Rating: 
Summary: Samurai X the movie...more from the anime than the OAV
Review: Reading the previous reviews, I've decided to speak up. I love Rurouni Kenshin. It's my second favorite Anime out of all the Anime's I've seen. (I've see quite a lot) However, in the release of this wonderful story, there are a few mishaps that have caused general confusion. First of all, ADV, who released the OAV's went and released the Movie...without letting people know that the movie was based on the character personalitys of the origional seres. (released by Anime Works) The movie takes place somewhere in the storyline after the Kyoto arc of the TV series, which is quite a few years after the OAV's which took place at the end of the bakumatsu. (The revolution Japan underwent before the Meiji era began.) In the OAV (Trust/Betrayal released by ADV) Kenshin was a ruthless murderer. In the TV series he's become a Rurouni (wanderer) who only fights to maintain peace and refuses to kill. This is the Kenshin we see in this movie.
Rating:
Summary: The final touch needed after watching the TV and OVAs
Review: I'm a HUGE fan of Rurouni Kenshin, and this my favorite movie. After watching the TV series and OVAs, I needed some more Kenshin, and I bought this movie, and it was excellent. The animation is superb, the soundtrack (which I'm listening to as I write this) is a masterpiece and the story is very good (altough it has some flaws...). We all know the characters, Kenshin, Kaoru, Sanosuke and Yahiko, and we are also introduced to Shigure Takimi and Takatsuki Toki. These two characters play a big roll on this movie, specially Shigure. There's politic involved in this story, and some good (but somewhat cliched) plot twists, with the usual greediness, betrayal and last-minute realizations that you were walking the wrong path. The fighting scenes are pretty cool, involving Kenshin, Saitou (something on this later), Sanosuke and Shigure. Near the ending, Kenshin does a new move, one never before seen thats pretty cool and I don't wanna spoil it. The chronological order is a little confusing if you want to put it "within" the series, but it is safe to watch after seeing the second season. What I mean is that, like some other reviewers have said, Kenshin after the second season has "suppressed" or "overcome" his hitokkiri nature, and in this movie he was "possesed" once again by his anger. Also Saitou...well...something happens to him on the ending of the Kyoto Arc, and he still appears here, so this has something that put it after the Kyoto Arc (knowing the Amakkakeru Ryu no Hirameki and Sano's Futae no Kiwami) and other things that put it before the Kyoto Arc (the appearance of Saitou and Kenshin's manslayer nature emerging), so we'll never know for sure. Still, this is a pretty good story, with a sad but satisfiying (to me at least) ending, pretty good animation and extremly cool fighting scenes. A must buy for Rurouni Kenshin fans and fans of anime in general.
Rating:
Summary: This deserves more than a million stars!
Review: After getting pretty deep into the TV series, I searched out the rest of Kenshin's world. Fortunately, the manga is being released here. I have also seen the OVA, which explains Kenshin's past before the TV series and the manga. Then I got into the movie. This--is--awesome! Like the OVA, it moved me in a way that few (if any) anime ever have. Unlike the OVA, there are many funny parts in addition to the depressing parts. I love it when Yahiko is told to grow up to be an honorable man worthy of respect, and he thinks of his two role models, Kenshin and Sanosuke. The look on his face when he thinks of the older pair in some of their goofier aspects is great! The focus, however, is on the dramatic rather than the humorous. Kenshin is forced to relive a part of his life he would in all honesty rather forget, even erase. His past once again taints a relationship that otherwise would have gone smoothly, and in the end he and his new ally are forced to fight on opposite sides. Again. However, this time it ends, not with the reconciliation of the pair, but in tragedy. The fight scenes in this movie are of the same quality you've come to expect from this incredible series. The fight between Shigure and Kenshin is just jaw-dropping! I actually said "Wow!" the first time I saw it. Oh, and there is something I should mention. One fight is shown several times through several different angles. This fact may turn a lot of people off, but it IS important to the story. And that is (understandably) the only time he fights this particular man, so they have to keep showing the same small battle. It certainly didn't hurt me to see the same fight three or four times. Like the series, the English dub SUCKS! I hate it! *imagines taking the dub track from the people at the studio and stomping on it* The Japanese is SO much better! Kenshin as a character is supposed to have one of those voices that could be either male or female--that is part of the whole joke surrounding the character. He is supposed to be mistaken for a teenage boy at best, a young woman at worst. However, in the English dub, he is given a definite male voice. That alone is worth burning the tape with dub track on it. But combined with the questionable talents of the other English actors...Anyway, I prefer the Japanese version, not just for the (correct) voices but also for the correct pronounciation of the names. And for the excellent subbing. The subbers actually translate the names of Kenshin's attacks. This is both good and bad, as I love to hear him say the names, but on the other hand I get to (finally) learn what those attacks really are. In keeping with the somewhat darker tone of this movie, much of the action takes place at night or in dark buildings. What scenes are done in daylight are very well-done--these are often the more humorous scenes. Except for the battle scene: there wasn't supposed to be anything funny about that. However, when I showed it to two of my friends, they found that scene really funny for some reason. But they were also laughing during the climax of the battle between Shigure and Kenshin. Grr... I fully recommend this to any and all Kenshin fans, though if you don't know at least a little of the backstory than this probably won't make much sense.
