”- Warner Bros.

MANILA, Philippines — A young, fencing mistress devoted to a reformed assassin. A beautiful healer making amends for her past. And a former courtesan madly in love with a psychopath.

Meet Kaoru, Megumi and Yumi, the strong women characters who make their mark in Warner Brothers' "Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends," the final chapter to director Keishi Otomo's blockbuster samurai trilogy.

Popular Japanese actress Emi Takei plays Kaoru Kamiya. As the young fencing mistress of the Kamiya Dojo, which she inherited from her father, she teaches the sword as "a way of life, rather than of death."

She is strong-willed but also has great concern for others. She refuses to ask about hero Kenshin Himura's past. "Everyone has things they don't want to talk about," she says, but she is terrified that Kenshin will return to his old ways, and wants him to keep his vow.

"Director Keishi Otomo asked me this time to play a Kaoru who has matured a little," explains Takei. "And this time, Kaoru fights, too! Not with a wooden sword, but with a halberd. They let me do some real stunts, so it was a lot of fun. People love the character of Kaoru, so I've tried to play her as someone who deserves that.

"On these shoots, you have to be living in the world of the film, and the director gives hints, but he never tells me exactly what the answer to any questions that arise might be. You have to find it in yourself and express that. I'm really honored to be in a film like that."

Multi-awarded actress Ya Aoi portrays Megumi Takani, A brave, determined, and also beautiful physician. The character is the descendant of a long line of doctors whose family was wiped out in the wars accompanying the end of the Shogunate. She began making opium to keep herself alive, but reformed after Kenshin Himura saved her life, and now dedicates herself to the service of those in need.

She is enraged when the new government puts pressure on Kenshin to help them by threatening to reopen her past in the opium trade. Her habitual sarcasm masks a warm heart, and she encourages Kaoru to follow Kenshin to Kyoto by suggesting that she will regret not going. When Sanosuke is setting out as well, she gives him a healing salve, the secret of which is known only to her family.

Filipino-Japanese star Maryjun Takahashi appears as Yumi Komagata. A bewitchingly beautiful woman, deeply in love with Shishio, and always by his side. Originally a courtesan in Edo's Yoshiwara pleasure quarter, she took great pride in her work there, but when the new government, under Western influence, declared the sale of women to be barbaric, she was forced to leave.

Declaring the new government to be comprised of sub-human animals, she joined Shishio in his hatred of it. As one of his inner circle she benefits greatly from his care, but in her heart she regrets that she cannot be of more use to him in his battle.

Based on the Kyoto arc of the popular manga series written & illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki, the "Rurouni Kenshin" sequels follow the story of Kenshin Himura (Takeru Satoh), a legendary swordsman in the wars accompanying the turbulent fall of Japan's Shogunate in the 19th century. Once feared as "Battosai the Killer," he has adopted a peaceful life since the arrival of the 'new age'.

But Makoto Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara), the "Shadow Killer" and successor to Kenshin's position as the deadly assassin, has since then been scheming in the Kyoto underworld, raising an army of disaffected former samurais with the aim of overthrowing the new regime.

"Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends" stars Takeru Sato (Kenshin Himura), Emi Takei (Kaoru Kamiya), Munetaka Aoki (Sanosuke Sagara), Kaito Oyagi (Yahiko Myojin), Yu Aoi (Megumi Takani), Yosuke Eguchi (Hajime Saito), Min Tanaka (Nenji Kashiwazaki), Tao Tsuchiya (Misao Makimachi), Ryunosuke Kamiki (Soujiro Seta), Maryjun Takahashi (Yumi Komagata) and Tatsuya Fujiwara (Shishio).

Opening across the Philippines on Sept. 24, 2014, "Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends" is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

credit:  philstar

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Rurouni Kenshin The Legend's End Premiere in Japan sept. 3, 2014
with the cast and the director

video credit: maidigitv

source: Rurouni Kenshin るろうに剣心

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class="title" id="page-title" 'Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno' tops Philippine box office  (philstar.com) | Updated August 25, 2014

MANILA, Philippines - "Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno" topped the Philippine box-office with P42.61 million in five days, from its first day of screening last August 20 to 24.

The movie captured the "All-Time Biggest Opening Weekend" for a Japanese film and its opening figure has surpassed the lifetime gross of the first "Rurouni Kenshin" movie, which earned P40.4 illion in its overall run in 2012.

“This is a phenomenal bow for `Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno,' one that surely exceeded even our aggressive estimates,” says Francis Soliven, general manager of Warner Bros. (F.E.), Inc. which locally distributed the film.

“We'd like to thank the loyal fans of the franchise for their unwavering support and offer our congratulations to director Keishi Otomo and the cast led by Takeru Satoh, Emi Takei and Munetaka Aoki. The aforementioned talents graciously helped promote the film when they visited here for the Asian Premiere three weeks ago. We have no doubt that their visit enabled us to launch the film in the best way possible,” he added.

Posting the biggest receipts was SM Megamall with P2.39 million over five days, while Trinoma was second with P2.16 million, and SM Cebu at third with P1.62 million.

In the Top Ten Theaters are SM Mall of Asia (P1.57 million), Glorietta 4 (P1.41 million), SM North EDSA (P1.38 million), Ayala Cebu (P1.30 million), Greenbelt 3 (P1.23 million), Eastwood (P866,850) and Gateway (P864,056).

Completing the Top Twenty are Alabang Town Center (P841,091), Greenhills (P774,768), Shangri-la (P743,634), Power Plant (P717,510), SM Aura (P655,044), Centrio Cagayan de Oro (P643,260), Robinsons Ermita (P617,200), Robinsons Magnolia (P608,664), Bonifacio High Street (P597,550) and Market! Market! (P579,084).

Based on the Kyoto arc of the popular manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki, the “Rurouni Kenshin” sequels follow the story of Kenshin Himura (Takeru Satoh), a legendary swordsman in the wars accompanying the turbulent fall of Japan's Shogunate in the 19th century. Once feared as "Battosai the Killer," he has adopted a peaceful life since the arrival of the "new age."

But Makoto Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara), the "Shadow Killer" and successor to Kenshin's position as the deadly assassin, has since then been scheming in the Kyoto underworld, raising an army of disaffected former samurais with the aim of overthrowing the new regime.

Agreeing to a request by the new government to defeat Shishio, Kenshin leaves his beloved ones in Tokyo and sets out for Kyoto.

The last installment of the Samurai X movies "Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends" opens in Philippine theaters on Sept. 24, 2014.

credit:  philstar

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ONE OK ROCK's Theme for “Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno / Densetsu no Saigo-hen”

May 09 2014

ONE OK ROCK's new song "Mighty Long Fall" will be the theme song for the film "Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno / Densetsu no Saigo-hen."

The song was written as the theme song to the movie, and it is the band's second release to be used for "Rurouni Kenshin," following their previous theme song from 2012

Along with this announcement, a trailer for the film that uses the song has been made available on YouTube. Vocalist Taka commented, "Following our previous release, I'm really happy to be able to participate in this work. It doesn't feel as though we are outsiders, but instead it feels something like we've helped create this film, and we have a deep emotional attachment to it! With that feeling, through trial and error we again made a song in our own way that is fitting for the film. The scale and action have also increased greatly since the last time, and I think that we were able to reveal a new ONE OK ROCK with intensity that is equal to that of the film!"

"Kyoto Inferno" will be released on August 1, and "Densetsu no Saigo-hen" will be released on September 12. The release of the theme song, "Mighty Long Fall" is not yet announced.

credit:  enbarks