Comments on: Sword of the Stranger Review - 80/100 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/ An anime blog covering a large variety of series, both popular and underrated. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:23:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5.1-alpha by: Patrick http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-14558 Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:24:37 +0100 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-14558 I'm with headachebaby. Long time I didn't see such awesome fight scenes. And the soundtrack did a wonderful job in enhancing the epic moments. Really great movie. I’m with headachebaby. Long time I didn’t see such awesome fight scenes. And the soundtrack did a wonderful job in enhancing the epic moments.
Really great movie.

]]> by: headachebaby http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-13608 Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:18:37 +0100 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-13608 Just watched this yesterday and it's a good anime movie. I say it deserves more than 80/100 rating. Of course the subject of 2 super fighters has been done numerous times, but the animation, soundtrack, the culture differences, and the relationship between the hero and boy were good. I'm glad that they had the Ming speak chinese. Even if others consider the chinese dialogs as doggy, hey, it was good that it was used. In other animes, the creators introduce other ethnic groups but never attempt to introduce the language. It's odd...like all the other ethnic groups speak and understand Japanese. I definitely like the soundtrack and it made the movie epic-like. I'll definitely buy this movie on DVD. My rating 90/100 ^_^ Just watched this yesterday and it’s a good anime movie. I say it deserves more than 80/100 rating. Of course the subject of 2 super fighters has been done numerous times, but the animation, soundtrack, the culture differences, and the relationship between the hero and boy were good.

I’m glad that they had the Ming speak chinese. Even if others consider the chinese dialogs as doggy, hey, it was good that it was used. In other animes, the creators introduce other ethnic groups but never attempt to introduce the language. It’s odd…like all the other ethnic groups speak and understand Japanese.

I definitely like the soundtrack and it made the movie epic-like. I’ll definitely buy this movie on DVD. My rating 90/100 ^_^

]]> by: Gabe from Indiana http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-11476 Fri, 06 Feb 2009 10:01:12 +0000 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-11476 What interested me was that it was an anime where hair color and eye color other than the ethnic norm for Japanese was treated as a scary and freakish thing. The percentage of anime with all Japanese charachteristics is less than one percent acording to a study conducted last year by TV Asahi. Also interesting was the play on cultures and cultural barriers such as language. The Ming considered the inhabitants of Akiake to be brutal warriors and are horrified by the execution of the lord they kidnapped The Japanese feel the Ming are the brutes and that thier culture is the violent one and secrecy and feelings of supperiority to boot. But the Japanese utelize betrayal and torture and show no fielty to thier own lord where the Ming show undying allegience to the Emperor. The two westerners are each tied to one of these cultures. One with the Ming simply fights for the sport. The other was made to kill because he was ordered and takes no joy in it and wants to never kill again. It was very interesting to see the two cultures at odds and to see that in the end they were equaly brutal and equally matched. What interested me was that it was an anime where hair color and eye color other than the ethnic norm for Japanese was treated as a scary and freakish thing. The percentage of anime with all Japanese charachteristics is less than one percent acording to a study conducted last year by TV Asahi.

Also interesting was the play on cultures and cultural barriers such as language. The Ming considered the inhabitants of Akiake to be brutal warriors and are horrified by the execution of the lord they kidnapped

The Japanese feel the Ming are the brutes and that thier culture is the violent one and secrecy and feelings of supperiority to boot. But the Japanese utelize betrayal and torture and show no fielty to thier own lord where the Ming show undying allegience to the Emperor.

The two westerners are each tied to one of these cultures. One with the Ming simply fights for the sport. The other was made to kill because he was ordered and takes no joy in it and wants to never kill again.

It was very interesting to see the two cultures at odds and to see that in the end they were equaly brutal and equally matched.

