Anime: Katanagatari

Katanagatari is a 2010 anime produced by Studio WHITE FOX. It’s an adaptation of the light novels by NisiOisiN. It was directed by Keitarou Motonaga. Director of School Days and Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Katana is the story of ex military “strategist” Togame and legendary fighter Yasuri Shichika as they travel the land in search of 12 all powerful swords.

Katana’s protagonists are a good place to start. Shichika is a powerhouse swordfighter who uses his body as a sword. This thematically ties into his character, as he grew up pretty much alone on an island his whole life, and has no way of interacting as an actual person. Thus, he acts as Togame’s sword. Togame is a clever tactician and A-Class conversationalist along with being charismatic in a pathetic sort of way.

There is a lot more to these characters than what meets the eye however. Shichika supposedly “falls in love” with Togame by episode 1 and the reasons for this are compelling yet aren’t spelled out for you. Thus, throughout their adventure, Togame and Shichika’s relationship slowly helps them grow as people. After a few episodes, Shichika seems rather simple. However, the more he lives and journeys with Togame, and the more we learn about his past, he becomes one of the most complex anime protagonists in the past decade. Togame, though her demeanor is rather slipshod and all over the place a lot of the time, she slowly reveals her true colors as well. It’s because of this, along with their endearing chemistry, that Togame and Shichika are quite possibly my all time favorite anime couple. Only really beat out by another Isin work.

Every villain is likable and reasonable in their own way, and every side character has a story and a life. They aren’t all Emiya Shirou, but I wasn’t expecting them to be, and you shouldn’t either. They are well developed for the time they have, which is good enough for me.

Considering this is Isin, expect a lot of talking. But also expect it to be constantly engaging, realistic, and often humorous. This isn’t just shown with Shichika and Togame, but with the entire cast. Witty, often self refrencial comments are thrown by the screen to the point that I found myself staring at the screen watching two fictional characters discuss moral troubles, which is an accomplishment.

Speaking of comedy, Katana has lots of it. Most of the time in anime, comedy blends awfully with dramatic action series like this one, but here, it works really well. That may be due to the tone changes being rather slow and not at all abrupt, but also due to just how funny the comedy is. I certainly laughed far more while watching Katana than I did while watching Nozaki-Kun or Maou Sama.

This sense of fun, even in times of darkness, may come from the vibrant colors and style of the animation. Which is not only fluid and expressive, but also very unique. A few episodes even have animation styles that are only in that episode. Episode 7, in particular, goes a bit overboard, and it ruined some of the episode. Nonetheless, the animation is overall very high quality. And, of course, the fight scenes. There are usually only 1 or 2 per episode, but when they do happen. OH MAI GAHD! Most notably, the fight with Sabi Hakuhei. The tension and build up to each fight helps this. The character designs are something that take a little getting used to, considering how odd they look, but I personally like them.

Katana’s musical score consists of choirs and sadness, as per usual for action anime. It’s a great fit, but I don’t have too much to say about it specifically. The voice acting in general is good, especially for the delivery of catchphrases. It also has 12 freakin’ ending songs, which is cool.

Thematically, this show is based around the chains of legacy and the pointlessness of fighting. Keep in mind, Katana is a tragedy, and it embodies that genre quite well. And then there is the ending. It’s sad and poignant yet completely inevitable. It’s a Gunbuster ending. The unfiltered ethos of the narrative in 50 minutes with tons of visual flare and dark colors, yet still enjoyable, Katana’s finale is something worth celebrating.

Katana isn’t told as a continuous story. Rather, it’s told in 12, 50 minute vignettes, each taking place roughly one month apart. With the string tying them all together being our “heroes.” Every one of these stories is compelling in their own way, in thanks to everything I’ve mentioned so far. The moral changes in how Shichika deals with his opponents throughout the series is something I personally really enjoyed.

The overall narrative of Katanagatari is based in history. More importantly, based in changing history which may be an absolute “Im watching this” or a definite “Im gonna stay away” depending on what type of person you are. Though, knowledge of samurai history will enhance your appreciation of this show, it is not necessary.

Now we get to flaws. This’ll be fun! Here’s the big one: This show is confusing. Not Evangelion or Lain confusing, but it certainly could be some trouble for someone not paying full attention and inferring a decent lot about some characters and backstories. I didn’t have too much trouble with it, but I do have some friends that were rather confused throughout the final few episodes.