Rating:
Summary: Better than I thought it would be
Review: In my opinion, Rurouni Kenshin is in my top 3 anime series of all time. Filled with humor, action, lovable characters, great storylines(although the sumo wrestler from season 1 was odd). So hearing of this movie, having watched the pre tv-OVA's, decided to watch this. Despite certain things that nagged me, this is a very good film to watch. It starts with a flashback as a man named Gentatsu is killed by Kenshin, otherwise known as Hitokiri Battousai, a feared assassin and master swordsman. Back to present day, Kenshin and his 3 friends from the series(minus Megumi) are in a city. There they meet Takimi, an equally good swordsmen. Kenshin later finds out that Takimi is haunted by the death of his friend Gentatsu and wants to get rid of Japan's government. Kenshin finds himself in a predicament as not only does he have to stop Takimi from starting a war, he's got to stop Takimi and not kill him over the wishes of Toki, a woman who secretly loves him. Phew. It's easier to watch. Bit of storyline details. This takes place during the Kyoto Arc after Kenshin has met Saito, and after Sanosuke learns a new punch. It was rather sad to not see Megumi but you do see Ayume and and Sazume so that's a plus. Animation's great(although the blood looks odd in some parts) and Kenshin oddly looks a bit different here. Now for some bad stuff. The killing of Tentatsu is repeated many times throughout the film. While it is a reminder of the problems of Kenshin and Takimi, you don't have to have it 5 times, literally. Another thing is the dub. I watched the English dub and it's rather bad. One thing that made Rurouni Kenshin funny was Kenshin having a darker voice when he was about to fight and a more lighthearted voice during the slapstick moments, then of course there's "oro". And Sanosuke has a bit of an australian accent which doesn't sound right. However, Kenshin's english voice is good despite him not saying "oro" once. If you're a big Kenshin, you might as well check it out, won't hurt. If you're not, I recommend the watching the series up until the first half of Season 1 and if you want to know about Saito, watch some of Season 2 but I recommend watching it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the greatest Kenshin
Review: Okay, first off, this has nothing to do with the Kenshin OVA. The Kenshin OVA is only 2 DVDs long, no more. ADV films has made this confusing by giving the dubbed versions of the OVA and the movie the same title. (Which I shudder to every time I hear it). First off, I'd like to state that I'm a huge Kenshin fan and I'd have to say it's the best animé series I have seen 'thus far.(And I've seen many in the past 3 years). But for some reason the movie didn't live up to the TV series potential. Why? Well, in my opinion it was to much related to the OVA, plot twist wise, and there was to many politics. Which brings me to another point. If you watch the movie in spurts it doesn't seem to be that bad. I watched it in one sitting the first time, felt in different, watched the movie a 2nd time in 2 or 3 sittings and actually liked it better. Why? I think it was because I wasn't having a political over load. Over all if you're a huge Kenshin fan it's worth a peek, but I don't suggest buying it on DVD, maybe VHS(subbed o' 'course ^^x). Stick to the OVA and the TV series and you'll be alright ~,^x
Rating: 
Summary: Actually this is more "Rurouni Kenshin: The Motion Picture"
Review: At the start of "Samurai X: The Motion Picture" ("Rurôni Kenshin: Ishin shishi e no Requiem") we are clearly in the same bloody world of "Samurai X: Betrayal" and "Samurai X: Trust." But then the titles come along and we are back to the world of "Rurôni Kenshin" the series, with Kaoru Kamiya, Sanosuke Sagara, and Yahiko Myôjin on the train to Yokohama. Apparently the violent prologue was only a reminder of Kenshin's life as the "Hitokiri Battousai" ("the man who slashes even as he draws his sword"). Within the context of the character's history the point of this story is to contrive a situation in which Kenshin Himura might break his vow and actually kill somebody with his reverse blade sword. As is often the case in the series although the war against the Tokugawa Shogunate ended years earlier with the Meiji Restoration there are those who are not happy with the new world order in Japan. Shigare Takimi is haunted by the death of his friend Takatsuki Gentatsu and now leads a band of desparate rebels who intended to kill a foreign ambassador. But when Kenshin helps to protect Takatsuki Toki from the brutality of foreign sailors, the two men become friends. Shigure asks Kenshime to take care of Toki if anything should ever happen to him. Of course it is a small world even in Japan Toki is the sister of Gentatsu, who was killed by Kenshin (in the prologue). Still, there are plans within plans in Meiji Japan as someone else is trying to use Shigure to his own ends and in the end it seems inevitable that Shigure and Kenshin will cross swords. This is another example of a "Rurôni Kenshin" story in which the stranger with a past whose path has crossed our hero before ends up being the most interesting character. It also remind those of us who enjoyed the anime series that things had ended there with Kaoru and Kenshin finally getting together and now we have apparently reset to an earlier time (the trip to Yokohama) and we can only ask, what is up with that? Still, you have to admit that this is "movie" version is representative of the series, where a long string of former foes cross Kenshin's path once again. I accidentally started watching the movie with the English dub and the English subtitles and kept it going just because there were so few times when they came close to matching. So if you are not enthralled by the sword fighting and the human drama you can check out the dueling translations.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable but not the Best Kenshin
