Sword of the Stranger
Release Date
10-05-2025
At a time of great stride and strife alike in the fields of film and animation, the temptation to look back at the cinema of years past is stronger than ever before, and the anime industry is no exception. Beginning this weekend, Masahiro Ando’sSword of the Stranger, an underrated classic containing one of the best sword fights ever put to animation, is returning to theaters in Japan.
Studio Bones - the creators ofFullmetal Alchemist,Mob Psycho 100, andBungo Stray Dogs- produced this visceral jidaigeki (period drama) back in 2007. The film follows a young boy named Kotaro and his dog on the run when they encounter Nanashi, a ronin who agrees to escort them to safety while protecting them from the cult that wishes to sacrifice the boy.
A Cult Classic Seen Like Never Before
Sword of the Strangerhas been remastered in 4K and the film is back in theaters for two weeks. This limited run began on Sunday, April 14. To celebrate the release of this upscaled version, director Masahiro Ando spoke at the first showing at Cinema City’s Cinema One in Tokyo.
Who is Masahiro Ando?
Ando is a certified industry veteran whose portfolio spans many all-time greats.He was an animator onEvangelionandGhost in the Shell, the animation director on theCowboy Bebopmovie, andhe directed one of Bones' greatest romance stories,Snow White with the Red Hair, to name just a few. He’s even directing an adaptation of 1978’sTime-Patrol Bonthis year, coming to Netflix on May 2. However,Strangeris often seen as his magnum opus.
Why This Release Matters
Strangerwas the first original film by Studio Bones, and in that vein, it feels so unlike most other anime films before or since. Despite its bloody spectacle and the occult motives of its antagonists, it’s a fairly grounded action film with almost no supernatural elements. Its leads were also not the most conventionally cast. Tomoya Nagase, the voice of Nanashi, primarily acted in live-action. Likewise for Yuri Chinen, who was only 13 when he voiced Kotaro.
An Unusually Pretty Film
In terms of setting, the filmtakes place during the Sengoku periodbut presents itself in a different light compared to its peers, often literally. Whereas other anime depict this period of conflict under the warmth of a summer sun,Strangeropts for an overcast sky on the border between autumn and winter. One might think that this would deprive the color of vibrance, but the dark reds against the gray add a lot of character. Of course, it helps that the film just looks gorgeous in motion.
Tsunenori Saito’s character designs are peak Bones artwork, balancing fine detail with a propensity for subtle but expressive character acting. As alluded to at the beginning, it also has some incredible action scenes, chief among them being the final fight, animated by the legendary Yutaka Nakamura, with storyboards by Ando. It’s one of the best fight scenes in anime history, and it made a lot of viewersmore passionate about the process of creating animation.
Will This 4K Release Come to America?
As of the time of writing, there is no word onan international release for this 4K remaster, but it deserves one, for all the good it does to simply say such a thing. It might not be the “greatest film ever,” but there is a timeless quality to this at-first-glance story that is made all the more powerful by the creative spirit of one of the industry’s best studios. It’s a classic, a comfort film, and just an overall fun time, hence why it’s being celebrated at all.
Studio Bones also happens to be celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, makingSword of the Stranger’s 4K release even more appropriate. With any luck, the film will get a wider release or a 4K Blu-ray sometime soon. Even if audiences in North America aren’t so lucky, though, the old Blu-rays aren’t impossible to find yet, and now might be a great time to see what the fuss is about.
Sword of the Strangeris available to stream onCrunchyroll. (Note: while both Japanese and English versions are present, there are no subtitles. The Chinese dialog, which is intentionally unchanged in both versions, is not subtitled either, which might make streaming it not an ideal experience at this time. We have reached out to Crunchyroll about this issue.)
Source:Catsuka on X (@catsuka),Cinema City’s website
