Rurouni Kenshin's Stage Play Casts its Shishio
Rurouni Kenshin is looking to return to the world of live action with its two upcoming feature [...]
Rurouni Kenshin is looking to return to the world of live action with its two upcoming feature length films from Warner Brothers Entertainment, but that isn't stopping the popular samurai franchise from wading into the water of other mediums as the upcoming stage play that recreates the series has cast its major antagonist in Shishio! With the last two movies of Rurouni Kenshin: The Final and Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic, this latest announcement will satisfy the appetites of those looking for news about the popular animes presence in live action!
Shishio is easily the most recognizable villain in the world of Rurouni Kenshin, being the other "battosai" whose sole goal was to re-awaken the killer that lied dormant within Kenshin following hi vow to never murder again. Putting together a band of killers to push Kenshin and his friends to the brink, the Kyoto Arc that featured this bizarro version of the protagonist was easily one of the most popular of the anime series. Shishio's arc has already taken place in the live action movies for the franchise in the forms of Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno and Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends!
The Official Website for the upcoming Rurouni Kenshin live action stage play shared the news that Mario Kuroba would be portraying the hideously burned battosai, with the first image showing a pitch perfect recreation of the most deadly villain that the lead swordsman of the series ever faced:
The stage play is set to run from November 3rd to December 15th, and with the final films of the franchise no longer having a set release date due to COVID-19, this will most likely be the earliest time for fans of Rurouni Kenshin to see a live action interpretation of the anime series. While there are currently no plans to bring this stage play to the West, like so many other anime plays that have adapted anime series, we're crossing our fingers that one of the franchises will make the jump to North America!
Anime Stage Plays have long been performed in Japan, offering new takes on some of the most popular franchises such as My Hero Academia, Naruto, and so many others.
What do you think of this pitch perfect recreation of Shishio from Rurouni Kenshin? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the battosai!