 |
| Sato Takeru(L) and Kenshin Himura(R) |
According to a source shared by a fellow otaku or fan, the live-action version of Rurouni Kenshin(literally meant Kenshin the wanderer in Japanese) is official with Warner Bros. producing. Actor Sato Takeru is chosen for the title role. Rurouni Kenshin creator Watsuki Nobuhiro had Sato in mind for the role of Himura Kenshin. I wouldn't be surprise. He can dye his hair red, the cross-scar would be easy.
Rurouni Kenshin, known in some countries as Samurai X, is an original manga written by Watsuki, originally ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1994-1999 and is translated and released in 23 countries and has over 50 million copies in print and has successful anime adaptation with 95 episodes and 2 mini-series or OVAs(original video anime).
Rurouni Kenshin is a story of a wandering samurai during the Meiji era and wishes to redeem his bloody past as a hitokiri (assassin) during the last days of the Togukawa era by helping people in need with his trademark sword, sakabatou or the reversed-edge sword without killing anyone.
Preparation of the project started 3 years ago and will start filming in July so it will be released in 2012 and will be directed by Otomo Keishi. My only concern about the production is the western influence but I am hoping that it was only for the post-production so it will be more Japanese involved during its initial filming and pre-production.
