Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
SweetCake9
This story starts with a boy who is hunted for their blood to make an immortal medicine. He, then, met with a mercenary who had mysterious background. They traveled together, while escaped from the people who wanted to kill the boy.
Overall, the impression I get for this anime are:
- The story is quite simple: escape to the safe place, fighting for the kid's freedom, end. But, again, that simplicity is what made this story is tempting for every person. It is not a story that will get you headache to think about the meaning, and you simply can just enjoy it. But, please note that the visual maybe a bit gore (e.g. there are limbs that got cut during the fightings).
- The flute music is so good to cover the vibes of this anime, which in Samurai era.
- ACTION IS 10/10. I cannot get enough of…
Read at the sourceChanrey
This movie is seriously underrated, I swear people seem to not like this anime movie as others do. Maybe it’s just something other people noticed that I didn’t, but firstly the animation is really beautiful in this movie. All of it looks really well made, especially in the fighting scenes, admittedly, the soundtrack is quite generic, it feels like they just got a free soundtrack to sound like a samurai film, but I like it, others might feel it’s bland, but it isn’t ruining for me.
The hero’s journey is done very well in the movie. The chemistry and relationship between our two characters are really well done, I felt like they had developed into strangers into friends who cared deeply for eachother, I genuinely wanted to see more of Kotaro, No name, and their dog go on more adventures, adm…
Read at the sourceIvan_Khudoy
A tale about a nameless swordsman protecting a child from evil forces that seek the fabled elixir of immortality... Sounds familiar, right? Unlike in FromSoft's Sekiro, the plot never confirms the presence of supernatural elements, making the villain's goal more disturbing. Also, there is an element of rivalry between Japan and China, showing how the mindless zealotry of Imperial henchmen is as destructive as the power-hungry strife that tore feudal Japan apart. Sword of the Stranger is a great example of simple writing elevated by great execution. Especially in the action department: this kind of visceral brutality we don't get too often. Lethal blows come as a sudden reality check, reminding us how frail the human body is. The cool cape and ninja tricks don't guarantee plot armor here.
G…
Read at the sourcexera_yoo
Stranger Mukou Hadan tells the story of a little boy named Kotarou and his loyal dog, Tobimaru. Surviving by stealing and running, Kotarou and Tobimaru meet Nanashi.
Their adventure begins. I really liked their bond. Initially, Kotarou was distrustful and afraid of being lied to by Nanashi, but over time, he grew to trust and like Nanashi. Nanashi did the same; he only saved Kotarou, promising a reward (although not that much). But he began to understand how to make peace with himself, respecting Kotarou and Tobimaru as his "friends," while atone for his past sins.
I liked this movie because, besides the things I mentioned earlier, the fights were epic and not overdone. The fights were quite realistic, so if you like action, you might enjoy them.
Characters → 9/10
The characters perfect…
Read at the sourcemuratbasci
General Overview:
A child chased by bad guys crosses paths with a swordsman during his journey. This swordsman has given up sword fighting due to an incident in his past. However, he becomes very attached to the child and takes him under his protection. This is how the events develop. In short, we can say that this is the subject of the anime.
Although it contains a fantastic element, it is not very effective in the story other than its contribution to the starting point of the story.
The little boy, his dog and our cute swordsman may seem charismatic to many people who watch the anime. The characters have this potential, but unfortunately they did not impress me that much.
Good Sides:
- an above average anime
- the music was good
- the sword fights were not bad. Although the fights are…
Read at the sourcesir_biggy
ORAAAAAAAAAA,show so good I did a back flip (landed on my neck and currently typing from the hospital). What can I say, I'm a sucker for good action animes, sword of a stranger is an action packed anime filled with blood, swords and straight up peak moments
The story follows a boy on the run from the "bad guys", Kotaru, alongside him his trusted companion, Tobimaru the shiba inu and on their escapade they meet the cool, calm collected ronin, Nanashi along the way. Honestly the story from there on out is quite generic but the thing I love about that is how it doesn't feel like a chore to watch even though you could probably predict what would happen the next couple minutes. I also the like how they don't waste half the duration of the show doing the whole "when I was 7 years old, I saw my…
Read at the sourceBensonas
Sword of the Stranger definitely is a good film. It has its flaws which I will elaborate below. I do want to make clear to future viewers that you shouldn't be expected a Samurai film dripping with action. This is a story of strangers coming together, forming a bond and finding themselves in the process with a smattering of sword play.
