YMMV / Touken Ranbu The Movie

• Angst? What Angst?:
  • For how much of a big deal Hasebe's jealousy over Mikazuki keeping the Saniwa to himself was in the story, Mikazuki was the only one shown grieving the loss of the Saniwa, as well as the only one granted permission to be with him in his final moments. Even more confusing, after the time jump, everyone seems to have moved on fairly quickly to their new Saniwa, with only Mikazuki reflecting on the previous one in an internal monologue.
  • In the sequel, Horikawa Kunihiro does not care enough about Yamanbagiri Kunihiro, who is his brother, being kidnapped by an angry Shuten-Douji, automatically trusting Mikazuki Munechika to handle it instead of showing any real concern for his situation or insisting he also go to 2012 to help find him. In fact, every other Touken Danshi on them team seemed more concerned about both of them than he did.
• Contested Sequel: While not outright hated, compared to the first film, which was enjoyed by fans and non-fans of Touken Ranbu alike, the sequel was not nearly as well-received and saw low reviews due to the wonky writing, the shift in tone from the first movie and presentation from the first movie, the useless cast, and the pointless villain. Even Touken Ranbu fans left the theater fairly confused on what the point of the film was.
• Esoteric Happy Ending: The second film ends on a positive note: Yamanbagiri Kunihiro is saved and returns home with Mikazuki. All of the other Touken Danshi return to their respective citadels after saving Tokyo from the Historical Revisionists. Kotone's childhood friend has been saved, and she has reunited with him. All is well and good… but surely the Historical Revisionist army now knows for sure that Saniwa exist in 2012, right? And a lot of them, too, as the final climactic battle featured about a dozen or so Saniwa summoning Touken Danshi to help them. There is no way the Historical Revisionists won't come back and try to eliminate those Saniwa, who won't have the Touken Danshi there to help them this time around since they returned to their original citadels in the end.
• Fridge Horror: The reveal that the new Saniwa is a little girl is funny and cute and all, but it loses its cuteness when you realize what happened to the old Saniwa will eventually happen to her when she runs out of magic. She also looks to be no older than five years old and has just been appointed as a vital point in an army during an ongoing and traumatic war, meaning she will inevitably witness the deaths of subordinates long before her own time comes ... Also, what happened to her family, and why were they OK with this?! Did they have no choice in the matter? How many children with Saniwa powers are taken away from their families to lead armies?
• Heartwarming Moments:
  • Pretty much every light-hearted scene between Mikazuki and the Saniwa is heartwarming, as they joke around like old friends and have a natural chemistry with each other.
  • Not only will you smile when you see the Touken Danshi whole-heartedly playing games with the new Saniwa, but also when the new Saniwa sees Mikazuki drinking tea by himself and gives him a hug. Awww….
• Narm: In the sequel, the three-way fight between Mikazuki Munechika, a possessed Yamanbagiri Kunihiro, and Yamanbagiri Chougi. It's not the fight itself that's narmy, but the dialogue where Mikazuki and Chougi inappropriately argue over whose more worthy of being called Yamanbagiri, which ends with Mikazuki saying that the Yamanbagiri of his citadel is Kunihiro. Badly timed, and a blatant effort to pander to Mikazuki Munechika/Yamanbagiri Kunihiro and Chougi vs Kunihiro supporters.
• Pandering to the Base: Fans of the stage play expressed concerns about Mikazuki Munechika and Yamanbagiri Kunihiro no longer having a close relationship in the first film, and even the actors themselves expressed disappointment over this. Taking note of this, for better or worse, the sequel plays up the relationship between the characters, with the plot partially centered around Mikazuki finding Yamanbagiri after he goes missing and having dialogue that reminds the viewer of just how special Yamanbagiri is to him. Ironically, for some viewers, the focus on their relationship ended up being considered a low point of the film.
• So Okay, It's Average: For those who didn't outright dislike the sequel, the general consensus is that it's not very good, but not terrible either; it's just boring, especially for people who know little about Touken Ranbu going into it.
• Squick: In the sequel film, the entire sequence where Shuten- transforms into his oni form. Horns growing out of skin, pupils dilating, a close up of a bloodshot eye, veins spreading through skin. All accompanied with gross, squishy sound effects, too.
• Tear Jerker: Mikazuki arrives in Honmaru just in time to save his master from the enemy Oodachi and witness his final moments as he completes the transferring process. His expression of grief as he tells the Saniwa that he's home is enough to make anyone at least misty-eyed.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: In the sequel, every temporary Saniwa that isn't Kotone gets significantly less screen time and less time spent with the respective Touken Danshi they're given temporary control over, which means less time spent on fan favorite dynamics like uptight control freak Hasebe and giddy gyaru Mitsuru.
• Unexpected Character: Although its brief, Musical Touken Ranbus Ishikirimaru shows up in the second film among the citadel's various swords to help take down the Historical Retrograding Force.
• The Woobie:
  • Mikazuki Munechika, also known as "Guy Who Can't Catch a Break." He spends the majority of the film keeping the secret that Saniwa, with whom he has a close relationship, is losing his magic and there in the process of being transferred out, aka dying, earning him suspicion and contempt from some of his in-the-dark teammates. It clearly has taken its toll on him mentally, which Nihongou notices, though he can't confide in anyone except Uguisumaru due to the risk posed to Honmaru if the secret gets out. Then he has to keep the secret of Oda Nobunaga's true death, which makes his teammates distrust and resent him even more, to the point where everyone except Nihongou and Honebami believe he's betraying him and quickly resolve to kill him to prevent him from potentially altering history. He almost makes a heroic sacrifice near the end, which the other Touken Danshi save him from, but is returned home just in time to see the Saniwa vanish forever. As well, even though the other Touken Danshi appeared to have accepted him as one of them, he still seems to be a bit of a loner in the end, as they can be seen playing with the new Saniwa while he drinks tea by himself, and they don't join him until she goes to him first. Having said that, he is at least at peace with his master's death by this time and muses on having something else to protect now in the form of the new Saniwa.
  • The Saniwa when you think about it. He knows his death is imminent and that it will greatly affect his subordinates but puts on a brave face for Mikazuki, even prioritizing Mikazuki’s safety in the end over his own when the HRA attack the citadel. When the transferring process is finally completed, not even his body is left behind.