Memory Monday: Week 2 (Spoiler free)

Welcome to week 2 of my new weekly segment, Memory Monday. Every Monday I select an anime that has completed airing and talk about it. The anime might be one that has been overlooked, critically acclaimed, or nostalgic. Hopefully I will be able to give a different perspective on the show to people who have already seen it and give motivation to watch it for people who have yet to.

No Spoilers Past Here

This week's Memory Monday pick is Katanagatari



Katanagatari
Number of Episodes: 12
Run Time: 50 minutes per episode
Personal Rating: 9/10
Katanagatari is unfortunately not online for streaming.

 
"Transcending history and the world, a tale of souls and swords, eternally retold." (Soul Calibur reference for those who don't know). Katanagatari is literally about a tale of swords, so I'm always reminded of this quote when talking about Katanagatari. I'm not sure how overlooked Katanagatari is relative to other anime, but I know that there are a surprising number of people who have not seen it. If you've overlooked this series, here's hoping that I can motivate you to give it a try. If you've already seen it, sit back and enjoy the nostalgia trip.

What it's about:
Katanagatari has a relatively simple plot where if you boil it down, it's just a simple adventure to collect legendary swords. To elaborate, in the world of Katanagatari, there was a genius blacksmith who forged twelve legendary swords. The government wants the swords, which have been scattered across Japan, in their possession so they task a self proclaimed "strategian" with the collection of them. Her travels lead her to an island where one of the swords is rumored to be. There, she meets one of two of the island's denizens, Shichika. She discovers that Shichika and his sister are practitioners of Kyotouryuu which is a martial arts style that is specifically designed to fight against swords bare handed. One thing leads to another and she enlists the help of Shichika to help search for the legendary swords.

Quality and Quantity:
One of the things that might've caught your eye when you were reading my description was that each episode is 50 minutes and the anime is 12 episodes long. It might sound tedious to sit through 50 minutes of anime but I assure you, from the first second to the last, you'll be wishing that it had more than 50 minutes. Katanagatari is just simply extremely entertaining to watch.

One of a Kind:
Katanagatari has a very distinct art style that makes it look like a moving scroll painting. This style really fits well with the setting and atmosphere of the anime ultimately giving it more character. Sometimes, the style slightly changes though, or more specifically the outline of the characters change. Bolder lines are used sometimes that are similar to the ink from calligraphy brushes really making the anime look more like a moving scroll.

Less bold lines are used for her

Much Bolder lines are used in this

It's a small world after all
If there's one thing I can criticize Katanagatari for, it's that I never felt that the world they lived in was that big. Certainly, each episode began in such different environments that it was easy to tell that they were traveling great distances but it never actually felt like it. This is most likely because they were seldom shown actually traveling. Of course, there's the argument that since each episode is about one of the swords and each sword is in a different place so of course they wouldn't show them travelling. This is true, but it still doesn't change the fact that it's hard to really grasp how large their world really is (even though it's set in Japan).
That being said, each environment was very fresh and exciting.

 
Fight! Fight! Fight!:
One of the main reasons you should watch Katanagatari is for the fights. You might think you know hype fights, but Katanagatari takes it to a new level. Every fight is well crafted and tailored to the opponent and situation at hand making it satisfying to see how Shichika and Togame work around them and formulate their strategy to win. The fights are only made better by the great animation by Katanagatari's animation team.
Each fight also is able to fully capture the uniqueness of the characters involved making each fight special and memorable.

A Story to Remember:
Another great aspect of Katanagatri is its story. I've said this multiple times, but each episode of Katanagatari is a different story on how they locate and recover one of the legendary swords. Though the overarching story is nothing too new, the in between is what makes Katanagatari so special. It's difficult to explain how each episode is so great without saying the same thing I've been saying about each episode's uniqueness being the main factor in why it's so successful. There are also very small quirks that each character have that keep the episodes feeling fresh.

Final Verdict. Should You Watch It?
YES
If you missed Katanagatari somehow, do yourself a favor and give Katanagatari a watch. It's an amazing anime that you will never forget. There are some things that the show left to be desired, but that's mostly plot that is intentionally left out for whatever reason. Katanagatari has all the makings of a great anime and the only way you will disappoint yourself is by not watching it.