Sword of the Stranger - Mukoh Hadan
 

I'm sure some of you remember way back there was mention of a BONES project named Mukoh Hadan? Well after having completely disappeared off the face of the planet, it seems that it actually...well, does exist.

Apparently Mukoh Hadan has reappaered as a Fall 2007 release, with the additional title of "Stranger" (ストレンヂア －無皇刃譚－) and is set to be directed by Masahiro Ando


You can find the entry for it towards the bottom of http://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/

all credit goes to Manuloz from his forum for unearthing this bit of information, simply by luck it seems.

edit: For more confirmation, Stranger is mentioned in this news post on BONES site as being part of a special program that airs next week. Link

BONESSSS!!!!

The pilot trailer of Mukoh Hadan was at the Tokyo Anime Fair back in 2003, but it's a pity no one actually captured it back then. I suspect they've been trying to find a financial backer for the movie for a while now and only recently managed to get production going.

It's kinda ironic though, when Ayakashi Ayashi was announced I was convinced that it was an evolution of Mukoh-Hadan after the original concept failed to take off. Now with Ayakashi facing the chopping block this April, suddenly this gets announced again! Coincidence? Or..... :D

Wow.. this is still alive?!?

Amazing. I remember waiting for Mukoh Hadan back in the days around Wolf's Rain...

Wha... this is still alive! I'm shocked. And the fact taht BONES mentions it on their own site/diary thing also makes it rather hard to ignore.

Well, they promise it to be the best "chambara" (swordfighting) animation ever seen in a period show.

Hope there's some plot or something holding the story together or that if it doesn't, that it doesn't take itself too seriously. Either way - looking forward to information on this on the 2nd of March.

You know, I just realized. From the time of the pilot trailer showing at TAF 2003 until it's out in the cinemas in Fall 2007... It would have been announced for about 4.5 years before release. It better be worth the wait! :D

If they say that I have to believe them cause they are one of the best when it comes to animation and fighting scenes. I really hope it'll be as good as Rurouni Kenshin OVA's.
Story:
A man without his name or past saves a boy - a boy he was ordered to kill. They go on a journey together to unravel the mysteries surrounding the boy and the man's lost memories. In the meantime, they must survive through incessant waves of assassins fiercely after their lives. Their deadly struggle for self-identity begins now!

Isn't original at all though.

Sounds like Lone Wolf and Cub meets Rurouni Kenshin OVA.

This month's Newytpe has a more detailed staff list for this movie. :D

Original Work: BONES
Director: Masahiro Ando
Script: Fumihiko Takayama
Character Design: Tsunenori SAITO
Animation Director: Yoshiyuki Itou
Art Design: Shiho Takeuchi
Music: Naoki Satou

Cool, did it have any pics?

Could this be from Mukoh Hadan? Pics look like BONES style to me.

It's times like these I wish I knew Korean. Are those? They could jolly well be...

Anyway, I was just browsing Manuloz's excellent forums and voila! A (small) picture we can definitely link to Mukoh-Hadan! Scroll to the bottom of this: http://www.manganimation.net/bbs/vie...=44&action=new

What's written there apart from the Bones-pimping is exactly the same as what Haohmaru wrote up there, I believe.

Nah, those are for a series premiering this Spring.

Indeed; those are for Koutetsu Sangokushi (TV Tokyo show).

Man, BONES is a total failure now. Other than FujiTV trying to pimp their Skull Man series and Aniplex trying to make Darker than BLACK a success, they had NOTHING at TAF. Their own booth was an abandoned corner with no staff and no one giving anything out. There were chairs but no one was sitting, and the walls of the booth are lined with posters and art of their former glory. The only thing they have for their upcoming film is a poster, no trailer, no info, nothing. :(

http://img169.imagevenue.com/loc523/..._122_523lo.jpg http://img175.imagevenue.com/loc575/..._122_575lo.jpg

Yeah, I saw a picture on their DtB blog - Minami-shachou was just sort of pathetically sitting there and it was just a small little booth...

I had thought they were pumping DtB but like you said it looks like more of Aniplex (and @Nifty's?) work. I don't know, it's like lately Bones doesn't have much reason to be self-confident after all the flaming they got for Eureka Seven, and Ayakashi Ayashi's relatively embarassing failure.

Let's hope things get better for them, I like them as a studio... :(

At any rate, that's a nice poster. I like the logo design (although why they must use ヂ is beyond me)
But - roadshow this autumn? And yet pretty much nobody's heard of it... do they intend to take fans by surprise or something, I wonder.

Here a short trailer (sorry for the quality, but I couldn't find anything better:heh: ).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1znzCEwKqlQ

From what I can see, It reminds me vaguely Samurai Champloo fighting style.

Well, I'm no bushi expert.. But I think that while Samurai Champloo influenced this series, Stranger seems to be a little more 'realistic,' much like they imply.

Samurai Champloo was more about "Let's see how cool we can make this look." Stranger on the other hand feels very much "Let's see how we can do samurai-combat justice." If memory serves, bushi [or samurai if you prefer] did not spin around on their backs, and considering how fragile the katana is did not go about clashing swords. So, the fact that I see more fluid movement and someone 'on the run' makes me happy.

So.. My impression was: "zmgrealizm!"

Has anyone managed to dig up some sort of plot for this? I feel like I remember reading one but I'm not sure. All considering, it feels like Bones has been kind of failing to deliver on a solid plot these days. I haven't been keeping up with Ayakashi though.

http://www.stranja.jp/

Official site is up.

The trailer reminds me of an updated version of Kawajiri's "Jubei Ninpucho"

Some new screen captures have been uploaded to this Japanese anime news site, along with more info.

Apparently, the film is 100 mins long. The good news is that it seems to be a real historic drama with no supernatural monsters getting in the way.

There is an explanation of what 'Mukoh Hadan' in the title means: It means that one does not wish for a king (皇/王), nor does one wish to become the king - one simply lives by one's sword.

Too bad there aren't more pics. Those are just pics from the little trailer that has been out for a while now.
I read that there was going to be a special screening. Did that happen already? Any reviews, summary's?

Character designs http://ruliweb.empas.com/ruliboard/r...b_news&main=hb