Sword of the Stranger (Sutorenjia: Mukô hadan) poster & wallpaper
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Akio Ôtsuka, Koichi Yamadera, Naoto Takenaka, Tomoya Nagase, Yûki Chinen

Set in the turbulent period of Japanese history known as the Sengoku period - or the era of Warring states - this feature length anime tells the story of a nameless ronin, robbed of identity and title... read more read more... when the second shogunate falls into chaos. Wandering the beligered countryside of his war torn nation, the former samurai happens across a boy named Kataro, who's become the target of Chinese assassins, who seem to want the boy for use in some kind of mystical ritual. The nameless ronin can't let them take an innocent child's life, and soon finds himself on the most important mission of his career - and that his life as a warrior is far from over. ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi

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90% liked it

1,635 ratings

Unrated, 1 hr. 42 min.

Directed by: Masahiro Andô

Release Date: September 29, 2007

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DVD Release Date: June 16, 2009

 

Stats: 245 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (245)

  • superclerk25
    February 6, 2009
    superclerk25
    Most of the main elements of the characters and story were taken right from movies that have done it better but over all this was a good watch. The animation was excellent and the action scenes played out well.
    I can't say much for the voice acting as I saw a dubbed version. Th... read moree dubbing was flat most of the time.
    The music was great but there were some scenes pointed out to me where it could have been simplified to set a better mood.
    Over all I dug it. Recommended.
  • sanjurosamurai
    February 6, 2009
    sanjurosamurai
    first of all, i have to say, that because this film only played in american theaters for one night, they charged me $15 to see this movie. so i needed it to deliver to say the least, and it did.
    the animation was the strongest point, it was beautiful. the story was very borrow... read moreed from a long list of other samurai films, but it was still very engaging, and the characters were fleshed out well. it certainly isnt "the greatest animated samurai epic of all time" as many have suggested, because relatively none of it was original, but it was an absolutely excellent film and among the better samurai films that i have ever seen.
  • jonnycrumley
    January 12, 2009
    jonnycrumley
    Great movie, Although I found the story a little too familiar, the action scenes were jaw-dropping. I loved the final battle scene, I thought the backing music added the little extra drama that was needed in the earlier parts of the movie.
  • AClockWorkBear
    January 5, 2011
    AClockWorkBear
    Went to see it in the theater on a whim, it was a pretty cool movie, well done, nice story. definitely a keeper!
  • filmguy450
    November 26, 2009
    filmguy450
    A very tense and interesting anime actioner that is gorgeous to look at and moves quickly while still allowing us to get a good glimpse at the characters and their motives (fyi, lots of political sides in this one). Very good.
  • gaerniak
    September 28, 2009
    gaerniak
    Oh my....
    Too many positive nods can't be a good thing as it sometimes tends to make the product overrated. But rest assured, that this time the hype is completely warranted. I haven't seen a samurai movie this good (of any kind)? since The Twilight Samurai. The story, animation,... read more art direction, and music all just clicked.
    Such great characters in the very heart of a simple tale. This movie demonstrates that sometimes less is good or even better than going overboard in every category.

    Very strongly recommended.

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