Finally, the moment is here because Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning movie is out and available on Netflix. It was a pleasant surprise from Japan, Warner Bros, and Netflix to release Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning Movie so soon on Netflix. Maybe, it’s a really good strategy to stop privacy and fans can legally watch Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning Movie on Netflix.
Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning Movie was released on June 4, 2021, in Japan. The movie is now available on Netflix and until you live in Narnia, you can legally watch the movie. No Kidding, there are areas where Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning might not be available on Netflix, so keep calm and pray it’s available. It’s almost a decade and now the franchise has come to an end. We sure hope there are more movies in the future because it’s far from over. We need more because Rurouni Kenshin is one hell of an amazing series. Although fans of the series know how the series will ultimately end, oh well.
Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning strictly speaking is a prequel to the Rurouni Kenshin series. The series of events show how Rurouni Himura Kenshin became the fearful Battousai. Every story has an end and a beginning and Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning was a well-crafted masterpiece. As a fan of the series, this movie is extremely well done. Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning Movie is the fifth installment in the Rurouni Kenshin series. Keishi Otomo directed this movie with an amazing cast as usual. The 137-minute movie was filled with action-pact scenes, heart-wrenching pain (keep tissues ready, you’ve been warned!), brilliant acting, and good story flow. The fast-paced scenes and as usual the kawaii and strong Kenshin Himura played by Satoh Takeru were totally worth the time.
Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning | Cast
- The cast of Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning will be incomplete without Satoh Takeru reprising his role as Kenshin Himura aka Battousai.
- Kasumi Arimura played the role of Tomeo, Kenshin’s wife and Enishi’s sister.
- Yosuke Eguchi was brilliant as the Shinsengumi captain Hajime Saito. Don’t get confused, in the later movies his character’s name is Goro Fujita. Watch the movies to know why!
This movie has some new casts as well. Alice in Borderland famed Chishiya is in Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning movie. A treat to the eyes.
- Nikiro Murakami (Chishiya) stars as Soji Okita. If you’ve watched Gintama or have profound knowledge of Japanese history you can make a decent guess. Chief Kondo, Takasugi, Shinpachi, Katsura were all part of the Meiji Restoration. So we get a good glimpse of the Kihetai commander, Joui rebels, and Shinsengumi.
The only one missing was the vice demon chief of Shinsengumi, but it’s daijoubou I guess! He was in the movie as well but not much spotlight was given to him compared to Okita.
- Issey Takahashi plays the role of Kogou Katsura. He was quite charismatic in the role of Katsura.
- Masanobu Ando starred as Shinsaku Takasugi, the Kihetai commander.
- Kazuki Kitamura played to role of Tatsumi.
It was a bit sad because the old casts were not part of this movie. Given it’s a prequel it makes sense, and only people before the events of the restoration will be in it.
Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning | Plot
Well, before there was the kind Rurouni Himura, there was the feared and ruthless killing machine/assassin Battosai. Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning serves as a prequel to show Kenshin’s journey as he joined the Chousu clan to serve under Kogou Katsura. The Battosai was a principal figure in the battle of Toba-Fushimi in 1868. The story revolved around Kenshin and how he met Tomoe, his wife. It was already established in Rurouni Kenshin: The Final that Kenshin killed Tomoe’s finance and how she wanted her revenge. This movie was the retelling of the past events, and exactly what happened. Big SPOILER ALERT: yes, Tomoe dies, but honestly, it’s not how it looks. Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning had some nice action scenes where Kenshin (Battosai) had good fights; he was the executioner who was in charge of assassinations. Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning explored the relationship of Kenshin and Tomoe and set the seeds of how the merciful Kenshin came to existence.
There was a Shinsengumi raid where Katsura and Chousu clan members had to flee. The scenes where Takasugi advising Katsura, not to corrupt Himura was priceless. Kenshin may be a ruthless killer, but he’s as pure, naive, and gentle he can be.
The fight scene between Battosai and Okita was one of the highlights and the best scenes in the movie. Well, a fight between Battosai and Hajime was missing, but that’s ok I guess. Throughout the movie, we can see the internal conflict between Tomoe and Kenshin, and honestly, a smiling Kenshin was such a relief to the eyes. Watch the movie to understand how it all goes down!
Afterthoughts
Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning is highly recommended to watch. The rewatch value: obviously infinite times. Compared to other Kenshin movies, fans might argue and say that Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning wasn’t upto the par, but I beg to differ. This movie was well made and honestly, you possibly can’t get bored when you watch Kenshin movies. A huge thank you to the creators, actors, support staff, set designers, editors, cinematographers because this movie was just amazing. The entire team of Kenshin poured their hearts and it’s visible. Thanks, Netflix and Japan for releasing Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning movie for international fans. This movie is totally worth the money and time. Highly satisfying movie and has a high rewatch value.
Check out: Rurouni Kenshin: The Final is Available on Netflix!
