Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning Gets U.S. Netflix Release Date

Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning has secured a release date for Netflix fans in the United States! Live-action anime adaptations are some of the most critically viewed projects in the fandom, but one franchise many fans have agreed that made the jump to live-action well was Rurouni Kenshin. Following its original three film live-action effort, the franchise returned to end its story with a final two-film project that first released in Japan earlier this year following a delay due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Now the final film in this project is releasing internationally through Netflix.

With Rurouni Kenshin: The Final (the first of these final two films) being released through Netflix back in June, fans have been wondering whether or not we would also get to see the final film, The Beginning. Netflix has now confirmed this to be the case as Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning will be streaming on Netflix this Friday, July 30th. You can find the listing for the film on Netflix here for more information.

Netflix teases Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning as such, “Before he was a protector, Kenshin was a fearsome assassin known as Battosai. But when he meets the gentle Tomoe Yukishiro, his story begins to change.” This serves as the final film in the live-action pentalogy for the franchise. While The Final adapts the Jinchu arc of the manga, The Beginning (as the title suggests) goes back in time and explores a special prequel story.

Telling the story about how Kenshin Himura got his cross-shaped scar in the first place during his time as the deadly Battosai, a story we had previously only seen in the Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal OVA. Directed by the returning Keishi Otomo, and featuring the returning Takeru Satoh as Kenshin Himura, the final film adds Kasumi Arimura to the cast as Himura’s wife Tomoe Yukishiro. The first three films in the series are unfortunately not available to check out through Netflix, but at least The Final will serve as a great lead in to the ultimate finale.

Will you be checking out Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning when it hits Netflix? What did you think of The Final? How did you like the live-action film series as a whole? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!