Rurouni Kenshin: Part 3: The Legend Ends :: Hub

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PART 3: THE LEGEND ENDS

Sega/Shin Force > Anime > Rurouni Kenshin (Movie Trilogy)

Rurouni Kenshin: Part 3: The Legend Ends :: Hub

Licensed:

Funimation (USA)

Distributor:

Warner Bros.

Length:

134 min + 34 min (Extras)

Genre:

Action/Samurai/Drama

Available:

:: DVD / Blu-ray ::
? (JPN)
January 3, 2017 (USA)

Audio:

Japanese 5.1
English 5.1

Subtitles:

English

Ratio:

16:9

MSRP:

$34.98

Discs:

1xDVD / 1xBlu-ray

Rated:

TV-MA

Updated:

06/05/2017

Review:

> Over three movies, you'll spend over six hours enjoying Japanese culture and sword fighting. The Rurouni Kenshin Movie Trilogy ends with a bang or two, plus fighting skills only a master could perform. Part 3 is the best of the trilogy, as I'll explain later. I'm always a sucker for anime and video game to live-action movie remakes. In this case, thankfully, I was quite pleased to take a ride down memory lane.

> Part 2 ends with Master Hiko Seijuro rescuing Kenshin on the beach. By the third movie, I've gotten used to the American voices on Japanese characters. Part 3 mainly takes place at Hiko's rural home, Kaoru's dojo, and Shishio's iron-clad battleship. It's a good thing this movie could also be classified as fantasy, because Shishio's battleship strikes me as way out of place, given the supposed time period. The music continues to be sparse, yet exciting at times. The coolest special effect for the trilogy has to be Shishio's fiery, ultimate sword technique -- you must see it. Anyway, if you like top notch sword fighting then look no further.

     > After surviving the battle at Kyoto, Kenshin finds himself at the home of his Master, Hiko Seijuro. Kenshin can't defeat Shishio until he learns the final Hiten Mitsurugi technique, "Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki". After some soul searching, Master Hiko agrees to teach Kenshin, and they start his training.
     > Shishio steams off the Tokyo coast in his huge iron battleship, and calls for a meeting with the prime minister. He demands that Battousai (Kenshin) be brought to him in exchange for the prime minister's life. Wanted posters appear throughout the country until Kenshin is apprehended.
     > The government stages a mock execution of Kenshin within the sight of Shishio. The stage is set for the battle to destroy Shishio's followers and end this insurgency. Of course, there's always another person looking to claim victory over Kenshin along the way. At any rate, can Kenshin and his friends defeat Shishio and stop his plans for domination? Shishio has a special sword technique waiting as well...

Bottom Line:

> "The Legend Ends" must be referring to Battousai's days of being a killsword finally coming to a conclusion. I really enjoyed the original anime series, and would heartily recommend the live-action Rurouni Kenshin Movie Trilogy to those in the same frame of mind. As a stand alone movie, Part 3 might actually work as well. The story is robust, and aside from the silly vow to end bloodshed, this movie might make sense to the uninitiated. I bumped up the score simply for the ultimate sword skills, cool battleship, and quality foes that Kenshin must defeat. If you like samurai action, then you'll probably love this movie (and trilogy) -- it's only $19.99 (each part) as of this review.