Mackenyu Cast as Enishi Yukishiro In Rurouni Kenshin Sequels

The Kamen Rider Drive actor is set to face off against Kamen Rider Den-O’s Takeru Satoh for two Rurouni Kenshin movies this summer.

Actor Mackenyu Arata, better known as Mackenyu, has been cast as the villainous Enishi Yukishiro in the two upcoming Rurouni Kenshin movies this summer, entitled Rurouni Kenshin: The Final and Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning. The casting has him going up against Takeru Sato returning as Himura Kenshin. Director Keishi Otomo said of Mackenyu’s casting, “The first time I met him (Mackenyu), I was so impressed by the strength of his sharp gaze and I remember immediately telling the producer that I couldn’t think of anyone else but him to play Enishi. He has the youthful energy and the intimidating aura that is essential to Enishi’s character. Beyond that, he can project the purity and delicacy of the madness hidden inside of him.”

Introduced in the manga’s final arc called the Jinchu Arc, Enishi Yukishiro is revealed to be the head of a black market weapons smuggling organization and the mastermind behind many of Kenshin’s adversaries. Having learned a sword styled designed to counter Kenshin’s battojutsu sword style, he has sworn revenge against Kenshin for being responsible for his sister’s death.

The first three movies, which were released between 2012 and 2014, went on to gross 12.5 billion yen at the Japanese box office. In 2016, the films were released by Funimation in the United States as Rurouni Kenshin: Origins, Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno and Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends respectively.

Mackenyu has previously played Eiji Tomari in Kamen Rider Drive: Surprise Future. and was later cast as Ryoichi in 2018’s Pacific Rim; Uprising.  In addition to the Rurouni Kenshin trilogy, fans of tokusatsu know Satoh best as the main character Ryotaro Nogami in 2007’s Kamen Rider Den-O. He has since gone on to become a successful actor, appearing in several live-action movies such as BECK, Inuyashiki, and Bakuman to name a few. Satoh recently made a surprise return to the franchise in 2018 with Kamen Rider Zi-O‘s winter movie, Kamen Rider Heisei Generations FOREVER.

Rurouni Kenshin: The Final will hit theaters across Japan on July 3, 2020, and Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning will open on August 7, 2020.

Source: Model Press