Review: 'Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends' presents a fitting finale for Kenshin

Kenshin (Takeru Satoh) battles Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara). (Warner Bros Pictures)

Marcus Goh is a former Singapore television scriptwriter. He’s also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. Tweets/Instagrams at @Optimarcus and writes at marcusgohmarcusgoh.com. The views expressed are his own.

Secret ending? No.

Running time: 135 minutes (~2.5 hours)

“Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends” is a swordfighting epic that takes place in feudal Japan, and is an adaptation of the mange of the same name. It serves as the sequel to “Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno” and closes the trilogy of Rurouni Kenshin films. The movie revolves around the titular Kenshin, who must conquer his own inner demons in order to defeat his evil counterpart, Shishio. It stars Takeru Satoh (Himura Kenshin), Emi Takei (Kamiya Kaoru), Munetaka Aoki (Sagara Sanosuke), Yosuke Iseya (Shinomori Aoshi), Tao Tsuchiya (Makimachi Misao), Yosuke Eguchi (Saito Hajime), and Tatsuya Fujiwara (Makoto Shishio).

"Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends" concludes the story told in the previous movie, tying up the plot threads and presenting a riveting tale of redemption for the title character, Kenshin. Although not strictly necessary, watch (or Wiki) "Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno" to better understand the events that occur in this instalment. Like it’s predecessor, this adaptation truly maximises the strengths of the film medium to bring a fresh but familiar take to Kenshin.

Emi Takei as Kamiya Kaoru. (Warner Bros Pictures)

So how does the exciting conclusion to the Kenshin trilogy thrill you?

Kenshin’s redemption

Kenshin’s victory depends entirely on whether he will forgive himself for his past sins, which cuts directly to the core of his character. This fascinating character study of Kenshin brings much depth and complexity to him, giving us greater relatability and a stronger emotional connection with the tortured samurai. His raison d’etre is atonement for the hundreds he has murdered in the past, but this atonement may ironically be his undoing if he is to defeat Shishio.

Spectacular swordfights

If “Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno” dazzled you with the amount of action, “The Legend Ends” will blow you out of the water with the sheer number and quality of the fights. Each battle is uniquely executed and amazingly choreographed, showing us just why Kenshin is such a feared swordsman. Even though you know Kenshin will win every fight anyway, you’re still going to be gripped by the breathtakingly awesome duels here. Just watch the Aoshi-Kenshin fight!

Excellent pacing

There’s never a draggy moment or wasted scene in the movie - each moment either generates solid tension or provides emotional insight for the characters. The movie hooks you from the very beginning and holds your attention all the way to the gentle ending. Exposition is interspersed well with action — every time the movie lets you catch a breath from all the fighting, you learn something new about the characters or plot.

Tatsuya Fujiwara as Makoto Shishio. (Warner Bros Pictures)

However, “Ruoruni Kenshin: The Legend Ends” dropped the ball on a few characters.

Aoshi felt unnecessary

Aoshi doesn’t actually fulfill a critical role in the plot. He serves more as a warm-up fight on the way to Shishio. Granted, it’s an amazing spectacle of swordplay, but Aoshi never truly engages us the way Kenshin, Shishio, or even Sanosuke does. He feels like an interesting supporting character to flesh out the other major characters, but doesn’t have enough to stand on his own as a truly motivated anti-hero.

Seta Sojiro’s strange fate

The problem with Sojiro is that he hardly has any airtime in this movie, apart from his final battle with Kenshin. While it bookends his rivalry with Kenshin from the previous film, his reaction to being defeated seems exaggerated and unwarranted. Even if you have seen ”Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno,” Sojiro’s lamentation looks… over the top, at best.

Takeru Satoh as Himura Kenshin. (Warner Bros Pictures)

"Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends" is a fitting finale for our hero, focusing squarely on Kenshin and his reason for being a wandering samurai. In the end, it’s all about Kenshin’s regret at his brutal past, and his struggle to forgive himself. It’s a story about forgiveness, from the most unforgiving of characters — ourselves.

Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? Yes, especially if you’ve watched the previous two Kenshin movies.

Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? Definitely!

Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends” opens in cinemas 9 October, 2014 (Thursday).