ずっとね by ちゃぼ
I recently finished Katanagatari, a series by the same creator as Bakemonogatari, and one of the more unusual anime to come out this year. Its twelve episode run started airing in January, with a 50 minute episode released each month until now, December. As a whole, I thought it was good and enjoyed most parts of it, but I also had my share of issues with it as well…
I wasn’t originally planning to watch Katanagatari, but what drew me to it was the unique art, which is very reminiscent of one of my favorite video games, Okami. Both have a lovely ukiyo-e style that really brings out their settings of ancient Japan. But while Katanagatari has pretty art and unique character designs, the fluid-ness of the animation itself is average at best. The animation was particularly horrendous in one episode (episode 7 if I remember correctly). The character designs looked very “off” for some reason, and the animation was noticeably choppy. Thankfully the rest of episodes have decent animation. Music-wise, despite having a different ending song each episode, none of the tunes caught my attention besides the cool Ali Project song used for the second opening.
Since the basic story of Katanagatari is for strategist Togame and human sword Shichika to collect the twelve deviant swords, the series’ twelve episodes each appropriately feature one sword, and the sword’s respective possessor, creating a standard “sword/character/battle of the week” format (though for Katanagatari, it would be “of the month”). However, each episode does more than simply showcase each sword and how Togame and Shichika manage to take it. There are a ton of scenes that focus on the growing romance between our two protagonists (my favorite parts!) as well as development for the “character of the month” and supporting characters like the members of the Maniwa Ninja Corps and Nanami. Actually characters like Nanami and the Maniwa tended to blur the distinction between protagonists and antagonists in the show, which made it all the more interesting.
七実ねえちゃん by 詩音＠ついった
She was like, the ultimate yandere
The original light novels that the anime is based on have twelve volumes, so I assume each episode adapts one volume. Unfortunately, Katanagatari suffers from a potential problem of any anime adapted from a text-heavy novel – there’s just so much dialogue! I would say that 80% of the series involves characters talking (whether out loud or in their head) while sitting, standing, or walking/running. The other 20% would be action or anything else focused on imagery and movement rather than dialogue.
Being so laden with dialogue has its good points and bad points. The good points would be that with more dialogue, there’s more information and insight about the characters, setting, and plot. I thoroughly enjoyed all the scenes focusing on Togame and Shichika’s relationship, dialogue heavy or not, and I was even able to sympathize with all the Maniwa members thanks to the literary flow of the dialogue that conveyed their thoughts and motives. Basically, lots of dialogue could have the advantage of better developing and explaining things in the story, which it does for Katanagatari.
まにわに集合 by 吉芒
As strange as they were, I liked these guys
On the flip side however, too much spoken information and not enough visual information to interpret on our own can be overwhelming. This is made worse by the fact that Katanagatari is a novel series with a ton of fictional terminology – the names of all the swords, the names of the many characters, even those like Takahito Hida, Matsue Yasuri, and Kiki Shizaki who aren’t explicitly shown, the names of Shichika’s Kyoutoryuu techniques, and the names of all the places he and Togame travel to. The show requires that the viewer remember a good portion of these names in order to effectively follow the dialogue flow. Of course, the exasperation of this could be more my fault that Katangatari’s; memorizing all these Japanese terms may be easier for a Japanese audience, and not having to read subtitles probably makes it less tiring. With the amount of dialogue to be subtitled, at times I felt like I was reading a book with moving pictures imposed behind the text rather than watching anime. Unlike Haruhi, which does an excellent job condensing the text in its anime adaptation without losing the literary feel, Katanagatari could have stood to lose some of its long streams of dialogue.