The story here is well told and is paced very well indeed. It conveys the antagonists and protagonist very well, especially given there are two sets of antagonists (I won't expand on this as it would be somewhat of a spoiler). The bond that develops between our two, or should I say three protagonist should we include the dog, is believable and enables easy emotional attachment as the characters progress and development. One small thing I thought was a litt…
Read at the sourceYaroster
Story (4/10): The problem with a lot of Samurai stories in anime is encapsulated here in my opinion.
Always adding an unnecessary part of weird fiction, constant style over essence and such — I would recommend watching the much better Kenshin OAV that is so far the most interesting samurai animated movie we’ve had and it is much older.
Voice Acting(4/10): The voice acting for mandarin was beyond subpar — not even talking about tones it just sounded wrong and the Blu-Ray has a warning before the start of the movie saying that the author purposely pushed the use of mandarin in some scenes but the Japanese voice actors didn’t even bother replicating a mandarin « accent », it is (and I mean it) completely unintelligible. That being said, the Japanese VA were standard.
Animation(8/10): Animat…
Read at the sourcelilgapple
What can I say? This movie has a simple plot yet manages to feel unique at the same time. It’s heavy on the action, but it doesn’t sacrifice an engaging storyline for mindless fighting. The decision to adapt this story into a movie was a great one—it’s paced just right, keeping you hooked without dragging or rushing through the key moments
The art style is impressive, especially for a film that came out in 2007. Set in the Sengoku period, it avoids vibrant colors, which fits the tone perfectly and enhances the gritty atmosphere. The action sequences are a standout—extremely well-choreographed and brimming with a hype vibe that feels ahead of its time animation-wise. It’s clear this movie pushed boundaries for its era.
At its core, the evolving relationship between Nanashi and Kotarou is…
Read at the sourceBaronLukis
A solid movie, it's not bad but it's not great either. It's a decent piece of work that entertains enough for you to enjoy the film. The animation and music are the best things about the film.
The characters do not fully develop, they are rather flat and the pace of the story is too slow for my taste.
The plot is good, several political actors involved, several interests at stake, but its potential is wasted, the interactions between the main characters are weak, the princess/queen does not appear.
For the rest, the duels and fights we want to see are there.
Read at the sourcenovawrite
In "Sword of the Stranger," a lone ronin, Nanashi, finds himself drawn into a perilous journey when he agrees to protect a young boy named Kotarou pursued by mysterious enemies. As their bond deepens amidst breathtaking sword fights and intricate plots, they must confront their pasts and fight for their futures in a stunning tale of honor and sacrifice.
Or one of those movies are forgotten gold.
Story 8/10
The storyline has a good flow and strong structure. It follows both characters in a good manner and helps understand them and get to know them well despite the short period of a hour and a half. The background scene is just enough to hint and show what the characters have been through up until now without being a nonsense and without being stuck too much at one place, where the plot e…
Read at the sourceBASEDKILLERREAD
Its been a month since I've seen this, but I wanted to write out my own short thoughts for posterity. I've been wanting to watch this movie since 2007. I'm pretty sure my brother and I tried torrenting it, but for whatever reason we were never able to get a copy. Now in 2023 I bought a bluray a couple months ago from a local anime convention and waited till I was in the right mind set to watch it.
The movie is written masterfully. It packs what would typically be a 13 - 26 episode of a season into a 2 hour movie. A new character is introduced every other scene and some how everyone gets an arc. I'm usually more critical of anime/manga writing than others, but this is what they should strive to do. Its subtle enough it has great pacing and uses shonenism just enough to not be over the top…
Read at the sourcewhiteflame55
It's a movie that I've been meaning to watch for a long time. I'd watched its final fight a few times before I saw the anime (touted as one of the best fights in anime - it lives up to the hype), so it was kind of spoiled, but still was a great experience. It's more than a little bit of Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X (MC is a ronin moving past a traumatic history of killing for others), a little Dororo (decent relationship between the lead and a young boy who ends up joining him) and a little Ninja Scroll (great sword fighting action with creative choreography). I'd say it ends up closest to the last one for me in terms of quality, which is more than decent praise. The narrative isn't very interesting - the young boy hires our lead (literally the man with no name) who goes on to protect him usi…
Read at the sourceGameboon
Sword of the Stranger had been on my pile of unwatched series and movies for a long time. I actually knew very little about the movie before going in. And I'm glad I decided to kill some time with it a few nights ago.
