Review of Katanagatari

Anime these days tend to lack a key ingredient, that could very well make or break the series. No, it's not fan-service, nor is it a kick-ass OP theme. It's depth. Katanagatari, or "Sword Story" strayed from what is now the norm in Anime, and managed to create a masterpiece. Of course, some may not see Katanagatari in such a way, but one should also stop to consider that you don't need hot anime girls to make a series interesting. STORY - 9 At first the story would seem like your average "collect all the weapons". And for the earlier part, it would seem so. However,as the story progresses, the story gets deeper and deeper. It baits you in with a promising start, and build that up as you go. Be ready for a lot of twists, comedy, some romance, and some epic fight scenes.

On a side note, being based on a light novel series, this story is very dialogue heavy. Think along the lines of Bakemonogatari, or even Spice and Wolf. Saying this, the conversations are not boring at all.

ART - 9

The art for Katanagatari very unique. The characters are really fresh to look at, and the scenery is superb. The art is also very consistent all through out 12 episodes (which were released a month apart from each other) so yeah.

I don't believe there was a moment that the art disappointed me. The movements were very fluid and well drawn.

SOUND - 9

The OST for Katanagatari is basically...badass. We've got mellow tones, to fast paced music, all used to match the scenes mood.There was never an out of place score in it. A special mention here is the track they use in a majority of the fights, it sets up the mood really well. If you want, you can try to hear it for yourself. Just look up Bahasa Palus.

Voice acting was great. They conveyed emotions very well, and trust me...there's a lot of emotion here.

CHARACTER - 10

I believe this is what makes this show what it is. The main cast are all very unique individually. We've got an expert strategist, partnered to a swordless swordsman (right?) fighting with professional Ninjas and what not. It's a wide and very colorful cast.

Character development is done very well, as we see the main character, really mature within those twelve episodes.

ENJOYMENT - 10

Although I don't prefer the"one episode per month" in anime, I didn't mind it on Katanagatari. It gave me something to look forward to. And it never disappointed me.

Every episodes has it's laughs every now and then, but it also manages to mix it up with it's seriousness at times. It's a perfect balance really.

OVERALL - 9

Katanagatari is one of those anime that's easy to overlook, but hard to forget as well, truly a hidden gem for some.

If one were to give it a chance, I'm very positive, they will not regret it.