(L) Sword of the Stranger - Mukoh Hadan

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by duckroll

Why not? They've done so in the past.

Yeah that's true --- for some reason i forgot that the french get anything and everything to do with the anime releases these days.

Also, is this being moved to the fansub section?

[ichobi]

Yes, heard of this from a blog sometimes ago. Didn't know it was this great.
Truly masterpiece. Epic. The word won't do anymore. It's a must watch. Awesome voice acting.


However, with the last scene....

Spoiler:

Wonder though why they show the blood drip at the last scene. Make me wonder if Nanashi would be alright though he said the wound wasn't bad.

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by ichobi

However, with the last scene....

Spoiler:

Wonder though why they show the blood drip at the last scene. Make me wonder if Nanashi would be alright though he said the wound wasn't bad.

Spoiler:

I had a thought after that scene that he may die quite soon after, though then again they were probably heading towards a city or something so he could get that checked out.

He'll probably be just fine though. Just showing what he just went through in that battle.

[DonQuigleone]

Good movie, the plot was little thin, but the fights were awesome. I thought it dragged a little in the middle. I wonder why it wasn't as succesful in Japan? Is Jidaigeki unpopular these days?

[KholdStare]

Originally Posted by donquigleone

Good movie, the plot was little thin, but the fights were awesome. I thought it dragged a little in the middle. I wonder why it wasn't as succesful in Japan? Is Jidaigeki unpopular these days?

That basically summarized the semi-long review I wrote on MAL. The reason why it's unpopular is maybe because the plot was a little thin and it dragged in the middle:

Spoiler for Review:

Pros:
-Best sword fight ever probably, but just a bit unrealistic.
-Excellent ending, and I mean the final scene.
-Several key events are not predictable.
-Good character interaction, especially with the dog.

Cons:
-Story...bad. The middle was too predictable and confusing, more than it should be.
-The storyline is too cliché...random expert fighter meets young, helpless boy, who is somehow the key ingredient to something magical.
-Too many people die. When you try to be unique, you don't have to go to the other extreme.
-Music was inconsistent. For the first 2/3 of the movie, there was literally no background music. For the second 1/3, it played the same melody over and over again--a good melody, but the only melody.
-Too many deus ex machina. Two people are having a fight then someone gets shot, okay. At the end, I don't like the "let's have a fair fight" thing; it kills the climax. There are many ways to initiate a good sword fight, and killing your own comrade isn't one of them.
-Poor coordination. There were what, one sword fight? The plot makes Nanashi unable to draw his sword until the very end, but except from the beginning fight against the guy with the whip, every other fight was uneventful. The story was too drawn out without equal development of the characters, especially the people leading the attempted charge. Most of the story was focused on these people in red but did not develop them. They're obviously powerful, but aside from the different weapons they use, they're the same people.

So basically, it is a story with several good moments and memorable moments, most of them with the dog, but the plot is disconnected and the story makes little sense. It was still somewhat enjoyable and the ending makes up for it. 6/10, "Good."

Spoiler for My Rating Scale:

10: Masterpiece
9: Outstanding, memorable, and usually has some kind of personal impact
8: Excellent, meaningful, and often addictive. Ratings of 8 or higher are considered exceptionally good.
---
7: Very good. Most anime I enjoy goes here.
6: Good, enjoyable. Most anime I watch starts here.
5: Average, kept my interest somewhat, but nothing too memorable.
4: Below average, watching it feels like an obligation.
3: Very bad, but I only watched it due to obligation. (if finished)
2: Painful, why did I watch this at all? (if finished)
1: Nightmare beyond words. Thankfully I've never rated anything this low.

TV: 121, OVA: 31, Movies: 36, Specials: 7, Mean: 6.0, Difference: +0.0 from mean.

Note that this is a review, which means that it is a biased opinion with a partial rating. I'm not trying to offend anyone, but rather, this is my thoughts about the movie.

[DonQuigleone]

I pretty much agree with you, the animation and battle sequences themselves were fluid and as good as it gets, they could have improved the story though, doesn't Lone Wolf and Cub share a similiar premise? (Before anyone says anything I haven't seen it, just read a bit about it a while back.) Not to mention a lot of other action movies. I think they could have expanded on the character development of everyone and reduced the amount of time spent on Nanashi and the kid.

Also they should have put in a few more fights in the middle, for instance they could have actually shown the wooden sword fight between the Lord and Blond Haired Guy.

[Eclipze]

Originally Posted by donquigleone

Good movie, the plot was little thin, but the fights were awesome. I thought it dragged a little in the middle. I wonder why it wasn't as succesful in Japan? Is Jidaigeki unpopular these days?

Easy. No prior fan base. A pokemon movie can do well or even top the box office, does that mean that the story was A++ superb? Same goes for Bleach/Naruto movies.

Not many people actually appreciate animation that does not involve huge blasts of energy, fancy ninja techniques or giant mechs. Essentially, the downfall of being an original creation rather than an adaptation.

[Jiyuu]

Originally Posted by Shiroth

Spoiler:

I had a thought after that scene that he may die quite soon after, though then again they were probably heading towards a city or something so he could get that checked out.