]]> by: Danny Chen http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-11375 Sat, 31 Jan 2009 11:39:31 +0000 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-11375 I just watch the movie and it was great! Excellent plot and pacing, good character development, stupendous fight scenes... yeah its a little gory but its campy gory... reminds me of a lot of old samurai movies where blood shoots out of everyone! :) After all, people nowadays are fed on a diet of Saw and Hostel... I must agree that the mandarin spoken was quite accurate actually... just right for each character... actual chinese spoke fluent mandarin while the foreigners spoke accented mandarin. Moreover, its hard to find anime that has no fantasy/sci-fi/horror/psycho/environmental themes in it... well there was the elixir of life thing but even that was handled in a down-to-earth manner. Oh yeah, one more thing... do you think the movie ends with possibilities of a sequel or series in it. I just watch the movie and it was great! Excellent plot and pacing, good character development, stupendous fight scenes… yeah its a little gory but its campy gory… reminds me of a lot of old samurai movies where blood shoots out of everyone! :) After all, people nowadays are fed on a diet of Saw and Hostel…

I must agree that the mandarin spoken was quite accurate actually… just right for each character… actual chinese spoke fluent mandarin while the foreigners spoke accented mandarin.

Moreover, its hard to find anime that has no fantasy/sci-fi/horror/psycho/environmental themes in it… well there was the elixir of life thing but even that was handled in a down-to-earth manner.

Oh yeah, one more thing… do you think the movie ends with possibilities of a sequel or series in it.

]]> by: tobumaru http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-9613 Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:35:09 +0100 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-9613 actually that was a different dialect spoken in china...there is no language called 'chinese' they have different languages there and none of them is called 'chinese'. The dialect they spoke is an old one I think cuz I've heard it in some chinese movies before...so it wasn't 'bad chinese'. actually that was a different dialect spoken in china…there is no language called ‘chinese’ they have different languages there and none of them is called ‘chinese’. The dialect they spoke is an old one I think cuz I’ve heard it in some chinese movies before…so it wasn’t ‘bad chinese’.

]]> by: centzon totochtin http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7957 Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:57:17 +0100 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7957 I agree; Dodgy plot but the character interactions rang true, and the kid actually behaved like a kid and still wasn't annoying, which is pretty rare. Beautiful looking too, grainy film-effects, muted colours, rain and mud and mountains and falling-down houses and snowy woods, great character designs with emotion obviously considered over prettiness, which is always good to see. I loved it. Bit confused as to how this is licensed but the similar but much more accessible-to-all-ages Seirei No Moribito isn't, also confused as to what was so special about his blood to start with, but meh :). For people bored by prettiness, it was worth it just for the fights in my opinion :) they are getting so damn good at animating the things these days... it is a massive pity the violence will stop young kids from getting to watch it, but any toning-down of these set pieces would have been a crime, plus half of the comedy moments wouldve been lost.. I also liked how they didnt make it clear at the end whether the main character was going to live or die. but yep, even I who do not speak either japanese or chinese could tell the chinese was bad :D the guy who suggested it was intentional could well be right, but it just looked like bad acting, and ruined the blond guys character every time he spoke chinese :) I agree; Dodgy plot but the character interactions rang true, and the kid actually behaved like a kid and still wasn’t annoying, which is pretty rare. Beautiful looking too, grainy film-effects, muted colours, rain and mud and mountains and falling-down houses and snowy woods, great character designs with emotion obviously considered over prettiness, which is always good to see. I loved it. Bit confused as to how this is licensed but the similar but much more accessible-to-all-ages Seirei No Moribito isn’t, also confused as to what was so special about his blood to start with, but meh :).

For people bored by prettiness, it was worth it just for the fights in my opinion :) they are getting so damn good at animating the things these days… it is a massive pity the violence will stop young kids from getting to watch it, but any toning-down of these set pieces would have been a crime, plus half of the comedy moments wouldve been lost.. I also liked how they didnt make it clear at the end whether the main character was going to live or die.

but yep, even I who do not speak either japanese or chinese could tell the chinese was bad :D the guy who suggested it was intentional could well be right, but it just looked like bad acting, and ruined the blond guys character every time he spoke chinese :)

]]> by: Will http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7936 Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:18:24 +0100 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7936 <blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>�the dodgy Jap-accented Chinese which was obviously phonetically memorised ^^</blockquote> Yeah, it definitely is dodgy and in my opinion, more dodgy than hearing the usual Engrish. the chinese ming soldiers were speaking perfect chinese. the western ming soldier and the japanese boy were, imo, purposely made to speak poor chinese.

