Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
AlanMoon
I only watched this very but very old anime to become a better otaku that's it. Yes i gave it 1 star because the animation quality is really bad for today's standart. People back in the day probably liked this. If u wanna see the first anime ever created u can watch this. It's only four minutes long. The story... there's no story there's just a samurai who wields his katana and try to learn how to use it. I enjoyed a little bit. But i wish it was longer and i wish there were actual fight. Namakura Gatana is a very short Japanese animated film from 1917 and is considered one of the earliest surviving examples of Japanese animation.
Read at the sourceYuksMeNow
Oldest anime in the theaters. Funny.
STORY: 5/10
It's simple. Guy buys sword, Guy test sword, Guy thinks sword dull. The end.
ART: 4/10
The art is very uhh... weird. The art style just sucks. The animations are choppy, but it's a really old anime.
CHARACTERS: 6/10
Goofy ahh people. The characters all are simple. SOUND: -/10
clang clang clang clang clang
ENJOYMENT: 5/10
I laughed a bit, but I got creeped out with his rolling eyes.
OVERALLL: 4/10
It's a bit okay for a 1910s anime.
Recommended to people who wanted to watch old anime, VERY old anime.
NOT recommended to people who hate bad art styles, lol
Read at the sourceKludd_is_best
Kinda meh anime. Not the best, not the worst but right down the middle.
The animation could be better, not that it's ugly, but still compared to how amazing the 3 seconds short is this one is a bit of the downgread. I mean on other hand you can say this is the first anime since it's full length despite the short time, but otherwise it's just meh.
The sound.....I dunno what was with the sound since where I watched the only sound was keyboard clicking noises so had to turn it off but you see characters moving mouth so dunno what happend there.
The story is okay. A bit confusing but again okay.
Te characters are okay,
Again just kind meh anime so you wont miss much if you watch it or decide to skip it, completly up to you.
Read at the sourceEviilAngell
I wanted to watch the very first anime and came across this 4-minute one. I recommend watching it, it’s only 4 minutes long and it’s the first anime ever made, so why not? I believe most people will have mixed feelings about it, and the anime doesn’t really have anything that stands out too much. It’s the story of a man with his sword, going on an adventure and using it along the way.
There’s not much to say about character development or the story itself, since it’s only 4 minutes long there’s just not enough time to go deep into anything. But at the very least, it’s a curious little piece
Read at the sourceXanoneq_
I honestly don't understand why this film has such a low rating. Sure, if it were released now, it would not be taken seriously, but remember that this is one of the earliest examples of Japanese hand-drawn animation (in 1917, Walt Disney was only 16 and Osamu Tezuka wasn't enven born!).
As for the film itself, it is very short an relies mostly on slapstick comedy, like most cartoons did back then.
The art is actually pretty good imo, characters look like they're from an old newspaper comic and the backgrounds look nice. The animation is also really good considering the entire movie was made by only one person.
I think it deserves a much higher mean score and that more people should watch it, at least for its historical importance.
Read at the sourcetherealtegar
Man! This should be a 10! The animation looks like it still holds up to this day. The plot is simple and fun. This is one of the oldest anime ever and people should watch this at least once just to realize how far anime has come! Not even Demon Slayer, Attack on Titan, Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece could touch this!!!! They should make more of this anime or matter of fact, remake it.
I think others will like the anime because it is short and simple and light-hearted. Because of its time, the art style is fitting because it shows the history of how anime animation has changed over time.
Read at the sourceAboocalypse
The only surviving film from Anime's first confirmed year as a business venture (rather than a novelty), Namakura Gatana (released as "Hanawa Hekonai Meitou no Maki") is the oldest anime film of one of the three pioneers of professional Japanese animation, Junichi Kouchi.
Junichi is somewhat of an interesting person. He studied under Kitazawa Rakuten (the first professional mangaka and the man who coined the term "manga" as we know it) and worked as a political cartoonist as a socialist. After doing illustrations for Anarchist magazines (and early girls magazines), he was scouted by Kisaburo Kobayashi who desired to produce "Japan's first animated film". He was beaten to the punch by Oten Shimokawa (another of the three pioneers) by five months, but the result of that effort was this film…
Read at the sourceAlaroki
This anime was a literal masterpiece of its time. It is a century old but it is still beautiful.
