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Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno (2014)



Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno (2014)




7/10



Starring
Takeru Satoh
Emi Takei
Tatsuya Fujiwara
Yosuke Eguchi
Munetaka Aoki
Yūsuke Iseya


Directed by Keishi Ōtomo


Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno is the second part to the 2012 movie and serves as a wonderful setup for Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends (2014). The movie continues the story of Battōsai Himura Kenshin as he trails the journey of a wanderer, choosing not to pick up the sword again and following the path of redemption for a life he has chosen to leave behind.

Once again, Takeru Satoh picks up the reverse-edged sword as Rurouni Kenshin, and his portrayal will be remembered for years to come. His face will be stamped on our minds as Kenshin in the flesh. This movie didn’t tone down the fun and masterful swordplay that was present in the first movie—in fact, I’d say it took it up an extra notch. While you might agree that much of the story has been condensed and some elements removed to keep the movie within a watchable runtime, they still managed to create a wonderful movie in the best way they knew how.

Watch out for the sword display that leads to Kenshin’s reverse-edged sword being broken.

Kyoto Inferno introduces the villain of the Samurai X campaign, Makoto Shishio, played by Tatsuya Fujiwara. We remember him as Light Yagami from the live-action films Death Note (2006) and Death Note II: The Last Name (2006). The movie doesn’t showcase much of Shishio’s sword mastery, though we do get to see Shishio before the fire incident, cutting and slicing people down. He instilled the fear that led the government to attempt to assassinate him.

The movie kicks off where the last one ended. We’re familiar with the protagonist and his crew, and we dig deeper into knowing Saitō, who has a more prominent role in this part. We’re also introduced to more characters, like Shishio’s right-hand man, Seta Sōjirō. Shishio has decided to raise hell in Japan, taking over town after town as he aims to bring down the current government and reign in its place.

The government, unsure how to end this raging war, decides to call back the retired assassin, Himura Kenshin, to take Shishio down. The movie shows the repercussions of Kenshin taking up the task and its effect on his friends. There’s not much to dive into concerning the plot of this movie without breaking into spoilers. The main task here is Kenshin stopping Shishio, and the fights and incidents in this movie are just steps leading to the main arc awaiting us in the final installment of this Shishio arc, Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends (2014).

I believe that in the near future, as mentioned above, Takeru Satoh will be the face of Kenshin that everyone remembers. So, join me in getting these movies and storing them as a collection for the future.

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