On the eighth of December, I would never forget how my
husband stared at me with wide eyes, eyeglasses removed. He couldn’t believe
that for the first time,
I was the one who eagerly invited him for a movie, all expenses paid. He couldn’t believe that for the first time, I hadn’t slept inside the cinema while watching a movie. And for the first time, he had not heard any complaints from me about the movie ticket price. It was because the film about my favorite Samurai “Kenshin Himura” was finally screened on selected Philippine Cinemas.
I was the one who eagerly invited him for a movie, all expenses paid. He couldn’t believe that for the first time, I hadn’t slept inside the cinema while watching a movie. And for the first time, he had not heard any complaints from me about the movie ticket price. It was because the film about my favorite Samurai “Kenshin Himura” was finally screened on selected Philippine Cinemas.
I had not watched the entire animation on TV due to conflict
with my schedule. It was broadcast on ABS-CBN in 1999 when I was still a junior
student in high school, thus, I only watched a few episodes on holidays and
vacation days. For those who are not familiar of who Kenshin is, he is an anime
character who was once a famous assassin during the Meiji Period in Japan (late
1800’s). He is known as Hitokiri Battosai
or Battosai the Manslayer due to his skill in battojutsu or
“sword-enraging” technique. It is very
easy to recognize who he is: he has a long, red hair tied into ponytail and a large X-shape
scar on his left cheek. After years of being an assassin, he decided to change
his life and thus became a wanderer to protect Japanese people as a means of
atonement for the crimes he had committed in the past.
Why was Rurouni Kenshin Live Action Movie memorable for me?
These are just some of the reasons:
FOR THE FIRST TIME, I HADN’T SLEPT WHILE WATCHING A MOVIE.
Rurou-Ken Cast |
Rurouni Kenshin Cast taken from Google |
But this time was different. From the beginning, the film
had captured my attention and had blown my sleepiness away. There was something
about that film that had attracted me like a magnet that had made me focus on
the screen for two hours.
FOR THE FIRST TIME, I WAS THE ONE WHO HAD INVITED SOMEONE TO
WATCH A FILM.
My favorite Samurai, Takeru Satoh AKA Kenshin |
The next day, I asked him again for a movie. I told him not
to worry about the expenses, because I would be the one who would be paying for
it. Based on his reaction, my husband couldn’t believe how serious I was in
inviting him for a movie. Like I said, it was the first time that it happened.
I proved that I was serious by saying that I would be paying for our tickets.
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME, I DID NOT FEEL ANY REGRET AFTER
SPENDING ALMOST FIVE HUNDRED PESOS FOR A FEW HOURS OF FUN.
Takeru Sato’s portrayal of Kenshin Himura rocks! I felt like
the anime character had been alive, walking, eating, talking, fighting and
saying his signature expression “ORO?” . I couldn’t think of anyone else to
portray Kenshin except him. Sanosuke’s
(Munetaka Aoki ) street fight and the “break and chicken-eating at the middle
of his fight scene” had made me laugh the loudest.
Hindi naman halatang nag-enjoy ako, di ba? |
I had almost forgotten about the movie. It had been
scheduled last October but was postponed. And I’d say that the schedule of the
screening was in “bad timing” since I had to save money to buy presents for my
more than a dozen godchildren, nieces, nephews, siblings, parents and some
friends. But this Christmas, it will be my first to hide from them.
Rurouni Kenshin: Live Action had brought back the memories of
my teenage years. It was the first anime that gave me an overview of how
samurais and ancient people of Japan had lived. Since it was loosely based on
historical setting, it had given me an idea of how fiction and history could be
mixed to create a unique story. It had shown the wonder and beauty of the
country that I had always wanted to visit. Plus, the cast, costumes, musical
score and its theme song are all good that had made me wanted to buy its
ORIGINAL DVD and not to wait for it on torrent or youtube (another first).
And oh wait a minute. I had watched it the second time last
December 15th. This time, there were three of us—my husband, our
best friend Dennis and I. This was the first time that I had watched the same
film TWICE on big screen without regret, without boredom, without any complaint.It was worth the price. It was worth the wait. And wait, there's another one. My husband bought an original DVD for me. This was in addition to my "many firsts".
Hoping for PART II.
Hoping for PART II.
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