Review of Katanagatari

"I have just come to a realization! This scroll by Broken Sword contains no secrets of his swordsmanship. What this reveals is his highest ideal. In the first state, man and sword become one..." - King of Qin, Hero I originally stumbled upon this anime thinking it was a continuation of the Monogatari series. It's not. But it's a great show nonetheless. What wowed me about this show was its pacing. Katanagatari is easily one of the most well-paced animes I've ever seen, and the pacing reminds me a lot of BBC's Sherlock series. Each of the 45-minute episodes are like a mini-movie, leaving very littlein terms of cliff-hangers, yet keeps you wanting more, if and when you have time. For me, it made for a good series to relax and watch with my girlfriend on the weekends of my hectic whirlwind lifestyle.

So why did I choose to start with a quote from an obscure 2002 Jet Li movie? Well, the one thing that probably caused Katanagatari's score to drop a few points for a lot of people was its ending, which undoubtedly left 90~% of viewers confused and angry. So, I decided to take a metaphorical stab at an explanation (for which I will enlist the help of this obscure 2002 Jet Li movie) that will hopefully shed some light on the true meaning behind Katanagatari, and help you reach a more fulfilling understanding of what the heck you just watched. However, as my explanation contains light spoilers, I will leave it at the end of my review for you to read after you've already finished the series.

Now, for the review:

- Story (8/10) -

The story of Katanagatari is both very straightforward and somehow wildy unpredictable. It follows a rinse and repeat cycle where our heroes, Togame (a delicate strategist) and Shichika (an emotionless jungle boy), face off against an enemy with a powerful and unique weapon, find some way to defeat them, and subsequently take their weapon. It may sound dull and repetitive, but the show does a great job of keeping things fresh with cute/clever interactions between Togame and Shichika, who are superstar characters in their own rights, but I'll get to that in a bit. The only thing the story is lacking is depth behind each character's motivations. Togame is collecting swords for the Shogunate, which is the enemy of her loving deceased father, while Shichika is there because... I have no clue. He claims it's because he fell in love at first sight with Togame, but his attraction is rather platonic. I think the real reason was because he was bored. That's not to say their relationship seems fake. Katanagatari doesn't pull love out of thin air like some animes do (*cough* Angel Beats!). While the relationship between Togame and Shichika starts off a little suspicious, and the show doesn't try to hide the fact that Shichika comes off as this asexual weirdo, it develops into something that seems very real by the time we get to the closing credits. Throughout their travels, Shichika undergoes a very subtle transformation from emo-jungle-boy to fun-loving prankster that's shown in the way he interacts and teases Togame. It's all done in a Flowers for Algernon kind of way, meaning the narrator doesn't have to tell us that Shichika and Togame are changing, it's just obvious. It's really refreshing to see an anime that shows us things rather than tells us what to think, wouldn't you agree? (NOD YOUR HEAD) But still, the initial motivations behind each character's actions leaves a lot viewers scratching their heads. This, of course, is compounded by the problems people have with the ending. It's not just Shichika and Togame either. All of the characters have a tendency to act in unpredictable and senseless ways, from Hou-oh, a beloved clan leader randomly decapitating his dear disciple to Shichika's sister running around killing people for no reason. None of their motivations seem to make any sense. But motivations aside, it still gets an 8 out of 10 for it's combination of fun-filled subplots, clever battle sequences, and colorful cast of characters.

- Art (9/10) -

Have you ever watch an episode of an action anime and thought, why is there no fighting in this episode? Well, Katanagatari never has this problem. There's fighting in every episode. And while the fighting is not flashy (or forced for that matter), it is very well drawn and sensibly creative. The style is not detailed, except with some of the scenery, and the artist takes liberties with the shape of human bodies and faces, but it's all still very cool looking. It all reminds me a LOT of Gurren Laggan. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it fits well with the style of the anime as a whole. There are two weird things about the artwork that might annoy some people. First, like the artist for Gurren Lagann, this artist doesn't like to draw normal looking eyes. I don't mean having something like the Sharingan of Naruto canon, that's actually connected the story. I mean some characters will just randomly have pentagons for eyes, because why not? And second, the art style changes slightly after the first few episodes (the lines get noticeably thinner). I don't know if this is to show aging (older characters are typically given lighter lines in anime), but it's all made very obvious during flashbacks. But if you can disregard those two things, I'm sure you'll find the graphics as entertaining as I did.

- Sound (9/10) -

The opening/closing and the music in general fit well with the anime. That's really all I can say about that. The background music has a modern/Sengoku style to it that reminds me a bit of Samurai Champloo, but more Sengoku and less modern than Samurai Champloo (there's very little rap). And obviously, it's by a different composer (RIP Jun Seba). Actually, I think the opening is by the same band that did the Monogatari series. Anyways, it's all very good. The intros/outros are memorable, although neither of them really wowed me. The voice acting was underrated as well. However, I've only seen the sub.

