May 5th, 2019 
Charles Solomon 
In America, animation is rarely used for action or adventure films. Because it’s still largely regarded as children’s entertainment here, studios are usually reluctant to tell stories where the danger is real and the hero can be killed.
In contrast, Masahiro Ando’s Sword of the Stranger (2007) is an action-filled samurai adventure that echoes the period films Akira Kurosawa and Hiroshi Inagaki made starring Toshiro Mifune. The bloody violence may seem over the top at times, but that’s also true of live action samurai epics. The stakes are high and the audience can’t be sure if the heroes will be alive when the film ends.
Sword of the Stranger is set during the Warring States period (c.1467-c.1600) when Japan was divided into small realms ruled by nobles locked in internecine power struggles. Kotaro (voice by Aidan Drummond), an adolescent orphan, has been living with Buddhist monks since his parents died. He fled the temple that was his home when it was attacked by Chinese warriors and samurai serving the corrupt Lord Akaike. The leader of the Chinese delegation has instructions to sacrifice Kotaro in an elaborate ritual and use his blood to make an elixir that will supposedly give the “Ming Emperor” eternal life.
The leader of the Chinese troops is the bloodthirsty Luo-Lang (Scott McNeil), a blond, blue-eyed European. The Chinese regard their Japanese hosts as the uncivilized residents of a dismal backwater they’re eager to leave. The ruthless Akaike samurai despise Luo-Lang and the Chinese officials as foreigners who shouldn’t be allowed in Japan.
Kotaro has no idea why the warriors are pursuing him, but he knows his life is in danger. With his dog Tobimaru, he travels the back roads, hoping to reach safety at the temple at Shirato.
While hiding in an abandoned shrine, Kotaro encounters a ronin who calls himself No Name (Michael Adamthwaite). Like Kenshin Himura in Rurouni Kenshin, No Name (“Nanashi”) has sworn never to use his sword again, in penance for killing so many men–deeds that haunt his nightmares. His katana (long sword) is tied in its sheath with a knotted chord. But No Name swiftly dispatches the samurai who attack the ruined shrine: Even a sheathed sword is a deadly weapon in his hands.
After his attempts at bullying fail, Kotaro “hires” No Name to help him get to Shirato. The helpless victim and the scarred warrior bond as they travel across Japan.
No Name manages to get Kotaro to Shirato. But the monks hand the boy over to his pursuers hours before the ritual sacrifice must take place. Alerted by Tobimaru, No Name charges to the rescue in the best heroic tradition. When he rips away the chord binding his sword, the action carries the impact of a cavalry charge. To reach Kotaro, No Name slashes his way through the Akaike samurai and the Chinese warriors in a succession of flamboyant fight scenes.
Oddly, the climactic duel with Luo-Lang involves two non-Japanese warriors. Although he’s a formidable samurai, No Name is also a foreigner. The survivor of a shipwreck, he dyes his reddish hair black to disguise his alien looks. But both characters honor samurai principles. No Name wants to protect an innocent victim and a friend; Luo-Lang seeks an opponent worthy of his skills. The filmmakers choreograph their duel with an intensity many live-action directors would envy.
Ando and his artists incorporate CG elements to increase the film’s scope. The towering cedar altar with its clockwork mechanisms and the rain of arrows from the corps of archers enhance the battles and contrast effectively with the watercolor backgrounds.
But Ando never allows the visual spectacle to overwhelm the characters. The heart of the story is the friendship between Kotaro and No Name, and Ando keeps the audience focused on his mismatched heroes. Drummond and Adamthwaite offer appealing performances that enable the viewer to sense the growing affection beneath their banter.
For years, American animators have complained that their artform is too often restricted to bland fairy tales and harmless fantasies. Sword of the Stranger demonstrates that talented artists can use animation to tell a swashbuckling period adventure.
Sword of the Stranger
Funimation: $19.98 1 disc, Blu-ray and Digital
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