Shelf Life

Sword in the Stranger

I also had the chance to check out Bandai's Blu-ray release of Sword of the Stranger, a gorgeously animated, blood-soaked samurai romp that entertains for its full 102 minute run. Animated and created by BONES, the film tries its hand at the same type of sword-wielding action adventure that has made samurai films such a dominant fan favorite worldwide. Using a classic bad-guys-chase-a-kid-and-his-comrades story as the backbone, the film succeeds in delivering something that would delight a bulk of its audience.

There are a few overlapping conflicts in the movie that result in several glorious battles along the way. The main one is that of Chinese soldiers who are chasing after a boy and his dog; the boy is presumably the one whose blood will provide the key ingredient to one of their rituals. Luckily for him, he runs into a ronin who agrees to work for hire, who has his own past that he's running away from. Then there's the Japanese army, who distrusts the Chinese from the beginning, eventually leading to further clashes. There are a lot of complexities for such a seemingly simple storyline, and it keeps things interesting—a good thing, because the main boy character is a little hard to like. We learn over the movie that he's probably faced enough hardship in his life to be an a-hole (after all, there are soldiers out to kill him), but his irritating nature doesn't really endear him to the audience much. Bonus: his dog is the best.

What I found to be particularly interesting was the interplay between the Chinese and the Japanese in the film. Notably, the Chinese characters switch between speaking Japanese and Mandarin (even the Aryan Chinese soldier, whose stilted Mandarin was a nice touch), which I wasn't really expecting, but appreciated. Somewhat amusingly, the Chinese are portrayed as a nutty bunch who are obsessed with mystical rituals and the chase for immortality, something scoffed at by the foreigner, who professed his disdain for both China and Japan a few times. It wasn't just the Chinese getting the bum rap, though—the Japanese were portrayed a bit as money-grubbing backstabbers, whose loyalty extended only as far as the money trail. This was a little unexpected, since I'm not normally used to seeing the villainy so balanced between both countries, but it made the conflict in the movie more interesting.

Artistically, this film is something to be admired. The visuals are really breathtaking, especially in high-definition. The backgrounds were incredibly lush and looked great splashed across a 50” TV. Even better were the fight scenes, which were beautifully drawn, and even better “choreographed,” The animators definitely put a lot of extra time into the action scenes, and it shows. Music-wise, the soundtrack was pretty grandiose, filling the more poignant moments with a very Lord of the Rings-esque theme that matched the gravitas of the film.

Sword of the Stranger has a lot of mass appeal. If one could define anime movies as summer blockbusters, then Sword of the Stranger would fall under that category. It's fast-paced and packed with action, and it looks good, too. It's not a masterpiece, per se, but as far as entertainment for the masses go, this one's a winner.[TOP]

Also reviewed this week was the last volume of Baccano, a series that's been slowly descending into madness since its first episode. Not just some of the characters, who are actually mentally losing it, to the point where there's an entire scene where one of them is maniacally bashing apart a concrete floor using a monkey wrench—but also the pacing of the series itself, which finally accelerates to its max speed. And then, here's where the delight of seeing this on DVD comes in—the series immediately segues into the three OVAs that were released a few months later. We get to see the same brutal killers meeting up years later. In some cases, they're chatting at a café, talking casually about killing as though they were gabbing about last night's ball game. Or they're gathered in a room, working together to set up an elaborate domino pattern.

At first, I was a little surprised that they had decided to release the series in this manner, leaving the last episode for the final volume, then tacking on the three OVAs in the same volume. Now that I've watched them in sequence, though, I have to admit it adds a really nice, albeit surprising, effect. Starting from the first episode, the events of Baccano have played out like a train with broken brakes, hurtling down a track. Fitting, considering most of the series takes place on the Flying Pussyfoot. It started out with a few scenes introducing the main groups, with flashbacks thrown in to explain the immortality angle, as well as glimpses into the events that transpired afterwards. Before the audience can fully grasp the intricacy of the series and how closely all the characters' lives are intermingled, blood is flying everywhere, people are cackling wildly, bodies are getting vacuumed into hands, and kids are getting tortured to death every night. It's crazy and disturbing, but wild and fun all at the same time.

Then, like turning on a light switch, the OVAs take place. While they have their fair share of crazy, too, I was so jarred at seeing most of the characters chilling out playing with dominos, that I felt like I had just flown headfirst out of the metaphorical train. I don't know if the US content producers had structured the DVD releases on purpose to achieve that effect, but even if it was an accident, it was a good one. It may leave viewers wanting more and more, but it's been a hell of a ride.

And really, I can't say enough about the atmosphere that Baccano has created. The series wouldn't be the same without the sharp tuxedos spattered in blood, or the bacchanalian saxophone solos blaring over the blood-letting. It helps place the series somewhere between an orgy and a spinning tea cup ride, and it's understandable that this show simply would not appeal to some people. It does require a fair amount of attentiveness to watch, especially to sort out all the characters and time shifts, but at the end, it's like coming up for air, and it's a good feeling. I'm a little sad to see Baccano end so soon, but it's been really entertaining, and I highly encourage everyone to check it out.[TOP]