'Rurouni Kenshin' Movie 2: Aoshi Vs Okina Photos Released! Actors Confirm No Stunt Doubles Was Used For Fight Scene!
Some new "Rurouni Kenshin" movie 2 screenshots have been released and this time it features the battle between Aoshi Shinomori vs Okina!
According to the Anime News Network, The Japanese press visited the sets for this year's two live-action Rurouni Kenshin sequels last November, and previewed the scene when Aoshi Shinomori ,played by Yusuke Iseya, fights Okina played by Min Tanaka.
The production crew built "Aoi-ya", Okina's two-story restaurant and inn from Nobuhiro Watsuki's original manga designs used in the "Rurouni Kenshin" manga in just two weeks at Toei's Uzumasa lot in Kyoto. The production crew recreated the "Aoi-ya" in jaw-dropping detail down to the trees in the garden.
According to Yusuke Iseya and Min Tanaka, the Aoshi vs. Okina battle went down with little to no help from wires and they did their own stunts which is amazing since Min Tanaka is 68 years old!
Yusuke Iseya, who usually undergoes immense training and physical preparations for his roles, did not train that much for his role as Aoshi, which he described as "unrelenting." Tanaka has performed as a dancer, and he compared the two disciplines: "In dancing, unlike in fighting, the only enemy is yourself. To take in and react to an opponent's moves with your own moves, that was very novel for me." Despite their fierce in-character fighting, the two expressed respect and admiration for each other as Yusuke Iseya stated that it was an honor to perform with the legend, Min Tanaka. Director Keishi Ōtomo mirrored his Iseya's statements when he said he looked forward to filming this battle between the "history's strongest 68-year-old, Min-san, and Iseya-san who is 40 years old - give or take a few years," early on.
The two new "Rurouni Kenshin" films will cover the Kyoto arc from Nobuhiro Watsuki's original historical action manga. "Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika-hen" or "Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire" will open in Japan on August 1, and "Rurouni Kenshin: Densetsu no Saigo-hen" or "Rurouni Kenshin: The End of a Legend" will open on September 13.
