Review of Katanagatari

What can begin, can end. Katanagatari is a truly unique piece of storytelling. From the outset the art style jumps out at you as being unorthodox, which fits the series justly. But Katanagatari is more than unorthodox, it's unorthodox done well. Just because I may not have liked elements of it's story, it's personality or it's conclusions, I couldn't possibly fault it. Just as sometimes you may despise the villain in a movie, if it weren't for that villain's existence, the protagonist couldn't shine so bright. Such is Katanagatari. It itself depicts and builds upon this principle of discomfort so masterfully that in the end, whetheryou liked it or not, you can't help but appreciate it.

That being said, the journey is the most important part of an adventure. You may reach the end at some point, but it's not about obtaining your goal, it's about what went into obtaining your goal that matters. Katanagatari is a tale of swords. Collecting swords, wielding swords and even being swords. And if/when you watch it, reflect on this notion that Katanagatari approaches storytelling like a sword. It is emotionless, but can play with emotions. It is comical, but doesn't need to laugh. Sorry if this all sounds like some sort of superfluous mumbo jumbo but it's very interesting to reflect on the story as if it were itself a sword. One swing, and you follow it's path. It ends it's swing with it's original intent in mind, nothing else. No matter what it may encounter during it's swing, it will finish it with it's goal in mind.

That out of the way, the story of Katanagatari was well-founded and intriguing. The characters really brought to life the progression through their journey. This is an interesting point to consider as Katanagatari is fairly episodic. There is of course reference to past episodes every now and then, but for the most part watching an episode out of order wouldn't be particularly disturbing. If there was anything I could fault the story on, it would be dialogue. Katanagatari is extremely dialogue-heavy, which seems rather strange considering it's the story of swords. This heavy dialogue, coupled with longer episodes (45 minutes/epi) can sometimes leave you feeling a bit fatigued mentally, but nonetheless engrossed. A word to the wise though, if you aren't one for lengthy, uninterrupted conversations, this may not be the anime for you.

Visually Katanagatari is stunning. The animation style is unique and intriguing, albeit initially somewhat off-putting to some. It doesn't take long to start to really appreciate the style, nor the incredibly well-done animation. That being said, much of Katanagatari is* dialogue, and as such much of the episode is done with still-frames and perhaps a mouth moving up and down. But when action breaks out, and it always does, it's visually stunning and extremely well done. Movements are fluid and purposeful and the fight-scene animation remedies any drowsiness you may have felt from the dialogue earlier. Admittedly it's most of what you'll remember after the episode anyways, and if it weren't for me pointing this out now, you may have been surprised upon re-watching this series to see just how little action each episode contains. Nonetheless, animation, amazing.

The score for Katanagatari is wonderful. The music is suspenseful when it needs to be, and drives the mood of each and every scene. And that is by definition, a well-produced soundtrack. The voice-casting is also very well done. Shichika in particular really stands out, as being a blank slate upon which experience is carved. And as the show progresses, his voice reflects his newfound confidence and purpose. And it's fortunate the voice-acting is so well done, because as I've mentioned numerous times now, with such a dialogue-heavy show, it needed to be.

Katanagatari is somewhat episodic. This aspect of the show leaves character development in between a rock and a hard place. However, to say it's entirely episodic is incorrect. I would say it's more like the show can be viewed as episodic groupings. Through the course of the show though, the mounds of experience Shichika ascertains genuinely builds his character, and it's an interesting progression. Togame, being much more experienced from the start, has nowhere near as much to learn. Though she too develops alongside Shichika to an extent, for obvious reasons. More importantly, the characters in this show are just appealing. Each of them, from Shichika to Togame, from the Maniwani to Princess Hitei, has something about them that just works. This definition of character and personality, rather than it's development, really stands out in my mind.

Overall, I really enjoyed Katanagatari. In particular I rather enjoyed the ending. I wish more anime could end like Katanagatari. That's not to say all anime should, but it is extremely refreshing to watch something where your core is shaken up and tossed aside, and you're left just appreciating things for what they are rather than what you want them to be. These sorts of anime, and indeed plots as a whole, leave the greatest impact upon the viewer. And because of that, I think Katanagatari may go down as one of the best animes I've ever seen.

I can't really say much more without spoiling anything, but Katanagatari is an experience I would recommend.

Cheers
~Marquis