Rurouni Kenshin: Old VS New

I don't like the new ruining Kenshin and comparing the first episode of the new adaptation to the first episode of the old one there's something immediately apparent about the difference between these two shows but this is only based on the First episodes who really gives a [ __ ] anyways whereas the original adaptation feels so full of life animated and energetic the new one feels much more muted like a just kind of going through the motions type of show I mean just compare the two scenes of Kenshin meeting kadu for the first time even the first reaction from the protagonist is just immediately off whereas the original Kenshin reacts with this really goofy expression the new one just looks mildly confused I'm not saying this face is anything special I mean it's a very generic comedic over-the-top anime face but it's Charming it's kind of funny and it immediately tells us something about this character's personality which the new face doesn't do any of these things if it were just this moment I wouldn't say anything about it but the rest of this interaction also plays out an incredibly soulless way for example when Kenshin Dodges counties first few strikes he just kind of trips over himself and bumps into a wooden support beam but in the original adaptation he leaps with this giant whooshing sound effect there's a moment where he looks cool and composed only for him to fall through the platform he landed on and end up like this or in the scene where Cody takes a look at kenshin's sword take note of the way she reacts to it and the little movement she makes while examining it and especially when she berates Kenshin preparing around a sword in the first place and given the pattern so far you've probably guessed the new version of the scene is a lot more stilted cow do has the blandest look on her face while the camera engages in a yawn-inducing hand and I'm getting bored just looking at this so let's move on to my next example the scene where kado gives Kenshin back his sword by tossing it up into the air forcing Kenshin to catch it with the sheath leading to his voice cracking in this freaking glorious way oh and the voice acting is in my opinion much better in the original since it feels like the actors had so much more fun performing these roles heck even something small like the backgrounds are much more lifelike and memorable than the generic nighttime and natureless setting that plagues the new adaptations first episode there's a real energy to the original a really infectious one at that and all of that is for the most part gone in the new adaptation and I don't mean to say that this show should be the exact same as the original and I don't want it to be a carbon copy of the original adaptation if they had found genuinely creative and inventive ways to play around with some of these scenes that were completely different from the original that would have been great but what they actually did was just recreate the same scene with a lot less of the charm and personality from the original adaptation but hey at the end of the day the most important thing for a story to do is tell a story and this adaptation doesn't do that well either and before you say this version of the story is just the same as the manga I don't care an adaptation should be good on its own merits without piggybacking off of the source material success also I am not Nostalgia biased because I watched the first episode of the new Rooney Kenshin first and went back to check out the original so please don't say that either if you want to say the adaptation is better if you watch the original first then it's not a good adaptation because again it's piggybacking off with another anime success the new Rooney kenshin's first episode doesn't feel like a first episode it feels more like one of those episodic stories that just happens and not so much like a catalyst for the entire show at least that's the case until the end where it's revealed Kenshin decides to stay with kowdu instead of leaving to do [ __ ] all and the reason why I say that is there's no real hook for me to get invested in as the central appeal to this show now I'm sure kenshin's relationship with kowdu is meant to be that hook but so much of the first episode is dedicated to explaining the motivations of both the villain of this episode and cow do through really flat and expository dialogue which ends up distracting from that hook like in the scene where kaudu saves Kenshin from getting the [ __ ] kicked out of him by the police this scene isn't about the two of them reuniting and interacting again it's more about establishing some suspicious things about another Dojo that we had no knowledge of prior to this encounter and that Exposition is also randomly interrupted by more Exposition in the middle of the conversation this old bastard just says he has to do something and runs off and then the show takes the time to explain how he's always bothering how to over the idea of selling the dojo and to anyone watching the scene it is so clear that this guy is going to be the surprise villain because it just doesn't make sense for the show to suddenly focus on him in this really awkward way unless they were trying to establish some information and give the audience insight into a potential motive before his big reveal and what is spectacularly bad reveal it is it turns out that this guy is the Puppet Master behind this whole situation and got someone to use the technique that count is dojo taught in order to kill people also he could pressure kowdu into selling the dojo because he's a greedy bastard or whatever and this is just so unnecessary which is something the original adaptation shows the original anime smartly gets rid of the twist that the grandpa characters in on the murder plans and just makes it so the guy going around and killing everybody had a much simpler reason for doing it all he was just out for Revenge because kaldu's father broke his hand and this is told to us through only a single flashback boom done sure it's not that interesting of a motive but this guy doesn't need something like that he's just some Street funky for the main character to deal with he's not that important so keeping his motives nice and simple not only makes it so you won't have to overly rely on dialogue that's super info dumpy and boring but it also saves time for adding in things like nice scenes of Kenshin helping around the house whether it be through cooking playing with counters adopt their sisters or heating up the water for bath time it's not exactly revolutionary but it's something that adds to that Central appeal I was talking