There are a group of villains called the Maniwaningu that constantly interfere with our main characters and their quest throughout the show. And while they are thematically relevant, they also seem to be narrative throwaways. I get what they were trying to do, but they come off as silly some of the time. I don’t know how threatening Isin thinks Team Rocket with Ninja Penguins sounds, but it ain’t that scary when facing the 7 foot tall dude who kills things with his sword arms. Despite how fleshed out some of the one-off villains (and Hitei) are, these guys just pissed me off.

This is a more personal complaint, but I really did not enjoy episode 10. As much as I hate this word, it just came off as “pretentious” and worthless. I literally don’t understand what it was going for, and it came out of nowhere. I might just be “too dumb to understand its greatness” or something, but I just didn’t enjoy it.

+ Engaging Dialogue

+ Plays with History

+ Great thematic structure

+ One of a kind romance

+ Unique style

+ Perfect ending

+ Really funny

+ Intense fights (Particularly against Sabi Hakuhei and Emonzaemon)

+ Interesting characters

+ Tone shifts done right

+/- Character Designs

+/- Episode 7's animation

- Episode 10

- Team Ninja Penguin Rocket

Katanagatari is an absolute triumph of an anime series. Flippant and confident, yet it knows exactly what it wants to be. Despite the few flaws, I have no qualms awarding Katanagatari with an almost unreal 9.75/10 and absolutely recommending that you check it out.

Sometimes, a journey is about the distance travelled rather than the original goal or destination. As doors open and horizons broaden, it becomes possible to view the world in a completely different light. To that end, a similar thing could be said about renowned author Nisio Isin’s quirky spin on a traditional samurai tale, Katanagatari.

Nisio Isin has become somewhat of a household name in the anime community for his signature writing style. Widely acclaimed for his work on both the Monogatari series and Medaka Box, Katanagatari is another example of Isin’s talents. Situated in a traditional period setting, Isin defines his story with contemporary allusions and innumerable jokes on the sub-culture particularities of modern day Japan. Along with an eccentric cast that remains engaging, Katanagatari becomes a journey unlike any other.

As the title suggests, Katanagatari is a story about swords, or more specifically a journey set in Japan’s Edo era revolving around the collection of twelve legendary swords sought out by the shogunate: the Deviant Blades. The plot kicks off following the shogunate’s self-appointed tactician, Togame, landing ashore a small island in the middle of nowhere. Here she meets Shichika Yasuri, the son of an exiled war hero and seventh head of the Kyoutouryuu school of martial arts. Through some rather unorthodox reasoning, Togame enlists Shichika’s aid. Much to her dismay however, she receives far less than what she bargained for as Shichika is a country bumpkin with some of the most deplorable social skills. And so begins a journey of friendship, adventure and tragedy as the two skewer Japan’s outer reaches for the twelve Deviant Blades.

Much like Shichika, Katanagatari is a story that hails from humble roots. Since the show’s premise does very little to distinguish itself from a bare bones fetch quest, audiences expecting a more innovative plot line may be discouraged at first glance. Coupled with a narrative composition similar to a JRPG, Katanagatari can give the initial impression that it’s nothing more than a string of random fights interspersed between lots of long-winded dialogue.

Fortunately, this is one story that proves it shouldn’t be judged solely by its cover.

Although the premise makes it clear that the original goal of the story was to retrieve each of the twelve Deviant Blades, the route that Katanagatari takes allows for a much grander experience. The episodes are usually structured in such a way where adequate time is given to allow the two characters to soak up the local culture extensively before confronting their foe. Each of the locations that the characters visit is rich with unique customs, practices and cuisine. Complementing the backdrops nicely is Isin’s vision for his story, which integrates endless puns, otaku-centric humour and modern day practices into the script.

Further immersing the viewer are the show’s artistic direction, animation quality and soundtrack. To complement the wide variety of locations that the characters visit, the animation quality remains high throughout the series with plenty of rustic detail being given to the interior locations and outside environments. However, to spice things up, the unusual character attire designed by illustrator Take along with the colour palettes chosen by White Fox juxtaposes the more traditional style of the time period. There’s also some other nifty elements of contemporary culture present such as Togame’s misuse of the British saying “cheerio” along with some of the designs of the later Deviant Blades. In a similar vein, the soundtrack is primarily composed of traditional Japanese music, which is occasionally mixed in with more modern day electronic tracks, further adding to Katanagatari’s uniqueness.

