But…
there is an Anime that is looking different from the normal art style and I need to tell you about this one.
I’m talking about “Katanagatari”
Katanagatari, hmm? Sounds a bit like Bakemonogatari; and by no small coincidence. Both of these light novels were originally authored by NisiOisiN, however Katanagatari is being adapted by another studio called White Fox, as a series of monthly specials.
This is a story of a girl named “Togame” the shogun’s strategist
and
“Shichika” the current 7th head of the Kyotouryuu “the no sword style”
At the moment the story is pretty common, they go on a trip to collect the twelve treasured swords created by a legendary swordsmith “Shikizaki Kiki” and all the sword are currently in the hands of some great swordsman, as you probably can imagine yourself they do not want to give their sword to Togame and Shichika :) . In the first episode they get the first sword and in the second episode they fight for their second sword. Let’s see Katanagatari will have 12 Episodes there are 12 swords to search and obtain. If you ask me, it’s probably going to be one sword in every episode ;) . Hopefully it’s not going to be a walking to the owner of the sword, thinking of a strategy, talking funny crap and defeating the owner.
What can you expect from the story?
If you want to see fancy looking sword fights you are at the wrong address. No really the “fight” in the 2nd episode took about 2 minutes. In the rest of the episode our duo was talking about a catchphrase for Shichika, how they want to defeat Ginkaku the owner of the second sword and they go out shopping.
Katanagatari seems to go the talking way. In the first two episode 95% of the time was talking and the rest was fighting, but don’t get me wrong… it’s not boring!
The Characters in this Anime are just awesome. Shichika is definitely a funny character with his nonchalant attitude towards things and his devotion to Togame. And I love Togame’s straightforwardness (especially in her demand for Shichika’s love). It’s just funny seeing those two discussing about something like the catchphrase – sure it’s not really story relevant but gives them a nice touch – and seeing them flirt. Those two are such a sweet couple. I’m very excited to see how Togame and Shichika’s relationship develope, given their family situations.
As I mentioned at the beginning the art has a refreshing new look I heard many people say it’s “simple” but watch the first episode and you will see it’s definitely not. Having seen many, many animes with similar art styles, this anime brings forth a fresh new style that is very easy on the eyes and very entertaining. The colors are attractive, not to mention the characters are all very beautiful (cute?), even the bad guys. I just love how Togame looks :S damn she could evolve into a new “Favorite Character”.
The Animation in Katanagatari is really smooth when it comes to a fight it just looks really good and epic. Seriously the fight was just two minutes long but WOW those two minutes where really good.
Togame’s Voice comes from Tamura, Yukari. You may know her from Clannad(Sunohara), Naruto(Tenten) or Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (Furude) she fits Togame pretty good – noisy and uppish and on the other side sweet and shy.
Shichika’s Voice comes from Hosoya, Yoshimasa he’s a newcomer! Katanagatari and Denpa teki na Kanojo are the only Anime where he’s voicing a main character ( he voiced only 3 characters so far), but he is doing a GREAT job. Shichika’s voice is so funny he talks so unchalant and it really seems like everything is too much work for him.
Hands down i really like the soundtrack in Katanagatari! The first two minutes of episode one really stunned me. I enjoyed Kawai, Kenji’s music in “Ghost in the Shell” and the music here reminds me of it. On the other side, while Togame and Shichika were discussing about the catchphrase, japanese hip hop was played. Normally I don’t really like hip hop, but this one was really good.
Overall, this anime was incredibly refreshing with its historical based genre mixed with just a little but fitting action, comedy and just the right dash of romance. The only, perhaps, downside to some people is the amount of dialogue. After the first 20 minutes, I was feeling like I’ve read a book. However, I would suffer through the intense dialogue any day for a good anime such as Katanagatari! This series holds so much potential and promises to be a real winner!
If you have 50 minutes and you don’t know wich anime you want to start, please take a look at Katanagatari!
First Look Scores
* Story 7/10
* Animation 8/10
* Sound 9/10
* Characters 8/10
* Overall 8/10
