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Live-Action Rurouni Kenshin Sequels' On-Set Photos Debut

More screenshots from next summer's two live-action Rurouni Kenshin sequel films debuted on Tuesday. These photos preview the scenes where Sōjirō Seta assassinates real-life historical figure Toshimichi Ōkubo at the Kioizaka slope.

The production filmed these scenes at Koko-en Garden in Himeji on September 13. In them, title character Kenshin Himura (played Takeru Satoh) discovers the assassinated Toshimichi Ōkubo (Kazufumi Miyazawa) and encounters Sōjirō Seta (Ryunosuke Kamiki).

Kamiki has been a fan of Nobuhiro Watsuki's original manga, and he wanted to play Sōjirō even before the sequel films were green-lit. He recounted that two years ago, he kicked off a wall and said to Satoh, "Look! Shukuchi" — a reference to Sōjirō's signature technique of running on walls. Kamiki recalled bashfully, "I made Takeru-kun grin that time, but … (laughs)."

Director Keishi Ōtomo commented that since Kamiki was already a fan of Sōjirō, he had the background to capture Sōjirō's beguiling way of smiling, even as he plots to kill people. Miyazawa said that even though Ōkubo existed in real-life history, "I think you would be able to see a New Ōkubo [in this film]."

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The films star:

• Takeru Satoh as Kenshin Himura
• Emi Takei as Kaoru Kamiya
• Munetaka Aoki as Sanosuke Sagara
• Yū Aoi as Megumi Takani
• Yōsuke Eguchi as Hajime Saitō
• Tatsuya Fujiwara as Makoto Shishio

Additional cast members include:

Tao Tsuchiya as Misao Makimachi

Ryunosuke Kamiki as Sōjirō Seta

Yusuke Iseya as Aoshi Shinomori

68-year-old Min Tanaka (Tekkonkinkreet, The Twilight Samurai, 47 Ronin remake) as Nenji Kashiwazaki/Okina

47-year-old Kazufumi Miyazawa (The Boom music band) as Toshimichi Ōkubo

39-year-old Yukiyoshi Ozawa (Umi no Hotaru) as Hirobumi Itō

12-year-old Kaito Ōyagi (Ninja Kids!!! Summer Mission Impossible) as Yahiko Myōjin

25-year-old model Maryjun Takahashi as Yumi Komagata

26-year-old Ryōsuke Miura (Kamen Rider OOO) as Chō Sawagejō

Taketo Tanaka played Yahiko in the first live-action Rurouni Kenshin film.

The two new films, which will cover the Kyoto arc from Nobuhiro Watsuki's original historical action manga, will be titled Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika-hen (Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire) and Rurouni Kenshin: Densetsu no Saigo-hen (Rurouni Kenshin: The End of a Legend). The films are slated to open next summer.

The first live-action Rurouni Kenshin film opened in Japan last year. The film starred Satoh and Takei (Kyō, Koi o Hajimemasu, For Love's Sake/Ai to Makoto). It had its North American premiere in Los Angeles in December, and it played in San Francisco on August 1.

Watsuki's manga ran from 1994 to 1999 in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, and the creator also drew the Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration retelling in Jump Square that launched in May 2012 and ended this year.

An anime series aired in Japan from 1996 to 1998 and spawned several anime film and video projects. Viz Media publishes both manga in North America, while Media Blasters released the television anime. ADV Films released two later original video anime projects and a film on DVD, and Aniplex released these three titles on Blu-ray Disc. Sentai Filmworks released the two more recent video anime series on Blu-ray Disc and DVD, which also covered the Kyoto arc.

Source: Comic Natalie

Images © Nobuhiro Watsuki/Shueisha © 2014 Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika-hen/Densetsu no Saigo-hen Production Committee