![]() The climax of the film, a roaring skirmish amidst snow and fire, is breathtaking and elegiac. This film achieves that in a way that totally blew me away, and I don’t say that very often (I’m not one of those apt to calling every Kyoto Animation production flawlessly animated). On a technical level, the anime medium has frequent success, but transcending animation quality, it’s a very rare experience for an anime to be truly visually compelling, creating not just mood and detail, but also scenes of beauty. It seems I’d almost forgotten the potential for animation to be so visually compelling. There’s no story here I haven’t seen before in this genre, and for much of the time the plot is a little too confusing. ![]() It’s a valid premise for entertainment, but it means there’s no lasting impact on the audience because it doesn’t really have anything much to convey. ![]() As it was, the plot, both simple and relatively silly, told me that the film existed for the sake of great action scenes. It should give credence to the movie, so that the film has a certain importance or reason. But that minor gripe aside, the big problem with the film was the gaping hole where the plot should be.Ī plot should always be more than just a vague framework to drive a movie from one scene another all the way to the climax. Perhaps replacing some of the action scenes with more intimate, personal character moments could have helped. If the film had focused more on the central to characters, I feel it could have been a classic, or at the very least, deliver an even more powerful finale. So, credit goes to the cast and not necessarily to the way the film was written, which perhaps had more featured characters than it should have. The characters do have sufficient weight for the audience to empathise with them, and they are also very likeable, but I felt that my appreciation of the characterisation is due largely to the voice talent behind them. Some people have already ordained this film as a classic of sorts, but I’d have to disagree with that, simply because, although it hits hard and fast with splendour, and resonates beyond mere eye-candy, it doesn’t have a crucial element to elevate it into that tier. The look and sound of the show will instantly grab you, and perhaps even carries the film over the insubstantial plot backbone. None of these things, Sword of the Stranger is an unexpected big-budget film, which leapt instantly to the forefront of my favoured anime movies with exhilarating action sequences, captivating visuals, raw, evocative music and simple but affective characterisation. It seems, lately, that anything warranting a large budget and a lot of effort from a studio is either a sequel, an adaptation based on a successful manga or novel, or the next dull addition to a creatively stagnant franchise. Sword of the Stranger is both unusual and refreshing in the way that it seemed to come out of nowhere and prove to be a remarkable anime. As the three set out on a perilous journey, it soon becomes evident that their path is riddled with danger, as the Ming Dynasty has now sent a terrifying swordsman after them to capture Kotarou and fulfill a certain prophecy. Although the samurai saves the helpless pair from their pursuers, he feels that there is no need to help them further but when offered a gem in exchange for his services as a bodyguard, he reluctantly accepts Kotarou's offer of employment-just until Tobimaru is healed and the two reach their destination. ![]() However, Kotarou is forced to remain on the run when he finds himself being hunted down by assassins sent by China's Ming Dynasty for mysterious reasons not involving his petty crimes.įortunately, the duo run into Nanashi, a ronin who has taken refuge in a small temple, when Kotarou is attacked and Tobimaru poisoned. In the Sengoku period of Japan, a young orphan named Kotarou and his dog Tobimaru steal from unsuspecting villagers in order to make ends meet.
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