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It strikes! I am helpless to its evil, black power! Live action adaptations have stricken me and I have fallen under their sway! My life before is barely memorable now that I have been swept into the dreamland that is J-Drama...
Believe me, I feel even sillier for admitting this. I can't help it though. The Rurouni Kenshin film started it. I did promise a review, and then didn't deliver (I do that A LOT, don't I?). So I will try to appease the dark spirits of my guilt and longing by doing a mini-review right now:
Rurouni Kenshin is one of my favorite animes/mangas of all time. My first introduction to anime was actually The Vision of Escaflowne, and it was the dub on Fox on Saturday mornings when I was in my early teens (I want to say I was 14, maybe 15 tops). It wouldn't be until years later, my freshman year of college to be exact, that I would watch Kenshin's tale. After Escaflowne, I was introduced to Cowboy Bebop and then hooked. I asked Tony for my next recommendation and he suggested Rurouni Kenshin as it was dear to him (and starting to air again on Cartoon Network). I fell head over heels. Kenshin was my real introduction to Japan as a whole. It taught me the history of Japan through the Bakumatsu (I wanted to understand what the factions represented and why they were fighting) as well as the culture, both current and past. It taught me how the introduction of Western technology and ideals really changed the shape of Japan, how they integrated it, what it meant to them, and what it would mean for the future (current day). Not to mention Kenshin himself, and how much I freaking love him. Also Kaoru. They're one of my OTPs and I have not nearly enough fanart for them because MORE PEOPLE NEED TO MAKE IT AS I AM NO WHERE TALENTED ENOUGH TO DO SO MYSELF.
That being said (babbled), the movie...so the movie has some problems. This was inevitable, as the whole of Rurouni Kenshin can't be easily condensed and make sense, much less the first arc. Instead, they tried to make the first two major arcs run simultaneously (something I kind of admired, actually, as it makes sense for a shorter adaptation) and ended up combining two major villians for this purpose: Jin-Eh is masquerading as Battousai just 'cause he can (previously GoHei's schtick), and he works for Kanryu Takeda who is our somewhat primary villian, along with another assortment of gangsters and ex-hitokiris, one who is supposed to be a combination of (I think) Aoshi and Makoto Shishio....yeah. Sure. Also none of the text on screen was translated. Ever. You want to know what's being said? Fuck you. That's what.
Anyway, to accomplish the two simultaneous arcs they have Kanryu trying to get rid of Kaoru's dojo...because. Jin-Eh takes on Battosai claiming to use Kamiya Kasshin Ryu...because...they actually never freaking explain it. Kaoru makes a big deal of it and it is a plot point and then they just up and forget about it. Forever. It really stuck in my craw. Kanryu is still making opium and forcing Megumi to do it for him to sell to the city with the aim of the rest of Japan, or THE ENTIRE WORLD! MWAHAHAHA! Kanryu's point in this is to demonstrate how low Japan is brought by the West when traditional Japanese idealogy is completely disregarded. He does a pretty good job of it too. The character/actor was clearly a favorite for the director as a lot of the story revolves around him and his facial expressions. Which is fine. He does a good job, but he isn't what I think of for "major shounen villian". In the least. They have Jin-Eh for final show-down villian, and he slaughters an entire prefecture of police (and then some for good measure) and yet he isn't our major villian. Somehow. Except for storming the prefecture and being Kenshin's final enemy in the film, he's just not there. Which really sucked, and lacked necessary impact for Kenshin's emotional/personality change during the fight. That leads me to the next point:
Kaoru hardly exists in the film. I mean, she does, she's there for at least half the major events; Emi and Takeru have major chemistry and almost no romantic one-on-one scenes. In RK, Kaoru is the heart of the series. She is everyone's center. She is the most compassionate character with a real fire burning behind her convictions. She doesn't care about people's pasts (really important for Kenshin's case) and says everyone has something they don't want to talk about AND SHE MEANS IT. Which is somewhat ironic as she's the only one in the Kenshin-gumi that has nothing to regret or forgive in her past. Kaoru represents the purity of the soul, fighting commitment, and how to transmute traditional Japanese ideals into the new era (modern day). She is brave, confident (sometimes overly), kind, and quick-tempered. Kenshin is the yang to her yin (I know that's backwards, but Kenshin is more yang than yin) as calm, cool, humble and downright sad, though he masks it well. Kaoru is weak only when compared to Kenshin and his ilk (others we meet in the series, they're all the best of the best of the best) but would be in the top five if nationally rated. In the movie she can barely fight, and most of the time doesn't even try. This is the opposite of what she's supposed to be. She's supposed to be skilled and hold her own most times. Here she tries for half a second and is immediately taken down by a cut to her arm from Jin-Eh. It was incredibly distressing for a fan such as myself.
