Title: Katanagatari
Published by: Nippon Ichi Software America
Based on: The light novel series under the same name released by Nisio Isin
Genre: Samurai, Comedy, Romance
Audio: Japanese Dub
Subtitles: English
Aspect Ratio – Bluray: 1080p AVC MPEG-4 (16:9)
Aspect Ratio – DVD: 480i MPEG-2 (16:9)
Runtime: 308 minutes
Cost: $55.99
Classification: As I am not based in the US, I am uncertain of what the classification is for this title.
Blurb: Taking place in the Shogun era, our main hero for this series has been a recluse for many years and having mastered the no-sword combat technique, now travels the world with a mysterious woman named Togame to hunt for the twelve Klesha Bringers, Katana’s of ultimate power. There is something here for fans of the series and there are many comedic scenes, however also suffers from some elements that get repetitive. However, the design styling is fantastic and has a strong musical tracklist.
Special Thanks: Special thanks goes to Nippon Ichi Software America for providing me with a sample of this title.
This is the final anime release from NIS America’s release schedule last month, and whilst the others have been more light-hearted in nature – this one is a bit more serious and wordy then the others. From the number of modern series this will take you to the era where Samurai’s reined and katana’s where used more as weapons then decorations on ones wall. I have watched a couple of series based around this time-frame with mixed opinions…. how did this series fare? Read on to find out in my review of Katanagatari.
Legend has it the unrivaled blacksmith Shikizaki Kiki’s masterpieces, the 12 Klesha Bringers, led the Sengoku Period of Japan. The “Land of the Rising Sun” was unified as one nation under one man. However, this man, the Old Shogun, feared a rebellion and enacted the notorious policy known as Katana Hunting, where 988 of the 1,000 katanas Shikizaki forged were collected. Despite the policy, 12 of his true mastercrafts were left uncollected. The other 988 were merely experiments created for the sake of perfecting these 12. These 12 final katanas are known as Klesha Bringers. The 7th generation master of the sword art Kyoto Ryu, Yasuri Shichika, and his older sister Nanami live on the isolated Fusho Island. One day, a female Shogunate official dispatched to collect the Klesha Bringers, Togame, pays a visit to this island…
In comparison to other anime series, this series storyline will not be everyone’s cup of tea. The original source live novel consisted of 12 volumes made over the course of twelve months, so I am going to assume that they have converted every volume of that novel into a single episode. In doing this however, they have expanded the episodes to around 45-50 minutes in length which considering that it is Japanese dubbed only, might be a bit of a tedious watch for those who are more into mainstream anime series. For those who are perhaps into something a bit different and can enjoy – at times, text heavy dialogue in an anime might find this series to have something special in it.
The storyline follows two primary characters – Yasuri Shichika: A young man who is the 7th generation successor of a special no-blade fighting technique however lacks proper conversational skills and Togame: The female protagonist who is a strategist for the Shogun and instead of enlisting the aid of his father, ends up recruiting Shichika in order to complete the same task…. collect the twelve Klesha Bringers. It is not possible to say that every episode has a completely unique storyline as whilst the comedic scenes are fresh and the overall storyline has different characters and plots between them…. every episode felt that it would always have a battle, always results in a victory et cetera. Honestly, this is the one series that I would have liked them to calm down on the heavy storyline and gone for perhaps a beach episode or similar where you can enjoy the characters in a less stressful environment.
How much interest and enjoyment you would derive from this series would be dependent on several factors such as your interests in a series (Personally I am a fan of Dynasty Warriors so I do enjoy the storylines set in these sorts of eras – and yes I am aware that the Dynasty series takes place in China…), how willing you are to sit through nearly one hour long episodes and how dedicated you can be to sitting through (at times) Tatami Galaxy-esque Dialogue scenes. I did feel that it needed to deviate from the 12 episodes… 12 swords formulas that they seem to have started, but other then that I think it is a satisfying storyline that if you were to purchase it, most probably would feel satisfied with.
On a more positive note, I am a big fan of the art style used in this series. The character designs are leaning more into the anime-style of design over going for realism that is different from most series taking place in this era where they go for big burly men that have the heroic look to them. Some might criticize the design as simplistic but I feel that it makes for a rewarding viewing experience that complements the environmental designs well. The design style is rather unique and has all the characters designed with bright and colourful designs and as with the environments, look more suited to a picture book then anything else. They use a mixed variety of environments to make the point known that they spent more time on the environments then everything else – with all environments (as I mentioned above) looking like they came out of a high quality picture book and having even the smallest patch of sand or dirt stylized into something more then what normally would be expected from an anime. This puts across the fact that back in the day, Japan was filled with picturesque scenery – something that animes taking place in modern environments don’t usually get to show off as much. In terms of animation, there was the odd occasion when I noticed the characters mouths moved abnormally when a character made a slight noise, but on the other hand – the animation style for the fights were brilliant given the more simplistic character designs. Overall, I was very happy with the design in this series.
Opening Sequence
Meiya Kadenrou by Minami Kuribayashi
The song attached to this sequence was pleasantly surprising and not one that I was expecting. It was more of a fast paced techno (??) / JPOP song that was complemented well with unique animation to go alongside it and was timed to the music. One of the better sequences I have seen lately.
In terms of ending sequences, there are different songs for each episode which vary in quality from some really good ones to some very bland ones. There is no real animation to go alongside the songs with only a still image of the two main characters, flower petals falling down and of course, the credits. I will say however that the one image is stylized very well and changes slightly every episode.
There is a good and somewhat average side to the music in the series. The average aspect is that the music is not present enough in the series for my liking and the series did rely on conversations without music backing – which in my opinion would have been beneficial. On the plus side – the music throughout the first episodes were brilliant with a nice mix of songs that are appropriate for the era – and those that are more modernized. It is nothing I would listen too away from the series but yes, it goes along nicely with the setting of the story. The voice acting is entirely in Japanese which may or may not be off-putting in this conversation heavy series, however the voice actors and actresses do a great job at suiting their characters personalities and the setting. The subtitles provided are of a good quality and like most of the ones done by NIS America, are very enjoyable to read (Might sound like a weird comment, but most NISA subs are fun to read at times).
For those who are interested in reading more about the Premium Edition packing (I know you do as it is the only version currently available of this series), then I put together an article on it a few weeks back that can be viewed at the following link HERE. But to summarize the packaging in a few words… it lives up to the standard of packaging set by NIS America for their anime collections. Whilst there is a nice set of physical extras such as the artbook and both Blu-ray and DVD versions of the first six episodes (Don’t forget, the Blu-ray versions will not play on most Australian Blu-ray Players) – there is only a clean opening and the six clean ending sequences included on the disc which is a little disappointing.
To conclude with my personal opinion, sure the storyline was a bit generic and repetitive at points, but out of the couple of series I have watched with a similar storylines, I do think that this series takes the cake as the most memorable. Even if the storyline doesn’t win you over, you are sure to appreciate the unique graphical techniques used in the animation and the enjoyable soundtrack.
Final Score
Storyline/Character Development: C+
Design: A
OP/ED Sequences: B
Music/Voice Acting: B+
Packaging/Extras: B+
Personal Opinion: B
Overall Score: B
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