Fortunately, "Sword of the Stranger" doesn't do that. While it is an action movie, it does a great job of letting us get to know and like our main characters before the "final showdown." Beautiful animation and music, engaging story, and high tension at the climax make this a very excellent historical adventure movie.
The big negative for me was the violence. It REALLY pushed my pain tolerance. Battles are highly graphic. While there isn't any viscera, the camera doesn't shy away as swords and other weapons stab, slice, decapitate and un-limb countless people. Blood sprays (with loud sound effects), and bones crunch. The one-on-one duels are less graphic. They are beautifully choreographed, and definitely one of the best parts of the movie.
The politics were a bit confusing the first time I watched it. I didn't really understand what it was all about until I watched it a second time. But it really didn't detract from my enjoyment of the main story.
The animation is very good. The backgrounds are superb. And of course the duels are done gorgeously. The choice of composition and camera moves were excellent and rival many live-action movies.
The sound effects are good (though the blood splatters and bone crunching is unnerving--I could almost smell and taste the blood). The musical score is orchestral and very beautiful. I kept playing the credits over and over again, just to listen to it. The English dub acting for the main characters was also excellent.
The story was pretty good. It was a while into the movie before the connection was made between our characters and the political issues going on. But it worked well. And as I said before, we get to know our characters before the serious peril begins. I will warn that there are some things left unexplained, but they weren't critical issues.
Overall, I highly recommend this. For mature audiences, of course.
***Synopsis***
A temple is burned. A little boy, Kotarou, escapes and is living as a vagrant with his dog. After they are attacked by strangers, the dog is poisoned, and Kotarou hires a nameless swordsman to get help for the dog, and guide them to Shinjuku temple. Meanwhile, the Chinese have come, and have a strange building project going on. And are searching for Kotarou...but why? After Kotarou is kidnapped, and a nefarious plan revealed, the nameless swordsman is impelled by his past guilt to rescue the child.
