Rurouni Kenshin Movie Trilogy Coming To U.S. Theaters

Funimation Films has announced plans to bring the Rurouni Kenshin trilogy of live action movies to theaters in the United States. The trilogy includes Rurouni Kenshin: Origins, Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno and Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends. Funimation has secured the exclusive North American rights to theatrical, home entertainment, video on demand and broadcast distribution of all three titles as part of an agreement with distributor GAGA Corporation.

Funimation will release all three films in Japanese with subtitles in U.S. theaters beginning with Rurouni Kenshin: Origins on August 8 - 10, followed by Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno on September 12 - 14 and concluding with Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends on Oct 3 - 5.

The films are based on the Rurouni Kenshin manga series, which has sold more than 70 million copies and appeared on the New York Times Bestseller list. Created by manga artist Nobuhiro Watsuki, the chanbara saga is set in feudal Japan during the Meiji period and follows a former assassin, Kenshin Himura, who is searching for his place in a post-war society while clinging to his vow to protect the innocent.

"We're excited to be working with GAGA to bring this international box office hit trilogy to North America," said Gen Fukunaga, CEO and founder of Funimation, in a press release. "This collection of movies stands out as an incredibly authentic film adaptation that faithfully honors the original manga series. We're eager to share Rurouni Kenshin with U.S. audiences in August."

"Fans have been clamoring to see the Rurouni Kenshin film trilogy and we are pleased to finally be bringing it to theaters," said Mike DuBoise, EVP and COO of Funimation. "The action choreography and production design throughout all three films is incredible and has to be experienced on the big screen. Fans will not want to miss seeing them."