And here, ladies and gentlemen, we have Sword of the Stranger. A film that personally lives up to the latter kind of films I mentioned above.
I admit at first, after I finished watching it, I was at loss for words and I wished -still wish- that I'd watched it earlier. Yeah, it stood there in my plan to watch list and I was yearning to watch it for so long, since I could see many people recommending it and praising it. It attracted me so much as a historical movie, I swear.
Ehem, I have to turn off my fangirl mode for now. Let's start from scratch to analyse it, shall we?
Story: (9/10)
A little boy named Kotarou and his faithful dog are being chased by a part of the Chinese army for unknown purposes. On his way, Kotarou meets a skilled swordsman that in the movie is referred as Nanashi (= 'no name') and after some things happen he decides to hire this man to 'guard' him from those people that chase him around, in exchange for a precious stone he owns. Meanwhile, that certain army's plans are disclosing slowly, along with the POVs from some other characters.
The premise is pretty generic at a first look. True. If you have watched a decent number of movies before, animated or not, then the story is not going to impress you and make you feel like "woah, this is original!".
However, I don't feel like I'm overrating this part at all. The base of the story is overused, yet heartwarming in its own way. It's greatly directed. The way the plot unveils itself is truly amazing and extremely interesting to watch. The atmosphere successfully transfers you to a medieval Japanese land, which is a rather harsh world, but with its beauty as well. It captures your attention and even though you might guess what can happen next, you're still into it!
Also, it does a great job at delivering certain messages about life, which is something quite important.
Art: (10/10)
Bones is a studio that has yet to fail me in terms of animation and artwork. Being the studio that has animated popular anime such as Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Ouran Highschool Host Club, Soul Eater and so many others, it makes a great job here once again.
The artwork is so beautiful, the animation is fluid and the action scenes are perfectly animated. The sceneries were also awesome and I just wish we had more shots of it. I find its style somewhat refreshing in comparison to other Bones' works, especially since it's an anime-exclusive story and not based on some manga to decide on the art style.
Sound: (10/10)
I'm actually listening to the movie's soundtrack while writing this review. And let me tell you, the freaking soundtrack is the best part of the whole thing. It adds a huge charm on it. It's a masterpiece and I'm not exaggerating. Heck, I could write an essay on the countless emotions it causes me while listening to it!
The soundtrack is wavering in vibes of Lord of the Rings and Braveheart. I just listened to the first note of flute and LotR was the first thing that popped in my brain. You know, that familiar flute music that makes you feel like you're flying on a soft white cloud to a magical land and nostalgic to the point of crying? Yes, that's the soul of this film's soundtrack, for me at least. But add to that music a japanese/asian feeling. It's so emotional and dynamic, thus fitting to the movie's setting.
First work I've heard of Naoki Sato and I'm just extremely pleased. I bow to you, mister Sato, for making this majestic soundtrack.
Character: (9/10)
The characters were an almost perfect aspect of this film. They fitted the story and setting and their interactions were fun to watch.
A little bossy kid with a kind heart, a faithful dog that helps its master at any cost, a skilled man with secrets and gentleness, greedy leaders that seek and desire many forms of power... a big variety of people for a historical movie such as this. They were all serving their roles very well and they were captivating in their own ways, showing some of their motives.
Enjoyment: (10/10)
This movie offered me so many things and absolute enjoyment is the outcome of it all. A beautiful story taking place many centuries ago, with amazing characters, visual pleasure and breathtaking music is enough to keep me entirely interested.
Overall: (10/10)
It's a 9.6 actually, but who cares for that insignificant 0.4 that parts it from 10? Overall, it is a movie that you have to watch. Of course, opinions may differ and it might have no appeal to you, but you certainly should give it a try.
Thanks for reading my review and sorry for any grammatical mistakes. Feedback is appreciated! :)
