Released in Japan in 2012 and in the United States a year later, "Rurouni Kenshin" was the world's first taste of the planned film series' level of quality. Fortunately, it met and even exceeded many fans' expectations. In particular, the filmmakers made the right call in casting Satô, who was no stranger to portraying superhero-like protagonists, as the titular character. "Rurouni Kenshin" was received quite well by audiences, as evidenced by its high rank on the Rotten Tomatoes audience scoreboard.
Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter took note of the "fast and furious" sword choreography that truly sold Satô's skills as the former manslayer Hitokiri Battosai. Maggie Lee of Variety praised action director Kenji Tanigaki's choreography, likening the way Kenshin makes short work of multiple enemies on his own to the "balletic, kinetic style" of Hong Kong action flicks. However, Lee also felt that the 134-minute film had a "pedestrian" story and an unconvincing romance, boiling it down to "barnstorming swordplay, pretty faces and a no-brainer plot" that nevertheless got the job done.
Had "Rurouni Kenshin" been a failure, it would have endangered the chances of its sequels getting made. Fortunately, the filmmakers were able to balance action, comedy, drama, and mystery in a film set against the backdrop of Japan's early Meiji era. Despite its caricature-like villains and plot inconsistencies, "Rurouni Kenshin" was hailed by Geek.com writer and longtime Rurouni Kenshin fan Michelle Nguyen as "the best live action adaptation of an anime [she had] ever seen."