For an individual such as Shichika who has lived a secluded life with largely only the company of his sister, the journey unsurprisingly does wonders for him. As the series progresses, he becomes increasingly humanized, gaining a better grasp of the way of the world, its customs, and most importantly of all, how to hold a regular conversation. Now this may seem like a fairly straightforward progression in terms of character, but one area Katanagatari excels in is how naturally it handles Shichika’s development. While many series encounter the unfortunate pitfall of having characters restate the obvious via monologue, the show takes a subtler approach by conveying his improved conversation proficiency and wider variety of facial expressions. In his upbringing, Shichika was raised solely as a human weapon, an idea which finds itself challenged by Isin’s writing numerous times throughout the series. The dialogue central to Shichika is part of White Fox’s comprehensive process of humanizing him over the course of the twelve fifty minute episodes. The end result of this progression being that it directly reflects the encounters Shichika has across the different lands, making the journey a more believable account.

Of course, only half of the credit can really be given to Shichika himself as he’s just one side of the coin. His trusty travelling partner, Togame, complements the dynamic duo’s chemistry nicely by serving as a motivating love interest and compensating for his intellectual weaknesses. Togame is a bit of a tsundere character minus most of the unneeded servings of abuse and archetypical one-liners, sparking some engaging dynamics between her and the show’s resident brick wall. Her upbeat, quick-tempered attitude with the occasional blush thrown in really lightens up a lot of her conversations with Shichika considering their rather questionable methods for obtaining the swords. Especially during the early stages of their journey when Shichika’s social skills are lacking the most, Togame’s ability to make light of many situations keeps the dialogue from reaching an otherwise dead halt. Along with her cultural clumsiness, snarky remarks, and childish demeanour, she helps to maintain the energy of the journey amidst the most barren of locations. These conversations also highlight Shichika’s social ineptitude, keeping it in focus for the audience so that his progress throughout the series becomes evident.

Aside from the two peas in a pod and the contemporary allusions used to spice up this tale, it is Isin’s signature writing style that is the final ingredient of Katanagatari’s unique flavour. The most prominent instances of his style are his characteristic fourth wall breaks, word plays and genre parodies, which fit nicely into such a dialogue heavy show. Many of the pair’s conversations err on irrelevancies such as Togame’s misuse of common sayings or Shichika’s lack of knowledge about the world, whereas other topics deconstruct more common usages of words such as a weapon. That isn’t to say that these conversations serve no purpose in the grand scheme of things, as it is actually quite the opposite. Since much of the series revolves around Shicika's social development, even the most mundane of topics help with his progression and are thus important in the long run.

However, there are instances where Isin’s writing style is almost a double-edged sword. Though a great deal of the dialogue heavy scenes between Shichika and Togame are right on track, the same cannot be said for every application of his writing. Since Katanagatari does feature a number of fight scenes in almost every episode, there are instances where the long-winded dialogue does more harm than good. This is partly due to the show’s primary antagonists, a group of ninja also seeking out the Deviant Blades called the Maniwa Corps. Unlike Shichika and Togame, the Maniwa seem to just ramble on about unimportant details that can leave the audience in anticipation for far too long. And while some of the wit or self-parody can be amusing at first, the pre-battle dialogue does drag out to the point where some viewers may wonder why Shichika hasn’t already floored each overly flamboyant punching bag. Especially for audiences simply craving a good fight, this aspect of Katanagatari along with the large gap in strength between Shichika and his opponents can be rather off-putting.

To make matters worse, a lot of the genre parodies within the script can make it difficult to determine how this story of swords wants to view itself. While there are instances where it’s evident that the show is engaging in light hearted fun, some of the more serious moments aren’t made nearly as crystal clear. The merging of clichéd dialogue with highly emotional moments can frustrate some audiences, while leaving others bewildered. It also doesn’t help that the series lacks closure during parts of its finale, making it difficult to determine whether Isin’s writing is simply getting sloppy or he’s just pulling the audience’s leg once again.

With all said and done, Katanagatari is still a fresh take on a fairly traditional tale. The numerous contemporary allusions, colourful cast and setting along with the script possessing Isin’s signature flair truly makes this a journey unlike any other. The dialogue between Shichika and Togame is rich with puns and clever word plays, while ultimately reflecting their experiences during their journey. Although the story does have a few rough edges, it’s certainly something that can be overlooked in favour of the overall experience.

