Forget the famous Rurouni Kenshin TV series. This has nothing to do with it. Well, yes, it's supposed to be a prequel, but the tone, mood and depth of it makes it a completely different story. It's a lyric and very adult tale about love, death, politics and betrayal that deserved, not only a theatrical release, but also massive exposure.

Production values are extraordinary and it's packed with more expressive resources than all western animation ever. Look specially for one of the best representations of smell in the history of filmmaking.

But the best part is the story. Layer over layer of meaning and symbolism create a tight, dark and deep tale. Nothing is said, nothing is shown that doesn't bear deep significance, be it a cryptic sentence, a shot of a child's toy or a slash through the face.

And then there's the fights. When "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" opened everybody talked about how the fights revealed character. Well, Rurouni Kenshin does the same thing much better, and it doesn't need 10 minutes each time. The fights are short and brutal, swords actually cut the flesh, but there's so much being told each time.

One of the most beautiful things here is what's left off screen. Rurouni Kenshin is a historical epic, but history isn't shown directly to the viewer, it isn't spelled out for you. We focus on the characters. They go through history, sometimes they even change it, but we are not shown the politics and the fights for power. We stay with Kenshin, an assassin, a mere pawn in those fights. We see the killing and then we hear the vague echoes of what it causes. The story is moved forward, but we have to build it back together with the information we receive through Kenshin's eyes. Yes, this is what critics mean when they talk about a `demanding' film.

Rurouni Kenshin is a work of art. Well worth your time and money. It comes in two one-hour volumes (two chapters each), but the best way to experience it is seeing them all back to back, as a two hour feature film. Two thumbs up and go get it.

The movie Kenshin deserves it's place among the best of anime, it stands as a reminder of what animation is capable of. It is rare to find a Samurai/Shogun animation movie that contains such attention to detail. This is apparent in the way the movie takes it's time to build it's characters and develop their respective relationships, in fact very little time is devoted to the actual fights scenes with the numerous battles and duels being over in a blink of an eye. What the movie actually focuses on is the doomed love story that develops between Kenshin and Toroe and the numerous symbols within nature that depict the character's fates.

Kenshin is a true work of art that draws upon Japan's rich artistic history to create an epic tale of love and death. The movie incorporates distinctly Japanese arts within it's narrative, for example in this movie there is a strong emphasis on the depiction of the landscape, the changing of the seasons, the stoicism of the Japanese mentality. Through these artistic devices we see the tale unfold of an assassin who is torn between continuing his life of bloodshed or taking his chance to escape into a more quiet life away from the killings.

With all the emphasis on the artistic achievement of Kenshin it should also be mentioned that the movie also delivers on a purely entertaining level with blood splatter tinged into practically every scene, but what stands out even more is the spiritual aspect of the story that tells the audience -amongst other things- that what we do in life will eventually come to haunt us in our future.

A stunning poetic reflection of an often banal genre.

I used to tune in Kenshin the TV series on Cartoon Network. I hated it. I hated everything about it because it was so cheesy. I just didn't like it, but I was curious about the storyline. I checked a few anime trailers and I discovered Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal. At first I thought: 'Wow, is that Kenshin? He looks different. Wait, this looks a whole lot more serious than the TV series. I must watch this!' So I borrowed it from my friend and noticed how very well done it was. VERY well done. It gave nobody mercy regardless if they're bad or good. This isn't the type where everybody dies either, but the storyline is also twisted but it fits in at the end. It gets you thinking one thing, but the real story is about something else. I love it. I love it because it's a story about love. That's all it is! A really well done love story. In all, i think I've watched it more than six times and I still cry watching it. Don't get me wrong guys, this isn't a chick flick. It's action/romance/etc etc.. it can fall into a lot of genres. But in all, it's a great anime about love and life.

Even though I gave it a straight out 10, but I have to complain about one thing: characters... Most characters you didn't get a chance to know which you wish you did. But maybe they went into that during the last of it that continues after this. Who knows, anyway, good anime. Definitely recommended to people who aren't very fond of anime.