Sword of the Stranger

For a long time, feature film anime had been lacking when it came to top-notch production. I found this title not expecting much but from the very beginning it had me. Everything that was great about the ninja/samurai animations in the 90's re-emerged onto this film and I think its safe to say that the choreography far excelled that of its predecessors. The story as vague as it may have been did enough to keep my interest ,but in the end it was the fight scenes that kept me compliant to watch further. Not often do you find a final battle to be so intense pushing the boundaries of fluid animation that your eyes are glued to every moment of the fight. I really can't say enough about this film. At a time where many anime have become primarily viewed in a TV series format, Sword of the Stranger was a breath of fresh air and nostalgic return to what I loved so much about anime feature films. For any fan of Ninja Scroll,Dagger of Kamui, Samurai X, and other great anime classics, this one is for you trust me.

One of the Best samurai animation action flicks I have seen in a very long time. The story isn't drawn out into a long story about nothing. You get a good sense of the main character without them going into a long epilogue. The characters are well drawn with great attention to detail especially in the action sequences which in my opinion are drawn very well. The score goes perfectly with all the different scenes of the movie. I am pretty good on what good anime samurai flicks are out and I am surprised that I never got a heads up about this one and also why this film wasn't nominated for any type of award. Honestly from the action to the music this movie will grab you. :)

To be really honest the movie contains a few clichés. It just has to be sad. But with that part out of the way, I can only speak of great appreciation for this movie. The story is not the most brilliant and again it might be a little cliché, but in a very adorable way. In my case it didn't bothered me for a second. This might be because I really love the traditional anime way of capturing samurai hero stories. For people who have a little more trouble with that, just looked passed it. Because the other parts of the movie have been worked out better than most of the movies I've seen so far. Let's begin with the looks of the movie. For a pretty much traditional drawn anime it is just beautiful. And it gets even better with the action scenes. They are drawn, animated and captured very well. They are fast but clear, they contain a lot of cool moves (if you can put it that way) and are supported by absolute wonderful sound effects and music. The thing that really captured me and makes me watch the final scene over and over again, is the perfect balance between action and music. This movie might not be the industries best, but contains something a lot of the other movies don't: Heart.

If you like traditional anime, samurai and hero stories, this is absolutely one to watch!!

It follows the same style of action, drama and legendary aura like sensation as in Samurai Champloo or Samurai X.

The graphic is amazing and the music score isn't too far behind.

Still what really gets you about this anime movie besides the high paced action is the showdown between your classic Nippon samurai master and a barbarian with god-like skills in sword wielding serving under the emperor of the ming empire (in his search for the elixir of immortality).

So, if you like anime, really cool sword-fights and a jade empire sort of atmosphere then you're in for a treat.

Enjoy! :)

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.