Even with the original purpose of the journey lost, meaning can still be found in the enriching experiences encountered along the way. While every person may have his or her own island, Katanagatari demonstrates that it is only if they travel into the wide seas that they will truly see the world for what it is. As they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

ART & ANIMATION: 8
In terms of art and animation, the show is about 2/5 panned shots with dialogue, 2/5 characters walking and talking* and the remaining 1/5 is killtastic, quick action fight scenes. The graphic style of the series is unique, as I have not seen many others like it and while it appears simple, it works well nonetheless. The backgrounds of the scenes were beautifully drawn as well the"impact" effects that the characters inflicted upon them. For each episode of the series, each one received their own unique ending credits animation with a floral theme that reflected the time of year and area the characters traveled through during the episode, as well as the protagonists attire matching what they wore during the episode. Each ending is not visually intricate or direly different from one another (save for the final episode), but the variety is appreciated as gesture of extra effort for the audience.

*There is a lot of talking in this series, including many jokes, puns, and banter. If you are not a native Japanese speaker, or maybe you can't read subtitles so quickly, don't hesitate to hit that pause button! The characters won't judge you, though your media player might. This is under the assumption you are watching the series in the original Japanese dub. If you are not, you are most likely in the future, in which case, congratulations!

SOUND: 10
The soundtrack of the series was excellent with a variety of of music genres, which throughout the series adapted wonderfully to the conversations, comedy, environment and fight scenes and sound amazing on their own. In addition to the variety of ending credits animation, each episode received it's own ending musical theme as well. There are two opening credit themes. All very catchy, I loved them! Majority of the series' musical scores were composed by Taku Iwasaki, the gent who also produced for Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Gurren Lagann and Soul Eater and resemblance to their themes can be heard throughout the series. If you do not know of these series, it may be helpful for you to consult some sort of website specializing in anime series analysis.

...Wait for it.

STORY: 7
The story, is simple, the young heroes depart from their homes and collect the 12 mystical "swords", a very lenient term in this series, in order to achieve the greater good of the community. On their quest, they encounter many adversaries who wish to also possess the 12 "swords" for their own nefarious reasons and thus engage in battle with the heroes over their possession. Nothing groundbreaking in terms of story telling. However, halfway through the series, plot twist enters the fray with the introduction of new characters, and plot developments involving alternate futures, altered pasts and unforeseen general idealisms. Nothing too remarkable but it keeps the story moving from A to B.

CHARACTER: 8
The characters! The shining glint at the edge of the black sunglasses, the thing that really makes this show shine with excitement. Each characters costume is unique, flamboyant and quite plainly, awesome, colorful and articulate, and makes a clear point to the audience that they are indeed a main character, or at the very least a noteworthy secondary. Many characters have their own quirky personality (I hate it when I use that word), each their own fighting style, motives and traits, from creepy with an unworldly ability to swallow things that shouldn't be, to juvenile and shy, to quiet and sadistic. A notable aspect of the series is the growth of first protagonist, Shichika, who at the beginning of the series seems barely human in terms of interaction and communication, but throughout the progression of the series, learns what it means to become human with the help of the other protagonist, Togame, and the other characters which he meets and interacts with. The characters make good conversations and just mesh well together. The voice acting is wonderful and capture the characters personalities well through their dialogue. Some characters, some of the villains mainly, seem bland however.

VALUE: 9
I gave this a series a 9 for value. I will watch it again. That is because I liked it so much. I might buy it when or if it comes out in my country. It also taught me most of what I know about the geography of Japan. I would recommend it to many people as a fine example of what anime is.

ENJOYMENT: 10
2010 was a kinda crappy year. A lot of smut stuff came out, though a lot came out in 2009 which I may be associating with 2010 but nonetheless. There were a lot of series which I looked at and thought "meh" to but this was one of the ones I stuck with and I'm glad I did because I enjoyed the raspberry filling out of it. Other series I enjoyed this year were Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Star Driver, Legend of The Legendary Heroes and Baka to Test.

Additional Statements:
-I want to see some cosplay from this series. Good cosplay. God I love those Maniwa ninjas (The Bad Guys)
-The OST for the series sounds amazing.
There is a lot of shouting your attacks in this series, Shichika is constantly making them up and throwing them out there.

The other reviews are much more in depth than this one, so please reference them instead of this one for in depth opinionated detail of how a cartoon series scored.

