Waaahhh…, akhirnya bisa juga nonton ni film! Setelah berbulan2 nunggu, hehe akhirnya kesampaian niatnya. Emang sih, telat. Filmnya udah keluar dari dulu2 di bioskop. Tapi karena aku punya alergi dan skeptis sama yg namanya bioskop (sebenernya sih cuma urusan penghematan hehe), akhirnya aku bela2in nunggu VCD-nya. Dan kemaren pas sempet pinjem gitu. Nah, sekarang saatnya aku bikin review-nya. Mumpung dah lama banget nggak ngomongin film.

Ceritanya sih, biasa aja. Diambil dari cerpen orang Cina tentang jaman pendudukan Jepang di Cina dulu. Di saat2 Cina kritis itulah, seseorang justru jadi pengkhianat bangsa, dia malah jadi kaki tangan orang Jepang, namanya Tuan Yee (Tony Leung). Nah, karena jiwa patriotisme anak2 muda jaman itu, sekumpulan mahasiswa pemain teater berencana bikin sandiwara supaya bisa ngebunuh tu pengkhianat. Lah, parahnya, Tuan Yee malah naksir ma salah satu dari mereka Wong Chia Chi (Tang Wei) yg sebenernya dia naksir temen seperjuangannya, Kuang (Wang Lee Hom).

Yah, terus ceritanya gitu deh…jalannya biasa banget, mudah ditebak malah. Tuan Yee bukannya curiga malah tambah kesengsem, si Wong juga akhirnya leleh karena Tuan Yee perhatian banget ma dia, dan akhirnya justru ngorbanin perjuangan gerilya yang udah dirintis temen2nya. Singkatnya, si Wong malah ganti mengkhianati negara. Lha??

Kalo flow-nya bisa ditebak, ending-nya yg justru agak2 keluar dari mainstreem. Wong Chia Chi akhirnya ketahuan juga penyamarannya, terus ditangkap ma orang2 Jepang yg kerja sama ma Tuan Yee, terus dibunuh lah dia. Yah, agak2 sadis yah? Tuan Yee jadi kayak ga kenal ampun, padahal udah kesengsem banget.

Film ini sempet diprotes di banyak negara, terutama di Cina-nya sendiri, karena adegan eemmm….hhhmmm…. Okeh, jujur aja deh ya? Karena adegan seks sadomasokis-nya yg keterlaluan. Kalo di beberapa negara cuma disensor beberapa menit, di sini mah…dipotong abis!! Jadi, aku nontonnya dengan aman sentosa, hahahahaha!!! Bahkan menurut koran, para psikolog di Cina aja beranggapan bahwa adegan2 itu terlalu berlebihan, malah kayak nggak mencerminkan orang yg menderita kelainan itu. Wah, nggak ikutan deh! Nggak ngerti masalah begituan. Hehehehe

Yang aku nggak suka dari cerita film ini adalah sisi "anti-feminisme"-nya. Hubungannya? Gini, di suatu adegan, di mana Tuan Yee ngasih cincin yg berliannya gedhe…banget ke Wong Chia Chi, si ceweknya langsung leleh terus ngebongkar rencananya ma temen2nya. Dia bilang dengan tatapan mata sedih, "Pergilah!" Yaelah…, kayaknya EMANG SEMUA CEWEK LULUH DENGAN CINCIN BERLIAN YA???? Maaf nih, sebagai orang yg menseriusi feminisme dan menolak paradigma konservatif dunia tentang wanita (bahwa kita semua materialistis), maka bagian cerita itu aku tolak mentah2!!! Hehehe

Udah dulu ah, review-nya. Entar kalo habis nonton film lain lagi aku tulis di sini.

Woooaaaahh…. It's been a very long time ago since my last posting here in my blog. Just for information, I'm no longer grieving…. Hehehehe… I've realized that there are so many things that I have to think about which are so much more important. Yeah… I wanna keep moving forward and forget her….

Aaaannnnyyywwwaayyyy……

Now, I wanna talk about one of my favorite animes besides Inuyasha and Detective Conan. It's Rurouni Kenshin a.k.a Samurai X. Yah I know…I'd ever talked about it here long before this posting. But, now I have so much to say about this phenomenal Japanese anime.

It was like 8 years ago, when I was in the third grade of junior high school, I was crazy about this Samurai X, or just let's say Rurouni Kenshin because I like to mention the real title, that I never wanted to miss it even just one episode. Everyone knows that the story is about a samurai named Kenshin Himura who has a very horrible past as a "battosai – the murderer". Years after his last murder, he decides to be a good man by doing good deeds with his "sakabato" or a reverse sword. He then undergoes challenging experiences as a vagabond and meets many good friends, and loves one of them, a girl named Kaoru Kamiya.