- Characters (9/10) -

The characters are probably the best thing about this show. The main characters, Togame and Shichika are both very distinct and clever. Neither of them fall entirely within any anime cliche. The repertoire between them is great, and they both have some very memorable lines. The development of the characters is relatable as the pair try to find meaning behind why they fight, what it is they're searching for, and what they really want out of life. The side characters are also very interesting. All of the enemies are unique and interesting. In fact, even the guys who only get 10 seconds of screen time are interesting. I'm going to say "interesting" one more time for emphasis, just in case you didn't catch the first 30 times I said it. They all have fun quirks about them, and none of them really came off as annoying. One good example of this is the Maniwa Corps, a group of ninjas that are sort of like what Team Rocket is for Ash and Company on Pokemon, but way cooler. The difference is that while Team Rocket is made up almost entirely of storm troopers clones, every single of one of the 12 (14?) Maniwa members are unique. About 5 seconds ago (or 10-30 seconds depending on how fast you read), I mentioned that none of them come off as annoying. Well, that's not entirely true. The fact that their motivations often fail the logic test, as I mentioned earlier, can come off a bit annoying at times. But even this does little to make them full blown annoying characters. Even Hou-oh, who I mentioned briefly earlier as acting out of random uncharacteristic impulse, turned out to be one of my favorite anime side characters in a long time. Basically what I'm trying to say is that the characters have minor annoying tendencies, but the core that makes them who they are is solid, and will keep you invested in them.

- Enjoyment (10/10)

Memorable dialogue? Check. Fun scenarios? Check. Colorful characters? Check. Fulfilling story? Check. Top-notch pacing? Check. Meaningful fight scenes? Check. A spattering of fan service here and there? Ding Ding Ding. We have a winner.

Overall: 9/10

Its not the greatest show I've ever seen. But it's definitely worth the watch. I honestly believe it would be rated a lot higher if people weren't so upset with the ending. To cure that, I've decided to write an explanation. So if you haven't yet finished the show, PLEASE STOP READING HERE. If you have finished the 12 episode series, here's my take on what the ending was about...

(Warning: Light Spoilers)

Katanagatari (or Story of the Sword), taken as a whole, is about the falsification and course-correction of history. So it only makes sense that the first question we should ask is what part of history was corrected and what part was falsified?

Let's start with what was falsified. The subject matter behind this story is China, not Japan. And Shichika is an anime-parallel of Jing Ke. Name sound familiar? If so, either you're a history buff or you've watched too many Jet Li movies. Jing Ke, as some of you may know, is the main character of the 2002 Jet Li movie, "Hero" (although in the movie, he's known as "nameless"). And the history that is course-corrected is Jing Ke failed assassination of Ying Zheng, the King of Qin, and the man who would later become China's first Emperor. (the name Shichika in Japanese means "seven," which could refer to the seven warring nations of Han before they were united under Ying Zheng) He's also the one who ordered the eventual construction of the great wall of China to fend China off from foreign invaders, which the anime briefly mentions. The legend goes, Jing Ke earned an audience with Zheng upon presenting him with a present - the 12 broken swords of his greatest enemies. But in the end, Jing Ke failed because of two critical mistakes. First, he was paralyzed with fear for both himself and his loved ones at the sight of the King, and second, he was too slow in retrieving the poisoned dagger he hid in the scroll he presented to the King.

Now that the stage is set, let's move on to course-correction. While it's true that Emperor Zheng built the great wall, he was actually hated in China. The construction of the great wall cost the lives of millions, and Zheng was remembered as being a ruthless coward. And so peering into the future, Kiki Shikizaki (and his descendant Princess Hitei) attempted to course-correct Jing Ke's failed assassination by getting rid of his two weaknesses - his human heart, and his need of a weapon. And so he taught Ke's ancestor the Kyotouryuu and created the deviant blades as a condition precedent for Ke's meeting with Zheng. Lastly, by killing Togame, the love of his life (who's name in Japanese means "Blame" as in the one to blame for countless deaths), Princess Hitei fulfilled her ancestor's goal in getting rid of Jing Ke's second weakness, and turning him into a perfected weapon, without residual attachment to the world. This allowed him to overcome his fears, and even go as far as to wish for death. And so all the blood shed would not be in vain and millions of lives are saved from the clutches of China's first tyrant. Of course, this would mean that Zheng could no longer build the great wall to protect China from invaders, to which Shichika replies (and I'm paraphrasing) - we'll just have to trust the heroes of the future to tear them to pieces.

Ok, so that should explain what happened. I may be wrong, but at the very least, it gives you a basis for understanding the theme of this story. By focusing on what could have happened (history), rather than what did happen (anime), the ending should hold a bit more weight. The story doesn't do that, it really couldn't. That was something that had to be left to the viewer. Another thing that probably upset people is how Shichika ends up with Hitei. Well, that's something you have to look at in context of the overarching theme of the anime - the falsification of history. History is written by the victor. Now ask yourself who you think the narrator of the story is. It could only be one person. And once you've figured that out, things should become clearer. History is written by the victor, and in this case a victor with a penchant for falsifying history. Is it not possible that the ending was a lie too? Call it a narrator's wishful thinking, if you must. Hopefully, you were able to figure out what I meant. I can't solve all your riddles for you. It would take too long. And by then, I will have already torn you all to pieces. Cheerio!