Katanagatari (directly translated to English as Swordstory), is from the same guy who wrote Bakemonogatari. As famous as that anime was, I wasn’t very thrilled with its episodic nature. The smart gags and the wordplays were all nice but all the rest felt like random psychedelic rambling with lots of otaku culture cliches. But it still had enough artistic expression and weirdness to be memorable in a way.

Katanagatari is practically reusing the same formula, only here it offers a better feeling of progress, focuses more on the main characters and less on most others who come and go in the same episode they appear. I for once welcome this change in a positive light. You can’t watch the episodes in random order and the characters don’t mysteriously disappear after their use in the story is over (even when killed they are still mentioned in passing).

ENJOYMENT

The strongest feature that exists here is its style of conscious trolling, you literally know the scriptwriter is messing with your expectations but you actually like it. That means, things are made as to make you expect something that never happens and surprises you with its unexpected turn of events. In most other series, being trolled is a very negative feature, the cause to hate an anime and downvote it for disappointing you or ruining your expectations. Easy examples are the wars foreshadowed for dozens of chapters/episodes in famous fighting shounens such as Naruto and Bleach. We were promised a war of epic scale and were offered a lukewarm and poorly handled line of small spars that were hardly exiting.

Katanagatari managed to reverse the feeling with smart gags, wordplays, and using a famous literature devise of foreshadowing called “Chekhov’s Gun”. If you are given a detailed description of a gun, you are given the impression it will be useful in the plot later on; that is, someone will fire it or it will be a key element in revealing the mystery. Most authors are advised to hide their guns as best as possible with subtle hints and red herring (intentional misguide) in an attempt to make the revelation less expected. But not this author. No sir, he is firing his gun all the time and throws it at your face. You are of course expecting for this gun to be damn important later on. And no, that moment comes and goes as if the gun was just a cigarette lighter. Ooooh, you didn’t see that coming! How unexpected!

As I said, this works only because the show never tries to be too serious to anything other than the core reasons every character is fighting for. All your expectations from the plot, formed by decades of stereotypes and tropes are in this case working against you, being used by the author in a way to make YOU the reader/viewer the expected and the stereotype. The roles are in a way reversed and you become the kitsch factor; the joke is on you and in this case it is funny. It is a kind of humor that directs at you, making you part of the show. Just like when a magician makes a building disappear, you being present and gasping at the illusion is actually part of the act as well. You don’t know it but DAMN it works.

So yeah, I liked it how I was being trolled all the time with events I couldn’t predict. To the overcritical this will feel like the show is going through totally random events and stupid character reactions, which is true and made deliberately as such. It was funny, unlike those stupid wars in other shows that were supposed to have seriousness and consistency. The only reason I didn’t give a full mark is because I’m not fond of the long talking feature. I prefer more action and less blah-blah, which is a personal taste that can vary from one person to another.

ART

First of all two warnings about what will follow. By any means, do not try to view this show as historically accurate. It has ninjas dressed more colorfully than circus clowns, while it features guns and robots centuries before they are even invented and introduced to Japan. Also, by any means do not try to view this anime as an action series. It has action alright but it is much undermined in favor of dialogue. Plus, most battles are made to last only a few seconds as part of being trolled again. You would expect them to last for entire episodes yet they end quite fast and anti-climactically. Sounds frustrating but it’s meant to be funny.
Now onwards with the rest of the animation.

A nice contrast of plain character designs next to a broad range of colors and patterns filling said designs; it creates a dreamy feeling, open to personal interpretation. I mean, how old is each character or how does he look in real life? The artwork does not help; you need to imagine all that; and this is what makes it great; making you imagine the scene despite it being shown to you. You are forming the details in your mind, practically embracing the characters. The environments are basically colorful cartoons so even when you don’t want to think, you are still taken in by the visuals, like reading a very well made picture book. Once again you are tricked to be part of the act, which is what I call genius.

But you don’t need to think so deep if you don’t want to; there still is a large amount of fan service present, as each scene with the main duo is basically passing like sexual foreplay. It is not original in any way but in this case the author once again manages to turn the joke on you. Because the stereotypical couple would be about a tsundere loosing her clothes all the time before the guy, who would immediately have a nosebleed, she will scream, call him a pervert and hit him a hundred times. Well, again this is not the case here. The lead guy has NO idea how to be ashamed of nude and the girl is NOT afraid to be naked. Heck, they spend a lot of time being naked or him smelling her hair and although it doesn’t feel sexy to them, we are completely taken in by the fact that for us it is. Ingenious!

