When his home of a temple is burned down, Kotaro (Yuuri Chinen) and his canine companion Tobimaru are forced to flee for their lives. They must run from the local Feudal Lords soldiers, who are aided by chinese warriors wielding strange weapons, who feel no pain and are on the hunt for the secret of immortality: a secret that can only be revealed with a human sacrifice. The only one willing to help Kotaro is No-name/Nanashi (Tomoya Nagase), a wandering samurai who refuses to draw his sword, but who must fight to protect both the child's life and his own.
An animated production that comes from somewhere other than Studio Ghibli, yet just as outstanding. Visually alone this film is stunning to watch, whether it is breathtaking replications of Feudal Japan or mesmerising action packed sword fights. The characters are thoroughly enjoyable - the heroes are lovable, especially the clever dog Tobimaru, and the Villains are utterly hate-able if only because they all go around stabbing each other in the back. And there is far more to this film than just action packed excitement. The musical score plucks at the heart of every audience member. The dialogue is very cleverly separated into clear differences between the Chinese and Japanese, and this is something that isn't often seen in film (as miraculously all the characters speak the same language with no difficulty in a normal film).
Cutting right to the chase, Sword of the Stranger is the definitive companion to anyone who loves sword slinging excitement and films with epic story lines.
