Continuing Kenshin Himura's story from the first part, this middle act turns the world upside down as a villain from Kenshin's past, and his successor as a kill-sword, throws Japan into chaos while exacting revenge on the Emperor and Kenshin.
Following the end of the battles to usher in a new era, Shishio is discarded and horribly disfigured in the attempt. With a fresh appetite for revenge, he organizes a series of events that place the government of Japan in his grip, forcing them to hunt Kenshin down for execution. All of this sets Kenshin and his friends into position to take Shishio down and save the day, but the film ends with them in dire straights.
The writers do a good job of moving the motivations forward and introducing a cast of characters, some more confusing than others, to further develop more of Kenshin's mysterious past; this time with his strange sword and his relationship to the Emperor's other special soldiers. Kenshin's superiority with the sword is taken down a notch when he begins to face opponents on his level, providing a few really breath-taking fights.
The stellar fighting, however, cannot divert from the really poor villain, and his rubber makeup, or the painful performances of some of the supporting cast. Be prepared for a weak ending as this film is only in preparation for another - but when taken together it ends up a reasonably good film with some important plot points for the franchise moving forward.
Following the end of the battles to usher in a new era, Shishio is discarded and horribly disfigured in the attempt. With a fresh appetite for revenge, he organizes a series of events that place the government of Japan in his grip, forcing them to hunt Kenshin down for execution. All of this sets Kenshin and his friends into position to take Shishio down and save the day, but the film ends with them in dire straights.
The writers do a good job of moving the motivations forward and introducing a cast of characters, some more confusing than others, to further develop more of Kenshin's mysterious past; this time with his strange sword and his relationship to the Emperor's other special soldiers. Kenshin's superiority with the sword is taken down a notch when he begins to face opponents on his level, providing a few really breath-taking fights.
The stellar fighting, however, cannot divert from the really poor villain, and his rubber makeup, or the painful performances of some of the supporting cast. Be prepared for a weak ending as this film is only in preparation for another - but when taken together it ends up a reasonably good film with some important plot points for the franchise moving forward.