This movie had it all, passion, drama, humor and buckets of action. I actually like the change of Shishio getting to sail the Purgatory all the way to Tokyo, because when you have a huge, awesome ironclad like that, it's a crime to destroy it only seconds after it's introduced, like in the source material.

Kenshin's time with his master was well portrayed. Fukuyama Masuharo was a great Hiko and really knew how to put Kenshin in his place. As always, Sato Takeru's acting really made Kenshin's emotions shine through.

The final battle with Shishio was pulse pounding action all the way through. I also liked how in this version, Shishio wasn't shown to be impervious to everyone's attacks. It makes it much more believable.

The scene with Yumi (fans will know what I'm talking about) was sensitively handled and you could see their incomprehensible love for one another beautifully.

A few things I didn't like were how Shinomori Aoshi's character was treated. He did some things in this movie that made him seem very irredeemable to me.

I also didn't like that Sanosuke's relationship with Anji was excised, as that was a huge moment of character growth for our Rooster.

Overall though, the movie delivered a very satisfying conclusion to the live action trilogy.

Let us now hope for an adaptation of the Revenge Arc.

So much for being the last in the series; a belated fourth film has just been released, but this finishes the original trilogy and forms the second half of a two-parter. Tatsuya Fujiwara is a welcome sight, returning as the excellent villain, but gets a small amount of screen time here. For the most part, this is a slightly laboured entry that treads water for a good hour and a half before finally picking up for a great extended climax. I just wish they'd got on with the meat of the story earlier on as so much time has been wasted at the outset that it feels a little rushed later on. Other than, it's still very well made and shot and with great fight choreography to enjoy. Of this original trilogy, the second is the best part I think.