I originally became interested in Sword of the Stranger because I came across a trailer filled with cool swordfights. And the movie definitely delivers on that front, so let me start with the visuals. The general atmosphere and vibe of the movie is quite gloomy and dark. This is achieved through the choice of colors and the bleak winter season that the story takes place in. The background shots are atmospheric but definitely not appealing to everyone because of the vague, almost pastel-painted scenery and nature. I happen to like these shots, but I also know they're not for…
Read at the sourceJezzaCh
Decent story, decent animation. It was a decent watch. Nothing special. I have seen other reviews and they talked about the big budget this movie had. My main complaint as a chinese/mandarin speaker was the subpar translation, throwing me off many times. The voice actors seemed to have decided that getting the right tonation and words for the film was too much of an effort so they just threw in gibberish. Given the large budget of the film, I had hoped that they would have at least done some research into the chinese language and culture. Other than that, it was a fine movie.
Read at the sourceEthan2K
I checked this out on a whim because I heard the sword fights were incredible, but ohhh boy did I get more then that. It's easy to forget how great samurai tales can be and this film is no exception.
Art and animation are beautiful and hold up incredibly for 2007, and yeah no the fights are actually god-tier. Storywise it's your traditional samurai-with-no-name-reclaims-his-honor story but I'll be damned if it doesn't do an effective job with the material.
It's a crime that a film this good isn't more well-known given it's production values and amazing fight choreography.
Please, if you like anything with swords in it, give this a watch.
Read at the sourcespooonspooon
Despite having good reviews, Sword of the Stranger was a letdown. I went into it with the expectation that it was a hidden gem, but in reality this movie is just very shallow and bland. The main duo is likable enough, but with no real chemistry with the main villains, I can't really find a strong reason to root for these characters. Nothing interesting was done with the characters or plot and nearly every scene in this movie felt like a half assed way to get to the next fight. That being said, the fight scenes were really incredible and had some of the best choreography I've seen in awhile, but the payoff didn't really feel worth it. It took a lot from me not to just skip around the movie between the action. Overall, Sword of the Stranger is a competent enough movie, but unless you have a…
Read at the sourceneedfoundfamily
Never has anime--no, not just ANIME but all of HISTORY--has there ever been a more competent dog that has existed. No, I'm not kidding. This dog, "Tobimaru", has a KILL COUNT. This dog drives forward the plot of the movie at every turn, is a lovable character, is able to provide a distraction for his owner...
[Spoilers past this point]
Literally, this dog KILLS a man in the first TEN MINUTES protecting his owner. SINGLE-HANDEDLY. CLIMAX OF THE MOVIE? THE DOG IS THE ONE WHO SAVES THE KID AT THE MOMENT THE KID NEEDED IT THE MOST...
...Without Tobimaru, this movie would've surely been a tragedy. This dog truly is one of the most competent dog deuratagonists to ever be depicted.
Read at the sourcemr07
I really liked the movie. It's my favorite anime thingy I've watched so far. I like everything about the movie and how it was done. The art style looked really beautiful, usually I'm quite critical of a muddy-brown aesthetic but it's just done so well it works and I like it. The animation is very solid and I like how the characters look. The violence is executed really well, and the fight scenes are the best I've seen in any piece of media so far, and usually I'm pretty meh about fight scenes.
I'm into history so seeing the context of the Ming Dynasty of China, the handful of Europeans in Japan at the period, and Japan's interesting relationship with China at the time was awesome. I really liked the blonde European character as well, his motives I found quite intriguing, I was rooting for…
Read at the sourceSanji_Levi
My Rating: 9 (For The Massey and OTT feeling)
Why ? The Reason: The art of swordsmanship is called this, This is an epic story with the action sequences, brilliant art work, lastly, not the least, it is heavy Massey with smooth concept… I liked all the characters, The children of this will be my winner personnel… The kid really connected to it so deeply...and the villain, he had the style of his own fighting technique,
Overall, It's a crisp and worth to watch… There is drama action, samurai part, all are well-designed.
It's also have the emotion between the kid and the tribes. Then the child has the power to serve the immortality through his blood, They believe that they can establish an immortal king, whom they serve for rest of their life...
Read at the source
