ShortCircuit

SEA is South East Asia (in MDL present dramas, that would mean Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore; there are a few more countries, but I never watched dramas from there.)

And I mean Gun would probably rock any role in any drama, anyway, I just didn't have a chance to see him in an international drama (yet. Keeping fingers crossed.)

I always meant to watch The Gifted, but the trailer also seems to show it's kind of a horror supernatural story, LOL. I kept postponing it because of that. One of these days I'll bite the bullet - unless Not Me comes first :D

I first watched Gun in The Blue Hour, that is a freaking horror story (I don't really watch horror, LOL.) I noticed the acting chops, the looks were so-so for me. But then I watched Theory of Love - this guy not only can act, he's an acting powerhouse compared to other Thai actors (particularly in BL), and also most of SEA actors, as far as I'm concerned (I admit of not having watched them all, or most of them probably, BUT you can see him shine from a distance. Can't wait for his next works!) And the looks are very cute, too, even if he's unconventionally beautiful.

TBH, the hearts given by MDLers might not be the best recognition system - I only marked Lee Joon Gi and Xiao Zhan, for example, and I definitely like a whole slew of them. I just didn't even notice the hearts system and when I did, I was getting in a groove and never found the time to keep giving them hearts, LOL. I might be not the only one either. Maybe a poll added to the article, if possible, would share more light on current favourites among MDLers?

After ep 4... Oh, this is Monte Cristo!! (a dystopian take on it, but still recognizable. I don't even care if I'm way off at this time, LOL, it looks so Monte Cristo as of now.)

Okay, I'm all for that!!

I've watched dramas with 8 of the 10 (not the first two in this top). (And yes they were mostly BL, LOL.)

IMHO, Gun is the most talented actor, and Saint is the cutest among them. But then I might be biased.

I was kind of expecting to see the newest stars in here, though - people like Billkin or PP, for example.

Coming here after the first two eps just to say this - the OST is amazing, epic and dark. I'd have watched the series if only for it, LOL. Ji Sung and Park Jin Young are a bonus :D

I still have no idea what's going to turn into, but so far, so good. I'm just glad I didn't watch it as it was realeased, I hate waiting :D

The first - 2012 - one can be watched as stand-alone. The next two have a first and second arc and greatly profit from having watched the first movie (because that one introduces the characters.)

The 4th and 5th also are two arcs of the same story, and also would be better if you've seen the previous releases.

However, the last one, The Beginning, could be watched separately as a stand-alone, too.

Ah, can't help myself, I'm a fan of the Tsuikohen (don't watch the Seisohen, or the Shin-Kyoto-hen, LOL, if you dab into the OVAs, just Tsuiokuhen).

So I want to recommend it again (I kept mentioning here a lot). The story is the same, but the grade of execution is just amazing - the art is great, the music is perfect, the seyuu did a wonderful job. I can't help it but compare it to the movie, and the OVA still gets a bit higher mark from me. Somehow it imparts the message way more thoroughly, and ends up being more heartbreaking. I prefer Tomoe of the OVA to the one in the movie but the actress did okay, too. And well, it explains Kenshin's motivation to join the Restoration movement better, and also the ending is more fitting IMHO. And you get to see Hiko Seijuro again :D

The Beginning is a completely different beast than any of the other RK movies, including The Final, IMO. It deals with emotions more than action, and it's supposed to be considered after all the bluster and fuss of the rest of them. Not to mention that it involves a completely different Kenshin than the one we've seen in the other four movies - a younger, less wise Kenshin, and a much more violent era (even considering the whole strange enemies from the Meiji, the ones in the Bakufu hit differently because THOSE people are based on real historical figures, and a lot of the slaughter and strife have roots in actual history.) Despite the tons of blood and killing, I see it as a muted love story and kind of gloss over the action. The OVA might have coloured my impression on the story, I admit.

I watched The Beginning as a coda to the RK movies (just as much as Tsuiokuhen is a coda to the anime series and the manga.)

But obviously, one should watch them in any order they prefer and enjoy most :)

You could give the OVA/animated version a try, if you're in the mood - the animation is top-notch, the story is great, the voice actors/seyuu did a great job.

