Warner Bros has released the first teaser for its upcoming Japanese-language, sword-fighting action flick Rurouni Kenshin, based on the manga of the same name.
The teaser gives us a good idea of how each of the characters is being adapted, and while characters you meet first in a manga never look quite right on a live action screen, they seem about on level with the charcters I know – though I’m more familiar with the anime adaptation than the manga. I’d certainly be interested to hear what a real fan of the series thinks.
Rurouni Kenshin (loosly translated: Kenshin the Exile) is an action romance (Chanbara) set in Feudal Japan (specifically the Meiji Period), which follows Himura Kenshin, a young – and somewhat goofy – deserter from the Japanese military, as he travels the Japanese countryside, protecting the common folk from brigands and monsters, as atonement for the atrocities he participated in the war as an assassin, a role for which he gained a sort of legendary fame, which he tries not to flout.
The story begins in earnest when Himura meets Kamiya Kaoru, a young woman whom he saves from danger, and who convinces him to take a place in her Dojo and settle down. After a short respite, however, he learns of an evil plot of his former comrades to take over Japan, and so he must go back into the fray.
As with most Manga, it begins on some very light tones, with characters who seem to have little sensibility, and becomes more serious and dark with each issue.
Rurouni Kenshin is being released in Japan this summer, and while no announcement has been made, considering that Warner Bros. owns the film, and that there is a large fanbase for the manga and anime in the US, I would be surprised if we don’t see a dubbed version announced for the States before the end of the year.
