Sword of the Stranger
Sword of the Stranger is a 2007 Japanese anime film directed by Masahiro Andō and produced by the animation studio Bones.
The film follows Kotaro, a boy who is hunted by a group of Ming swordsmen due to mysterious reasons. Among the group is a fearsome Western fighter named Luo-Lang, whose only desire is to find a worthy opponent. Kotaro and his dog find "Nanashi", a nameless ronin who has a mysterious past that led him to forbid drawing his own sword again. When the Ming warriors clash with a feudal lord, a proud general, and monks divided between faith and survival, the reason behind the persecution of the Ming group tests the bond between Kotaro and Nanashi.
Plot
During the Sengoku period, a young boy named Kotaro escapes from mysterious pursuers with his dog, Tobimaru. The monk helping Kotaro, Shouan, asks him to seek help from Master Zekkai at the Mangaku Temple in the Akaike Province. Meanwhile, a group of Ming dynasty warriors under the command of the elderly Bai-Luan is escorted to Akaike by local soldiers. They are ambushed by bandits, but the bandits are slaughtered by the Ming's expert swordsman, Luo-Lang.Kotaro and Tobimaru briefly hide in a decaying temple, where they find Nanashi, a wandering swordsman. While Kotaro cooks a meal, the smoke of his fire alerts a group of Akaike soldiers, who are accompanied by one of the Ming warriors. Nanashi involuntarily gets involved in the fight and is able to kill the Ming, but Tobimaru is struck by a poisonous dagger. Before Nanashi leaves, Kotaro offers to hire him as a bodyguard in order to save Tobimaru's life and take them to their destination safely.
The trio is able to find a doctor who is able to help Tobimaru recover. While going through a village, Nanashi encounters Luo-Lang, who quarrels with him for fun, but is interrupted by news of the deaths of his companions. Following the investigation, the Ming begin to suspect that Akaike's soldiers are responsible because one of the corpses was staged to appear as Tu-Si, one of the Ming warriors who had recently disappeared.
Lord Akaike, who hosts the Ming, is helping them build a large altar in exchange for large quantities of gold. It is revealed that he kidnapped Tu-Si to learn of the Ming's true purpose. Under torture, Tu-Si reveals that they are on a mission from the Ming Emperor to find a prophesied child, Kotaro, whose blood can be drained at a certain time once a year, in order to create an elixir of immortality known as the Xian Medicine. Lord Akaike changes his plans to capture Kotaro and hold him for a high ransom. Meanwhile, Nanashi reveals a few details about his past: He really has no name and has gone by different names when he served under different warlords. He also has red hair and knows nothing of his origins other than that he was the only survivor from a sinking ship. He also reveals that in order to avoid being recognized as a foreigner, he started dying his hair black, allowing him to blend in with the Japanese population.
Nanashi arrives at the temple with Kotaro and leaves him in the care of Shoaun and the monks. However, it is revealed that Shouan and the monks have already betrayed Kotaro to the Ming in order to save their own lives. A fight happens when the Akaike also arrive, in an attempt to take the boy. Realizing that something is wrong, Nanashi comes back and fails to rescue Kotaro. He interrogates Shouan and lets him live, only for Shouan to hang himself in shame. Nanashi and Tobimaru run together as they track down Kotaro and his captors. With Lord Akaike's betrayal discovered, the Ming capture him and use him to fortify the fortress to await the prophesied time. Itadori, an Akaike general, leads a small battalion of soldiers as they march to the fortress to rescue Lord Akaike. However, when they arrive, they see Lord Akaike in a compromising position. Itadori decides to kill him and seizes the opportunity to have the troops fight for him. The troops, now under his command, begin a siege and attack the fortress.
During the ensuing battle, many of the Ming and Akaike soldiers are killed, including Itadori. Nanashi finally arrives at the fortress and when he momentarily gets knocked out by a falling tower, a flashback reveals that years earlier, Nanashi executed two children, which traumatized him and made him swear to never unsheathe his sword again. To save Kotaro, Nanashi finally unsheathes his sword, fights his way to the altar and successfully interrupts the ritual before it can be completed. Bai-Luan orders the remaining Ming to capture the boy so they can complete the ritual again the following year. Nanashi manages to kill two of the Ming without his sword and gains the admiration of Luo-Lang, who has been searching for a worthy opponent. Luo-Lang kills Bai-Luan to stop him from killing Nanashi. With the Akaike forces and the Ming all dead, Luo-Lang and Nanashi have a final duel. They fight all around the altar and despite suffering many injuries, Nanashi wins and kills Luo-Lang, who is shocked by his defeat but dies in peace.
The next morning, Kotaro, along with Nanashi and Tobimaru, is riding on horseback. As they travel to places unknown to treat Nanashi's wounds, they talk about starting a new life together. The movie ends with the scene showing the horse tracks in the snow, with drops of blood trailing along with it.
Characters
;Nanashi;Kotaro
;Luo-Lang
;Shogen Itadori
;Master Bai-Luan
;Tobimaru
;Shouan
;Lord Akaike
Festivals and awards
Sword of the Stranger has appeared at many international film festivals. The list of film festivals that the film has appeared at includes:*
- AnimagiC
- Asia Pacific Screen Awards
- FANTASPOA
- Leeds International Film Festival
- London Barbican's Japanimation
- Sci-Fi London's
The film was also submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for consideration as a nominee for Best Animated Feature at the 81st Academy Awards.
There were fourteen films vying for the three nomination spots, including Sword of the Stranger.
Reception
Sword of the Stranger has so far appeared on a select number of cinema screens in the United States and reception has been positive.Anime News Network reviewer Justin Sevakis gave the film an overall A− and labeled it as: "Breath-taking action scenes wrapped around a compelling story that actually makes sense." In her Anime News Network column entitled Shelf Life, reviewer Bamboo Dong profiled the Blu-ray release as "a gorgeously animated, blood-soaked samurai romp that entertains for its full 102 minute run." Firefox News summarized their view on the dubbed and subbed versions of the film by saying: "With either version, though, you’re not apt to go wrong if you’re an anime or jidaigeki fan, let alone both."
The film was also positively received on its festival run in the European Union, receiving a rating of 4.07 out of 5 from viewers on average from Camera Japan and being well received at Oktoberfest, Sci-Fi London's anime all-nighter. The film has been ranked at #1 in JapanCinema.net's "Top 10 Anime Films of the Decade" list.