Review of Katanagatari

Katanagatari brilliant and ambitious, at once a 12-episode pun in prose, a light parody of shounen anime, and a playground for NISIOISIN to showcase wacky, off-the-wall dialogue. All of those peripherals, however, are only as strong as the central core of the story- that of two characters, on a year-long journey, who each episode attempt to acquire a special sword. Fortunately, this core is so unique, compelling, and genuinely touching that all the craziness you'd expect from NISIOISIN can complement it without ever overwhelming the narrative. Without exaggeration, the match of story and medium in Katanagatari (both novels, and the anime) is the bestmatch I have ever seen in any media. Each double-length episode (49 minutes) features one self-contained story covering one month of adventuring for our intrepid duo and was released, in real time, once a month. The bold choice to follow this calendar format, rather than split it into 24 22-minute episodes, absolutely elevates the viewing experience. As this story is about a quest- laid out in the first episode, and followed religiously throughout the show- the feeling of temporal progression, of accompanying our heroes across thousands of miles and hundreds of days, is absolutely necessary.

I love the animation of Katanagatari. It's stylistically abnormal- so is the show. Technically, it's very smooth, and the battle scenes are very compelling. Unlike NISIOISIN's Monogatari series, which is famously (perhaps infamously) presented in a very specific and stylized manner by studio Shaft, Katanagatari was produced by White Fox and is substantially less, uh, different. With that being said, it is still shot in an unusual manner, with more emphasis on camera verticality than seen in many other anime. The music is also perfect, with two great OPs, a re-run opening that's even better, and a banger soundtrack that is normally comic but can absolutely turn up the heat.

I cannot recommend Katanagatari enough. Some people may be put off by the fact that it's episodic, or that the battles (typically) aren't the focus , or that the eyes are drawn a bit differently from normal- but behind all that is an incredible achievement in storytelling. If you enjoy the Monogatari series, and haven't seen Katanagatari, drop whatever you're watching and start this. If you weren't crazy about the stylistic choices of the Monogatari series, this is more normal. If you've never read or watched a NISIOISIN production, this is a great starting point. However, by that time, you'll be torn to pieces.

Cheerio.