It would help for a better understanding of the story if you know some background info on the Bakumatsu era - when the Shogunate was trying hard to keep the power and the loyalists, who wanted the restoration of the Emperor's power, were fighting hard to defeat them. The fact that the Mibu Wolves are mentioned and included in the story has impact on the next movies - former Shinsengumi captain Saito Hajime is one of the characters in the (release order) first movie and keeps on appearing throughout the rest of them, for example. He's a historical figure too. Okita Soji, another person appearing in The Beginning, is also a real person, and HE is the one who inspired the mangaka, Nobuhiro Watsuki, to create Kenshin himself (and another future enemy, Seta Sojiro, too.) Actually the first (release order) movie starts with the same scenes The Beginning ends with, and Saito is there (Okita died of tuberculosis before the Meiji era started). The Bakufu - and the first years of the Meiji - were really bad times for most of Japan, so the gloom and doom atmosphere is justified.

Hint (and spoiler): at the end of the (chronological order) first movie, Katsura (another historical person) tells Kenshin he won't be asked to do the assasinations any more, because they found another slayer. That slayer is going to be a MAJOR enemy in the following movies, but I won't tell you more than that.

What you CAN expect from the next movies - well, they're based on a manga. That means physics is suspended (faster-than-lightning moves, impossible jumps, last-second escapes are the norm). For a live action (manga-to-movie) this series is amazing, basically the best one yet. Just one needs to be aware this is not supposed to be deeply rooted in reality, LOL.

Yes, That's the way the manga progression goes, too - we first met the already wandering Kenshin and we learn his backstory slowly. It's the best way to meet the characters, IMHO. The first three movies are closely related, from the first one introducing Kenshin and his newfound family, to the last one where he defeats his greatest enemy in the Meiji era.

The last two (The Final and The Beginning) are, respectively, the ending of an arc regarding Kenshin's actions as a slayer for the Restoration party, and the beginnings of it - what he did before he became the Rurouni Kenshin of the Meiji era. Also IMHO, the last two are related but separated from the first two (well, as much as they can be separated while having some of the same characters). And yes, that too is the right order, LOL. First the ending, then the beginning.

If you ever watched the anime series, and know the characters, you'll be pleased. If you read the manga, you'll be even more pleased. If you did neither and this is your first time meeting Kenshin... well, welcome and have fun watching the stories! :)

She didn't fall in front of his sword, she was protecting him with her body and attacking the assassin at the same time.

The second scar is more complex - she's cursing him not to forget, or to always remember not to kill again. Also, she had a lot to tell him that she would never have time to as she lay dying, so it might have been just a hint that her scar is related to the one given him by her fiancee Kiyosato, so that he knows WHY she betrayed him, at least in the beginning.

If you haven't watched it yet, I highly recommend the OVA version of the story, Trust & Betrayal (or Tsuioku-hen), It's one of the best pieces of animation to come out of Japan, and that says a lot (it's way more levels above the anime series animation, too.) The story is heartbreaking (well, now you know), the voice actors are sublime, and the music is perfection itself. One shouldn't miss it :)

And they did keep that piece of dialogue when Kenshin says he'll never kill again, too. I have to say it, I like Suzukaze Mayo's delivery better. Her voice breaks on it, which is really painful to hear, but well, that's why seyuu like her are the best.

Well, they did stick the landing. So glad - I was afraid it would not raise up to the level of the previous ones, but it totally fits the atmosphere and the story. The only thing that doesn't raise up to expectations is the music (it definitely reprises some of the already known themes of the RK saga, but the OVA's music was way better. I guess they couldn't just borrow some of Taku Iwasaki's themes. Ko-to-wa-ri would have been perfect again, IMHO. "Broken Heart of Gold" fits the movie, though I didn't quite like it as much as I did the other songs One OK Rock did for RK.)

Using the opening of the first RK movie was pretty good too. I didn't quite expect so much blood - though it's there in the manga, I don't know what I was waiting for, LOL. It just hits differently when it's on screen.

Bows to the whole production teams for the 5 RK movies - this has been quite a ride, and a great one. One of my favourite mangas set to the big screen, and IMHO the best manga-to-live action movie transition ever/done so far.

I like them both for different reasons - and find them both flawed in the end.

L&R is going perfect throughout all the series, with SiFeng becoming the ultimate sacrificial lamb each and every time (but I like a suffering hero, so what can I say?...), but flops the ending arc sadly (IMHO). I could have done with a better ending myself. The last episode goes a long way into redeeming it (LOL) but not soon enough. The music is great and the snake is my favourite side-kick, but that last arc... Sigh.

