There are so many good things to say about this movie, that it is difficult to want to knock it at all. As a fan of the series and the manga, I want nothing more than to gush about how faithful the film remains to both the series and the manga. I will try to hold that notion in and be fair.
Strictly as a movie goer, the character development for Kenshin himself is brilliant. You do get the feeling that he is repenting for the sins of his past. However, the characters for Yahiko and Kaoru for example, are not really all that fleshed out. I will say though, that it's not enough to detract too much from the score because the plot is solid, the acting is solid, and the choreographed fight scenes are excellent. In fact, they are expanded upon a bit from the manga and the anime. I almost doesn't matter that they don't go into Yahiko's back story as a pickpocket and Kenshin's kindness toward him. Kaoru's back story is mostly fleshed out here in the movie, only missing some minor details. I defend this by saying this is a movie about Kenshin, and nobody else.
The order of the plot bothered me a little. There were MANY other villains that Kenshin disposed of before getting to the main villain at the end, and to be honest, their choice of a main villain wasn't really sound, because Jine Udo was never a top tier bad guy in the first place. The inclusion of Shishio might have made this better, but then again, the scope of the story would have been greater, thus detracting from the character development they were able to do this time around. I'd like to see a sequel where maybe Shishio is included, because he was probably the best villain in the series.
Overall, the movie is an excellent one. Not a full 10 out of 10, but very close. This FEELS like Kenshin, looks and SOUNDS like Kenshin too, which is most important. Another thing I wish they would have done was thrown in Kenshin's main theme from the show somewhere, however, I completely understand the choice not to do so here.
I'd certainly love to see a sequel to this fantastic movie. To be honest, I'd been waiting a long time for something like this.
Strictly as a movie goer, the character development for Kenshin himself is brilliant. You do get the feeling that he is repenting for the sins of his past. However, the characters for Yahiko and Kaoru for example, are not really all that fleshed out. I will say though, that it's not enough to detract too much from the score because the plot is solid, the acting is solid, and the choreographed fight scenes are excellent. In fact, they are expanded upon a bit from the manga and the anime. I almost doesn't matter that they don't go into Yahiko's back story as a pickpocket and Kenshin's kindness toward him. Kaoru's back story is mostly fleshed out here in the movie, only missing some minor details. I defend this by saying this is a movie about Kenshin, and nobody else.
The order of the plot bothered me a little. There were MANY other villains that Kenshin disposed of before getting to the main villain at the end, and to be honest, their choice of a main villain wasn't really sound, because Jine Udo was never a top tier bad guy in the first place. The inclusion of Shishio might have made this better, but then again, the scope of the story would have been greater, thus detracting from the character development they were able to do this time around. I'd like to see a sequel where maybe Shishio is included, because he was probably the best villain in the series.
Overall, the movie is an excellent one. Not a full 10 out of 10, but very close. This FEELS like Kenshin, looks and SOUNDS like Kenshin too, which is most important. Another thing I wish they would have done was thrown in Kenshin's main theme from the show somewhere, however, I completely understand the choice not to do so here.
I'd certainly love to see a sequel to this fantastic movie. To be honest, I'd been waiting a long time for something like this.