Lastly (and spoiler alert in this paragraph!), the other issue I had with the series was how it ended. I did like the twist about Kiki Shizaki’s plan to change history and Shichika himself becoming the “perfected blade” (his epic “Cheerio~!” at the end was perfect). I suppose I just couldn’t stand the fact that the romance between Togame and Shichika ended in tragedy. They were fast becoming one of my new favorite pairings, especially after episode 10. I actually would have liked it better if Shichika had died after his battle with Emonzaemon and we get a sense that he and Togame will meet again in their next lives, as cliche as that sounds. It frustrated me further that it ends with him and Hitei, a character who wasn’t nearly as appealing or well developed as Togame. Also, it leaves the impression that he may eventually become romantically involved with her instead, despite the fact that she had some partaking in the murder of his former lover. These feelings I have are strange to me because usually I’m very accepting of how anime series end as long as there isn’t a ton of loose ends or the ending makes no sense. Seeing as how most of my fellow bloggers didn’t have a problem with the ending, this is probably just a case of a particular unfulfilled yearning of mine interfering with my judgment of the series from an objective perspective. I also really liked Togame, so naturally seeing her die at the peak of her character development was upsetting (cute comic relief characters aren’t supposed to die!) Perhaps I was just expecting Katanagatari to be more fulfilling in a romantic way than it was intended to be.
刀語 by とっつあん
Long live “Cheerio~!”
In conclusion, Katanagatari is definitely unique and thorough in terms of art, story, and characters, but its staggering amount of Japanese terminology and numerous dialogue heavy scenes are not for everyone. But if you don’t mind the fact that it’s more like an anime-style novel rather than a novel-style anime, it has a lot of creativity and memorable characters to offer. Just don’t make the mistake I did by looking for romantic fulfillment in it ;)
Once getting to the ending, I thought the overall evolution of the story perfectly encapsulated the aesthetic of wabisabi.
Ah yes, wabisabi would be a good way of looking at it. Togame could represent the aesthetic quite well as she’s emphasized in the end as being “imperfect” obviously but also “beautiful,” and of course her death would be the transient part. Of course, the fangirl inside me still wishes that Shichika had died too and could have then been together with her in the next life, but the wabisabi message wouldn’t have been as strong with that.
An “anime-style” novel is quite an interesting way to put it! I learned a lot from your review since I really didn’t dig much about the source material. Too bad about your ship, I mean the ending LOL. I thought it made for a powerful melancholic, if not tragic effect on the whole thing.
Heh, I didn’t know much about the source material either, but a quick look on Wikipedia fixed that XD
I can recognize that the ending was tragic in a beautiful way, but I think I just got too attached to Shichika and Togame as a couple and that’s why I got upset. In other anime where the main protagonists with a romantic relationship throughout the series don’t get together in the end (which isn’t many actually) I usually don’t care much. Guess this was a special case =P
I agree with your last statement concerning the ending. Unfortunately i dint like it at all. I thought killing off togame wasn’t a good move at all. I found it unbelievably stupid that they chose to write off togame as a villain saying that (spoiler) everything was for her revenge and that she was going to kill him.
I was actually interested and concerned for the relationship between the two protagonist. It was something unique that you don’t see in a lot of anime’s. Also the long talking was a bit boring however i found it to be a nice change as in most anime a lot of things go unexplained.
I’m sorry my comment is kinda crappy but its late here and I just finished the last episode. I was very unhappy with the ending and left me feeling like something was wrong. I know it was the directors choice however I believe the ending could have been delivered in a better way.
Yes, I also found it very jarring that Togame had all these wicked ulterior motives despite being a cheerful and funny character throughout the series. I was sad that their extremely well developed relationship couldn’t have a happy ending, but what can ya do?
I actually stopped watching Katanagatari about half way through, and suddenly I feel like finishing it, but that will take more than 5 hours..
If you’re halfway through already and you don’t find it too much of a chore to watch, I would recommend finishing it. Even though I wasn’t fully satisfied with it, I’m glad I watched it since it’s a very unique series.
I actually liked the talking to some extent, and I have to agree the ending wasn’t what I expected or hoped. (spoilers) I’ve come to think that it’s an adaptation problem, perhaps if we had been hinted that Togame was evil (something around the lines that everything was part of her scheme, even her feelings) and maybe some more Hitei development we could have accepted that ending. I mean, all of Togame’s “true” personality was explained in her dying words, I honestly thought she was lying to make Shichika free or something, since it was too much of a sudden change. If she meant that, then she was terribly evil for not feeling a shed of remorse until, you know the bullet thing. I don’t think the writer thought anything along these lines, but more of an inner conflict trough all the series which failed to be shown.