about earlier while watching these scenes I couldn't help but feel this warm feeling in my stomach because of how nice and calming the setting was or because of my irritable bowel syndrome but it doesn't matter because at the end of the day I can perfectly understand why Kenshin decides to stay and try out this kind of cozy lifestyle only in the original not not so much the new one and not only Kenshin but cow do as well I feel like the problem she went through and her character in general were handled much better in the original one specific change I like is that we actually see the effect these killing speeds have had on kowdu instead of just hearing about it from her we actually get to see students of her Dojo leaving and the negative reputation she's gained because of it and even certain scenes that were still present in the new adaptation are a lot less impactful because of things the original did to add to the presentation of those scenes from the manga like the scene where kadu tells Kenshin her life story visually something I like is the difference in lighting when it cuts between the two characters talking to show the different is in their mentality at this moment whenever Kenshin is speaking you can see the sunset sky and some of the light making its way through the window but whenever cowdu is speaking the sky always looks dark another aspect of the scene I like is that when cowder talks about how much the dojo and her father mean to her the anime cuts the shots of the now empty dojo and the unfilled board where all the students names should be and this is done to visually show you that this is what's on her mind right now which is much better than the scene in the new adaptation where Kenshin reacts to the missing student names and the anime goes for a much more tell don't show approach to this and many other plot beats within the first episode and the best part of this scene is the aftermath where kauru decides to apologize to Kenshin for losing her temper earlier only for her to check his room and find out he's already cleared out and after seeing this the camera just stays on her expression as the wind blows her hair and it's such a beautifully sad scene it perfectly conveys the feeling of regret and loneliness too with a really distant expression the sweeping overhead shot of the empty space she's in and the really blue lighting and the track playing in the background carries the perfect mix of emotions you feel when trying to make up with someone after an argument or when you realize you've just squandered an opportunity for a new friendship and at the end she just says one perfect line that sums up everything about the scene in An Extremely tasteful way there's focus and a real Artistry here and that's what had me most invested in their relationship because it's genuinely something worth being invested in that feeling the original capture just isn't present in the new adaptation there is a scene where cow do thanks Kenshin for saving her life but she doesn't show signs of her having any Hang-Ups over him leaving to do his own thing which is what makes her strong desire for attention to stay at the end feel almost completely unwarranted only making sense because Kenshin saved her life again and kenshin's decision to stay especially feels like he only did that because if he didn't the rest of the show wouldn't happen there's also just no impact here even looking past the fact that these two don't really have any kind of bond outside of bouncing information off of each other occasionally this scene feels really Bland it's such an underwhelming payoff to the rest of the episode the only thing I kind of like about it is the sound of the door closing making you think Kenshin had left only to hear his voice again which a was also in the original adaptation and B is the only thing interesting about this scene's direction so the build up to kenshin's decision was extremely lacking and the payoff doesn't even feel weighty meaning are important at all not necessarily bad just boring it's like someone did the bare minimum to hurry up and get the scene over with the original's version of the scene is just leagues better I mean even the way the characters are framed here is much more interesting there's this shot of cow do facing away from the door where you can't see your eyes this shot of her trying to find the right words to say but not quite getting it and I love how Kenshin slightly leans in here before saying his name and the way the camera quickly moves over to the other side of the room as kaldu tries to pretend she's fine with Kenshin leaving this is some really evocative [ __ ] and then when Kenshin speaks again after closing the door the camera rotates in this Grand sweeping awesome way as the music which started out quiet and more Melancholy grows louder and more triumphant I fully feel the weight of this decision and what it means to both of the characters involved and it serves as such a great climax to the episode doubling as a resolution to the scene I talked about earlier while also being an all-around spectacular and fitting end to the start of the show and the way the show Cuts between each of them walking towards each other and having fun talking to the other is genuinely heartwarming followed up by a really cute joke where KATU accidentally punches Kenshin thinking he would be fast enough to dodge it and I don't feel any of these fond emotions from the new adaptation all around it feels like a very empty show so far while simultaneously having none of the charm or heart that the original adaptation did as its own thing it's passable I guess but there are just better uses of your time like watching the original Kenshin that covers everything I wanted to talk about and I fully admit that the new Rooney Kenshin can get a lot better from here on out as this is only the first episode and I'll make another video on the subject if I ever feel it does or if I just have something else to talk about that's all and I'll be going now foreign [Music]

Channel: Etheri0n

Views: 28,443

Keywords: rurouni kenshin 2023, rurouni kenshin 2023 episode 1, rurouni kenshin 2023 review, rurouni kenshin 2023 episode 2 reaction, rurouni kenshin episode 2 review, rurouni kenshin 2023 episode 2 review, rurouni kenshin episode 2 reaction, new rurouni kenshin review, new rurouni kenshin episode 1 review, rurouni kenshin comparison, new rurouni kenshin sucks, new rurouni kenshin is bad, new rurouni kenshin, original rurouni kenshin is great, new rurouni kenshin episode 2, new kenshin

Id: WTX77tpw3Mg

Length: 9min 13sec (553 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 13 2023