Katanagatari: Difference between revisions

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[[Ultimate Blacksmith|The legendary swordsmith Kiki Shikizaki]] made 1000 swords in his career. His skill was such that entire wars were won on the amount of his swords a given state had. When the Shogun emerged victorious, he collected the first 988 of those swords... but those were just practice for Shikizaki.

 

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* [[Absurdly Sharp Blade]]: The power of the Zantou Namakura is being this.

* [[Aloof Big Brother]]: Nanami is a female example, but she fits the trope to a T, especially in ep 7.

* [[An Aesop]]: {{spoiler|The ending}}. Episode 10 comes to the conclusion that {{spoiler|fighting is meaningless}}. At the end of episode 12, {{spoiler|almost everyone has died... and ''nothing'' of note has changed. Meaningless indeed.}}

** Essentially the entire point of the {{spoiler|ending sequence}} is reinforcing this view, with the show giving us a {{spoiler|slow montage of the locations in which characters were slain or fought throughout the series}} before stating that the plan still {{spoiler|never succeeded}}.

* [[Anti-Hero]]: Shichika [[Alternate Character Interpretation|could]] be viewed as [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes|type IV or even type V]] seeing as he has no hesitation whatsoever about killing any foe on his path (even if they are [[Anti-Villain|likeable]], or women and children). It should be noted that this is because of his [[No Social Skills|upbringing]] but still...

** He [[Character Development|got better]].

* [[Anyone Can Die]]: This series is absolutely brutal with its character mortality. The body count includes {{spoiler|the entire Maniwa Corps, seven of the twelve Deviant Blade wielders (not counting one who has been dead for centuries and the autonomous blade that gets destroyed), countless mooks, most of Shogun Owari's elite forces and the Shogun himself}}. Even {{spoiler|Togame}} isn't immune.

** In the end, aside from {{spoiler|Hiteihime}}, only two little girls, a shogi player and a pirate are spared.

* [[Armor-Piercing Slap]]: Averted. Togame ''tries'', but inevitably hurts her hands more than she does Shichika.

** Done absurdly for Togame's fantasies in episode 9.

* [[The Atoner]]: Meisai gave up the bandit life to care for the girls of the Sanzu Shrine after {{spoiler|the previous Meisai Tsuruga used his dying breath, not to curse her, but to beg her to forgive the broken girls of the shrine}}. Because of this, she uses Tsurugi as a healing agent for the girls. Suffice to say, this is an incredibly unusual use for a spiritually poisonous Deviant Blade, and it's unclear how helpful Tsurugi even is for this purpose. But as Meisai is bound by the taint of the sword, this was likely the only way she could go on living without having to continue to kill people.

* [[Awakening the Sleeping Giant]]: The Maniwa ''really'' shouldn't have sent the Insect Squad to attack Nanami. Now she has both the motivation and the means (thanks to her newly acquired walk-on-water technique) to get involved in the sword hunt -- which could also be bad for Shichika and Togame.

** Certain events that transpire towards the end of the series make Shichika a prime example of this. Perhaps quite literal considering his stature.

** Episode 8 and 9 for Togame as well.

* [[Ax Crazy]] : Anyone who wields Dokutou Mekki. Also, {{spoiler|Shichika loses it after Togame dies}}.

* [[Badass Adorable]]: Konayuki, the opponent from episode 6. {{spoiler|Extra points on the badass for being the first person to wound Shichika through the journey, while being a complete amateur.}}

* [[Bare-Fisted Monk]]: Swordsman, but Kyotouryuu is basically this.

* [[Beauty Is Never Tarnished]]: Nanami didn't even get her kimono dirty the last time she fought Shichika to a "draw". In episode 4 the last Insect Corp ninja actually hits her with two barbed caltrops, but she simply digs them out without even flinching. There's surprisingly little blood too.

** How about when {{spoiler|Nanami sliced off Togame's hair in Episode 7? A hair cut like that should have left Togame's hair frayed, but somehow it's a perfect bob. [[Lampshade Hanging|Shichika even comments that his sister is pretty good at haircuts]].}}

* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: Dear God, Nanami!

* [[Big Eater]]: Shichika and Togame consume at least several thousand calories worth of rice dumplings and red bean soup [[Offscreen Moment of Awesome|while recapping the awesome battle they had with Sabi Hakuhei]] in episode 4.

** {{spoiler|The poison on Mitsubachi's caltrops is not fatal. However the hidden poison, which Nanami took from Kamakiri's molar earlier, must be fatal, right? It's for suicide after all}}.

* [[Clingy Jealous Girl]]: Togame shows signs of this in episode 8 and it becomes blatantly obvious in episode 9.

* [[Clothing Damage]]: Subverted - Ginkaku takes a swipe at Togame and luckily Shichika steps in and prevents the damage from being ''worse''. All that is damaged is the top layer on Togame's bust area.

* [[Combat Pragmatist]]: To Emonzaemon's surprise, he's actually {{spoiler|completely unable to get through Oshidori's attacking whips/barrier combo. When she decides to stop playing around and go on the attack, he... shoots her to death}}.

* [[Curb Stomp Battle]]: Never attempt to fight Nanami.

