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Samurai X Trust and Betrayal, Differences between Director’s

But the new “director’s cut” footage is a different story. The sequences made for the theatrical version are few and fleeting; most consist merely of an extra line of dialogue tacked onto a scene or an extra sword thrust in battle. Casual viewers of the OVA version will probably not notice any of them, and most will slip by even seasoned Kenshin fans. There are only two noteworthy additions. Kenshin’s first fight against a member of the Shinsengumi has been fleshed out quite a bit; it is of course beautifully animated and adds even more power to an already dramatic scene. But an addendum to the closing moments of the film is less successful. Impressive as it is, Kenshin’s lone charge over a heavily fortified bridge comes well past the emotional climax of the picture and slows down the ending. The new sequences are an exciting prospect, but much like the special editions of Star Wars or Beauty & the Beast they are ultimately extraneous. It’s hard to improve upon perfection.

There are a few omissions as well--some of them necessary, some of them not. The picture of course had to be cropped to a theatrical aspect ratio, which often results in the tops of character’s heads being cut out of the picture. The four individual episodes flow together quite nicely as they are, and only one new bridging sequence was needed; however the dramatic music from the closing moments of the first episode has been lost. This is an unfortunate but acceptable sacrifice for continuity’s sake, but there are several other inexplicable musical omissions throughout the film. Taku Iwasaki’s original score for the OVAs is just amazing and lends the productions much of its emotional impact. In the theatrical cut the menacing Battousai theme which sets the stage for Kenshin’s fatal attack on Kiyosato is gone; the scene is not nearly as effective sans music and will leave a sour taste in the mouths of fans familiar with the original version.