Search This Blog

Showing posts with label Kyoto Inferno. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kyoto Inferno. Show all posts

Saturday, August 16, 2014

MEET SHISHIO, RUTHLESS VILLAIN IN “RUROUNI KENSHIN: KYOTO INFERNO”




A powerhouse cast of famous Japanese actors is assembled by director Keishi Otomo for the epic action thriller “Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno,” the first of two sequels to the 2013 blockbuster “Rurouni Kenshin.”

Appearing for the first time opposite the hero Kenshin Himura (Takeru Satoh) as the crazed Makoto Shishio is the popular character actor Tatsuya Fujiwara. Performing in hot, heavy, stifling bandages that even make it hard for him to hear, he becomes the personification of pure evil. And Fijiwara gives justice to the role with a powerful, terrifying performance.

Originally a Choshu clan samurai known as ‘the shadow assassin’, Shishio fought alongside Kenshin against the Shogun’s Shinsengumi police. Viewed as Kenshin’s successor, he was known to few people. He and Kenshin never met.

Fighting, as was Kenshin, at the battle of Toba-Fushimi that sealed the overthrow of the Shogunate, Shishio was then betrayed by his own side and his body set on fire, the new government wishing to conceal certain assassinations he had committed. Miraculously, however, he survived, and has assembled a private army of mercenaries from within the Kyoto underworld with a view to overthrowing the new government and ruling the land himself. The burns he suffered destroyed his ability to perspire, and his body radiates a tremendous heat. He lives by the law of the jungle, and in his vast ambition he will stop at nothing to achieve his ends.


“This was the first time I’d worked with Director Otomo, and Shishio was a special kind of character so I had some worries, but both the director and Satoh were very welcoming,” Tatsuya Fujiwara says. “Shishio is a character the filmmakers built up with visuals and everything else over a long time. The action team also worked hard with me, so I felt really under pressure to respond to that. The director and Satoh and I talked about how to embellish the last battle between Shishio and Kenshin in great detail until we all agreed on how it would happen. And even though a lot of that was hard to put into words, it came together when we filmed it, and I think everyone was happy with the results. It’s a big thing for me that I’ve been involved with a truly world-class level movie, one that only comes along every decade or so.”

Born May 15, 1982 in Saitama Prefecture, Tatsuya Fujiwara made his stage debut in London, England in director Yukio Ninagawa’s 1997 production of “Shintoku-Maru,” and much of his career has been spent on the stage. With Battle Royale he shared a Best Newcomer Award of the Japanese Academy and won a Best New Actor Blue Ribbon Award, and was widely praised for his portrayal of Soji Okita in the 2004 NHK Sunday night historical drama series “Shinsengumi!” A powerful performance in director Takashi Miike’s 2013 Cannes International Film Festival Entry “Shield of Straw” established him in the top ranks of Japan’s younger character actors. In October of 2014 he will appear in a stage production of “Julius Caesar.”


Other film roles include the two “Death Note” films (06), the “Kaiji: Ultimate Gambler” series (09, 11), “Parade,” “The Incite Mill” (both 10), “I’m Flash!” (12), “The Chart of Love,” “One Third,” and “Monsterz” (all 2014).

Based on the Kyoto arc of the popular manga series written & illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki, the “Rurouni Kenshin” sequels follow the story of Kenshin Himura (Takeru Satoh), a legendary swordsman in the wars accompanying the turbulent fall of Japan's Shogunate in the 19th century. Once feared as 'Battosai the Killer', he has adopted a peaceful life since the arrival of the 'new age'.
But Makoto Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara), the 'Shadow Killer' and successor to Kenshin's position as the deadly assassin, has since then been scheming in the Kyoto underworld, raising an army of disaffected former samurais with the aim of overthrowing the new regime.

Agreeing to a request by the new government to defeat Shishio, Kenshin leaves his beloved ones in Tokyo and sets out for Kyoto. He and Shishio are a match in skill and in wits, but their aims are opposite. Can Kenshin preserve the nation without breaking his vow that he will kill no more...?
The films also star Emi Takei (Kaoru Kamiya), Munetaka Aoki (Sanosuke Sagara), Kaito Oyagi (Yahiko Myojin), Yu Aoi (Megumi Takani), Yosuke Eguchi (Hajime Saito), Min Tanaka (Nenji Kashiwazaki), Tao Tsuchiya (Misao Makimachi), Ryunosuke Kamiki (Soujiro Seta), Maryjun Takahashi (Yumi Komagata) and Tatsuya Fujiwara (Makoto Shishio).

The first sequel, “Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno” will open across the Philippines on Aug. 20, 2014, to be followed by “Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends” on Sept. 24, 2014. Both films are distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Friday, August 8, 2014

Takeru Satoh and the cast of Rurouni Kenshin held its presscon at Glorietta



 Japanese action-epic movie Ruruoni Kenshin with its lead actors Takeru Satoh, Munetaka Aoki and its director, Keishi Ohtomo held its presscon at the Glorietta Activity Center last August 7, 2014.  The show was hosted by Sam Oh and attended by the media and fans all over the Phils. Takeru Sato thanked everyone for the warm welcome he and the cast of Rurouni Kenshin got from all the fans and  media. The fans got wild everytime Takeru talks, winks and waves. While  Munetaka Aoki, his sidekick in the movie greeted the audience "Magandang Gabi and Mahal ko kayo and repeated the word "astig" three times, much to the adulation of the fans. Warner Bros. Japan releases the film and starts its regular showing in the country on August 20, 2014.