Review: Samurai X The Motion Picture is an interesting movie that features some of the better post Kyoto fighting but other than that the movie itself in fairly unremarkable. The movie begins with a flashback of Kenshin as the Battousai in the waning days of the Tokugawa Shogunate. He fights and kills a rival clan and one of its master swordsmen. It is a good fight, short but well done. This segment is done in muted colors with the exception of the blood which looks almost neon red. The movie features most of the characters we have come to expect throughout the Kyoto story arc-Sano, Kaoru, Yahiko, and Saito. The movie revolves around Takami, a central figure of the rival clan featured in the opening sequence. He is man riddled with guilt over the death of his friend. Now he wishes to topple the Meji government to bring a "true restoration." In the end the movie has some great fight scenes, a few comical moments, and a solid enough story that keeps the movie rolling along. The English voice cast is different than that of the Series, so if you prefer the English dub, well suffice to say it leaves ALOT to be desired. The anime purists will tell you watch it in Japanese with the subtitles anyway. The reason I did not rate it higher was that this movie lacked some of the charm of the Series and the fights, while very well done, were not that numerous and the movie does plod a bit because of the lack of action. If the characters inroduced in this movie were also better developed then the action could have been absent but not missed. As it is the movie is good but not great. Hope this helps.
Rating:
Summary: Why'd they have to ruin it?
Review: I saw the whole Kenshin series before buying the movie, and let me tell you the voices from the series were terrific! However in this movie, they changed all the voices! I could tolerate Kenshin's new voice since it sounded a little similar to his old voice, but everyone else's just plain sucked. I watched it in English first and didn't like it, but then I watched it in Japanese to find it much better (even though I watched the whole series in English). If you want to give it a chance in English, go ahead but you will probably just end up hating it. Watch it subbed. Anyway now that I'm done with my rant, let me review the actual movie. It wasn't that special, just an extremely long Kenshin episode. There's waaay too much talking and not enough action, but the few times they fight are pretty cool. The quality of the animation seems sloppier than in the series, which was a suprise since this is a movie. It doesn't seem that much more fluid than the series either, but the series was done very well so I'm not complaining that much. All of the music was the same from the series (other than the opening song and ending song) so that was a bit of a dissapointment. The extras are lacking as well. The only extras are a trailer for the movie, a trailer for the Samurai X OVA's (or OAV, whatever you wanna call it), and some trailers for other ADV Dvd's. Nothing exciting. Overall this is a pretty average movie. I had very high expectations for it since I'm a huge fan of the series, so I was pretty dissapointed when I first saw it. Don't think very highly of it when you first watch it and you probably won't dislike it as much as I do. By the way, this movie does not have anything to do with the Samurai X OVA's. This is a movie that takes place during the Kyoto arc of the Kenshin series. Why they decided to name it 'Samurai X the Movie' and not 'Rurouni Kenshin the Movie' is a mystery to me, but keep this in mind so you won't be confused when/if you decide to watch it.
Rating:
Summary: This movie reminds me of a 90 min RK episode
Review: I think this movie is pretty cool. I wouldnt give it 5 stars becuase of a few quirks, like dubbing, and other things. The sotry line is great because everytime kenshin says that he is repenting for the people that he killed, you can never put a face to it. In this movie we are able to take a glimpse into the pain that his assasin days cause in the maji era. We now have an idea of what kenshin put people through. And for that i beleive that all kenshin fans should get it. But if you havent seen the seriese you can watch it too, and it will still be a great story, but then i suggest you should get the other samurai x movies trust and betrayal, then there are rourouni kenshin boxed sets you can buy if you are curious about his days as a wonderer. If you dont want to buy the seriese you can buy relfection, which has short flashbacks on the seriese and concludes the kenshin saga. Here you have it. I think this movie is great, expect for the voice changes ( like yakkio sounding like he's 20, and Sanoske sounding like a cali surfer boy/midwest farmer) but dont let that bother you b/c the japanese version sounds ok happy watching!!
Rating:
Summary: Haiku Review
Review: Story confusing:
No depth to supporting cast.
Still, has deep message.
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