The legendary swordsmith Shikizaki Kiki made 1000 swords in his career. The more swords a state had, the greater success they had in the wars. When the Shogun emerged victorious, he collected 988 of the swords...but those were just practice.
The final twelve swords were the pinnacle of his career. Each of them has powers so extraordinary, one man could defeat small armies.
Shogunate strategist Togame has been ordered to recover them. She first hired a ninja...but the worth of the swords is so great the entire ninja clad defected the moment they recovered one. Then she hired a swordsman...but he kept the sword for himself.
Her last hope is Shichika, the seventh and last practitioner of the Kyotoryuu -- No Sword School. He and his sister live on an island cut off from civilization -- they have no need for money. His sword school does not use swords -- he would not want the swords for himself.
So why should he help her?
"Because you will fall in love with me."
(~from EasternStandard.....why it was translated in a funny and crappy way ~)
Feb 11 2010 03:13 PM Shichika and Togame are fitting together really well. I just love their conversations. They are awesome sometimes, like the talk in the desert.
The fight wasnt that bad either, even though it was a more tactical rather than a power needed fight, but that was ok.
QUOTE (AccipiterF1 @ Feb 11 2010, 08:04 AM) I love the way Yasuri is humoring Togame as hard as he can. I mean taking up that catchphrase and then actually making it sound cool when he used it. And of course the springboard made me laugh. A very good show. I am in complete agreement here, a good show so far. Despite the fact that I am not a big fan of Yackity Yack type animes, this one continues to appeal to me and keeps me entertained. Loving all things Samurai and katanas is one reason to keep watching, finding Togame-chan's percieved self-importance and arrogance hilarious, and of course, the hero, Shichika's denseness, endearing and admiring his sense of style...well, what's not to love? Now, I will say one thing that is in Shichika's favor, he is a very wise young man to humor her the way he does...all the better for him.
I can agree with that. This series is also a very good show. I hope they can keep this up.
I love the way Yasuri is humoring Togame as hard as he can. I mean taking up that catchphrase and then actually making it sound cool when he used it. And of course the springboard made me laugh. A very good show.
I am in complete agreement here, a good show so far. Despite the fact that I am not a big fan of Yackity Yack type animes, this one continues to appeal to me and keeps me entertained. Loving all things Samurai and katanas is one reason to keep watching, finding Togame-chan's percieved self-importance and arrogance hilarious, and of course, the hero, Shichika's denseness, endearing and admiring his sense of style...well, what's not to love? Now, I will say one thing that is in Shichika's favor, he is a very wise young man to humor her the way he does...all the better for him.
Feb 9 2010 11:35 PM My goodness... I love this anime, it's so unique. The way he won that fight... Lol. Togame took that rather well, and I think i was just as suprised as she was at that moment. To be honest I thought when he said "Stand behind me." that he was gaining strength mentally from protecting her; and this had me laughing at myself for thinking this guy had any depth to his actions, because episode 1 had already proven that there is no special meaning other than what he says behind his words.
All that said, Uneri was and probably is the most badass enemy that they will face in this anime; which may just be my opinion because ronin >all when it comes to swords. Anyway, I'll look forward to the next episode.
Love it! The combination of Togame's arrogant clumsiness and Shichika ignorant competence makes for an extremely funny mix.
That pretty much sums it up for me. The Yin and Yang pairing always make for an interesting story telling... and plenty of /facepalm moments for our amusement down the road.
My only bone to pick so far is the narrations. Part of the narration was from the future looking back at how all this got started... while the second part was how the swordless style came about to its current exiled state. Perhaps it was the translation, but the chronicle timing of events seems to be fuddled and blurred into a mess for me. Was it Shichika's grandfather they got them exiled (40 years ago?) or was it the first generation of the swordless style...
Lastly, why is the title being translated to sword story, when katana story seems more appropriate.
Jan 29 2010 10:47 PM I can tell this is gna be my fav for the year already ==, Historic. action, romance and good combination's of soft bmg for each different scene equals win win for me Looks like in the next ep, they make out? *watched the preview*
Jan 29 2010 05:17 PM This is a surprise. What a long episode..can they make more animes with episodes with such lengths ? I certainly would love that. Okay, now to the anime. The type of art ain't something i am used to but still it didn't bother me. Just like said earlier: the eyes could have been better. The characters are fun to watch. Togame as a strategist who seems to be more of a clutz than a real danger. Shichika a capable fighter although not the brightest in the world. Together they have to make a team who should be able to get all the 12 swords (i wonder about Nanami..She really is a mystery. I think she may the quickest, smartest and strongest of all the characters until now). Hmm, the story seems to be the drawback in this series. It all depends on how the writers are going to tell it. Are the swords going to the main issue in all the episodes or are they also going to try to tell more about the people who carry them and the two main characters? For me that is going to be the most important part of the series. I prefer a story about characters. I have great hopes for this series because of the first episode.
Jan 29 2010 07:56 AM I have a similar opinion to Barbo's, I found the dialogue parts to be kinda boring. If it were animated in the same fashion as it was in Bakemonogatari it would have been more interesting to watch and listen to. The sword-of-the-week premise is weak, but if the characters are interesting, as the two leads are, I'm sure it will be a fun ride. I still need to get used to the art style, but I do like Shichika's leaf hairstyle.
Jan 29 2010 12:53 AM I'm really tired so this is going to be short. I just watched the entire first episode. The eyes bug me, but the rest of the animation more then makes up for it. Not to mention this is a very interesting story.
The way he won that fight... Lol. Togame took that rather well, and I think i was just as suprised as she was at that moment. To be honest I thought when he said "Stand behind me." that he was gaining strength mentally from protecting her; and this had me laughing at myself for thinking this guy had any depth to his actions, because episode 1 had already proven that there is no special meaning other than what he says behind his words. 
? I certainly would love that.