I will still not give full points here. Although the cinematography part is brilliant, the characters remain terribly frozen for several minutes. It is supposed to be part of the whole picture book act but ten minutes of endless talking with the screen showing the same picture slowly scrolled sideways can get to your nerves. Not a tragic problem but I sure mind it a bit concerning animation... which means something moving.

SOUND

Voice Acting is superb; although at first it will feel like amateurish or stereotypical, in reality it’s again just more trolling. Each character will have a very distinctive voice, accompanied with personal catchphrases and different pinch in voice. It may feel like a repetitive joke at first but in reality it is a basic way of character immersion. At some point all their reasons for talking like that are exposed. So yeah, voices are not random cartoony squeaks, they are part of one’s personality.

The dialogues are again great to listen too; I get easily tired if they are long but they are great nonetheless. After all, most of the series consists of talking rather than acting, so we are talking about a lot of speech here. In fact you can watch half the show without even staring at the screen but just listening to what they say. What makes it interesting is once again the trolling part as you are constantly fed with possible future actions that are proven fault or meaningless a few seconds later. Heck, the characters themselves are constantly fooling one another with misunderstandings and wordplays, so the feeling is mutual.

But jokes aside, the seemingly endless talking offers insight to each character’s personality. Ten minutes of a monologue and you know who someone is or what he/she wants. It will feel artificial or forced at times because of the long duration but it still helps you to get to know them. So yeah, great work here as well.

If I need to lower the score a bit, that will be the Music Themes. Nice pieces of pop with folklore and ambient overtones but not something to hum for life. Not a real minus but I only give full score to series with memorable songs. There are otherwise numerous and each episode even features a different ending.

STORY

The core story is quite the simple one; one guy and one girl, stroll around Japan to find twelve magic swords. One each episode they face a villain of the month (well, it was a monthly series) and acquire a sword. This pattern does not change from beginning to end but what DOES make it feel better is the way each sword is acquired. The method used each time is different, the circumstances are different, heck, the whole aim of the episode is different. So don’t expect the lead to constantly use his signature move as panacea every time; each adversary needs a different approach. Another minor but nice detail is how the weather slowly changes per episode to signify the time of the year it takes place in.

So even in such a formulaic show there are plot twists. Some events occur in moments or in ways you were not expecting, thus being trolled once again in a good way. Even the ending is considered quite uncommon for such shows. Not only it is strong and solid but features events most would never expect the outcome despite the info being offered by previous events.

But as I said earlier most of the plot is talking rather than acting; the actual screen time of getting the sword lasts only around 5 minutes at each episode. The rest is getting to know the characters and fooling around; thus the core series is way too small next to the side stories of the characters they meet in each episode. Very good entreating-wise but rather poor story-wise. Most secondary characters are never shown for more than an episode so the feeling of expanding future possibilities as the episodes go by feels a bit off.

But other than that the pacing does not feel erratic at any point. Since each episode is pretty much self-contained in plot there is no room for fillers or staling. And no episode is really treated as unnecessary since there always is a sort of progress present; so it is not really bad. It’s just that powers and characters found on one episode would make an interesting event if they met powers and characters from following episodes. Sounds like poor excuse for needless crossovers but I still like the idea.

CHARACTER

The prime thing any series needs to have is memorable characters. This show succeeds and wins by failing, thus performs a double victory. Sounds weird? Let me explain.

The main duo is definitely worth to remember. Although they initially feel like the usual tsundere and blockhead of so many anime out there, by the end of the show they are given so much color and insight that you have all the reason in the world to cherish them for life. That is something I can’t say for other shows with similar duos like Inu Yasha or Spice and Wolf. Their development and presence was a lot less bold, stretched amongst several episodes, most of which are fillers, while the ending was lukewarm at best. But here they did an excellent job at making them worthy. I mean, Shichika is a clueless to the world swordless swordsman; he fights better against swords when he is not holding one. Isn’t that weird enough? And here I though the three-sword style of Zorro from One Piece was too much. As for the lead girl, her title is Strategian (a fusion of tactician and strategist) Togame looking for 12 hentai swords, who keeps using the word “cheerio” with the wrong meaning. Isn’t that weird as heck? And it’s just the tip of the iceberg of what their personalities are like.

