Alternative Titles
Japanese: 刀語
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 12
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Jan 25, 2010 to Dec 10, 2010
Producers: Aniplex, White Fox, NIS America, Inc.
Genres: Action, Adventure, Martial Arts
Duration: 50 min. per episode
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
Review
ART & ANIMATION: 8
In terms of art and animation, the show is about 2/5 panned shots with dialogue, 2/5 characters walking and talking* and the remaining 1/5 is killtastic, quick action fight scenes. The graphic style of the series is unique, as I have not seen many others like it and while it appears simple, it works well nonetheless. The backgrounds of the scenes were beautifully drawn as well the"impact" effects that the characters inflicted upon them. For each episode of the series, each one received their own unique ending credits animation with a floral theme that reflected the time of year and area the characters traveled through during the episode, as well as the protagonists attire matching what they wore during the episode. Each ending is not visually intricate or direly different from one another (save for the final episode), but the variety is appreciated as gesture of extra effort for the audience.
*There is a lot of talking in this series, including many jokes, puns, and banter. If you are not a native Japanese speaker, or maybe you can't read subtitles so quickly, don't hesitate to hit that pause button! The characters won't judge you, though your media player might. This is under the assumption you are watching the series in the original Japanese dub. If you are not, you are most likely in the future, in which case, congratulations!
SOUND: 10
The soundtrack of the series was excellent with a variety of of music genres, which throughout the series adapted wonderfully to the conversations, comedy, environment and fight scenes and sound amazing on their own. In addition to the variety of ending credits animation, each episode received it's own ending musical theme as well. There are two opening credit themes. All very catchy, I loved them! Majority of the series' musical scores were composed by Taku Iwasaki, the gent who also produced for Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Gurren Lagann and Soul Eater and resemblance to their themes can be heard throughout the series. If you do not know of these series, it may be helpful for you to consult some sort of website specializing in anime series analysis.
...Wait for it.
STORY: 7
The story, is simple, the young heroes depart from their homes and collect the 12 mystical "swords", a very lenient term in this series, in order to achieve the greater good of the community. On their quest, they encounter many adversaries who wish to also possess the 12 "swords" for their own nefarious reasons and thus engage in battle with the heroes over their possession. Nothing groundbreaking in terms of story telling. However, halfway through the series, plot twist enters the fray with the introduction of new characters, and plot developments involving alternate futures, altered pasts and unforeseen general idealisms. Nothing too remarkable but it keeps the story moving from A to B.
CHARACTER: 8
The characters! The shining glint at the edge of the black sunglasses, the thing that really makes this show shine with excitement. Each characters costume is unique, flamboyant and quite plainly, awesome, colorful and articulate, and makes a clear point to the audience that they are indeed a main character, or at the very least a noteworthy secondary. Many characters have their own quirky personality (I hate it when I use that word), each their own fighting style, motives and traits, from creepy with an unworldly ability to swallow things that shouldn't be, to juvenile and shy, to quiet and sadistic. A notable aspect of the series is the growth of first protagonist, Shichika, who at the beginning of the series seems barely human in terms of interaction and communication, but throughout the progression of the series, learns what it means to become human with the help of the other protagonist, Togame, and the other characters which he meets and interacts with. The characters make good conversations and just mesh well together. The voice acting is wonderful and capture the characters personalities well through their dialogue. Some characters, some of the villains mainly, seem bland however.
VALUE: 9
I gave this a series a 9 for value. I will watch it again. That is because I liked it so much. I might buy it when or if it comes out in my country. It also taught me most of what I know about the geography of Japan. I would recommend it to many people as a fine example of what anime is.
ENJOYMENT: 10
2010 was a kinda crappy year. A lot of smut stuff came out, though a lot came out in 2009 which I may be associating with 2010 but nonetheless. There were a lot of series which I looked at and thought "meh" to but this was one of the ones I stuck with and I'm glad I did because I enjoyed the raspberry filling out of it.
In terms of art and animation, the show is about 2/5 panned shots with dialogue, 2/5 characters walking and talking* and the remaining 1/5 is killtastic, quick action fight scenes. The graphic style of the series is unique, as I have not seen many others like it and while it appears simple, it works well nonetheless. The backgrounds of the scenes were beautifully drawn as well the"impact" effects that the characters inflicted upon them. For each episode of the series, each one received their own unique ending credits animation with a floral theme that reflected the time of year and area the characters traveled through during the episode, as well as the protagonists attire matching what they wore during the episode. Each ending is not visually intricate or direly different from one another (save for the final episode), but the variety is appreciated as gesture of extra effort for the audience.
*There is a lot of talking in this series, including many jokes, puns, and banter. If you are not a native Japanese speaker, or maybe you can't read subtitles so quickly, don't hesitate to hit that pause button! The characters won't judge you, though your media player might. This is under the assumption you are watching the series in the original Japanese dub. If you are not, you are most likely in the future, in which case, congratulations!
SOUND: 10
The soundtrack of the series was excellent with a variety of of music genres, which throughout the series adapted wonderfully to the conversations, comedy, environment and fight scenes and sound amazing on their own. In addition to the variety of ending credits animation, each episode received it's own ending musical theme as well. There are two opening credit themes. All very catchy, I loved them! Majority of the series' musical scores were composed by Taku Iwasaki, the gent who also produced for Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Gurren Lagann and Soul Eater and resemblance to their themes can be heard throughout the series. If you do not know of these series, it may be helpful for you to consult some sort of website specializing in anime series analysis.
...Wait for it.
STORY: 7
The story, is simple, the young heroes depart from their homes and collect the 12 mystical "swords", a very lenient term in this series, in order to achieve the greater good of the community. On their quest, they encounter many adversaries who wish to also possess the 12 "swords" for their own nefarious reasons and thus engage in battle with the heroes over their possession. Nothing groundbreaking in terms of story telling. However, halfway through the series, plot twist enters the fray with the introduction of new characters, and plot developments involving alternate futures, altered pasts and unforeseen general idealisms. Nothing too remarkable but it keeps the story moving from A to B.
CHARACTER: 8
The characters! The shining glint at the edge of the black sunglasses, the thing that really makes this show shine with excitement. Each characters costume is unique, flamboyant and quite plainly, awesome, colorful and articulate, and makes a clear point to the audience that they are indeed a main character, or at the very least a noteworthy secondary. Many characters have their own quirky personality (I hate it when I use that word), each their own fighting style, motives and traits, from creepy with an unworldly ability to swallow things that shouldn't be, to juvenile and shy, to quiet and sadistic. A notable aspect of the series is the growth of first protagonist, Shichika, who at the beginning of the series seems barely human in terms of interaction and communication, but throughout the progression of the series, learns what it means to become human with the help of the other protagonist, Togame, and the other characters which he meets and interacts with. The characters make good conversations and just mesh well together. The voice acting is wonderful and capture the characters personalities well through their dialogue. Some characters, some of the villains mainly, seem bland however.
VALUE: 9
I gave this a series a 9 for value. I will watch it again. That is because I liked it so much. I might buy it when or if it comes out in my country. It also taught me most of what I know about the geography of Japan. I would recommend it to many people as a fine example of what anime is.
ENJOYMENT: 10
2010 was a kinda crappy year. A lot of smut stuff came out, though a lot came out in 2009 which I may be associating with 2010 but nonetheless. There were a lot of series which I looked at and thought "meh" to but this was one of the ones I stuck with and I'm glad I did because I enjoyed the raspberry filling out of it.
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