I haven’t read the original novels, so I can’t say how different Togame’s characterization was handled in comparison. Again, I didn’t mind the fact that everything about her feelings and motives were revealed in the end so much as the fact that she died and Shichika ended up with Hitei rather than following her in death. I agree that if Hitei had been portrayed as a more interesting, likable character who actually had some good interactions with Shichika during the series, I might not have minded so much (still wouldn’t like it though XP)
I really loved Katanagatari.. started watching as soon as i saw the trailer…i was captivated with its art,you can feel the lightness and heaviness of each stroke just as admiring ancient Japanese drawings…,i’m long annoyed by all time of shonen where most of time is action and action and this one just as bakemonogatari was refreshing one…i loved the storyteller way of telling the story..it gave it more depth,and it was relaxing to watch while sitting on the sofa with hot chocolate(it started airing in winter)..i loved the battle scenes as they were entirely different from what most shounen anime shows..and what more i really loved the romantic parts and how their feeling developed.. from a a tiny seed it blooms into something really special..that’s why i felt so sad watching Togame died and seeing Shichika with that princess was really heart killing^___^
Nowhere was it implied that Shichika and Hitei were going to become romantically involved. Shichika lost his master and love. Hitei-hime lost her follower and was finally freed from the shackles of her ancestor. They don’t have anyone else or anything else to do, so they might as well just team up. They can easily just travel together without anything happening between them.
Yes, Hitei was involved in the murder of Togame. However, this isn’t Hitei’s fault. She didn’t want to kill Togame but she had no choice since she would have been killed if someone found out she knew about Togame’s real identity and didn’t do anything. I’m sure Shichika and Togame understood that, which was why Hitei wasn’t killed in the end.
The reason why Togame was collecting the swords in the first place was to gain power. It was stated in the beginning that she was a person who closed off her heart. She couldn’t let go of the idea of taking revenge on the people who killed her father, no matter how hard she tried.
Take note of the placement of her cross eye when she is talking to Shichika. This represents her cold-hearted strategian personality, and you can see it being used less and less as she falls more and more for Shichika over the course of the series. As a strategian, she gave the harsh truth to Shichika to lessen the pain that comes with her death. When the snake that bound her and the eye both disappear, she asks “Would it be alright if I fell for you?” indicating that she is speaking from her heart and that she truly loved him.
During her last scene, Togame wanted to elaborate on what her intentions at the beginning of their journey were, and that over time she had began to see things differently. Before she knew it, her feelings for him did come into fruition, and really it didn’t take much time at all for us to see that. What she was essentially saying was “I didn’t mean to fall in love with you at first, but it turns out that I did. A part of me didn’t want that, but the other part couldn’t help it and wanted to keep loving you.” Those feelings reigned dominant over her initial intentions, and it’s shown to be quite evident throughout the story. I don’t think she really regretted much if anything, be it her quest to collect the swords or her love for Shichika. She was happy, she had fun, and above all, she allowed herself to fall for him, just as she herself stated. Shichika knew that very well. The love between them had always been mutual, and I really don’t think it will ever change, even despite Togame’s death.
Sakani your Review really help me to get over the sad feeling I had for Togames death. It quite sad that she could not be free from her cold self.
I realized that Togame could only find happiness in her death so she can be free from her evil self.
This Anime could have been more fulfilling if Togame and Shichika met the happy ending
Thank you for your review
Togame and Shichika should have been together in the end, considering the fact that Togame was Hot in a good way and Togame really does remind me of Lelouch Lamperouge from Code Geass because not only does they have the same personality but they also have the same physical characteristics as for example lelouch has a Violet left eye because of his Geass while Togame has the same style as well but even now I still don’t get what that left eye of Togame can actually do, anyways the most notable characteristic about them is that there both physically weak, well anyways they both died in the end so that completes there match up, its like Togame was the female version of lelouch only her ending was way more dissatisfying and poor but I guess that’s just life talking so all I can say is if there is anything good in episode 12 that is probably the part where Shichika went all out Berserker Mode and Destroyed all of the 12 Deviant swords and Kick there owners Asses without even breaking a sweat accept the last match with Emonzaemon which I found to be very Nice.
