The pinnacle of storytelling found in a Japanese animated feature

My name is Mike Giuffrida and I’ve been studying film and acting for a few years now. We had a very interesting class lately on international cinema. To prepare for it, we were asked to choose from a list of features. Since, I’ve always been a fan of Japanese cinema and their animated features, I chose to watch this film called “Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal.”

I’ve heard of the “Samurai X” series before but I never had the pleasure of watching a single episode. So what I did was read up on the series. It’s about this wandering samurai (it’s always about a wandering samurai), Kenshin, who has an X-shaped scar on his cheek and uses a curious reverse-edged sword because he’s done killing. The entire series shows how great he is and how he saves people who need to be saved.

The feature though, “Trust and Betrayal” tells of why he stopped killing and the meaning behind his X-shaped scar. Now, I won’t spoil any of the details, but the whole story from the slow-burn start up to the gripping finale was for me the pinnacle of storytelling across any medium. It’s brutal, bloody, romantic, lonely, and sad, and leads up to a crescendo that will flatten you – if you’re a fan of great storytelling.

Check it out if you haven’t yet.

Mike Giuffrida is an LA-based student trying to break through the entertainment industry. For more interesting articles on entertainment, check out this site.