The secondary cast is also memorable for being… killed right away. Sounds weird but it’s the trolling effect again. Most adversaries will be presented as super powerful and will be handed a Chekhov’s gun. But when the action happens they will pretty much not use the gun and die fast and anti-climactically. What is funnier is how a simple handgun is far more powerful than elite ninjas, which is true but still not something you would expect to see in a show about superhumans. Trooolled!

But anyway, most characters will still be colorized enough before they kick the bucket on the same episode they appear in; it will frustrate you but you will probably like the feeling.

Besides that, all characters have a really strong presence on screen; they all have their set of catchphrases, unique uniforms, special attacks, demeanor, etc. For a cast where most are killed right away and the rest just talk to the end, they did a great job and I salute them for that.

And no, I still don’t give a full mark for a cast where most are rather stereotypical and die 20 minutes after they appear. This trolling trick still has its limitations.

VALUE

I am not a fan of episodic plots or this trolling business. It worked on me all right but only this time. I am also not willing to sit down and relive all those long dialogues either. But heck, going though rough times in the anime industry I say this anime feels like an oasis in the desert. I mean, it is not devoid of moe, sex jokes, or meta-modern feeling but at the same time it is not aimless, carbon-copied, lukewarm adventure either. So ok, some say it pays tribute to Rurouni Kenshin, or Dragonball, or even Inu Yasha and Naruto. The similarities are still not clear enough to make it a retelling of those shows and to my knowledge it has a lot better directing and feeling than most of the above.

So yeah, it’s a good show… Even for MY strict tastes.

And now for some excused scorings.

'Katanagatari' ('Tale of Swords') is about Togame, a self-claimed "General Director of Military and Offering Affairs serving under Yanari Shogun Family of Owari Shogunate", and Yasuri Shichika, the last inheritor of swordless swordsmanship "Kyotouryuu", and their adventure to collect 12 legendary swords.

Original work written by the same author as 'Bakemonogatari', this is a dialogue-based series I cannot recommend to Shounen and other viewers who seek mindless battle scenes... you can ignore my warnings, "but by that time, you'd be slashed into pieces."

Story/Character: 8.5/10
The story of 'Katanagatari' is driven by the characters who stand in the way of the sword gathering. New characters and weapon of the month are introduced in every episode, through negotiation and battles with Togame and Shichika, we learn about their opponents' backgrounds and purpose to fight. Other than few "bosses" in the series, most characters make full appearance (not counting recap) in only a single episode. It can be said that the story progresses by disposing expendable side characters. The story may be about the main couple gathering the 12 swords, but the show is really all about why people fight and the growth of the protagonist. Some people complain that the action scenes are too short for 45+ minutes per episode, but I think it's appropriate since it's not the battle itself, but reasons leading up to the battle that's focus of the show. In addition, the victors of real ninja and samurai battles are decided in seconds, short battle scenes are more realistic than ones that drag on for hours.

Unlike 'Bakemonogatari' with all the wordplay, humor in this series heavily relies on 「すべり芸」, the comedy through deliberately failed attempts to be funny, which in turn creates a humorous atmosphere for its sheer lameness. This is achieved by the two main characters. Shichika supposedly dumb hick, but surprisingly has common sense, and Togame, who is supposedly a genius strategist, though tennen (lacks common sense). The frantic pace of conversation was the key to this show's success, as well as persistence in comedy (such as catchphrases, Togame missing the battle, sexual implication etc) in every episode.

The episodic nature of the series makes character development difficult, but it was made possible by dedicating each episode to a theme or lesson for Shichika, and sometimes Togame.

1: Intro
2: What to protect
3: Purpose
4: Friendship
5: Love/Resolve
6: Conscience/Loneliness
7: Death
8: Human Will
9: Discipline
10: Swordsmanship
11: Fate/Past
12: Freedom/Future

Shichika started out as an emotionless weapon that blindly follows Togame's orders, like a sword. By facing the variety of opponents in their journey and influence of Togame herself, Shichika gradually grow up as a human being, learning ways of the society and new emotions with each encounter. Character development was excellent. By the end of the show, Shichika was no longer a brutal killing machine; he had his own opinions and purpose to fight. Character design was fantastic in this series. Everyone was easily distinguishable. Even those who died quickly had very distinct personalities and features that left lasting impressions.

Character naming was pretty interesting in kanji, such as Shichika --> "Seven Flowers", Togame --> wordplay of　「十が目」 (Eye is a Cross) and "Blame", Hitei-hime --> "Princess Denial". Every name basically describes the person.

