Katanagatari
Katanagatari is a Japanese light novel series written by Nisio Isin and illustrated by Take. The series is published by Kodansha under the Kodansha Box imprint. The story revolves around a katanagari, or "sword hunt" for 12 weapons that were created by a single swordsmith. An anime adaptation by White Fox began airing on January 26, 2010, and consisted of 12 episodes. A single episode of the series was aired each month. NIS America have licensed the series and released the first part on a Blu-ray/DVD combo set in July 2011. Part two was released on September 20, 2011. The anime series aired once more on Fuji TV's noitamina between April and November 2013 as the block's first rerun, with a new opening and a new ending song.
Plot and setting
Katanagatari is the story of Yasuri Shichika, a swordsman who fights without a sword, and Togame, an ambitious young strategist. They traverse Edo-era Japan for the purpose of gathering 12 mythical Deviant Blades on behalf of the shogunate. Shichika is the son of an exiled mercenary, the last head of the Kyotouryuu school of fighting that only knows how to be a weapon, not a human being. Togame seeks him out even though he is the son of her father's murderer, she believes Kyotoryuu is the strongest fighting style and that she can convince him to take on the task out of love. Togame has been betrayed by others she's hired for money or fame, so she believes that love is the only thing that can overcome the desire to steal the collected swords from her. The story chronicles their travels across Japan as they hunt down the Deviant Blades. Together, they build their own legacies, with Shichika learning how to be a person instead of a weapon, and Togame falling in love with him, beginning to see the world past her ambitions.The Deviant Blades
;Kanna;Namakura
;Tsurugi
;Hari
;Yoroi
;Kanazuchi
;Bita
;Kanzashi
;Nokogiri
;Hakari
;Mekki
;Jū
;Yasuri
Media
Light novels
Katanagatari was released one volume a month throughout 2007. A spin-off novel, Maniwagatari, was released a year later. During their panel at Anime Boston on March 30, 2018, English light novel publisher Vertical announced that they had licensed the series. They released it as four 3-in-1 omnibus volumes from November 2018 to August 2020.Anime
The anime is composed of a dozen 50-minute episodes and follows the two main characters while they are searching for the katanas, except for one episode that is centered on Nanami Yasuri. In each episode, Shichika and Togame collect a katana or a new one will be introduced. The length of the episodes is unusual since most anime have 24-minute episodes and run weekly instead of monthly. A new episode would be released every month, beginning on January 26, 2010, and finishing on December 11, 2010. The series was re-aired on Fuji TV's noitamina from April 11 to June 27, 2013 as the block's first rerun.For the first half of the series, the opening theme is Meiya Kadenrō by Minami Kuribayashi while the second half of the series is Katana to Saya by ALI PROJECT. However, the ending theme changes for each episode. For the noitamina rerun, the new opening theme song was Hakushukassai Utaawase by supercell, and Piko performed the new ending theme song Kotonoha.
Drama CD
A Drama CD in twelve chapters, titled Episode 0: Kyotō Yasuri and written by Nisio Isin, was released with the DVD/BDs of the series. It is set during the rebellion twenty years before the events of the series. Each chapter has a character from the series narrating the episode.- Chapter 1
- * Read by Togame
- Chapter 2
- * Read by Uneri Ginkaku
- Chapter 3
- * Read by Tsuruga Meisai
- Chapter 4
- * Read by Sabi Hakuhei
- Chapter 5
- * Read by Kanara Azekura
- Chapter 6
- * Read by Princess Hitei
- Chapter 7
- * Read by Nanami Yasuri
- Chapter 8
- * Read by Emonzaemon Sōda
- Chapter 9
- * Read by Kiguchi Zanki
- Chapter 10
- * Read by Rinne Higaki
- Chapter 11
- * Read by Hōō Maniwa
- Chapter 12
- * Read by Shichika Yasuri