SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

It is a performances centric movie

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

I thought it was completely out of character first of all! The whole thing practically oozed depression. Also, it totally disregarded the essence of Rurouni Kenshin. You'd think that Kenshin and Kaoru would be a bit more happier after getting married and having a child together. Its hard to judge if they really were but the impression it gave off was horrible! It was utterly sad.No doubt the ending was beautiful despite the fact that he died. But regardless, he died in her arms and without the cross shaped scar. So, I suppose we could say he was somewhat at peace? .. Like Nabuhiro Watsuki said, Kenshin did go through a lot of crap and the least he deserved was a happy ending. It was disappointing.Plus the fact that Kenji totally despised him. As if, Kenshin really needed that burden among all his other sadness. Did Kenshin even know that Kenji hated him? ...It did have its sweet moments though, such as Kaoru wanting to share the pain of Kenshin. Thats something Kaoru even in the Anime would've done, even though it was through sexual intercourse.Kenshin is a little hard to figure out in both so its difficult to say whether or not he would've left Kaoru and Kenji to wander and fight in the war if he had been the same as in the Anime. But both times he had people to return to so who knows.It definitely could've been much much happier. I could feel every aspect of it except happiness even if it seemed like they were!

Before you watch this OVA/movie, you should really watch some parts of the TV series, and the first two OVA's in the Kenshin universe. This will really help you flesh out the background, and make watching this OVA/movie more enjoyable.This OVA/movie is really a recap of some of the major events in the TV series and the first two OVA's. The animation is completely brand new, so they didn't just reuse the old footage, they redrew everything from scratch. The animation style is distinctly different from what you are used to seeing. Some people like it, some people don't. I still feel ambivalent about it, particularly about the eyes, they are much more exaggerated.As to the story, well, even after all these years, Kenshin is still laden with the guilt over all those people he killed during the Meiji Restoration era. He married Kaoru, and they had a son. But Kenshin feels compelled to continue to lead the life of the wandering samurai, only returning home to Kaoru intermittently over the years, because he cannot set aside his guilt laden conscience, and feels that by leading the life of a wandering samurai, and helping people along the way, he is in some measure making atonement for his bloody past.At some point Kenshin contracted leprosy (the OVA/movie never explicitly states this, but sure looks like it) and suffers horribly from it. Kaoru willingly contracts it from Kenshin, because she feels that in contracting the same illness as Kenshin's, she can share Kenshin's pain and suffering, and in some measure be emotionally more connected to Kenshin.Kenshin then went to China at the behest of the Japanese government. From the time line, it should have been around the time of the first or the second Sino-Japanese war. Then after some time while in China, Kenshin falls gravely ill. Sanosuke then came, and helped Kenshin get on a cargo ship headed back to Japan.Kenshin and Kaoru finally meet again after so many years of separation. Kenshin then dies while resting in Kaoru's lap. After the credits, we see Kenshin and Kaoru's son, Kenji, all grown up, very much like the young Kenshin we are all familiar with from the TV series, and a his young girl friend, very much like the young Kaoru. They promise each other that they would lead a happy life together, a life which, because of Kenshin's past, so eluded Kenshin and Kaoru.Overall, it's a OVA/anime. But I do feel that the story is not on par with the first two Kenshin OVA's. I especially have problems with the part about Kaoru willingly contracting leprosy from Kenshin, and that in contracting the disease, Kaoru feels that she is emotionally closer to Kenshin. This whole premise just feels contrite and forced.Kenshin probably suffers from some serious post traumatic stress disorder. This is probably why he sets out wandering all over Japan and then to China even after his marriage with Kaoru and even after Kaoru gave birth to their son. Once scarred, you are scarred for life. Even in this day and age, there are seldom effective treatments for PTSD's.It's a sad ending.

Unnecessary summary of the TV series - if you haven't seen the TV series this is very confusing or at least not coherent. Even when you have watched the TV series this is a waste of time - The other OVA is far better - stick to that instead

I thought that the Rurôni Kenshin Seisô hen OVA was great. There are some problems with it though. The lack of explaination of who the characters are is one major flaw in the movie. By the time I saw this OVA though, I saw some of the T.V. series and the first OVA and knew who most of the characters were. Anyone who has not seen the first OVA and the T.V. series may be confused to what's going on. This should only be watched after the first OVA and at least some of the T.V. series. There are many flash backs, like the rest of the Rurouni Rurôni movies, which may also cause some confusion.I gave this a 9 because I understood what was going, and I like how the battle sequences were done. Without knowledge of who everyone is and what happened in the first OVA, this would be pointless movie to watch.