Sword of the Stranger

When you think about samurai action anime, there’s a couple of great titles that immediately come to mind. Ninja Scroll, Samurai Champloo, and Rurouni Kenshin, to name a few. Here’s a new member of that club. Sword of the Stranger packs action, awesome visuals, and a great soundtrack all in one tight package. The story doesn’t stray too far from the familiar, however it does more than just serve it’s purpose, its just nothing you haven’t seen before.

But what Sword of the Stranger is really about is the action scenes. The film starts right off with a Chinese caravan being attacked on a mountain pass by Japanese bandits, and it quickly becomes a loud, bloody, and oddly, an even slightly humorous affair. The fight scenes are beautifully choreographed, and the soundtrack keeps up with the pace. I cringed at the opening scene a bit, and that hasn’t happened to me since the first time I saw Akira when I was 8, or early in the Rurouni Kenshin OVA. It’s that bloody and stirring, and it gets you in the mood.

Story

Sword of the Stranger takes place in feudal Japan during the Sengoku period of civil war. Young Kotaro and his dog are hunted by the Chinese Ming dynasty, who wish to sacrifice the boy to somehow makes themselves immortal. He happens upon a ronin samurai “Nanashi” (nameless), who saves him from an attack by one of the Ming hunting him. But when Kotaro’s dog Tobimaru is poisoned, he reluctantly ‘hires’ Nanashi to take he and his dog to an apothecary. Kotaro is a typical rude brat who has no friends or family, other than Tobimaru. His rude attitude is his way of keeping dominance over his employee in the typical way young kids do, but he eventually warms up to Nanashi. Along the way, they are continually hunted by the Ming, in particular, Raro, the second in command of the Ming mercenary group, who happens to be a Caucasian. Raro’s more interested in finding a worthy opponent to fight, and he thinks he’s found it in Nanashi.

While the story doesn’t really cover any new ground, and the Chinese/Japanese dichotomy aren’t explored, Sword of the Stranger does contrast the two cultures well. At best, the story gives the fight scenes meaning to where you don’t wanna just skip to them. The Japanese come off as greedy and self-serving, while the Chinese are very much contained by their societal structure. Nanashi and Kotaro are so unoriginal in terms of characters, even the dog seems to have about as much originality to him than they do. Frankly, no one really does. Raro’s motives don’t really explain his actions too well either. But that doesn’t mean the characters are bad at all, there is just nothing new about them, nor do they go into any new territory. This is one titles where ‘more than the sum of its parts’ applies.

Video

This Blu Ray is a 1080P AVC encode with vibrant colors and detail that come shining through in this HD transfer. The animation is tight, as is expected from BONES, who were responsible for both the Cowboy Bebop and Fullmetal Alchemist movies. The presentation is on par with the best out there. The opening sequence that involves the attack on the Ming caravan takes place during a thunder storm, and every drop of rain can be seen. Clothing animates very realistically, and adds to the authenticity. The dreary world is also well-represented, with feudal towns and the beautifully drawn countryside. Seeing it in 1080P makes me honestly sad for anyone who sees this one on DVD instead. Trust me, you WANT to see this in HD.

Audio

In a word, bombastic. Sword of the Stranger does not disappoint in the audio department one bit. Naoki Sato should be proud of the work he’s done for the music, the instruments really help paint the picture for the environment. In terms of sound effects, it keeps in step with the action scenes, and makes them all the more epic and help define the quieter moments. The voice work is also well done, in both Japanese and English. About 25% of the dialogue is in Mandarin, keeping with the idea that the Ming are the foreigners. This is one title where the English dub is also pretty good, so those of you who aren’t anal-retentive about watching in the original Japanese, you won’t be missing out on any context.

The lossless Dolby TrueHD encode guarantees that no matter whats going on, be it the loud clashes of swords, thunder and lighting, rain, and even during the more quiet moments, that your speakers and sub will be getting a workout. Dialog is clear, and overall the audio does as great a job as the visuals.

Conclusion

This is one title that wasnt on my radar until it was released in Japan last year, and was already getting rave reviews. I know I make a fuss about the characters and plot not doing anything new, and thats because they had a chance to, and didn’t. However, taking the safe road isn’t a bad thing when its executed this well. Once you learn of his prior involement in titles such as Ghost in the Shell, Fullmetal Alchemist, Cowboy Bebop, for first-time director Masahiro Ando to come out with a release this epic, all eyes should be on him for any future projects. This is probably one of the top ten anime releases all decade.