Well, 8 years ago I didn't watch the TV series 'til the end of the whole episodes. I don't know why, I can't remember. I even didn't read the whole volumes of the comic books when I was in high school. Then, I had a chance to read the whole volumes of the comic books and I've just finished it, after watching the TV series again in one of our TV stations here in Indonesia. WOW…!!! I never had such a feeling. I just wanna say…IT'S AMAZING but it doesn't seem enough. What I want to say actually is that I'm quite disappointed by the TV series because apparently, it was so much different with the actual story of the comic books. Yes, it was quite the same until the story involved Makoto Shisio. But then…it went differently. I don't know why but they created additional stories for the TV series and even made six OVA special stories about Kenshin Himura and his whole life 'til his death. It was VERY EXAGGERATING!!!

However…., I'm still amazed by the comic books themselves, which were created by Nobuhiro Watsuki in 1994. I can say, it's a MASTERPIECE. Indeed…. I read in some sites that this Rurouni Kenshin has been very famous in almost every part of the world, even in Europe and America. No doubt, it's a very good story. But, after comparing the comic books and the TV series (which made me very….ehmm….quite disappointed), I found that the story of the comic books so much darker than of the TV series. I even never expected that it would be very dark, sad, serious, and gloomy at the climax. Indeed… I was quite shocked… I thought that Himura's fight against Makoto Shisio is the most serious and darkest part of the story, although I knew that it wasn't the climax. And I also thought that after that happening, Kenshin Himura would be much happier as a person, would be more serene and then have a nice and funny life with his friends and undergo many challenging experiences with them. But I was wrong… Yeah, since the story is very funny in the earlier volumes, I expected that at the climax and the end, it would be light and funny too. In the earlier of the story, Watsuki mixed the historical story of Japanese Meiji Era, funny jokes, silly faces expression and light structure. But then…after the fight against Makoto Shisio, I found that Kenshin Himura became so much sadder, closed to everyone even to his friends, and the story went darker and darker…. Yes, it had a happy ending. But still… when I read the comic books, I was both amazed and shocked at the same time. Aaaahhh…. I can't say and write my feeling correctly. It's difficult to describe.

The point is….I LOVE THE STORY!!! It's indeed a MASTERPIECE. I tell you, I never love an anime this much. Seriously. I love Inuyasha, Detective Conan, Sailor Moon, Saint Saiya….but I really really really LOVE Rurouni Kenshin!!!!

Because I love the story very much, it won't be fair if I don't talk about the characters. Yes, I have some favorite characters in Rurouni Kenshin. And I'm sure that you'll be surprised by my choices. Here they are….(in numbering order) :

1.      Hajime Saito

He was one of the leaders of Shinsengumi groups who protected Edo (now Tokyo) at the end of Bakufu Era. In my eyes, he's a hypocrite man who just wanted to cooperate with Kenshin for the sake his duty. But actually, he really wanted to fight against Kenshin, beat him, and kill him. He's very calm and mysterious, strong, and also cruel. I know he's a bad guy, but I love his character. I don't know…he's just interesting. Hahaha….

2.      Sanosuke Sagara

Ah, it's quite silly to say I love this character. Sano was a stupid yet strong man. He's one of Kenshin's closest friends. Just like what I've said… He's strong physically, but stupid and also silly, loved to eat but never paid for it. Why do I love him? For him, I have a reason. Because Sano is just very human. For those who ever read the comic books or at least know the story, they will know what I mean.

3.      Kenshin Himura

Quite shock, ha? I put the main character, the main hero in the third place!!! Hahaha… I myself wonder about my decision. I put him here in the third place because he was too idealistic about life, fairness, happiness, better era of Japan, peace, and how to protect his beloved friends and people with his reverse sword just because he was a battosai, a MURDERER in the end of Bakufu Era. He thought that he could erase his sins in the past by doing such things. Haahh….actually (to be honest) I put him in the third place because he's just like me….too idealistic. So, I don't like myself then??? Hmmm….yeeaahh…. I must admit that sometimes I don't like the way I am. Too idealistic about appreciating people in the world. You may think that I'm naïve or what, but mostly, I always think that all people are good. And when I found them bad and cruel, I will be shocked and depressed…can't believe what I've seen. Hahaha…. Why do I talk about myself anyway…????

Haahh…. I don't talk about the female characters, do I? Yeah, because I think Kaoru Kamiya is just a usual girl who stands beside a man and loves him sincerely. Nothing special. About Misao, Megumi, Tomoe or other female characters…I don't have any impression for them. Hehehe….sorry Mr. Watsuki!!!

Oh, just FYI (again), even I'm disappointed with the TV series, on the other side, I love the soundtrack!!! Hahaha… I love the entire opening and ending theme songs, especially "Heart of Sword" and "1/3 - No Janjou Na Kanjou". I love both of songs, indeed….

Whuuaahhh… I know that I'm late in raising my addiction on Rurouni Kenshin. One of my friends in college has even had the whole comic books (I just rented them hehe), the soundtracks, the OVA special stories and also the movies. Ahhh… Now, I just have some pictures in my flash drive, hehehe…a sticker on my cupboard, and the soundtrack that I got from my friend. Fiiuuhh….but my friend have promised me that she will give the copies of OVA so that I can watch the additional stupid exaggerating stories of Rurouni Kenshin. Hahahaha….