Rurouni Kenshin Tsuioku Hen [Blu-ray]

I get nervous buying dvd/blurays of old anime because you never know if you'll get what you want. In this case, I got exactly what I wanted. Nice, smooth, and crisp picture with stand out subtitles. Popped it in the ps4 and it played perfectly. The sound didn't feel muffled or distorted. It's a great buy to remind you of the good old days when you first watched this OVA, only now in a better resolution. Aspect ratio is adjusted and may not fit to your tv screen but it still looks great. It's difficult finding online streams of this movie especially with English subs so this bluray was worth the price! A cherished movie and an endless treasure!

Samurai x is the prequel to rurouni Kenshin series. It is brutal and beautiful at the same time. Great animation great story and the true dark side of the Kenshin character. There is no comic relief or joking around here it is the reason kenshin is out trying to redeem himself. This is the only bluray version available and it was completely worth the price. It ships from Japan so you will have to wait a while for it. I owned the DVD copy for years and wanted a HD version. This also includes the excelent English dub.

If you were a fan of the anime, this film is a must watch. The sound design and the resolution of the animation make it a beautiful film to admire. The story itself is a little confusing at the start but at the second episode it begins to make sense and continues to get better leading up to the climax. A couple of important notes is that I recommend this to be watched after watching the anime as that will give more context for what’s going on in the beginning. I watched with my friends who had never seen the anime or manga and they ended up slightly confused at the start. Lastly, this movie isn’t for kids as there is a lot of adult topics and violent scenes in it. Overall it’s a great experience for Rurouni Kenshin fans and it’s a must watch for those who want more after completing season 2 of the anime.

Bottom Line: you definitely want this blu-ray version if you're fan or this movie, or if you're an Asian cinephile with a good TV and surround sound. Yes, I know this is expensive, but this is because it's an import from Japan, since there's no US distributor. CDs, Blu-rays and the like are quite expensive for reasons that are beyond this review, and IIRC the cost is around $80-100 US equivalent if you buy it in Tokyo (which is not at all out of line for a one-disc movie/CD in Japan - they're expensive!!!). But it's definitely worth it for two demographics: 1. fans of the movie: you like this movie in the first place, get this. The mastering and HD presentation on this is light years better than the previous US DVD set. Colors, resolution, clarity, contrast are excellent on my so-so TV set. This makes the beauty of the animation stand out. Likewise, the sound is a set better if you have a decent surround system (but the lossy dolby soundtrack on the US DVD set was pretty good). 2. Asian cinephiles: one of my favorite Samurai type movies - if you appreciate this genre enough to seek out releases that don't have wide distribution outside of Japan (I do for many foreign movies, especially Asian movies) definitely get this. Conceptually/philosophically, this is as good IMO as anything else of the genre. Cinematography is excellent, though there are lots of subtle visual cues that only those who really know Japanese culture will fully understand. The dramatic flow and plot line are also quite well done. It's had a lot of re-watch value for me. Notes: - contains both Japanese and English subtitle and soundtrack options. Japanese soundtrack with subtitles is the way to go. - Only criticism I have of this is that since they used the four-episode OVA format (good) they kept the now redundant credits at the end of each episode (a bit odd) and instead of having credits after Kenshin gives up the sword (like in the OVA and movie version) they the credits roll after he burns the house and the scene shifts to Kyoto's Daimonji-yama (bad and annoying but by no means a deal breaker).

I ordered this JAPANESE EDITION of the Rurouni Kenshin Remembrance based on other reviews saying how “truly awesome” it is and what a great buy even if it’s expensive. I especially looked for reviews that said the Japanese cast voices and English subtitles were well-done because I dislike English dubbed anime and poor English subtitles that can ruin an otherwise great anime production. This digitally re-mastered HD Blu-Ray format of the classic is definitely awesome if you have the right smart 4K TV and a good 4K blu-ray player to do it justice. The old Sony blu-ray player I had could not do it for 4K. So I even upgraded to a new $300 4K region-free blu-ray player to ensure I could enjoy the full experience of this dvd and other 4K dvds I ordered. As some other reviewers have said, you may have to adjust the aspect ratio of the TV screen from the picture setting menu to fully see and read the English subtitles. I have a LG 4K OLED65CX and had to use “Original” format to do this. So I am viewing this blu-ray edition in the aspect ratio as it was originally shown on TV in 2003. This means there are 6” wide black bars on both right and left sides of the screen. No problem…still visually stunning with sharp picture and rich color on a 65-inch screen. Using the full screen format cuts off the English subtitles so only those who understand Japanese and don’t require subtitles could use an expanded screen format. Is this Aniplex blu-ray edition worth $89.99? Maybe not if you’re not a real hardcore anime fan or especially a fan of the Rurouni Kenshin series. It’s hard to justify paying $89.99 for only 116 minutes of viewing time. I actually watched all five live action films starring the incredible Takeru Sato as Kenshin (The Beginning and The Final both on Netflix, and the other three – Part 1 - Origins, Part 2 - Kyoto Inferno, Part 3 - The Legend Ends are on Amazon) before going backwards to find the original anime series. After seeing a video from the original edition on YouTube, I knew I wanted to buy this 4K anime edition of this part of the RK series. Just wish it was half the price! *See attached photos from this Japanese Edition viewed on a LG 4K 65” TV. Included 2 scenes without dialog (one is a night fight scene) and 3 other scenes with dialog to show the high quality of visuals and easy to read English subtitles.

Practically brand new. Good for any fan of the Rurouni Kenshin series. The only reason for a 4 star is: The price was really high and when I received it the disc was loose in the box not saying it was the sellers fault for that

If you're wondering whether this release of Rurouni Kenshin is worth it I'd say that depends on a few things. If you're as meticulous as I am and you notice every detail and thing wrong with an anime, or you just want a stunning looking blu ray then get this. Video 10/10 The video quality on this blu ray is great. I have an old Samsung 630 series tv and this blu ray still looks great. Some instances of where you can see detail are when Tomo's hair shines, when you see the awesome looking reflections on the water at 1:11:54 you can see an almost life like fire burning (no joke it's almost true to life). There's also other detail. The shadows and lighting are perfect as well as the rain. Audio 10/10 The audio is perfect. sounds like a cherry blossom hitting the water as well as the Japanese and English audio are perfect. As far as I'm concerned all anime should look this good or better. See first review for other comments. And yes this is the directors cut of the Trust and Betrayal movies.

Forever Legendary. So glad I own this on Blu-ray. Truly what we call a hidden gem in animation, film making, storytelling, and as well as the entire soundtrack. As a stand-alone film/series with no prior knowledge it’s good. As a fan of the series, this is a Masterpiece. As for the actual content, there's one Blu-Ray disc that contains all of the 4 episodes. It's not the directors movie cut, instead it's the original separate episodes. The audio and picture are solid. Buy this even if you're on the fence about it because they may never do another re-release ever again. But If they ever decide to re-release this overseas in the US with any limited edition runs, I'LL BE THERE.