As far as the story is concerned, a 10 is almost too understating. This is not to say that the story of Katanagatari is absolutely flawless or that there is no other anime that lives up to this story, there certainly are other anime that are just as good if not better in different respects (story-wise). Katanagatari runs the full gamete in terms of what it actually does. Not only is the writing top notch but the structure, themes and metaphors behind the story are very well crafted. This makes for a very unconventional anime that masks its self as a very conventional journey anime et la samurai champloo. Its almost as though Katanagatari is a deconstruction of this style of anime in the same way that puella magi madoka magica was a deconstruction of the magical girl anime or in the same way evangelion was for mecha. Of course though, this genera of anime isn't as well founded as magical girls or mecha anime but its still a similar style in the sense that it is a "realistic" interpretation at least as far as the plot and characters are conserned. Never did was I able to guess where the anime would go next when it threw a curve ball nor did I imagine that it would turn out so complex at the end, however, it is able to do this so very well all while balancing emotion/action and comedy.
The art direction is very akin to the afore mentioned Samurai Champloo with mixes of Monogatari as well as some of its own unique takes. Some portions look like they were taken from Visual novels while others look absolutely gorgeous. There is a very minimalist approach here that works to complement the more complex writing character art. The character art and animations are very fluid and well done as well as deceptive and serve to help each of the characters flesh out into their own unique personas. Overall the art is up there with other top notch shows produced by studio giants of the like of Kyoto Animation or Shaft while not being too avant garde to take away from its audience.
The sound track and sound samples are all amazing. They create great atmosphere and help complement the complex emotions that fit in the very long signature dialogue scenes and the very fast paced action sequences. The voice acting is extremely well done as well, with each character truly being fleshed out by all involved. Even the small side characters are very well received and can stand on their own with such great voice acting. Each voice actor delivers their lines with such gusto and such bravado as well as great timing. Again, though the real stand out here is the musical score, I really cant say that enough.
Each of the many characters are very fleshed out with complex yet some times simplistic motives. In particular, the two lead characters pull you in. They make you love and sometimes hate them. The character development is what makes all of this work so well. From the first episode to the last, each of the characters change in ways that are very realistic yet surprising at the same time. Everyone from the narrator who states the obvious to the side characters play their roles perfectly creating a very believable world even with all these "supernatural-type" powers. Each one has his or her own identity as well as own motive in the plot and each one is neither good nor bad when you really break things down.
One thing i would be remiss to not talk about is the dialogue and the overall writing. Japanese word play is different then English because of Kanji, with each character meaning more then one thing in most cases, we have times when the writing uses these multiple meanings to its advantage. And of course since this is a NisioisiN work, the dialogue is very very long winded but with good reason. His style of telling most of the story through a series of conversations works very well here as it serves to allow the audience to fully grasp the emotions of each of the characters as well as their motivations. Metaphor is scattered everywhere with tons and tons of very complex ideas that may not be very apparent from the get go view. After viewing this show a few times, i still find things that I missed out on, in previous occasions.
In the end, Katanagatari is a great anime for anyone who likes anime in general but also in specific for people who enjoy good writing, good action and stories that may or may not have a happy ending, aka realist stories. In my opinion it is an achievement in anime that reminds me that anime is also an art form that can be as serious as the most beautiful painting or piece of literature. I know i gave this entire thing a 10 out of 10 for everything, but honestly, it really resonated with me that much. You may not see it as a shining beacon of awesome like I do, but I guarantee you will enjoy your self even if you dont, However, by that point you'll have been torn to pieces.