Anyways I’ll give Katanagatari a 10/12 notably its 12 – 1 because of the ending, then after that its 11 -1 because of Nanami stealing the spotlight from Sabi Hakuhei VS Shichika in episode 4 I think.
anyways for anyone who would like to reply from my comment just visit me in Youtube if you have an account there, my username is the same.
I agree to the Review.
I really enjoy this Anime.
The Story of Katanagatari is still in my head after four days after viewing.
However I also wished Togame and Shichika to have happy ending.
I cried at Togames Death ( this is second Anime which made me cry)
But in away I realized for Togame death was her only happiness.
Looks like she learn through shichika living just for revenge wasn’t the way to live life.
Also She did not want to kill shichika although evil part of herself planed it.
Despite her cold heartedness she falls for Shichikas.
It had beautiful story line specially between Togame and Shichika.
This Anime Katanagatari will be the one Anime I will always remember.
Shin
The end hurt me deeply at first.
But all these reviews helped understand why Togame had to die. I still wish that Shichika would have died in the end. But the series was amazing and i loved it.
shiiiit I just spoiled myself with the ending. >___<
I'm still at ep.9 …lol
Ok, I just finished this anime about 8 minutes ago and the first thing that came to my mind was GOOGLE. I had to find out if this was the true ending and not some false ending that anime’s sometimes have instead of the manga. It appears though that I will have to accept reality in the fact that Togame is dead. I will also have to accept the fact that this author has just proved to the utmost that in the creation of this “Falsified” ending (if you paid attention to the last part of the show) he has thus proved to us all…..he is indeed…a Troll.
The BEST freaking PART OF THIS ENTIRE SHOW IS THE ROMANCE and don’t get me wrong I very much enjoy action but, if their is no reason to the action I can not be motivated to watch it. Let’s take Naruto for example, that author is just a genius because he surrounds the main characters with possible romances and gives hints to it but never actually shows it, and because of this…we watch it….fken Manga artists are all just trolls. I have never read a manga or watched an anime with a perfect ending in fact, the best way to keep a show going and lead up to a perfect ending is to show the main characters off springs in a show like DragonballZ GT that show had a Decent ending in the fact that his life was accomplished and his children would carry on his legacy but at the same time, he was still stronger and thus kept the main character title to himself all the way to the end.
Most of this is just idle chatter by now but I hope that some of you can relate/understand what I am trying to say here =p. Also check out my youtube page and hit me up for some song requests, would be much ablidged to complete a vid for you or even to just chat me up on msn messenger about good animes. I want a youtube friend invite first tho and make sure to leave a subject as to why your adding me or send a message…
the ending is too sad and the story of katanagatari is still in my head -__-
oh man i can’t forget it, the scene when togane dead
I realize this comes quite late but I just had to write… in other words I’m a typical internet indiot!;)
What I don’t understand is why you seem to be thinking that your ‘yearnings’ for the romance and a possible better putcome – and your reasons for it – are any less valid than some kind of nebulous ‘judgement’ of what makes a supposedly worthy narrative. You’re far from being the only one who seems to think that way, but quite honestly, it seems like nothing but unfounded prejudice to think that tragedy is somehow more profound, more intellectual, more worthy, than comedy (=happy ends, that is, in simple terms). Now I’m not saying that we need to force a happy end on every story but I believe it is objectively true that this end of Katanagatari wasted an enormous amount of story energy and did not offer us any convincing argument to accept such a move or to substitute for that loss. They tried, but failed. (And no, I’m not talking about some kind of Shichika-Hitei pairing. I don’t think they’re an item.) No need to try and re-interprete it into a perfect, poetic kind of ending, which it isn’t. Perfect, I mean. I really enjoyed this series, for the most part (could have done with alittle less melodrama – cough, Nanami, cough – but then this is a samurai story!) but the ending unfortunately ruined it for me, pretty much. No two ways about it.
Cheerio!