This past week, the final Rurouni Kenshin live-action film, Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning, was released here in Japan. And given that it is a prequel, not a sequel to the other films, you may be wondering what’s the best order to watch all five films in. Well, let’s look at the pluses and minuses of each of the major possibilities.
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Release Order
Origins ➜ Kyoto Inferno ➜ The Legend Ends ➜ The Final ➜ The Beginning
The Good: This is the order the films were made and released in (though technically The Final and The Beginning were filmed at the same time). Therefore, this is the order the studio expects you to watch the films in. The best aspect of this order is that finishing with The Beginning ends things on a high note, as it is the best film in the series.
The Bad: However, despite The Beginning being the high watermark, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a prequel to all the other films. Moreover, the flashback scenes in the preceding film, The Final, basically spoil this movie—massively undercutting The Beginning’s tragedy-filled emotional roller coaster.
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Chronological Order
The Beginning ➜ Origins ➜ Kyoto Inferno ➜ The Legend Ends ➜ The Final
The Good: In this order, you get to see Kenshin’s story from beginning to end. It starts with his actions during the civil war, shows the fallout of these actions a decade later, and ends with his most personal sin coming back to haunt him.
The Bad: This order starts you with the strongest film in the series… which also means that nothing after will quite live up to it. Watching this way also means that you know Kenshin’s hidden past going in—so you know something from the start that the characters in the film are struggling to understand. Lastly, the time between watching The Beginning and The Final is at its maximum—which is a bit of an issue since the two films are deeply interconnected.
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Thematic Order
Origins ➜ Kyoto Inferno ➜ The Legend Ends ➜ The Beginning ➜ The Final
The Good: Thematically, the Kenshin films are a trilogy and a duology (one about the professional fallout of his actions during the war and the other about the personal fallout). This order keeps them grouped by theme—and swapping The Beginning with The Final makes the latter a much stronger film. Enishi’s goals and Kenshin’s inner turmoil all make perfect sense coming fresh out of The Beginning and it’s easy to empathize with both men. It also bookends things quite nicely showing how things started and how they ended back-to-back.
The Bad: The Final, while a decent movie, is definitely a step down from The Beginning. This means things don’t end as strongly as they would if The Beginning is the final film you watch.
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Manga Order
Origins ➜ Kyoto Inferno ➜ The Legend Ends ➜ The Final (First Half) ➜ The Beginning ➜ The Final (Second Half)
The Good: Halfway through The Final, Kenshin tells his friends the story of his past. At that point, instead of watching the flashback scenes, stop the film and watch The Beginning instead. This is actually how the events of The Beginning were told in the original manga. Doing it this way keeps the mystery of Kenshin’s origins hidden until the last possible second—putting you right in the shoes of the characters learning about Kenshin’s shocking past for the first time. It also makes the final battle between Enishi and Kenshin have the maximum emotional impact.
The Bad: While these films are part of the same series and have the same director, The Beginning looks and feels like it exists in a different world from the one seen in The Final. Everything is grimmer and more realistic. There’s almost no wire-fu or crazy sword techniques to be seen. The Beginning is a film grounded in reality about a man who is just very good at killing (instead of one about a superhuman swordsman). Intercutting the two films makes this clash in styles particularly glaring.
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The Verdict
In the end, the “Thematic Order” is likely the best for the average viewer. It ties the films together thematically and gives The Final much more emotional impact—ending the series on a semi-strong note. However, the only reason I recommend this over the “Manga Order” is simply because 1) that order turns the two films into a single five-hour behemoth and 2) it pulls you out of the story if you need to switch films mid-movie. But if neither of those things bothers you, you might want to try out that order instead.
Regardless of which order you watch them in, be sure to give the Rurouni Kenshin live-action film series a watch—it’s arguably the best live-action adaptation of a manga/anime out there.
Rurouni Kenshin: The Final and Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning were released in Japanese theaters on April 23, 2021, and June 4, 2021, respectively. Rurouni Kenshin: The Final will begin streaming on Netflix in the US starting June 18, 2021.
Top image source: 映画『るろうに剣心 最終章』公式アカウント on Twitter.
One of my best and recommended Anime Live Action adaptations. As for the Anime, I have the complete series; but I advise people to watch till the end of Meiji Era (once Shishio is dead)..
Thank you! Very helpful