Touken Ranbu 2 (2023)

This is Why Touken Ranbu Should Stay In Historical Japan and Out of Modern Japan

I just finished watching it in theaters for a second time! Okay, I honestly went more for the clear file than the movie, but it was still a good movie.

The directors of Touken Ranbu 2 took an leap of faith and dived into the lore of Touken Ranbu, so for die hard fans of Touken Ranbu this is a must watch! However, it honestly becomes a love it or hate it type of movie due to how they utilized Kotone, the female lead.

•❅✧❅✦ Story •❅✧❅✦

Mikazuki Munechika and his team are deployed to feudal Japan, year 995, to protect history once again. This time they are there to ensure that Minamoto Yorimitsu finishes his "Oni Hunt" on the Oe Mountains and kill the "oni" Shutendoji and his "oni" people. As usual the Touken Danshi encounter the Historical Revisionists (歴史修正主義者), but this time they latch on to a dying Shutendoji. Yamambagiri Kunihiro runs into Shutendoji. Moments later Mikazuki runs into the room only to find Shutendoji and Yamambagiri disappearing. He tries to save Yamambagiri, but is unable to move.

Alone, Mikazuki follows traces of Yamambagiri to the year 2012, however, having no master in the current year, he finds it hard to stay in his Touken Danshi form. High Schooler Kotone, who has the special ability to hear the voices of historical objects, accidentally stumbles upon Mikazuki fighting the Historical Revisionists. Mikazuki takes Kotone as his temporary master so he can maintain his Touken Danshi form. Meanwhile Ibuki, the reincarnation of Shutendoji, is working with the Historical Revisionists to steal people's memories.

So. . . That's all I'm going to say so I don't spoil the whole film. Just know that most of the film takes place in the year 2012.

•❅✧❅✦ Touken Danshi Lore •❅✧❅✦

Touken Danshi 2 really focuses on the lore of Touken Ranbu. The movie explains why most of the missions in Touken Ranbu take place in feudal Japan and not in modern Japan. As someone who's always wondered why the missions were only in feudal Japan, this movie answered my question on that.

•❅✧❅✦ Kotone •❅✧❅✦

Kotone is a love her or hate her type of character. However, it's not because of her personality. It's mostly because of how the directors chose to utilize her character. Some might see no problem with her, but I see many problems with her character. If she were just a saniwa stand-in and Mikazuki and the other Touken Danshi were the the ones to solve the problems and uncover secrets during the mission, then I would have no complaints about her. However, it felt like the directors were trying to give her a god complex. She was made out to be the the most important character and that the Touken Danshi would not have been able to complete the mission without her. As someone who enjoys watching the Touken Danshi solve and complete their own missions, it was frustrating to watch this random human girl solve it for them. It felt like I was watching a movie with Kotone as the main character, not Mikazuki or the other Touken Danshi. But if you don't care about the Touken Danshi actually being the main characters in their own movie, then I guess her character isn't that bad.

•❅✧❅✦ Touken Danshi •❅✧❅✦

There were a lot of Touken Danshi in his film. The climax does not disappoint. It was amazing.

Mikazuki Munechika, Heshikiri Hasebe, Yamambagiri Chougi, Higekiri, Hizamaru and Yamambagiri Kunihiro take up most of the screen time, but Kogarasumaru, Ichigo Hitofuri, Honebami Toushiro and Horikawa Kunihiro are there to protect the Honmaru. As for the other Touken Danshi, a lot of the actors from the stage play and previous movie make a cameo.

My favorite part was that they got both actors who played Tsurumaru Kuninaga to cameo, which works out since Heshikiri Hasebe, Yamambagiri Chougi, Higekiri and Hizamaru are all from different Honmarus. Another one of my favorite parts is when Mikazuki compares his Honmaru's Hasebe to the Hasebe he meets on the mission.

•❅✧❅✦ Overall •❅✧❅✦

While I'd like to give a higher score, I don't think I can. The movie was great, but as someone who enjoys the Touken Danshi solving their own missions I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have. Kotone really put a block on me enjoying more of the movie. Again, she's not a bad character, but she gave me a god complex vibe so I didn't enjoy her much. To me, the movie felt more like Kotone meets the Touken Danshi rather than Touken Ranbu, but that's just me. However, I did enjoy the movie other than her, and I loved the lore behind the movie. This is still a great movie to watch. I did watch it in theaters twice, so it's a good movie. Please watch it.

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