One major problem I had with the characters though, was that every single significant individual in this show had a sympathetic or honorable reason to fight. They were too lovable. While this made it easy to connect, and developed the main characters, it created a hole for true villains and evil. Although it is often difficult and desirable to design lovable characters, I believe there should be at least one character for everyone to hate in action/adventure series like this. There should've been an enemy who was simply a serial killer who loves taking life, or a corrupt leader oppressing the innocent civilians. I also felt sorry for Maniwani, for being defeated (often easily) in every single battle against Shichika or a Sword-holder.

The conclusion was very satisfying, albeit rather predictable.
The animation style and story seems like a fairytale, but 'Katanagatari' is a picture book for adults that children can never appreciate.

Sound: 10/10
I still consider 'Bakemonogatari' voice acting to be the best ever, but 'Katanagatari' is a close second. It took me a while to get used to Togame (Tamura Yukari)'s voice in this one, but it grew on me in time. Shichika (Hosoya Yoshimasa)'s voice sounds like reading the script at first, but not really; quite humorous and emotional when needed to be. Other than that, everyone else's voice was an instant hit (this is important because some of the characters were dead within minutes of appearance), which is quite a feat because there are over 30 major characters in this series. There were quite a few heavyweights and veterans in the industry among the seiyuu cast, even in relatively minor roles. I was particularly impressed with Yasuri Nanami (Nakahara Mai) and Maniwa Shirasagi (Hatano Wataru)'s voice acting job, which can only be described as completely absorbed into the character. This is another series that made me think "Seiyuu sure are amazing".

BGM, on the other hand, makes a strong case for a new benchmark. It should be noted that at least one new piece of BGM is played in every episode except the final episode, but all pieces flows so well that it doesn't sound like deliberate theme music for each antagonist. Most pieces are fully orchestrated in Western or Japanese traditional instruments, charged with the grandeur of the adventure. Others are jovial Japanese rap that serves its purpose by being so bad that it's funny. However, it is not the quality of individual numbers that makes the background music of 'Katanagatari' remarkable, it's the application. Every number is used in exactly the right places. The most distinguishable characteristic of the application is that the music start well before each significant scene to build up the tension, harmonizing with the story to enhance the drama as they climax with absolute precision.

OP1 was very catchy with good balance of anime beats and traditional Japanese atmosphere, but OP2 was horrible. EDs are different for every episode. Ep4, 8, 12 were particularly strong songs, but all were shared by outstanding vocals. In terms of flow, each episode had an ED animation changing with the location and season with falling snow, leaf, flower petals etc. In terms of ED song choice, it started with very intense techno and gradually become more somber and traditional Japanese style with each episode.

Animation: 9/10
Extremely crude character design, background detail of varying degree. However, the artwork has a very unique style that creates a Japanese fairytale, picturebook-like atmosphere that worked well for this series. One can tell the animation director and staff went lengths to visually compliment the story with wonderful "camera work", composition, and fabulous fight scenes.

I want to believe that the character designs are simplified so that they (especially for the protagonist) begin as blank canvases, and their impressions and details painted in viewer's minds as the show progress through words.

Episode 7, in particular, had a retro-arcade style presentation that was quite entertaining. Once again, I would like to believe the style decision was made to represent Shichika's vague childhood memories of time he spent with his sister rather than for budgetary reasons.

The art quality in this series is technically inferior compared to most shows airing this year, but in my opinion had one of the best presentation and style. Probably hit or miss depending on tastes.

Value/Enjoyment: 9.5/10
Although there were limits to episodic storytelling, the show had great character development and interesting story. The story was full of surprises and unpredictable turn of events despite it being a simple tale of sword gathering. Quite innovative and bold in style with both artwork and plot development. There were many great episodes in this series, I hereby declare episode 2, 4, 10, 12 「神回」 (godly epic episodes). Episode 7 was one too, though it probably had been possessed by a demon than god in many ways.

Perhaps it's a result of loose deadline due to monthly episode, but you can tell the staff paid close attention to perfect the flow and pace in this show, from animation to sound to story structure.

I believe this show, like the deviant swords, chooses its own audience: Being so dialogue-heavy despite its picture book style, and forces the audience to accept so many quirks.
It was one hell of an adventure around Japan for me though. In spite of all the flaws mentioned above, 'Katanagatari' is a series that I enjoyed tremendously, and remember for a long time.

Cheerio! Let's all hype up this word with the wrong meaning.