Katanagatari

Katanagatari Review

You know, I’m having a bit of trouble starting this little review. I mean, right around epsidoe 8 I had a whole beginning thing about how this show is one of those strange sub-genre shows that I really love, in this case it is a strange sword show, and I was going to use that to talk about my love of strange weapons, and how that ties back into anime and what I watch. But then the show ended, and it was just great. But it completely blew away anything I was going to use to start this. I mean, this is a good show. And the ending works so well. And well, I think I might be getting a bit ahead of myself.  This is Katanagatari.

 

Katanagatari is about a girl named Togami, a “strategian” for the Shogunate. She has decided that she will collect the 12 Deviant Blades for the Shogunate in order to bring herself further into his graces and raise her own standing. The 12 Deviant Blades are part of a set of 1000 swords created by a master sword smith and scattered through out Japan. A previous ruler had tried to collect all 1000, but was only able to collect 988 of them, all but the 12 Deviant Blades. Some say all 988 blades were just practice to make those 12 blades. So Togami has to find and collect these legendary swords. In order to do this she must find a companion, someone to fight off the current owners of the swords. The previous two had betrayed her for the swords, so she must find a new bodyguard. She does this in finding Shichika Yasuri. Shichika is the current head of a style of swordsmanship that does not use a sword, instead making the practitioner of the style into a sword themselves. They forge their bodies like a blade, and every one of there limbs can be used as a weapon. Togami wants Shichika to become her sword. She needs someone who won’t fight for money, or will fight for the honor of the sword itself, neither of which Shichika wants. Togami wants someone who will fight for her, and Shichika, after one meeting, falls for her. Thus begins there journey to find and obtain the 12 Deviant Blades.

Pictured 10 of the 12 Deviant blades, and their current owners.

Above is an incredibly brief description of the plot which I freely admit does not do it justice. The show itself is 12 hour long episodes, each episode highlighting and focusing on one of  the 12 Blades. Originally, the anime was shown once a month, every month for a whole year, reflecting on how each chapter of the story takes place one month after the last. I feel this would actually work for the story, but I watched the whole thing in about a month, so I can’t really say. With each episode being an hour long, you really get a feel for the characters that Togami and Shichika meet. Characters are where Katanagatari shine. Every owner of the swords are interesting and you want to get to know them more, know their hopes and dreams, and their story. And unfortunately we don’t always get to know the story of every single character, but I actually feel it is better that way. Because of that, there is room for interpretation, there is room for mystery, and it is actually more realistic. They know these people for maybe no longer then a week, for some longer for others shorter, but not a good amount of time for anyone. It makes sense that we don’t know everything about them, because the characters themselves don’t know everything about them. The best example of this would be the Maniwa Ninja Corps heads.

All of these characters are just exceptional.

The Maniwa Ninja Corps, also known as the Maniwani in the show, were one of the first groups that Togami worked with in order to get the blades, and was shortly betrayed by Komori Maniwa, who took one of the blades for the Maniwani as a whole. This is the first introduction of the 12 heads of the Maniwani, and later we learn about all 12. And they are fascinating! Each on of the 12 are complex yet they work together so well. Each of the 12 understand that what they are doing is for the betterment of their ninja community, that the whole is worth more then any individual. With this thinking, it is understandable that to think that they would be uncaring about the lives of their companions. But this isn’t the case. When the Maniwani start dropping like flies, you see how it effects them, you see how they understand that as ninja they are soldiers and the death is just something else they will all one day experience, but on the other hand you see how they want revenge for their friends, how the death of people they care about is hurting them. And you start agreeing with them. Sure, in the beginning they were just another form of obstacle, but they grew and became just another perfect part of the story. I actually think that some of the deaths of the Maniwani are some of the most heart wrenching moments in this show.

*Sniff* Why did they have to go! *Runs away and cries*

Katanagatari also likes to play with the expectations of its viewers. It changes up art style once in a while to give the current arc a different feel. Hell, they throw in a bunch of video game references in episode 7 in a fantastic way. But it is episode 4 where, well, this is going to go into extreme spoilers, so skip this paragraph if you don’t want to know. Alright, from episode one of Katanagatari Togami mentions one of the people that betrayed her for the one of the Deviant Blades is considered the best swordsman in Japan, and every so often in episodes 2 and 3 we cut to him traveling, fighting those who attack him, saving a woman, and showing off his skills. It honestly seems like they are setting him up as the end boss, an honorable battle between two incredibly strong swordsmen. But randomly at the end of episode 3, the preview for the next episode shows that this fight will be coming a lot closer then originally thought. And holy zombie Jesus, did that preview promise the fight of the century. We see Shichika and Togami traveling by boat, when their boat, and the body of water underneath it, gets cut in half, like Moses with a sword. The fight looks insane, with an island being destroyed, and Shichika running vertical up crashing rocks. And the best part is that a shark gets cut in half. I repeat, a shark gets cut in half! It was insane, and I was truly expecting it to be the best episode of the series. And then guess what happens? The whole episode turns out to be about Shichika’s sister, a monster of a girl who cannot be defeated, and three of the Maniwani who are sent to kidnap her and use her as leverage against Shichika to get the swords. You really get to know the Maniwani that die, and you feel terrible when they die. One of them was even going to get married after this last job! They just explore these four characters, and it turns into such a good episode. And it ends with Shichika and Togami talking about the epic fight they just had, and how no fight will ever compare with it, just to rub it in a little bit. This was suppose to be the end fight, the last boss, and instead we get an exceptional episode exploring really interesting characters, and some pretty good fight scenes out of it anyway. This episode represents the series as a whole, going against expectations and delivering even more the promised. 

Man these guys look look main characters right? Right? Guys?

 Katanagatari is probably one of the best shows I’ve seen this year. It combined a distinct art style with an interesting take on a standard (albeit still fun) plot, and filled a world with very interesting characters. My only real complaint would be the ending, and that would be a minor complaint at most. I feel the show could have gone on for another episode, and there were parts of the ending that I feel need a bit reworking, but it still worked and I don’t want to go into it because it is honestly something you should see for yourself. I recommend it for anyone who likes good sword and samurai stories, for people who like good action peaces, and just for anybody who likes good anime in general. So until next time, have fun watching. Cheerio!

Cheerio indeed my friends, Cheerio indeed.