Seven Years. Seven grueling years. That’s how long it took for ‘Rurouni Kenshin: The Final’ to come out. I have to give it to the creators of the live-action franchise. They focused on stories that highlight what Kenshin’s life is all about. The latest film in the Samurai X franchise highlights that as well. This movie series is one of the best anime adaptations to come out, and it really shows.
The story begins after the events of ‘Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends’. With Shishio gone, what’s life like in Japan? As soon as you thought that Kenshin and Kaoru will have a peaceful life, an element from Kenshin’s past shows up which explains why Kenshin is so daft in expressing his feelings towards Kaoru. Behind that smile, Kenshin has always been a tragic hero,and this further highlighted in ‘Rurouni Kenshin: The Final’. There’s never a dull moment for the former Battosai, and his former life as a killer haunts him in this movie.
Aside from Kenshin and Kaoru, we have a lot of returning characters but not all of them get to see the end of the film. As this is further down the line in Japanese history, there are a lot more technological improvements particularly in the existence of firearms which are now more prevalent. In spite of this, we get to see just how legendary Kenshin’s skills are even though he continues to use his reverse-blade sword. Reformed from Kenshin’s life as Battosai, he continues to honor his promise to not kill people even though this code is really put to the test amidst the deadly past that haunts him. Truly, his entire moral code is tested in the film as he continously comes to blows not just with his adversaries, but also with mistakes made in his past life as Battosai.
Kenshin not only wrestles with his moral code, but he also grapples with his feelings towards Kaoru. His desensitized feelings towards Kaoru are further explained if not justified by his previous romantic relationship. Kenshin struggles to come to grips with his past failure, and this curtails his decision-making on what he needs to do. Thankfully, he is able to resolve this inner conflict in time to the benefit of his friends, and the current Japanese status quo he swore to protect. This leads to an action-packed conclusion that puts into display why this Rurouni Kenshin franchise is one of the best anime adaptations ever created.
Having said that, ‘Rorouni Kenshin: The Final’ is a story about moving on from the past. Everybody deserves to be happy, and that includes our tragic hero, Kenshin Himura. This film, allows for Kenshin and the rest of the characters to move into a Japanese future of peace in the new regime. Here we see that the internal struggles are self-inflicted, and hamper one’s perception of an individual’s surroundings. As shown in the film, once these internal demons are overcome, the present and future become more of a blessing than a burden. True, there are some differences between the original anime and this film, but I see no problem with giving Kenshin the ending he deserves.
All in all, ‘Rorouni Kenshin: The Final’ does not skip a beat, and continues the tradition of providing beautiful storytelling coupled with exhilirating action scenes that its predecessors in the movie franchise provided. I’m sad to see it all end, but if this is how it ends, then it is a fitting ending to this film series.
‘Rurouni Kenshin: The Final’ is now streaming on Netflix.
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