Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter Part II - The Beginning

As weird as it may sound to have "The Beginning" as the final entry in a 5-film series of films, it's fitting nonetheless. This is the film that tackles Kenshin's darker past and since he's the hero of the story, it's much easier to have his more ambiguous actions at the very end of the films rather than at the start.

Battosai is a ruthless killer who is deployed to fight against the shogunate. He's an enigmatic character that shows little emotion, until he meets the quiet Tomoe. She has no one and starts following Battosai around. She's not just drawn to Battosai's enigmatic aura though, as Tomoe has ulterior motives to stick with him.

The production values of this film are first class, the actors feel comfortable in their roles and the film offers a very solid mix of action and drama. It's a strong remake of the Trust and Betrayal OAV, at the same time it means the film is rehashing familiar territory for me, which did make it slightly less special than it could've been. But this was no doubt a worthy finale to Ohtomo's series of Kenshin films.