This anime is quite unlike most of the martial arts animes, since this is pure fighting. No magic, no energy thingys, etc.
This is one of the many factors that makes this anime one of my favorites.
The story has 3 arcs, all involving one of the most famous Japanese Samurais.
The first one involves Miyamoto Musashi, very famous in Japan for his two sword style. The main character in the first arc (Mutsu Yagumo) ends up fighting against him.
The second one is about 70% fighting. It involves many well known swordsman, including the son-in-law of Miyamoto Musashi, and Yagyuu Juubei, another well known, and famous swordsman. I personally think this was the worst out of the 3 arcs, but it was still great.
The third one, is a paradise for Japanese History freaks like me. It involves the end of Edo Era, and many famous swordsman (Sakamoto Ryoma, Hijikata Toshizo, Okita Souji, etc.) This part rather focuses on a tragedy more than a martial art fight, but involves the best fighting combinations ever.
For the art, it's not good, but it's not awful. The fighting and the story completely makes up for it. It's not something you can't watch, but it's definitely not one of those cute little anime girls playing around in a paradise. The art style is a little realistic.
The sound is great also. Completely fits in with the story, OP+EP = amazing. What more can I say?
The characters are another very good factor that helps make this anime amazing. All the characters seem very realistic and all the historical characters are very similar, if not same to themselves.
Almost all the samurais love fighting(which was true for Japan) against strong people to make them stronger.
All the Mutsu characters have a great, unique personality, making the 3 arcs unique and not redundant.
Overall, I really loved this. I don't even know why many people don't know such a great show.
If you've read the whole thing, thanks! I hope my review helps you.
Also, read the manga if you enjoyed it. It has better arcs in my opinion (Nobunaga and Yoshitune)
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If you are a Japanese history freak, read this also:
If you are worried that this anime will change what actually happened (history), don't worry.
The best part about this is that the author solved many mysteries in this world (eg: Miyamoto Musashi writing in his diary/book that he has lost once, which he has never done in real history, the mystery behind Juubei's death, the mystery behind Ryoma's survival at Teradaya, the mystery behind Okita's death, and the mystery behind Hijikata's Death) by adding many characters that was behind the thing.
