Muramasa is, in my opinion, an anime which is underrated and certainly requires reexamination. While it might not have stood out for some reason or the other, to me (a person who finds himself appreciating and has recommended this anime alongside Shigurui) it certainly holds strong and for some interesting reasons. As a story, its actually bare boned - the synopsis itself is a bit of a spoiler on its own, hence watch it without actually reading what the anime's story is (or blackout as soon as you start seeing it). In itself, the story was in my opinion, something which could be considered straight fromJapanese folklore and certainly from the samurai age. It has all the aspects covered in that respect.

What makes this anime standout is its use of art, sound and character. Even if the art is very low-budget and lacks the fluidity expected of anime from the eighties (Akira, for instance), this anime delivers on the grounds that the characters - without having a single dialogue - represent their emotions and moods through well drawn features. Interestingly, there is no blood which is actually shown in this anime - and the way it handles the reason for why it doesn't show blood is unique and actually made sense to me. Combining the art with a slow, brooding, Japanese centric sound that is haunting, stirring and worthy of a cringe on the back, both the art and the sound bring out the character's dilemma as the story progresses. In fact, without one dialogue, we have all aspects of the tale - the beginning, the protagonist's struggle, the climax, and the conclusion - all covered, in record time, and with a conclusive resonance that lasts even after the anime has ended. And the art and sound give this a high rewatch value, for the reason that its art is quite good, if not well animated.

Muramasa is an 80s classic short film which is underrated - especially to those who have a liking for Shigurui, this is certainly a phenomenal short film which carries itself really well.