This is art. Katanagatari is an experiment, a playful novel that takes a simple concept and twists and expands it into a philosophical work. NisioIsin’s style is unmistakable and if you’re a fan of witty writing, you should definitely try this novel.

The story is that of a travel, but more important then the physical journey is the journey the characters go through as they grow. The protagonist is a human, yet inhuman, someone who has yet to learn what being a human means. This offers a way for an interesting internal monologue and ways of thinking that might be alien yet intriguing to the reader. To an extent this is true for most of the cast as they have quite distinct and colourful personalities. Even the characters who are introduced only briefly are memorable and well written.

What I absolutely adore is how NisioIsin can go against his own flow and is not afraid to write an antithesis to core principle of the plot through the mouths of some of the characters. And it works, because it is not the plot that contradicts itself, it is the characters that are giving their own thought and this helps the reader to have multiple interpretations of the story available. This is how subversion of expectations should be done to satisfy the reader, not just the author.

Like the characters, the illustrations also have a unique style and Take’s art certainly help with making Katanagatari feel even more unique.

NisioIsin is an author that is constantly challenging himself – even this series was created to test out if he was able to make a series which has one volume published every single month through the whole year. And it is thanks to this mentality of trying to do something unique that such special works are created. And yes, it is worth reading even if you’ve already watched the anime

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Katanagatari, a twelve-book series with monthly releases which also signify a month of progression in the plot. No spoilers.

Story: 7/10
The story starts off with a simple premise: Schemer Togame hires a swordsman to help her collect twelve legendary swords scattered throughout Japan. The rest of the story is full of repetitive lines and is divided into sections too short to find anything intriguing; only a portion of the dialogues and concepts felt memorable. I can appreciate the history that goes alongside the plot, though it is nothing too crazy to talk about.

Art: 8/10
The illustrations are packed with vibrant colors and somewhat creative. The embellishments contribute to an overall vague image that does not align with my standards.

Character: 6/10
With small adventures left and right, many characters were short-lived (extreme example in book 4). In regards to the two main characters, there was an inadequate amount of depth for me to relate to them.

Enjoyment: 6/10
I came for a story with a lot of depth but ended up feeling disappointed.

Overall: 6.5/10
I can't recommend this to anyone. Maybe watch the anime instead.

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