Haha first off sorry I've been very absent recently… having a work that requires long hours on the computer makes spending more time on the computer slightly less fun.
So, why is my brain exploding?
Well, first I've got the new VHD (Vampire Hunter D) novel sitting next to me right now and that always brings a smile to my face, plus two of my more obscure fandoms are coming to DVD (Mononoke: tv series and Cybersix) And that truly has me excited!
But more than that… I just found the trailer for the next live action Rurouni Kenshin movie that follows the Kyoto Fire Arch (aka the Shishio arch/the arch of awesomeness) Since I really really enjoyed the first movie, I have extremely high hopes for this one!
Ok, putting the fan girl aside for a moment, some comments on the trailer from my film brain critical self.
First off, just like in the first film the action scenes look totally amazing and secondly, just like the first movie, all the real life versions of the manga characters look freaking spot on. If I had any negative comments about costume design, it'd be the dangling bandages on Shishio's head, but I thought those looked silly in the manga too. I just wish they'd used some discretion and cut those off, but thats more personal choice and he still looks cool.
My main concerns stem from wondering how much they're going to cram into this movie. It's clear from the trailer that Kenshin will make it down to Kyoto and at least begin the fight with Shishiou. And I say START the fight because rather like The Hobbit, Twilight and Hunger Games, the plot is going to be split up over two movies. This is a good sign to me, because other than being a cash grab, it also gives a lot of time for the long story arch to unfurl and have good pacing.
After watching this trailer and the teaser trailer it seems like the movie will take Kenshin from Tokyo to Kyoto, have him meet up with the new characters in Kyoto and end somewhere after the first failed attempt to defeat Shishio. To me the most logically place for them to end this first movie would be right after the attempt to smuggle in explosives/guns by ship (the scenes you see near the end of this trailer) This would more or less be the plot of books 7-12 of the manga. (Can you tell I've read the manga more than 5 times?) This leaves part two to cover books 13-17, which pretty neatly splits the plot in half. This is a lot of plot to cram in a 2 hour movie and I'm just worried that the pacing will come off rushed…
Anyhow, those are just some quick thoughts on the trailer. The movie comes out in Japan sometime next month, and I'm sure I'll hear more about it at that time. In the mean time… Rurouni Kenshin is a fun action drama comedy classic, so I highly encourage checking out the manga, anime, or the first live action film. (the last reviewed here earlier)
I plan to have a REAL review up later this week. (I know right?? Its surprising to me too)
Anyhoo…
Thank you so much for reading!
~Tsu
