Sword of the Stranger

I watched this movie last night with my dad and we both loved it. I'm 27 and he happens to be in his 50's. I expect everyone younger, older and in between will love it as well.

I'm sure you can imagine what an anime title like "The Sword of the Stranger" might hold in store for you. A young boy named Kotaru and his faithful companion Tobimaru. A deadly swordsman with blue eyes. A hungry samurai with a troubled past. The Sword of the Stranger doesn't re-invent the wheel but it is more than the sum of it's parts.

All in all: If you enjoy anime watch it. You can also expect to hear a great score.

For those of you familiar with Chambara (samurai) movies, Sword of the Stranger, is the anime equivalent. Story line is typical Samurai storyline, wandering samurai helps out a kid and gets caught up in a plot by foreigners and "bad" samurai. without giving the plot line away I will say that if you are familiar with chambara movies and enjoy the stories/genre you will enjoy this movie. Technically wise, this movie is very well animated. Traditional hand drawn cel work mixed with some CG. It is beautiful to look at and the fighting scenes are amongst the best I have seen in anime or in real life action. A beautifully crafted movie that needs to be seen just on the technical aspects alone.

I really enjoyed this movie a lot. I have not seen such a good animated one in years and I'm still wondering how people can rate it 1 or 2.. I mean, the taste in movies is always different, but even if you didn't like it that much it is not possible to give it such a low score. In my opinion it is flawless in its way and even though I do remember that there was a movie (not animated) which felt almost the same, because in it there was also a samurai walking around with a child, it still felt fresh and cool and not old fashioned at all. Oh well, just give it a shot and you will most likely have a good time watching it.

I would have given it a 9, but I'm trying to fix the impossible votes a bit, even though.. it may even deserve a 10 for what it is.

Cheers

The concept in Sword of the Stranger isn't new. A wandering samurai who killed a lot of people during the war is tormented by his past and has "Sealed" his sword and decided not to use it anymore. Without having to look far you can already find earlier animes/mangas with the exact same concept (Rurouni Kenshin is the first that comes to mind).

Still I really loved this movie and consider it a must watch, specially for people that like animated movies. The animation one of the best I've seen in recent animated movies, with great design, fluid animations and great image quality. While not many in number, the battles are masterfully handled by BONES (animation studio) with great (animated) choreography.

As I've said the concept behind the story isn't new but it's enjoyable nonetheless, I really liked the trust relationship that forms between the main character and the boy he is escorting and there is also a special connection between Nanashi and the main antagonist. In the end you will be caring for the characters.

Finally, and it should not be overlooked. The Soundtrack for this movie is truly wonderful. Composed by Naoki Sato, it's an amazing OST filled with emotion and fits the movie like ring.

My perception of 2D animation practically changed after seeing this movie. No doubt about it. Since today's standards mostly rely on 3D technology to capture realistic and fluid movements in animation, this movie shatters the limits I thought really existed in 2D animation. Since animation marvels like Samurai Champloo back in 2005, Chinese and Japanese sword arts never looked so good in an anime. However yes 3D technology was used in making this movie but only to a limited extent to which it only deemed necessary like cameras panning to arrows, panning fluidly on background terrain and such. All the organic character movements were hand drawn so perfectly well that even all the action was so clear which is just a marvel to see over and over again.

The story may not be the most original but at the same time it isn't bad at all. In fact the characters of this movie retain their depth throughout the entire film which makes it easy for any viewer especially who appreciates animation to look past it as the movie alone offers plenty of intriguing visuals that sincerely complement the story backed by a superb soundtrack which captures the very essences and themes of the setting.

Highly recommended for anime enthusiasts as well as anyone who appreciates cartoons. in fact they shouldn't miss this one as watching this film once simply isn't quite enough.