Story: The story started off great. The MC is a stupid samurai, something not really done, and overall the character progression of this MC was amazing.
Art: The art was absolutely outstanding. The use of a unique art style combined with the nice details of the show was outstanding. The animator exaggerated the character very well suprisingly and they were able to create tropes that have been able to stay today (star on impact).
Sound: Now this is my only problem with this anime. IT HAS NO SOUND! For some people it is a deal breaker but if you bare with it and it is well worth it. I cant blame the creator however. You can tell that there was supposed to be some kind of dubbing but it was lo…
Read at the sourcejuvilty
Considerando que isso foi feito antes do surgimento da TV em 1917, nos primeiros dias do filme, 11 anos antes do lançamento de Steamboat Willie, e considerado por muitos como o primeiro anime já produzido, acho que deveria obter pelo menos 7 pontos em média.
O animador desenhou literalmente cada imagem e depois as juntou.
Tem elementos de comédia e ação, razão pela qual adicionei 10/10 a este anime.
Eu acho comédia em particular
encantador. Na animação, vemos que o "herói" vai para um ferreiro chamado "Espada Dull", o que implica que a espada e seu dono são muito rígidos.
Tchau Tchau!!
Read at the sourceAlanDSouza1
The Dull Sword is one of the three first production house animation works released in Japan in the year 1917 and the only one that still survives to this day in a Digital Restoration font. Just for this reason alone, I find it remiss to try and assign a score to this work. It's value as a historical relic and a time freeze of the past validates its virtue as a must watch regardless of its quality.
However, if we are really going to judge this work, I think it would be appropriate to judge this in comparison to its peers from the same time period - primarily in the west, where the animated art form was invented.
Emile Cohl essentially invented the animated art form by sticking together drawings like a film roll and managed to stitch the illusion of movement by still images with "Phantasm…
Read at the sourceCrunchy-Cactus
The second oldest not lost anime. It's surprising how well made it is considering that. It has an interesting art style, a somewhat interesting premise, and is very well made.
Even without the fact that it's so old, it's still a well made animation, and would deserve a 6/10 regardless.
I'd suggest watching it if you're reading this and you haven't already. It's around 4 minutes and is rather interesting. The only drawback I can think of is that there's no audio, but obviously that isn't really a fair complaint for the film, considering it's age.
In conclusion, the art style & the historical significance of this film is reason enough for a 9/10.
Read at the sourceApollo18
OK so this was the first ever anime. Does that make it an automatic 10? To me, that defeats the point of rating it- *something* was going to be "the first anime", so I'm just actually going to rate it on it's merits.
(Not trying to be "the edgy guy who pans the anime that everyone rates as 10"... but I guess thats exactly what I'm going to do. Sorry.)
ART: Let's be honest- if you look the art in NG with no context, it's undoubtably the worst I've seen in anime. By a longshot. Way worse than crappy CGI, or cheap 80s pulp. I honestly feel generous giving the art a 2.
SOUND: No sound, no rating
CHARACTER: It's a 4min short- there was never going to be character development, but someone edited NG down to 2 minutes, lost nothing of value in terms of entertainment, and improved the film. Hon…
Read at the sourceSneakykng
The only reason to watch this anime would be for historical purposes I liked the comedy though it reminded me of old cartoons like Felix the cat or steamboat willy. I think it is nice to see how far we have come when it comes to anime though, and I have no reason to rate it bad it's more like watching something interesting because its from 1905. The main problem I had which is probably because it is so old is how the colors were changing from yellow and blue. It would be really awesome if a company, or a fan picked this old historical short film up and created a remastered version it'd probably be really cool for historical otaku such as myself.
Read at the sourcePharuanUndearth
I will say this it is the first and at 100 years old it's not that bad. The score is so low because one category scored a 0 and that is sound. Now I will admit that sound wasn't introduced to movies till the mid 1920's but that still doesn't slightly detract from this "anime".
