Katanagatari starts off immediately letting the viewer know that it's heavily stylized with visuals, very unique character designs, and fitting music (as always with Taku Iwasaki, bless your musical talent) but also feels hard to get into due to the lore dumping in episode 1 to get it mostly out of the way while having episodic premises. This strategy of world building isn't the most pleasing, but it definitely gives it so we don't constantly have to get the gist of the main characters do what they do or why they do it. The first episode is the biggest exposition dump I've seen of any other series but when you find yourself not needing almost any exposition for the rest of the series, it definitely feels much more appreciated.
I do however, love that this series isn't about action. I came into it thinking it was, but after the first episode I realized that this was about character interactions, philosophy, and about dehumanization to personification. The dialogue was always incredibly engaging with purpose, characters bouncing off each other in every conversation felt fluid and organic. Most of the time the two main characters would create a majority of the comedy just in their conversations alone. It's really fun to just see characters interact rather than see cool over-the-top action.
This show gets you into the premise immediately, 12 episodes total, 12 different swords they need to collect. Despite this basic and predictable structure, Katanagatari throughout every episode changes the way the characters must approach collecting a sword. Whether its personal, a moral dilemma, a genuine challenge, weaknesses, character growth, etc. The show keeps the premise fresh and unpredictable at certain times to really make you wonder how the characters will end each episode. And while I do understand some gripes people have with the end of the series, I did agree with them at first, but over time I realized that it was really an organic and an ending that needed to happen the way it did.
I could continue to gush over the beautiful art style or the character designs or the music or any aspect really about the show but I want to get one thing across about Katanagatari; it's different. It really makes a unique identity for itself that lends it a massive hand in standing out compared to any other anime I've seen. Of course, that's a main feature of Taku Iwasaki's style of composing, but everything from the layout to the twists really make this feel like a special treat. Fantastic show, with a slow start but an extremely memorable cast of characters, writing, design, music, and everything else in between. I highly recommend watching Katanagatari.
