Sword of the Stranger is highly unnoticed film here on IMDb and only has around 4 thousand people who have voted for it. This Anime deserves to be recognized for its beautiful animation, its characters, for its music and soundtrack, and for the good film that is. It is just the perfect length, around 1 hr and 40 mins, and it is fun the whole way throughout. The director Masahiro Ando has previously worked on Animes such as Cowboy Bepop and Ghost in the Shell and this time he has crafted an impressive and stylish anime with lots of dedication.
A young boy and his dog find themselves the target of the Ming: a foreign dynasty that will stop at nothing. One day, a quiet and solemn warrior crosses their path, and becomes irrevocably connected with the two. A deal is struck and the warrior agrees to take the boy to a remote, Buddhist temple, where a kind monk is waiting to care for him and the dog. Unfortunately, the Ming have sent their elite, and they will test their strength, courage, and quality every step of the way.
First off I want to say is that one of the things that really struck me about this anime was the amazing soundtrack. The music really comes to life during the battle scenes and the incorporation of drums, like in the beginning sequence, just alleviates the action even more and gives it that awesome feeling. Whoever composed the music should be proud of themselves. The story isn't really original and is kind-of stereotypical but its numerous characters really make this a different kind of anime to watch. The characters are really well done and they also look great as well. One of the main faults is that the story could've been a bit more original but it didn't really affect the viewing experience for me.
To all those who call themselves Anime freaks, they should be ashamed if they haven't already watched this. It doesn't matter if you like anime or not because this film breaks those boundaries and offers a marvelous anime with lots of heart. A really good film! 8/10
'Over and out.' 16 April 2012
A young boy and his dog find themselves the target of the Ming: a foreign dynasty that will stop at nothing. One day, a quiet and solemn warrior crosses their path, and becomes irrevocably connected with the two. A deal is struck and the warrior agrees to take the boy to a remote, Buddhist temple, where a kind monk is waiting to care for him and the dog. Unfortunately, the Ming have sent their elite, and they will test their strength, courage, and quality every step of the way.
First off I want to say is that one of the things that really struck me about this anime was the amazing soundtrack. The music really comes to life during the battle scenes and the incorporation of drums, like in the beginning sequence, just alleviates the action even more and gives it that awesome feeling. Whoever composed the music should be proud of themselves. The story isn't really original and is kind-of stereotypical but its numerous characters really make this a different kind of anime to watch. The characters are really well done and they also look great as well. One of the main faults is that the story could've been a bit more original but it didn't really affect the viewing experience for me.
To all those who call themselves Anime freaks, they should be ashamed if they haven't already watched this. It doesn't matter if you like anime or not because this film breaks those boundaries and offers a marvelous anime with lots of heart. A really good film! 8/10
'Over and out.' 16 April 2012
