Advanced Preview: Sword of the Stranger

Date: 2008 October 13 11:24

Posted by Spike

Set during the Senkoku period in Japan, Sword of the Stranger follows a young boy Kotarou as he is cruelly separated from his father and goes on the run from the army of the Ming dynasty. While living in an abandoned shrine and stealing food Kotarou chances upon a nameless and masterless samurai, and while initially mistrustful of him, Kotarou is forced to hire him as a bodyguard and guide when his dog, Tobimaru, is injured during a fight with Ming soldiers. Now the two must fight their way through the mysterious Ming and find the reason for Kotarou's importance to them, as the samurai battles his own inner demons.

Full Story

Sword of the Stranger is an unusual entry in the fairly niche market of animated samurai films, while it is set in historic Japan and has all the hallmarks of Chinese and Japanese attitudes of the time, right down to the xenophobia. The film itself has a distinct western feel all over as it brings very familiar characteristics to the party, from the stereotypical bad guys and the damaged hero to the inevitable climactic battle at the end, and the film has a familiar meter about it, with the enemies increasing in number and strength at measurable points along the way. Interestingly both the antagonist and protagonist are foreigners in this film and are seen to be markably stronger than their Asian counterparts, and while the Ming soldiers are seen to be respectful of their foreign counterparts as a tool to be utilised, the nameless samurai seeks to hide his lineage with hair dye due to a fear of being ostracised by the native Japanese.