All that being said...the movie was still highly enjoyable. The actors were brilliant, the cinematography was amazing, and the fight scenes...the fight scenes you guys. It was brilliant. Takeru Sato was absolutely, utterly breathtaking. He was Kenshin. He had Kenshin's speed and skill and his handsomeness, and it was like watching poetry. Poetry that could skillfully kick your ass. His voice sent shivers down my back at parts and my jaw was permanently on the floor during his stunts. If for no other reason, you have to watch this movie for the choreography alone. Also for this one moment where Kenshin really becomes the Kenshin we know and love (Kaoru gives him new/old clothes, he steps out into the dojo yard and the wind picks up....the peace in his face...). I almost cried.
Yeah, so my "mini-review" was more...me just effing babbling endlessly. Sorry.
So more live action adaptations I've been enjoying:
Yes! Ouran High School Host Club! It's awesome! Seriously. You would not believe. The guy who plays Tamaki...he has the ability to be cartoonish and make it natural. That's impossible for American/Western actors. He's really funny (and fluid). Not hot, but I can live with that because he is super talented.
Also:
Okay, this is the ending and it makes it look all Edo-period, but I still love it. This is Otomen (pun on otome which is Japanese for "maiden" and 'men'). It's about a boy who loves girly things (but doesn't want to be a girl) who has to hide his true feelings and be the manliest boy there ever was due to a promise he made his mother. He falls in love with a girl who was raised to be a boy, so she is terrible at girly-things. It's based off a manga of the same name (no anime adaptation, though) and it is so incredibly awesome I don't have words. It reminds me a lot of Ouran and a bit of Ranma as well. It's well written with a great cast of characters and fun running gags. Please check it out at:
Drama Crazy
They have translated anime, J-dramas, and K-dramas! It's awesome!
Oh! Also loved the adaptation for Yamato Nadeshiko no Shichi Henge (Wallflower):
In this adaptation it's really more about Kyohei growing as a person, but I'm okay with that. It gave it more heart than the original. Sunako is more of a running gag than a character, but to be fair she's somewhat more effective that way. It's not like she can be SD in this version, so what else can they do?
Believe me, I feel even sillier for admitting this. I can't help it though. The Rurouni Kenshin film started it. I did promise a review, and then didn't deliver (I do that A LOT, don't I?). So I will try to appease the dark spirits of my guilt and longing by doing a mini-review right now:
Rurouni Kenshin is one of my favorite animes/mangas of all time. My first introduction to anime was actually The Vision of Escaflowne, and it was the dub on Fox on Saturday mornings when I was in my early teens (I want to say I was 14, maybe 15 tops). It wouldn't be until years later, my freshman year of college to be exact, that I would watch Kenshin's tale. After Escaflowne, I was introduced to Cowboy Bebop and then hooked. I asked Tony for my next recommendation and he suggested Rurouni Kenshin as it was dear to him (and starting to air again on Cartoon Network). I fell head over heels. Kenshin was my real introduction to Japan as a whole. It taught me the history of Japan through the Bakumatsu (I wanted to understand what the factions represented and why they were fighting) as well as the culture, both current and past. It taught me how the introduction of Western technology and ideals really changed the shape of Japan, how they integrated it, what it meant to them, and what it would mean for the future (current day). Not to mention Kenshin himself, and how much I freaking love him. Also Kaoru. They're one of my OTPs and I have not nearly enough fanart for them because MORE PEOPLE NEED TO MAKE IT AS I AM NO WHERE TALENTED ENOUGH TO DO SO MYSELF.