Pros: Not horrible animation, especially for it being 100 years old.
Cons: No sound.
~SPOILERS~
It's about a samurai who wants to test out his new sword, the first person was himself which he does pierce his finger on the blade, then he "talks" to a monk who promptly kicks his ass. Then a farmer(?) who beats him down as well, he tries to stand up using the blade as a cane but the blade warps and is now bent, the end.
Read at the sourceassholisms
The general response to Nakamura Gatana is... harsh, to say the least, but understandable. It's difficult not to judge something by current standards.
However, I believe one has to keep in mind how groundbreaking this 4-minute piece is considering it's literally 100 years old. Animation was but a newborn in 1917, and in Japan specifically only one other work had been published and it had only three seconds of running time. Nakamura Gatana was one of the first animations in Japan and the first to exceed a restrictive duration of under one minute, and it too was done by a single person.
The plot is simple and straightforward: a samurai foolishly purchases a dull blade from a shady swordsmith and immediately proceeds to strike people with it, to very little success. Its simple premise is…
Read at the sourcexXKillyChanXx
I am baffled at the score this animation has received.
Yes, it may not have the most grabbing story. But this is practically the first ever anime- and one of the first ever animations in general! The amount of effort this must have taken is incredible, and not a single frame is lacking in movement. Not to mention that there was literally nothing that came before it of its kind, you cannot judge something like that on the standards of today. It is like saying that cave paintings all suck because they aren't as good as something like the Renaissance artists. Without cave paintings and other forms of art in that age, it is doubtful that the renaissance artwork would have developed, as it is back then where art began to emerge! It is a similar situation here.
This was an animation that helpe…
Read at the sourceputacatinurlife
Well, I have never reviewed before, I don't even rate shows to often, but the score this piece has is ridiculous.
We are talking about history, Nakamura Gatana's quality can't be judged by todays standards, this standards didn't even exist at the time. I wish this short had a 10 score and to see it's a 4 is depressing, and tells a lot about the anime community in general. One would never find a review of a Chaplin movie with a 4 because "it looks ugly and has no sound".
Hopefully trough this year, being the 100 anniversary, more people will find it's historical beauty.
Read at the sourceAnotherCasualFan
Considering this was made in 1917 before television existed and in the very early days of film, eleven years before Steam Boat Willy came out and is considered by many to be the very first anime ever created, I feel that it deserves at least an average score of 7.
The animator literally drew every single frame by himself and put them together. It has elements of comedy and action and that is why I am giving this anime a 10/10.
I found the comedy to be particularly delightful. In the anime we see the 'hero' go to a swordsmith called "The Dull Sword" and it is implied that both the sword and it's owner are very dull.
Read at the sourceSidewinder51
Rate a 3
English subtitled
Story/art
-Introduction needs more work. It is unclear if this is one of those films that shows the present or future first before showing other scenes. Or, this could very well be a trade an old sword for a new one. This could have been just getting a simple repair preformed. This could have been the samurai's first sword. A lot of questions are raised.
-Regardless of introduction the plot was confusing in its own way as well. Was the sword stuck? Was the attacker petrified? Was his emotions getting the better of him?
-Conclusion, was abrupt to the point that it felt two movies were merged together. Who was the this new character? Was he the M_____? was it the other person?
-with a story titled a double edge i think of messages with that have a pro and a co…
Read at the sourceaniMayor
First, a disclaimer: Make sure you watch the complete 4-minute version of this film. Otherwise you're really not doing it justice.
With that aside, I thought The Dull Sword was a riot. This little film has some excellent comedic timing, taking the time to set a scene and build audience expectations before subverting them with the gag in each of its scenes.
The visual animation is strong for this era, with lots of detail in the character designs. The weapon shop scene' backgrounds were also especially nice. I would have liked to see a more consistent aesthetic between scenes (e.g. why does only the first scene have no background?), though.
All in all, I wouldn't say that Namakura Gatana matches the best western animation of this era, but it's not far behind.
Read at the source