The very first fight of RUROUNI KENSHIN (2012) is important because it serves two purposes: to introduce us to the Hitokiri Battōsai, and to serve as a reference to create contrast with later scenes. Therefore it must: showcase the hero's power, and instantly be seared to memory.
The fight opens with a close-up of the protagonist. It keeps things mysterious and intriguing, and tells the audience: this is who you must keep your eyes on. Pay attention to him. He then exits the frame from the right hand side. His movement marks the start of the battle.
Motion becomes the main driving force behind the scene from its first shot, and the second one confirms that: the sliding movement is continued through editing. A match-on-action, but in addition, the movement of the actor transforms into the movement of the camera itself...
...which means the characters' movements are a force of cinematic creation. The second shot does an adjustment up to reveal Kenshin already engaged in battle. It's a beautiful shot in that it reinforces the hero's aura as an astounding fighter, and makes it clear who commands...
...the eye of the camera. It's no surprise, then, to observe that the next shot is all about blocking: Kenshin segues in and out of sight continuously according to his position relative to that of his opponents. This is an amazing example of turning a logistical obstacle into...
...a strength: Kenji Tanigaki and his team only had two days to film this scene, and the corridor-like topography makes it hard to insert the camera in the middle of the melee. So before doing inserts, they get the wide shots they need but use them to define their character....
After the two days of shooting had passed, director Keishi Ōtomo saw that Tanigaki was unsatisfied with his footage, so his told him he could have two hours on the third day to shoot whatever he wanted. Tanigaki took one camera, his stunt team (no actors) and shot inserts.
They're the reason why the scene works: the back-and-forth between wide shots and inserts is nothing new, but it works particularly well here to help the audience make sense of the carnage, give geographical points of reference, and so on. Chaos for the enemy, clarity for us.
The fight also establishes one of Kenshin's signature moves: the running on non-horizontal surfaces, and posits that his superiority comes from his speed and the continuity of his movements: there is no break between one action and the next, they all flow together as one.
Tanigaki's approach is based on the idea that Kenshin fights with his whole body rather than just his sword. That's the key to the unique kinetics on display for a series descending from the chanbara: he and his weapon are one. If his blade can wound, so can any part of his body.
The fight ends not with one, but with a series of iconic shots of the protagonist to drive the point home. It's striking because it relies on contrasts: speed vs motionlessness, hot blood vs cold background. OK, the audience is ready. They will remember this scene.
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