Despite what my reviews may lead you to believe at times I liking having fun while watching anime. It is in fact the primary reason why I watch anime. Beyond all the intricacies of craft I could discuss all the subtleties of storytelling I could dig into the reason I love this medium so much is how much I enjoy simply watching it. Creating fun is just as important a skill for writers to learn as crafting characters and worlds writing dialogue structuring plots and so on. It takes work to make a story genuinely fun. It takes effort to bring an audience to the edge of their seat laughing and cheering and gasping at the events unfolding before them. Fun is important. Fun matters. So while Sword of the Stranger isnt the deepest or most complex movie Ive ever seen it accomplishes something far more important: it let me have so much goddamn fun watching it. And thats more than enough for me to consider it a triumphant success. The story is your standard Japanese feudalera samurai flick theres a hotheaded kid and a badass loner samurai and they have to team up to go from one place to the next pursued by evil samurai all the way. There are more specific details but thats really the long and short of it. Kotaro is being pursued by a corrupt lord and his samurai warriors for an unknown reason and a chance encounter brings him into contact with an unnamed samurai mercenary who fights without drawing his sword thanks to past atrocities he was forced to commit. They dont get along but the kid hires him to be his bodyguard and escort him to a faroff temple where he believes hell find sanctuary. Naturally the journey takes them across the rural landscape of feudal Japan where they do battle with bandits enemy samurai and an elite group of Chinese mercenaries with their own reasons for pursuing the kid. Theres also a background political subplot detailing the skullduggery between the Chinese and Japanese forces to explain why theyre chasing Kotaro with some light mysticism thrown in for good measure regarding a search for an immortalitygranting drug. Its probably a little too convoluted for its own good but it doesnt matter that much to begin with so no great loss. As long as it allows the story to throw in more action setpieces between a wide variety of fighting styles thats all it needs to do. Because great googly moogly the action in this film is fucking incredible. Its a smorgasboard of the best handtohand swordfights ever put to animation courtesy of the alwaysexcellent Studio Bones pooling all their talent into every last clash of steel. The choreography the use of locations during fights the speed and brutality these battles are as bloody and vicious as real swordfights the fantastic cinematography and editing and spectacular animation across the board make every last fight however brief an absolute treat to behold. And with all the different fighting styles on display swordsmanship spearfighting doublewielding master archers chain weapons bombs and throwing knives every fight allows for a unique matchup of combatants that keeps things fresh and exciting to the very end. And for the climax Sword of the Stranger pulls out all the stops and throws every single character together into a massive siege that constantly tops itself with cool moment after cool moment spilling buckets of blood in endlessly entertaining ways all coming to a head for a single duel between two master swordsman that has rightly gone down in anime history as one of this mediums finest fight scenes. It. Is. Fucking. AWESOME. But thats not to say the story is bad either. In fact I think what makes Sword of the Stranger work so well is that between all the spectacular action its just a damn good version of the classic Lone Wolf and Cubtype store. Kotaro and the nameless samurai have great chemistry together and watching them learn to trust each other is really charming. We dont get too much information about the dark pasts theyve both endured but we get enough to understand the pain theyre going through and how this bond is helping both of them process their trauma. Its a really touching portrayal of found family especially when you throw in the adorable badass dog Tobimaru who tags along with them and tears the throats out of any bandit unlucky enough to cross his path. He is truly Best Boy and Ill fight anyone who disagrees. On a base level you just enjoy being with these characters. Youre invested in their struggle you want to see them succeed and that investment effortlessly carries you through their journey before paying off in a beautiful climactic moment that solidifies the strength of their bond. Even the side characters underdeveloped though they are all make strong impressions thanks to great designs strong performances and a handful of cool moments apiece that stick in your mind and make sure you remember their faces even if you cant remember their names. And outside the fight scenes Bones excellent production values strong character acting gorgeous background art a great sense of space and dimension ensure that this movie is always fun to at least look at. This may be a rather simple review but dont take that simplicity as an insult against Sword of the Stranger. Its a very simple film after all and thats to its benefit. Its exactly what it says on the tin a charming samurai adventure with great animation incredible fights scenes an emotionally resonant core and a constant sense of fun that makes it an absolute delight to watch. If you can stomach the goriness of the fight scenes because make no mistake the violence in this movie is gnarly then Sword of the Stranger is a mustwatch for anyone looking for a good time.