Adaptation Distillation: Once again, while it's relatively justified considering the vast scope of the Kyoto Arc (the storyline is continued in The Legend Ends), many details and events in the series unfolded differently, leading to a quite original narrative altogether.
Yumi Komagata's kimono doesn't sport an Impossibly-Low Neckline like in the source material and instead sports an "off- the-shoulder" one.
The Oniwabanshuu's outfits are more ninja-like compared to their somewhat Stripperific ones (of the females at least) in the source material.
Most remarkable, however, is the fact that Saizuchi is capable of wielding a naginata and was among the first to attack Kenshin at his climactic faceoff with the Juppongatana at the Rengoku (see also Adaptational Attractiveness).
The Renbatou can be utilized creatively and deployed as massive scissor-like blades.
Not necessarily to a character but to a weapon: Sawagejo Chō, "the Sword Hunter", used the two-bladed Renbatou as his ultimate weapon against Kenshin (as the Whip Sword Hakujin no Tachi of the anime is quite impossible to do without CGI).
Hōji is more of an Action Survivor than a complete Non-Action Guy like he is in the source material.
He also manages to last long in his battle with Aoshi without getting a hand maimed by a kodachi.
Okina, beyond using his trademark tonfa, was also comfortable in using a katana.
Misao was able to show off her close-quarter combat capabilities, whereas she almost always relies on kunai in the source material.
Yahiko is equipped with a bokken and is shown to be easily taking down many of Shishio's mooks himself (when the most he's been able to defeat prior to the Kyoto Arc were Yutaro, and Hiruma Gohei in filler).
She's nevertheless reduced to Improvised Weapon after it breaks from stress.
Kaoru, apart from her kendo skills, is shown to be capable of wielding a naginata (albeit a wooden training one) at the height of the Kyoto Inferno operation.
He's so proficient, in fact, he single-handedly wipes out Chō for a portion of the fight by leading him into a cramped space underneath a temple, where his long swords would be useless, and proceeds to whale on him barehanded.
#Rurouni kenshin kyoto inferno mejorenvo upgrade
It's worth reiterating Kenshin's upgrade in unarmed combat compared to the manga.
Adaptational Badass: A majority of the skillset of the main characters and supporting cast were expanded upon in this film:.
Fuji, instead of being gigantic, is an imposing white-haired man with a big naginata, but is otherwise normal.
Saizuchi appears as a normal if elderly man, even capable of combat on his own.
Iwanbō appears to be an actual man of sumo wrestler proportions, in contrast to his blob-like inhuman nature in the manga/anime.
Yūkyūzan Anji is a big man, but nowehere near as beefy as he was in the source material.
Kariwa Henya is stylized as a normal human being with a tengu-inspired outfit, instead of being tengu-like in physique.
The Juppongatana as a whole is a mixed bag: while Seta Sōjirō, Sawagejo Chō (beyond a wardrobe color change), Sadojima Hōji and Uonoma Usui were pretty much accurate to their anime portrayals, the more outlandish members were downscaled to more human-like proportions.
#Rurouni kenshin kyoto inferno mejorenvo skin
The trope is pretty much subverted with Shishio, who is a reasonably-attractive man with blackened skin in the anime, while Tatsuya Fujiwara is made up as realistically as possible to convey the horrifying burns and subsequent health problems a man like him should have.
Aoshi himself is close enough to his anime counterpart down to the bangs (which is admittedly unusual in Real Life).
All characters affiliated with the Oniwabanshu are regular human beings, most notable with Aoshi Shinomori's subordinates (none of them freakish in body shape or aesthetic).
Adaptational Attractiveness: Played with across all the newly-introduced characters, which makes sense considering the more realistic aesthetics of the film:.
She's also not as affected by Aoshi's madness compared to the source material.
Possibly also inverted with Misao since she is aware of the tragic fates of Aoshi's comrades in this continuity.
Even Sano, the only one voicing how upset he is about it, wasn't as angry in this continuity.
Inverted with Kaoru, Megumi and Yahiko, who didn't take Kenshin leaving for Kyoto as hard as in the source material.
Compared to the source material, Aoshi has been grieving the deaths of his fallen comrades for a whole if not over a decade.
Actually Pretty Funny: Kenshin's first scene has him watching a kabuki play where the villain is pretty obviously a hammy expy of himself, but he just sits and laughs with the rest of the audience.