Keishi Ohtomo, Takeru Satoh and Munetaka Aoki



Two years after the release of the shocking prologue: Rurouni Kenshin, the time has come for the great climax to begin. The first half of an epic two-part finale, "Kyoto Inferno" finds the reformed assassin desperately trying to avoid the violence promised in the next film “The Legend Ends”.

Based on the Kyoto arc of the popular manga series written & illustrated by Watsuki Nobuhiro, the sequels follow the story of reformed assassin Kenshin Himura going up against pure evil Makoto Shishio who is attempting to overthrow the Meiji government. The fate of the country hangs in the balance as Kenshin Himura takes up the sword that he vowed to never draw again.


Returning as director is Keishi Otomo, highly respected around the world for such works as Ryomaden and Platinum Data. Gathering his production staff from the first Kenshin movie, he combines painstaking attention to detail with spectacle on a grand scale in his single-minded pursuit of a world-within-film like no other. The theme song is by the internationally popular band ONE OK ROCK, who has written two individual songs for both films.






Friday, June 6, 2014

MAIN TRAILER OF “RUROUNI KENSHIN” SEQUELS NOW ONLINE



Warner Bros. Pictures has just reeled-off the main trailer of “Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno / The Legend Ends,” director Keishi Otomo's two-part sequels  to the 2013 blockbuster “Rurouni Kenshin” and based on the Kyoto arc of the popular manga series written & illustrated by Watsuki Nobuhiro.

The trailer may be viewed at Warner's official youtube channel at http://youtu.be/rmy4GMAHSS8.

In the sequels, reformed assassin Kenshin Himura (Takeru Sato) goes up against pure evil Makoto Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara) who is attempting to overthrow the Meiji government. The fate of the country hangs in the balance as Kenshin Himura takes up the sword that he vowed to never draw again.

The films also star Emi Takei (Kaoru Kamiya), Munetaka Aoki (Sanosuke Sagara), Kaito Oyagi (Yahiko Myojin), Yu Aoi (Megumi Takani), Yosuke Eguchi (Hajime Saito), Yusuke Iseya (Aoshi Shinomori), Min Tanaka (Nenji Kashiwazaki), Tao Tsuchiya (Misao Makimachi), Ryunosuke Kamiki (Soujiro Seta), Maryjun Takahashi (Yumi Komagata) and Tatsuya Fujiwara (Makoto Shishio).

The first sequel, “Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno” will open across the Philippines on Aug. 20, 2014, to be followed by “Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends” on Sept. 24, 2014. Both films are distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.


Monday, May 26, 2014

Rurouni Kenshin is back on the screen for the Manga fans

WARNER RELEASES “RUROUNI KENSHIN” SEQUELS IN PH AUG 20 & SEPT 24

Warner Bros. Pictures Philippines will roll-out a back-to-back release platform for the eagerly anticipated sequels of “Rurouni Kenshin.” This was announced today by Francis Soliven, General Manager of Warner Bros. (F.E.), Inc.


The first sequel, “Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno” will open here on Aug. 20, 2014, to be followed one month after by “Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends” on Sept. 24, 2014. (The teaser trailer for the two titles can now be viewed at http://youtu.be/MSqj9n0VqIQ.)

The release pattern will allow fans to experience the cathartic conclusion to the celebrated saga with little time in between and honors the filmmakers' wishes as to how the sequels should be viewed. The twin features will have the same opening window in Japan.


With the release of the original “Rorouni Kenshin” last year, Japanese cinema entered a new era. A commercial film combining unparalleled speed and overwhelming action in a moving human drama, it was an explosive blockbuster that was met with riotous enthusiasm by the fans.

This was the first motion picture inspired by Kenshin the Wanderer: The Romance of the Meiji Swordsman (Shueisha Jump Comics), the monumental manga comic by Nobuhiro Watsuki that has sold more than 5.8 million copies and been translated into more than 20 languages.
Directed by Keishi Ōtomo, the film told of fictional events that took place during the early Meiji period in Japan, focusing on a wanderer named Himura Kenshin (Takeru Satoh), formerly known as the assassin Hitokiri Battōsai. After participating in the Bakumatsu war, Kenshin wanders the countryside of Japan offering protection and aid to those in need as atonement for the murders he once committed as an assassin.

The filmmakers faced a serious challenge in meeting the high expectations of the manga fans, a challenge they succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations as the film arrived to a rapturous reception throughout Japan, quickly taking in more than 3 billion yen at the box office. Word-of-mouth spread quickly overseas, and “Rurouni Kenshin” was shown in 31 festivals and received distribution in 64 territories, including the Philippines.

The production team was aware from the start that the “Rurouni Kenshin” story would not be complete without a film version of the “Kyoto Arc,” the highest-rated and best-loved segment that serves as a climax to the manga series. Coincidentally, the resolution and determination with which the main character Kenshin survives through a turbulent age serve as a guidepost to the filmmakers.
And so, in answer to calls from around the world demanding “more Kenshin,” the filmmakers proudly present “Kyoto Inferno” and “The Legend Ends.”

Get Ready for the Watsons Nationwide Sale: Amazing Deals Up to 50% Off from November 14-17!

  It’s that time of year again! Whether you’re replenishing your go-to health, beauty, and wellness essentials or looking to experiment with...