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

The theme of the series is “era”

Up to this point, I have mainly written about the action parts, but especially in ``Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter Part I - The Final'' and ``Rurouni Kenshin: The Final Chapter: The Beginning'', the drama parts have been greatly strengthened, and the question ``When will the murderer be forgiven?'' ?” We will delve into the root theme. Lastly, I would like to think about the drama aspect of this series.

It is briefly depicted in ``Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend's End'', but Kenshin loses his parents in his childhood, is bought by a shopkeeper, and is attacked by bandits, but Hiko saves his life, In the past, he received the teachings of Because of this situation, Kenshin, who was heartbroken by the turmoil at the end of the Edo period, left his master Hiko and joined the Kiheitai led by Shinsaku Takasugi (Masanobu Ando) (this is what is shown in ``Rurouni Kenshin: The Final Chapter: The Beginning''). be painted). There, he is discovered by Katsura Kogoro (Issei Takahashi) and begins his career as a hitokiri. It is truly tragic to see a man so kind-hearted as to create a grave for a bandit become an assassin in his single-minded desire to create a ``new era in which everyone can live in peace.''

Furthermore, when he meets Tomoe, he learns about ``normal life'' for the first time, and just as he decides to protect this small happiness, a situation arises in which he cuts her to death for some reason. Kenshin's life moves in ways that have nothing to do with his will. In other words, the existence of ``Hitokiri Battosai'' was created by the times. And in this tragedy, Tomoe Yukishiro's sister and brother Enori become trapped, with Tomoe taking on the role of an avenger whose fiancée was killed, and Enori also becoming an avenger whose sister was killed. The negative chain continues.

Furthermore, Battousai's successor, Shishio, is betrayed by the Meiji government and begins a plan to steal the country. He is also a person whose fate has been changed by the times, and the heartbreaking cry of ``The times chose you'' in ``Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend's End'' is piercing (this is similar to Kenshin's ``Hitokiri''). (Resonating with the line "The era is over.")

In this way, in the ``Rurouni Kenshin'' series, Kenshin, Tomoe, En, and Shishio are depicted as ``ghosts of the end of the Edo period.'' So, who is the one who takes on their suffering and helps them attain Buddhahood? That person is Kaoru (Takei Emi). In ``Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter Part I - The Final'', he reads Tomoe's diary and learns about her feelings, and tries his best to stop the deadly fight between her and Tomoe, trying to become the ``sheath of madness'' that Tomoe was unable to fulfill. The structure in which Kaoru, a ``woman living in the Meiji era'' who knows little about the end of the Edo period, invites Kenshin into a new era is extremely beautiful. Throughout this series, she, the heroine, completes a major task at the very end.

Similarly, the images of Yahiko (Toshiku Onishi) and Misao Makimachi (Tao Tsuchiya) breaking the "curse of the times" and moving forward expands this Arrival("Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter Part I - The Final''. At the end of all this, Kenshin's ``answer'' is derived: ``I will risk my sword and my heart to complete this life of battle.'' This is also connected to the importance of the ``will to live'' taught by his master Hiko, and the will ``not to let him die'' that Tomoe wrote in her diary. Takeru Sato, who has lived with Kenshin for 10 years, describes the story as a ``cyclical story,'' which truly describes the core of this work.

Furthermore, a new series, ``Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story, Hokkaido Edition,'' was started to be serialized from the live-action movie version. The original manga gives rise to anime and movies, and the movies create continuations of the original work. This could also be called a "circulation". Furthermore, ``Rurouni Kenshin,'' which has become a series that will remain in the history of Japanese cinema, is sure to become the foundation for the blossoming of new cinematic expressions.

Just remembering the past 10 years has been a series of painful events in this country. I believe that many people have been encouraged by the sight of Kenshin, who continued to fight to ``protect the people in his eyes'' despite being at the mercy of the times. Both ``Rurouni Kenshin The Beginning,'' which is the ``story of the beginning,'' and ``Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter Part I - The Final,'' which is the ``story of the end,'' both end with the back of Kenshin leaving. It is the role of those of us who have been protected and saved to create the next era.

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Text: SYO

Born in 1987. After The Graduate from Tokyo Gakugei University, he worked at a film magazine editorial production site and a film information site before becoming a film writer/editor. Works on a wide range of topics including interviews, reviews, columns, event appearances, and recommendation comments. Contributed to ``CINEMORE'', ``FRIDAY Digital'', ``Fan's Voice'', ``Eiga.com'', ``Cinema Cafe'', ``BRUTUS'', ``DVD & Video Distribution'', etc. Twitter「 syocinema 」