Some movies are great with a Jpop singer/actor in the lead, but "Rurouni Kenshin" needed more, and that's what it got in casting Takeru Sato as Kenshin. It felt like I watched Kenshin come alive, for the first time. I love the anime, don't get me wrong, but I always wondered what the plot would be like in live action. In a word, it's brilliant. I only wish there were more because one movie is definitely not enough. It's fun hearing Kenshin speak the same way he does in the anime, with an eccentric something tagged on the end of his sentences. It's cute, and it suits him. You get to know the battle-scarred Kenshin, and he is seriously scary, but you also get to know the Kenshin who's seeking a place to call home, as he experiences that need for connection. Isn't that the human condition, the need to connect? I can't praise the movie high enough. It's different from the anime, but that's okay. There are so many story arcs in the anime that something a little condensed is very refreshing. This movie is high-quality directing, acting, and staging, with absolutely STUNNING battle sequences. I wish all Japanese movies took the time to make such a magnificent work of art.