He'll probably be just fine though. Just showing what he just went through in that battle.

Spoiler for :

for a moment i thought that meant he was dying but in the it just doesn't make sense..
if they bothered to show that the little green thing blocked the sword it would just not make sense to say that it didn't really..

but then again i still hope that the other foreign somehow lived XDDD

[Eric10301]

Not bad but a bit over rated imo. The action scenes were top notch though.

Spoiler for stranger:

I'd like to think the stranger lived, since it seems like one of those endings that allows the viewer to decide the ending on their own.

[SuperKnuckles]

I don't care if the plot is generic really, if it's done THIS well.

I'd imagine it'd be better fleshed out if it's a TV series, but for a movie with all the best visuals they can dish out. Just wow. I thought it was like a slightly more involved version of something like Afro Samurai, which also had pretty awesome animation.

Another plus for Naoki Sato. I heard the Precure/X/Eureka 7 style music a mile away. Awesome.

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by SuperKnuckles

Another plus for Naoki Sato. I heard the Precure/X/Eureka 7 style music a mile away. Awesome.

Yeah, i heard his Eureka Seven style quite a lot in this one. Especially towards the end.

A soundtrack i need to order at some point.

[kujoe]

Originally Posted by donquigleone

I pretty much agree with you, the animation and battle sequences themselves were fluid and as good as it gets, they could have improved the story though, doesn't Lone Wolf and Cub share a similiar premise? (Before anyone says anything I haven't seen it, just read a bit about it a while back.) Not to mention a lot of other action movies. I think they could have expanded on the character development of everyone and reduced the amount of time spent on Nanashi and the kid.

If anything, the character Nameless (Stranger) somewhat reminded me of the "Man with No Name", Clint Eastwood's role from A Fistful of Dollars, which in turn is said to be influenced by "Sanjuro", Toshiro Mifune's nameless character from Yojimbo.

[qtipbrit]

Originally Posted by SuperKnuckles

I'd imagine it'd be better fleshed out if it's a TV series, but for a movie with all the best visuals they can dish out. Just wow. I thought it was like a slightly more involved version of something like Afro Samurai, which also had pretty awesome animation.

Wouldn't we just have Bones' Rurouni Kenshin if it was a TV series?

The movie as a whole wasn't amazing, but the action scenes definitely were. The final swordfight was probably the most epic melee fight I've ever seen, and the entire last third or so was more catchy than Bleach's Soul Society arcs.

However, the story is a bit generic, but not overly so.

But still, a great watch overall.

EDIT: You know, this is one of the few anime I've highly regarded without having much depth or actual development.

[martino]

FYI, this title has been licensed on the 23rd by Bandai Entertainment (source AnimeOnDVD).

[SuperKnuckles]

Originally Posted by qtipbrit92

Wouldn't we just have Bones' Rurouni Kenshin if it was a TV series?

The movie as a whole wasn't amazing, but the action scenes definitely were. The final swordfight was probably the most epic melee fight I've ever seen, and the entire last third or so was more catchy than Bleach's Soul Society arcs.

However, the story is a bit generic, but not overly so.

But still, a great watch overall.

EDIT: You know, this is one of the few anime I've highly regarded without having much depth or actual development.

I think it's all saved by the weird Chinese Imperial ninjas. Even with the supernatural stuff, I thought it was overtly cliche. But just that it was done very well.

In a way, I think some shonen comparisons are apt. Because you don't always ask for the complicated plot twists from them anyway. And strangely to me, I have that kind of extra-suspension-of-disbelief with all the magical girl anime I follow.

[Tiberium Wolf]

Originally Posted by SuperKnuckles

I think it's all saved by the weird Chinese Imperial ninjas. Even with the supernatural stuff, I thought it was overtly cliche. But just that it was done very well.

In a way, I think some shonen comparisons are apt. Because you don't always ask for the complicated plot twists from them anyway. And strangely to me, I have that kind of extra-suspension-of-disbelief with all the magical girl anime I follow.

What supernatural stuff? There was none. It was pretty normal so it was cool the movie! The fighting was soooo detailed.

[SuperKnuckles]

You know, the whole 'calling immortals' and the Chinese Empire having such sway in a war-time Japan thing. And the physical feats can only be described as supernatural for me.

[orion]

It's also a theatrical release which means you're there to have fun and not watch "War and Peace" so being complicated would not be a good thing.

[Tiberium Wolf]

Originally Posted by SuperKnuckles

You know, the whole 'calling immortals' and the Chinese Empire having such sway in a war-time Japan thing. And the physical feats can only be described as supernatural for me.

I wouldn't call those supernatural. Supernatural would like other movies where we have mystical creatures, magic, etc.

[Shiroth]

Finally listening to the soundtrack. No surprise at all that this is classic Naoki Sato --- also listening the soundtrack a while after seeing the movie helps me remember all those amazing scenes. Not just the battle ones, though the interaction scenes between Nanashi and Kotarou.

Brilliant score. Sato at it again.