�the dodgy Jap-accented Chinese which was obviously phonetically memorised ^^

Yeah, it definitely is dodgy and in my opinion, more dodgy than hearing the usual Engrish.

the chinese ming soldiers were speaking perfect chinese. the western ming soldier and the japanese boy were, imo, purposely made to speak poor chinese.

]]> by: adam http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7876 Thu, 29 May 2008 01:49:00 +0100 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7876 Hey I loved this movie! Does anyone have any suggestions for anime movies I can watch like this? Hey I loved this movie! Does anyone have any suggestions for anime movies I can watch like this?

]]> by: Archer http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7689 Sun, 18 May 2008 12:43:09 +0100 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7689 i just watched this movie yesterday and i enjoyed every moment of it,true the plot is quite silly and i can't say the characters have that much depth and yet it was very good the animation was beautiful,i know it is a movie but few anime are capable of bringing such a visually wonderful art at this moment(seirei no moribito is the last one i can remember) so such movies are always welcome and i had nothing against the gore,they did not exaggerate with it and in the end it turned into a very enjoyable movie i just watched this movie yesterday and i enjoyed every moment of it,true the plot is quite silly and i can’t say the characters have that much depth and yet it was very good

the animation was beautiful,i know it is a movie but few anime are capable of bringing such a visually wonderful art at this moment(seirei no moribito is the last one i can remember) so such movies are always welcome and i had nothing against the gore,they did not exaggerate with it and in the end it turned into a very enjoyable movie

]]> by: Ganaesh D. http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7312 Fri, 25 Apr 2008 08:13:59 +0100 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7312 Amazing. It was really freakin' amazing. The detail of the animation is simply astounding, and the music is powerful. Amazing what taiko drums can do to a film score. Rock-solid action, and the crazy amount of gore was a welcome surprise, as I never expected this from Bones. Straight-forward no-nonsense actioner... and boy, could they do it! It was a pleasant surprise to watch Mukoh Hadan, to say the least. Makes me wonder what the hell Gonzo was thinking when they produced Agito. Amazing. It was really freakin’ amazing. The detail of the animation is simply astounding, and the music is powerful. Amazing what taiko drums can do to a film score. Rock-solid action, and the crazy amount of gore was a welcome surprise, as I never expected this from Bones. Straight-forward no-nonsense actioner… and boy, could they do it!

It was a pleasant surprise to watch Mukoh Hadan, to say the least. Makes me wonder what the hell Gonzo was thinking when they produced Agito.

]]> by: dowamaru http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7285 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:56:34 +0100 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7285 You are right, the subject matter had been done and watched before. Still, I honestly watched it for the action and ended up liking the movie thanks to the bond between the protagonists. It was heart warming and quite an enjoyable movie. It didn't take itself seriously (nor as gory) as Shigurui but nothing wrong with a change of pace when it comes to period pieces. Good story pace and well drawn out characters...What else can you ask Bones for? ~Shivers at Gonzo~ You are right, the subject matter had been done and watched before. Still, I honestly watched it for the action and ended up liking the movie thanks to the bond between the protagonists. It was heart warming and quite an enjoyable movie. It didn’t take itself seriously (nor as gory) as Shigurui but nothing wrong with a change of pace when it comes to period pieces.
Good story pace and well drawn out characters…What else can you ask Bones for?

