Trailer for Masahiro Ando's 'Sword of the Stranger', Feature Length Anime from Bones.
I've seen this teased and clipped somewhat across some anime sites, and given we've had that mini run of feature length anime in recent times, and given I'm still interested in more atypical anime stuff, a nicely done jidaigeki is more than welcome. This time, as Bones are the studio at the wheel, you can expect something a little more like their compromised approach for TV productions, I think, than the full blown dryness of an old black and white movie from a renowned director of old, "...The story is set in the Senkoku period. The gist of the plot is that a ronin called Nanashi (meaning 'nameless') saves a young boy Kotarou and his dog Tobimaru at an abandoned temple..." states Iwani Ni Hana, suggesting a tinge of something for the family or teen audience to go alongside the anticipated swordplay action, but, "...has abandoned his name along with his past. The man who pursues Kotarou is a man called Rarou. Rarou obeys an old man called Byakuran and is a member of the Chinese militia.... suggests something a least a little more worthwhile, perhaps controversial in the aspect of how Chinese Militia may be portrayed in the narrative. [Source : Iwani Ni Hana].
Does indeed look very nice, and although TV often manages some really impressive looking visuals in anime these days - given all the technology and experience at hand - there's something about a little extra cash and the idea of a large screen which should give this a little bump into territory that makes it a little more of a sight to behold. Opens or appears in September, over in Japan. Masahiro Ando, a first-time director here it seems, has been a key figure in the animation of Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor, Memories, Evangelion, Jin-Roh, Cowboy Bebop, and Gundam Seed - Bones have been at the helm for pieces like Wolf's Rain, Rahxephon, and Fullmetal Alchemist.
Sword of the Stranger Production Stills at Famitsu.
Sword of the Stranger Embedded Flash Trailer at the Official Site*.
Studio Bones Official Site.
*Left-hand menus, about half way up, labeled in English.