AoL on the other hand suffers from a most perfect ML and a totally clueless FL for most of its run. That's why RunYu saves most of the plot with his slow falling into villain territory, at least he's not cookie-cut good and has some back story. But of course true love must win and it all twists and turns into a HEA that I wasn't even expecting with much interest by then TBH. I know people watched it for the romance between the grape and the phoenix, but I watched for the drama of the water dragon, so there's that...

The music was perfect in both dramas, and Love Like Coloured Glass is on my playlist even now.

I came off them with an interest in Luo YunXi and Chen Yu so I call that a win in both cases :D

You forget BHS knows who DHS is. His serial killer mentor always talked to him about DHS and how he's not really amenable despite his mental issues and it's pretty obvious BHS is kind of stuck into being a replacement son/apprentice for DHS's dad just because DHS wouldn't follow through with what his father wanted.

IMHO, bringing him home to bury was keeping the ultimate trophy for BHS - DHS was always going to be missing for the rest of the world and BHS would be the only one to know how he actually ended up.

For me, it was more the actual coincidence of having DHS fall in front of BHS's car, JUST AS BHS was going to recover the re-found Jung Mi Sook - but LOL, I can suspend disbelief a whole lot for this series :D

It's mostly a happy ending - nobody who shouldn't die dies, and nobody who shouldn't live, lives. But there's a change in the main relationship that could be said to not be completely HEA. It worked for me, it might not work for all people.

Be aware this is not just a thriller, it's a melo-thriller, that means there will be some melo elements throughout.

RE: BHS's black eyes, who do you mean, the actor or the character?

BHS is played by two people, both MLs, Lee Joon Gi as a swap-in for him while BHS is in a coma, then Kim Ji Hoon as the original and then after waking up from the coma BHS. They both have black eyes, LOL (and they're both quite handsome, to boot.) But yeah, Kim Ji Hoon/original BHS (the one with the long hair) looks to have really black eyes in pictures.

I highly recommend watching the Tsuiokuhen OVA (Trust & Betrayal), basically it should be the same story told in The Beginning.

The animation is top-notch, much, MUCH better than the TV series or the other OVA that shall not be mentioned - except one shouldn't watch it - the music is perfection itself and well, there's a lot of heartbreak.

But so worth it - I think it's my favourite part of everything Rurouni Kenshin, including the manga, the anime, the live-action movies and the OVAs.

If you haven't watched The Beginning - I know I haven't... - you could choose to watch it after the movie, to give it a chance to awe you, LOL, particularly as you like Takeru Sato as RK (he embodies RK better than anyone I could have ever imagined.) But don't miss out on it - it's a masterpiece.

PS They'd better stick the landing on Tsuiokuhen, I was screaming like a fangirl seeing the pony-tail on Kenshin - and then the pieces of it they chose to show basically spoil the whole movie, LOL. But I won't complain, as long as it's at least as good as the OVA. Keeping fingers crossed.

Did anybody watch it? (it's supposed to come on Netflix at the end of the month, but it's been released for weeks in Japan.) Does it do the OVA justice?

how on Earth do you make Jinchuu Arc and NOT include the most epic panel of the manga in it?!! I kept waiting for the chained sword scene and it never came T_T

I guess the manga has all the time in the world to make sense and Jinchuu Arc spans a lot of chapters, but I don't remember Seta Sojiro in it - am I remembering wrong?! I need to do a re-read.

Overall, not bad. It doesn't get to the level of the very first movie for me, but that one was the introduction to the charas and kept it all human-levels possible. The following movies took the manga/anime to heart and boosted everything to a whole 'nother level.

Still good.

Nobody brushed their hair for the duration of filming. And considering the glimpses from The Beginning, nor will they brush their hair in the other movie either LOL.

I liked Enishi - he's basically the same as in the manga. Aoshi's fight with Mumyoi was awesome, I guess he and the Oniwabanshu meant business LOL.

I am not really sure, as they only fixed on Saito taking the stance for Gatotsu and never on Kenshin's stances, but did Kenshin actually use Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki on Enishi in the final battle? It went so fast I am not certain what I saw.

The fights are epic but bordering on anime physics (which somehow doesn't really bother me) BUT...