Takeru Sato returns as Kenshin Himura in Rurouni Kenshin: The Final Chapter (るろうに剣心 最終章) !!
Part 1, “The Final”, is slated for a 7/3/2020 release, and will adapt the Jinchuu arc, where Kenshin encounters Enishi Yukishiro, whose sister – and Kenshin’s first wife – Tomoe Yukishiro, was killed 15 years ago by Kenshin right in front of his eyes. The arc involves Enishi leading a campaign of ‘Jinchū’ (human punishment) with his own band of warriors against Kenshin and his allies in the hopes of plunging him into a living hell and making him suffer as much as possible.
Part 2, “The Beginning”, will conclude the chapter on 8/7/2020, and will cover the events that happened in Tsuioku-hen, better known as “Trust and Betrayal” OVA, which told of Kenshin’s past as a hitokiri or manslayer, his involvement and later relationship with Tomoe, and how he got the cross-shaped scar.
Filming for the 2 movies started on November 4, 2018. The shooting was done in 43 locations across Japan, including Kyoto, Nara, Shiga, Mie, Hyogo, Kumamoto, Hiroshima, Tochigi, Saitama, Shizuoka, Osaka, Nagano, for more than 7 months. The shooting wrapped up on June 7, 2019, with a total of around 6,000 people participating to-date.
Most of the original cast will also be reprising their roles as follows:
Emi Takei – Kaoru Kamiya
Munetaka Aoki – Sanosuke Sagara
Yu Aoi – Megumi Takani
Riku Ohnishi – Yahiko Myojin
Yosuke Eguchi – Hajime Saito
Yusuke Iseya-Aoshi Shinomori
Tao Tsuchiya – Misao Makimachi
Playing the role of antagonist Enishi Yukishiro is Japanese-American actor Mackenyu Arata, who has starred in several drama series and TV/movie productions. He is also the son of martial artist and actor Sonny Chiba.
On the other hand, Enishi’s sister – and Kenshin’s erstwhile wife – Tomoe Yukishiro will be played by Kasumi Arimura.
Sato, who has played the titular role since eight years ago, recalls the series again and says, “This work is, of course, my pride, and I will continue Rurouni Kenshin. Especially this episode which I could not avoid it when I talked about it, and I wanted to play absolutely, and I felt like a mission not only to play but also to leave a name in film history with overwhelming quality.”
During the wrap up of the The Final Chapter, Nobuhiro Watsuki, original author and artist for the series, presented a surprised Sato with a water-colored drawing of Kenshin with a note that says, “Thank you for playing Kenshin! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!”
The latest info we have related to the upcoming movies is that ONE OK ROCK will be writing and playing songs again as part of the soundtrack!
From what we can see with the cast, the released photos from the tapings, and the upcoming soundtrack, things are really looking up for these 2 movies! These movies will hopefully give a proper ending to the series on the big screen, which fans never got from the anime series.
While the OVAs “Tsuioku-hen” (Trust and Betrayal) and “Seisouhen” (Reflections) touched upon Kenshin’s origins and his life as Battousai, as well as some parts of the Jinchuu arc of the manga, the ending was never really in line with what Nobuhiro Watsuki told in the manga, nor was he even part of the production for the said OVAs.
Just like the previous 3 live action Rurouni Kenshin movies, here’s hoping these 2 movies will also be shown in theaters here in the Philippines! Stay tuned as we will be putting up new posts for the screening schedules as they become available.
Sources:
Rurouni Kenshin the Movie on FB
Rurouni Kenshin the Movie on IG
Rurouni Kenshin the Movie on Twitter
Takeru Sato’s blog
Warner Bros. JP
Manila Bulletin
