Review of Katanagatari

Katanagatari follows two unlikely lovers on an ill-fated quest to assemble notorious swords. The art style chosen put me off at first. That didn't last though. It quickly becomes part of a sophisticated aesthetic, though the very first fight with a Maniwa and the general incompetence of the Maniwa throughout does tarnish the aesthetic at times. Even for the Maniwa scenes though, the colors chosen for characters are bold contrasts that work well - the environments are varied and surreal. Add that to the consistent wit and sophistication of the dialogue, and if nothing else Katanagatari is supremely watchable. What pulls it all together and allowsthe fairly gripping story to flow is the art direction. My favorite aspect of the skill on display in that area is the dialogue that takes place between Togame "the strategian" and her sword, Yasuri Shichika, behind closed doors. Depicted with increasing frequency are increasingly intimate scenarios between the two, allowing for whoever it was on the art team that is so skilled at drawing couples doing couple things to really shine and sell the growing bond between them. Exposition is generally compressed into these scenes, and it helps the overall flow of each episode tremendously.

I don't think the themes explored as they encounter and overcome the masters of the 12 deviant blades are particularly deep, and to their credit they were not sold as such. Each sword has a thing, and each master of each sword has a thing or two that plays off the sword's thing and makes them sympathetic. Occasionally, there is a twist on that structure - but in general it's one big lesson/event/reveal per sword, one sword per episode, and a pile of corpses on top. Again, the art direction - impeccable! It is compelling and satisfying to absorb.

For me, the thing that sets Katanagatari apart and allows me to forgive it's flaws *cough cough* Maniwa fodder lol *cough cough* is the ending before the ending. While I appreacited the final form of our human sword protagonist putting on a show - and even the upbeat ending after the ending where he scandalously absconds with you known who - really it was the event that kicked it all off that I felt best captured and tied together the various themes that came up on Togame and Shichika's journey. I tried not to spoil it directly just now, but you'll probably guess and I don't want you to so this section is labeled SPOILER and it will absolutely ruin the show. I've said enough up to this point about why I think it's worth a watch, and absolutely do recommend you watch it.

*****SPOILERS - WILL RUIN DON'T READ******

Okay, so you know who dies. What a great death scene, I didn't think they were going to pull the trigger, haha... sorry. Unfortunately, I have huge issues with the logical black hole that was introduced here - it made no sense that Princess Hitei would order the assasination, then meet with the Shogun, then end up spared by the "final form of the perfected deviant blades" or whatever dumb thing we're calling the guy - just because she "didn't... dislike her." Bro... she killed her. You just killed everyone else in the world just moments ago for that crime? But she lives. If you can't be with the one you love, love the one that killed her. I appreciate the whole "we choose who we love even if their dad killed my dad" thing - but sometimes we go too far.

So the great strategian is no more, and because she was shot in the gut she gets a solid set of speeches in while Shichika expresses significantly more emotion and dismay than he did when he ran his sister through with his bare hand - bordering on full-Naruto boy-screeching about "Why!? WHY!?!". Wasn't great for this character, but Togame's lines made up for it.

She mentions all her feelings including those toward Shichika were pawns on the board, all serving her ambition - yet they are real. She'd meant to, or believed she would have killed Shichika once they had collected the swords despite telling him she would need him by her side afterwards. Playing the piece on the board that was her genuine desire to be with him to fool and betray him in the end. But it's not very convincing given her final order to forget all they had done and move on, or the way she describes her hapiness that he can be free of her manipulations at last and live as he chooses. Further, just in the delivery - it is clear she feels relief that SHE can be free of her own nature at last, the nature that would play their love for a pawn. The voice actor and the script she is reading are both magnificent here. Earlier in the series at least two times we are shown the flashback scene where Togame witnesses her father's assasination and her hair turns white and her eye is scarred - the scarred eye becomes a motif that connects her schemes to that event. That scene is animated beautifully, and we see a child consumed in fire and forever marked by that trauma - only in death can she be free of its grip on her life. What she reflects on at death's door is entirely focused on what her life's purpose denied her, what she is grateful for is a random side effect of what that purpose led her to do - and yet she believes there is no changing that purpose and were she not to die she would serve it still.

I found it a moving self-reflection and comment on how little control we can have over our lives when they are touched by the brutality and scale of historical conflict. Wonderful way to wrap up a complex character and clost out the story, also ties in with the modus operandi of several other characters including the swordsmith. In the end, the answer of the Kyotou-ryuu style is to smash all deviant blades representing reasons and methods for fighting past, present, and future and just... run away with the blonde LOL.