That being said (babbled), the movie...so the movie has some problems. This was inevitable, as the whole of Rurouni Kenshin can't be easily condensed and make sense, much less the first arc. Instead, they tried to make the first two major arcs run simultaneously (something I kind of admired, actually, as it makes sense for a shorter adaptation) and ended up combining two major villians for this purpose: Jin-Eh is masquerading as Battousai just 'cause he can (previously GoHei's schtick), and he works for Kanryu Takeda who is our somewhat primary villian, along with another assortment of gangsters and ex-hitokiris, one who is supposed to be a combination of (I think) Aoshi and Makoto Shishio....yeah. Sure. Also none of the text on screen was translated. Ever. You want to know what's being said? Fuck you. That's what.
Anyway, to accomplish the two simultaneous arcs they have Kanryu trying to get rid of Kaoru's dojo...because. Jin-Eh takes on Battosai claiming to use Kamiya Kasshin Ryu...because...they actually never freaking explain it. Kaoru makes a big deal of it and it is a plot point and then they just up and forget about it. Forever. It really stuck in my craw. Kanryu is still making opium and forcing Megumi to do it for him to sell to the city with the aim of the rest of Japan, or THE ENTIRE WORLD! MWAHAHAHA! Kanryu's point in this is to demonstrate how low Japan is brought by the West when traditional Japanese idealogy is completely disregarded. He does a pretty good job of it too. The character/actor was clearly a favorite for the director as a lot of the story revolves around him and his facial expressions. Which is fine. He does a good job, but he isn't what I think of for "major shounen villian". In the least. They have Jin-Eh for final show-down villian, and he slaughters an entire prefecture of police (and then some for good measure) and yet he isn't our major villian. Somehow. Except for storming the prefecture and being Kenshin's final enemy in the film, he's just not there. Which really sucked, and lacked necessary impact for Kenshin's emotional/personality change during the fight. That leads me to the next point:
Kaoru hardly exists in the film. I mean, she does, she's there for at least half the major events; Emi and Takeru have major chemistry and almost no romantic one-on-one scenes. In RK, Kaoru is the heart of the series. She is everyone's center. She is the most compassionate character with a real fire burning behind her convictions. She doesn't care about people's pasts (really important for Kenshin's case) and says everyone has something they don't want to talk about AND SHE MEANS IT. Which is somewhat ironic as she's the only one in the Kenshin-gumi that has nothing to regret or forgive in her past. Kaoru represents the purity of the soul, fighting commitment, and how to transmute traditional Japanese ideals into the new era (modern day). She is brave, confident (sometimes overly), kind, and quick-tempered. Kenshin is the yang to her yin (I know that's backwards, but Kenshin is more yang than yin) as calm, cool, humble and downright sad, though he masks it well. Kaoru is weak only when compared to Kenshin and his ilk (others we meet in the series, they're all the best of the best of the best) but would be in the top five if nationally rated. In the movie she can barely fight, and most of the time doesn't even try. This is the opposite of what she's supposed to be. She's supposed to be skilled and hold her own most times. Here she tries for half a second and is immediately taken down by a cut to her arm from Jin-Eh. It was incredibly distressing for a fan such as myself.
All that being said...the movie was still highly enjoyable. The actors were brilliant, the cinematography was amazing, and the fight scenes...the fight scenes you guys. It was brilliant. Takeru Sato was absolutely, utterly breathtaking. He was Kenshin. He had Kenshin's speed and skill and his handsomeness, and it was like watching poetry. Poetry that could skillfully kick your ass. His voice sent shivers down my back at parts and my jaw was permanently on the floor during his stunts. If for no other reason, you have to watch this movie for the choreography alone. Also for this one moment where Kenshin really becomes the Kenshin we know and love (Kaoru gives him new/old clothes, he steps out into the dojo yard and the wind picks up....the peace in his face...). I almost cried.
Yeah, so my "mini-review" was more...me just effing babbling endlessly. Sorry.
So more live action adaptations I've been enjoying:
Also:
Drama Crazy
They have translated anime, J-dramas, and K-dramas! It's awesome!
Oh! Also loved the adaptation for Yamato Nadeshiko no Shichi Henge (Wallflower):
