``Rurouni Kenshin'' A hugely popular series that revolutionized live-action manga with its amazing action!

Perfect design for the character Kenshin Himura

Well, let's start with the memorable first film, "Rurouni Kenshin" (2012). It is the 11th year of the Meiji era. The turmoil of the end of the Tokugawa shogunate has subsided, and people are enjoying a new era of civilization and enlightenment. Himura Kenshin (Sato Takeru), a "wanderer" who travels around helping people, meets Kamiya Kaoru (Takei Emi), the assistant instructor at a sword-fighting dojo.

She is suffering from the negative rumours about a street slasher calling himself "Battousai the Assassin," and Kenshin ends up helping her out. However, Kenshin is actually the real Battousai. Tormented by regret for having taken the lives of so many people as an assassin, he has vowed to "fulfill his life of fighting" by saving lives using a "reverse-edged sword," a sword that cannot cut people (the details of this part are depicted in the fifth film, "Rurouni Kenshin: The Final Chapter: The Beginning"). Kenshin pursues the man calling himself his former self, trying to stop his crimes. But then he becomes embroiled in a case of smuggling a new type of opium that is also causing a stir in the streets...

The setting of "an expert who seals away his past and lives on" is a staple in hard-boiled fiction and action movies. " The Equalizer " (2014) and " John Wick " (2014) can be said to follow this trend, as can Bucky (Sebastian Stan), a popular character in the " Avengers " series. Like Batman, characters who move between light and shadow are attractive in any era, and "Rurouni Kenshin," which incorporates the transition of the Edo/Meiji eras, is a truly ingenious setting (the original series began serialization in 1994, but it is still popular 27 years later. It must have a timeless appeal). The original author, Watsuki, is a big fan of American comics, so this may have had an influence on the story.

However, while the characters above are full of dandyism, Kenshin is the complete opposite. Visually, he is portrayed as a gentle man who is easily mistaken for a woman (he is also small, less than 160 cm tall) and his catchphrase is "Oro?", emphasizing cuteness in order to create a contrast with the cold-hearted assassin. However, as an assassin, Battousai the Killer, who appears briefly in "Rurouni Kenshin" and is depicted throughout "Rurouni Kenshin: The Final Chapter The Beginning," he is tinged with madness in both appearance and the atmosphere he exudes. It is said that Watsuki, a fan of "Kamen Rider Den-O," was the main reason for Sato's selection, and indeed the smile he gives off the moment he appears on screen as Kenshin, and the ferocity he shows later on, are a perfect three-dimensional representation of Kenshin.

Additionally, the cross scar on his cheek is very well done. Its origin is explained in detail in "Rurouni Kenshin: The Final Chapter - The Beginning," but it is the scar of an "incident" that Kenshin will never forget. It is a scar he received during his time as Battousai the Assassin, and it also symbolizes the sins he committed. In other words, it also hints that his journey of atonement will not end until this scar is gone. This approach of incorporating a theme into the character setting demonstrates Watsuki's skill in character design. The staff's contribution to making it look natural in the live-action version is also enormous.

Incidentally, in the original work, Kenshin is set to be 28 years old when he first appears. Originally, the age was explored based on the fact that he is an assassin in the late Edo period, but an editor suggested that "it's not appropriate for the protagonist of a boys' manga to be over 30 years old," so they settled on 28, which was the closest age that would not break the story.

The opening scene that gives the impression of an “authentic historical drama”