~Shivers at Gonzo~

]]> by: leongsh http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7216 Sun, 20 Apr 2008 05:31:00 +0100 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7216 <blockquote>... the dodgy Jap-accented Chinese which was obviously phonetically memorised ^^</blockquote> Yeah, it definitely is dodgy and in my opinion, more dodgy than hearing the usual Engrish. But we're here to enjoy the movie and enjoy it I did - very much so. Rewatched it when I saw this blog entry put up. Beautiful art and wonderful animation with great action sequences, a stirring and evocative soundtrack, a straightforward story - the strengths of this movie.

… the dodgy Jap-accented Chinese which was obviously phonetically memorised ^^

Yeah, it definitely is dodgy and in my opinion, more dodgy than hearing the usual Engrish.

But we’re here to enjoy the movie and enjoy it I did - very much so. Rewatched it when I saw this blog entry put up. Beautiful art and wonderful animation with great action sequences, a stirring and evocative soundtrack, a straightforward story - the strengths of this movie.

]]> by: xiaohu http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7212 Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:34:27 +0100 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7212 Just finished watching the movie and it was well worth that 1hr48mins! Gore-concerns aside, the balance between the quiet and fight scenes was particularly good, and the music was pretty epic. My only 2 gripes would be not enough background story development for the 2 main characters, and the dodgy Jap-accented Chinese which was obviously phonetically memorised ^^ Overall, happily satisfied. Just finished watching the movie and it was well worth that 1hr48mins! Gore-concerns aside, the balance between the quiet and fight scenes was particularly good, and the music was pretty epic. My only 2 gripes would be not enough background story development for the 2 main characters, and the dodgy Jap-accented Chinese which was obviously phonetically memorised ^^ Overall, happily satisfied.

]]> by: Denizen http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7204 Sat, 19 Apr 2008 20:34:09 +0100 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7204 I really enjoyed this movie. It's definitely worth watching. Damn good. I really enjoyed this movie. It’s definitely worth watching.

Damn good.

]]> by: Little One http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7201 Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:09:37 +0100 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7201 thank you for your review on this movie! i never heard of it &amp; immediately downloaded it after i read your review! it was superb &amp; i'm super grateful to u!!! thank you for your review on this movie! i never heard of it & immediately downloaded it after i read your review! it was superb & i’m super grateful to u!!!

]]> by: Bodom http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7183 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:09:36 +0100 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7183 I really enjoyed this movie! Ok, because of the gore it's "only" for a mature target, but I'm not 13 years old anymore, and I loved the genuine moments as much as the violent ones. I agree about the music, it really complements the movie perfectly (and sometimes it reminds me of the LOTR soundtrack... XD). My score: 90/100 I really enjoyed this movie! Ok, because of the gore it’s “only” for a mature target, but I’m not 13 years old anymore, and I loved the genuine moments as much as the violent ones. I agree about the music, it really complements the movie perfectly (and sometimes it reminds me of the LOTR soundtrack… XD). My score: 90/100

]]> by: aya http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7182 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:17:44 +0100 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7182 It reminded me of Seirei no Moribito a lot. Same beautiful autmn nature. Same accent on relationship of an ex-samurai and a kid. Same excellent fights choreography, but here there're more of them. It reminded me of Seirei no Moribito a lot. Same beautiful autmn nature. Same accent on relationship of an ex-samurai and a kid. Same excellent fights choreography, but here there’re more of them.

]]> by: Hunter-Wolf http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7181 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:24:56 +0100 http://psgels.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/sword-of-the-stranger-review-80100/#comment-7181 Well ... nice to that hear the movie turned out to be good .. i was thrilled when i watched the trailer and knew it was made by Bones ^_^ About the story ... well it is a fact that it gets harder and harder everyday to create something that hasn't been done before ... people really have to understand that .. what really matters now is how well you execute the story and characters .... and from what i read they seems well executed ;) Thanks for the review Well … nice to that hear the movie turned out to be good .. i was thrilled when i watched the trailer and knew it was made by Bones ^_^

About the story … well it is a fact that it gets harder and harder everyday to create something that hasn’t been done before … people really have to understand that .. what really matters now is how well you execute the story and characters …. and from what i read they seems well executed ;)

Thanks for the review

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