/anime/2418/sword-of-the-stranger ▶ This theme always plays in my mind whenever I think about this film.

(Spoilers are mentioned wherever needed)
Sword of the Stranger is one of the most exhilarating and beautiful films I've ever seen, filled with excellent fights, great OSTs, meaningful exploration on strength, and an epic showdown.

There's no denial that the fights scenes only range from good to great. Every fight scene is so detailed, fluidly animated and well choreographed, it almost feels real. Add in the traditional Japanese music like flute & drums that fits the Edo setting and beautiful backgrounds, that gives this sense of beauty to every fight. But what makes these fights more than great is, the Story and it's execution.

Story and Execution

The story follows an orphan named Kotaro and his dog who are being chased by a Chinese emperor, who believes that his blood holds the key for immortality. Kotaro, then meets Nanachi, a wandering Ronin, a No name (as his name implies), who agrees to help him (& his dog) to escape. It's your classic "Lone warrior meets Lost kid" but it's brilliant execution of this simple yet powerful story makes it a great film. More than fights and plot, the movie feels so life-like. The moving crowds, well drawn landscapes and how lively every scene is. You see two warriors sharing blows with each other, and at the same time you see an old man trying to catch his fish. It's moments like these that gives a visual poetry to the film. However, the movie has one of the basic underlying theme that was told through it's one dimensional characters, and that's "Strength".

Characters and underlying theme of "Strength"

Every character in this film is one dimensional, with nothing more than a single trait that defines them, and that is, the different sources of their "Strength". Strength is a very fundamental concept in nature. It's something that we're born with, lack of and sought for, all at the same time. And the characters and their motivations represents this theme of "Strength", without explicitly saying it.

 Fearless is the one who have nothing to lose.

The main antagonist of the entire movie. He's the kind of person you don't want to face. He's powerful, reckless and unstoppable. He wants nothing but the feeling of being in a battle where he can truly feel alive. His strength comes from not having anything to lose, which makes him a fearful enemy and an unstoppable opponent.

There are some warriors among the Chinese force who've taken a certain drug called "Xian Medicine" that allows them to not feel any physical pain, whether they hit by an arrow or stabbed with a sword, they won't feel any pain which makes them unstoppable, which is where their source of strength comes from, "Not able to feel any pain".  Dreams are your strength. He's the general of the Japanese force who seeks more power and aims for a much higher position. He's the kinda person who'll do whatever it takes to make his dream come true. His strength comes from the pursuit of power. He becomes much stronger as he starts to achieve each and every dream of his, to achieve the higher power and he won't stop until he does so.  Protect your loved ones at any cost! And finally, Nanashi, our protagonist. A no name Ronin who wanders around in Edo period Japan, who tied his sword and vowed to himself that he'll never have to draw his sword ever again and the reason for this, is tied to his mysterious past (which we'll get to see a glimpse of). His strength comes from "wanting to protect". His constant struggle to protect Kotaro, is what pushes him forward and gives him strength.

All these different characters, with different motives and ambitions are weaved together into one story which resolves each of their character study with one battle, which leads to "The Epic Showdown". In it's 1hr 45 minutes runtime, the movie spends it's first half, to set for this one 30 minute long exhilarating battle. You get to see all the characters that were pre established. And as underdeveloped as they might be, gets a satisfying conclusion.
But the movie's main highlight and probably one of the greatest action sequences in all Anime, is the Epic Showdown between Luo Lang and Nanashi.

"The Epic Showdown" There's a lot to talk about this one fight. On the technical side of things the animation is fluid, filled with many little details.

Spoiler, click to view

Like how Nanashi walks towards the fire to get a grasp of his wavering consciousness, how Luo Lang's steps on the medicine that lefts behind, how they use snowy environment to blind their opponent, the destroyed construction to move around and the flashy sword effects and many more, all of these small and detailed elements culminates with each other and makes this one beautiful and epic sword fight I've ever seen. The movie completely draws you in with it's lively yet brutal atmosphere with it's fast paced action, as you see two professional sword wielders, in a "life or death" duel. A lone, fearless beast who has nothing to lose & everything to sacrifice, and a man who wishes to die, regrets his past and yet pushes himself to protect that one person who's dear to him. And when these two started to clash, it's nothing short than amazing. While we see a clear ending to "this" showdown, the movie however, ends on an open ending with few hints scattered around for what could've happened.

Nanashi rides on the horse, while Kotaro riding it. Even though, we were told that they are close to approach a village, Nanashi is completely worn out by pushing through his limits which leads him to end up with a stab through his abdomen, where blood is staring to lose which can be seen on the tracks left behind. Nanashi started to close his eyes, which could mean he's starting to lose consciousness but given how much he pushed in the battle and given how far they are to the village, there's a good chance he might've ended up dead, but that was never really said and left to the viewer to interpret.

Summary

Sword of the Stranger is a perfect example of how to deliver a payoff. While slowly building each character and plot point, it delivers "ONE EPIC FIGHT", and despite all it's short comings, it's forever a masterclass in brilliant execution to tell a simple yet effective story.