Young Kotaro lives with his dog when he is attacked by some mysterious swordsmen. Luckily for him, in the old temple where he was hiding a nameless ronin was just chilling out. The nameless ronin helps Kotaro, but the dog gets hurt and they leave the temple to try to find someone to save the dog's life. Why do this people want to get Kotaro? Will they get to him? And what hidden past does this nameless ronin have?
"Sword of the Stranger" is a very basic action movie, that follows all the: a wandering samurai saves someone and decides to stuck with them because of some memory of the past while hordes of enemies keep coming and thousands of battles ensue. The plot is a little bit silly, but it really doesn't matter because anyone can follow it. It is a little bit slow paced and some editing to take out around 10 minutes would have improved it.
The strongest point is the character development and the relationship between Kotaro, No Name and the dog (and the horse). It feels real, and the movie does a great job in making us care for all of them. The uninteresting bad guys fare worse, even if Rarou has an acceptable well developed personality, but in the I-am-bad-but-respect-my-enemies category.
"Sword of the Stranger" will be enjoyed by fans of the chanbara genre or action movies and anime, but it could have been so much better it's a pity it settles for just average.
"Sword of the Stranger" is a very basic action movie, that follows all the: a wandering samurai saves someone and decides to stuck with them because of some memory of the past while hordes of enemies keep coming and thousands of battles ensue. The plot is a little bit silly, but it really doesn't matter because anyone can follow it. It is a little bit slow paced and some editing to take out around 10 minutes would have improved it.
The strongest point is the character development and the relationship between Kotaro, No Name and the dog (and the horse). It feels real, and the movie does a great job in making us care for all of them. The uninteresting bad guys fare worse, even if Rarou has an acceptable well developed personality, but in the I-am-bad-but-respect-my-enemies category.
"Sword of the Stranger" will be enjoyed by fans of the chanbara genre or action movies and anime, but it could have been so much better it's a pity it settles for just average.