** Shichika mops the floor with {{spoiler|every last one of the Shogun's bodyguards in his [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] after Togame bites the dust}}. Bonus points for the fact that they are wielding {{spoiler|the Deviant Blades. Emonzaemon is the only one to put up a decent fight.}}

* [[Cursed with Awesome]]: Nanami feels this way. She claims to envy people who have to actually put in effort to learn abilities (she can learn a skill by seeing it once and ''master'' it after seeing it twice) and she hates that her body won't allow her to die no matter how much suffering she endures as a chronically [[Ill Girl]] (she's pretty much immune to most poisons as a result and doesn't even flinch as she ''rips a hooked caltrop out of her back'').

* [[Cute and Psycho]]: {{spoiler|That sweet [[Yamato Nadeshiko]] [[Ill Girl]] of an older sister we see in episode 1?}} She's a powerful martial arts prodigy that even scared her father and {{spoiler|forced her brother out of his nail-biting habit}} by ''tearing off his fingernails when they were both still children''. In episode 4 she busts out [[Curb Stomp Battle|Curb Stomp Battles]], [[Slasher Smile|Slasher Smiles]], and [[Cold-Blooded Torture]] galore against the unlucky [[Quirky Miniboss Squad]] sent to capture her. [[Dissonant Serenity|All with the same sweet tone of voice]].

** Then she goes on a little tour of Japan, leaving a bloody trail behind her.

* [[Death Seeker]]: {{spoiler|Nanami}}, since she is so strong that no disease nor wound can prove fatal, but her own body can't bear the strain and makes her physically ill as a result.

** Also her [[Freak-Out]] after discovering the true meaning of "Cheerio".

* [[Died in Your Arms Tonight]]: {{spoiler|Togame in Shichika's arms}}. Doubles as a [[Dying Declaration of Love]].

* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: {{spoiler|When you think about it, it's not the Shogun's fault that Togame wasted her life on pointless revenge; he didn't even know who she was.}}

* [[Dissonant Serenity]]: Even in the midst of fighting/torturing Maniwa Corps., Nanami maintains her soft-spoken and polite disposition.

* [[Dodge the Bullet]]: Averted. {{spoiler|When Shichika finally fights Emonzaemon, it turns out he was willingly taking all of the shots. See [[Made of Iron]]}}

* [[Dude Looks Like a Lady]]: Sabi Hakuhei, according to Togame, could be mistaken for a woman.

* [[Dull Eyes of Unhappiness]]: {{spoiler|When Shichika storms the Shogun's castle after Togame dies, in the last episode, his eyes turn dull and grey.}}

** {{spoiler|The Shôgun's retainer Akatsuki Tomoe who is given Sentou Tsurugi plays it straight, though. Given, she did it indoors, and Shichika just carves through it and hits her into the wall. Fat lot of good it did her to "master" the fighting style Meisai used.}}

* [[Final Speech]]: {{spoiler|Togame}} gives a long one to Shichika. It could even qualify as a Final Conversation, given that Shichika says quite a lot as well. {{spoiler|Emonzaemon}} even says that he deliberately aimed for non-vital areas to give them time to chat.

* [[Foregone Conclusion]]: The narration at the end of episode 6 tells the audience exactly how episode 7 is going to end.

* [[Foreshadowing]]: In episode 3, {{spoiler|Shichika asks whether Zantou Namakura, the sword that can cut anything, would be able to cut Zettou Kanna, the invulnerable sword, and Togame says that since it was made later she supposes it could}}. Sure enough, in the last episode, Shichika is able to {{spoiler|break Zettou Kanna using Kyotouryuu, the final perfected Deviant Blade.}}

* [[The Gadfly]]: There is a non-comedic example with Higaki Rinne. While he does have a fairly trollish personality thanks to Togame, his life is based around pointing out uncomfortable truths and things people would rather avoid.

* [[Godiva Hair]]: First with Koumori's doppelganger ability to impersonate Togame; we then get to see the real thing in episode 4.

** It is hinted that this may be because he {{spoiler|caught it with the hand of his trusted ally Maniwa Kawauso, who could read the past of objects as he touched them. How that is? Houou grafted that hand onto his body, of course.}}

* [[Grey and Gray Morality]]: None of the characters are really good, but none of them are really evil either and their motivations, if not sympathetic, are at least understandable.

* [[Hartman Hips]]: Hiteihime and Togame get a lot of focus down there. Dem hips.

* [[Holding Hands]]: Togame and Shichika do this in episode 11, against the sunset. {{spoiler|Which makes what happens next all the more heartwrenching.}}

* [[I Am Not Left-Handed]]: {{spoiler|Shichika, no longer bound by orders such as "don't destroy the swords" and "protect yourself", proceeds to completely curb stomp just about everyone in ep 12.}}

* [[Idiosyncratic Episode Naming]]: Every volume/episode is named after one of the 12 swords.

* [[Ill Girl]]: Nanami. {{spoiler|Despite this, she's still insanely powerful.}}

** Backwards. {{spoiler|She's an [[Ill Girl]] because she's SO INSANELY POWERFUL that learning a new technique makes her WEAKER. So powerful that the human body can't contain it. Her efforts at [[Mega Manning]] actually make her weaker, read: healthier.}}

* [[Impaled with Extreme Prejudice]]: Delivered to multiple opponents by Shichika.

* [[Infant Immortality]]: Episode 11 ''looks'' like this is going to happen with {{spoiler|Pengin}}. Then he gets a gun shoved into his mouth.

* [[Infinity+1 Sword]]: {{spoiler|Kyouto Yasuri}} in its "complete" form.

* [[Informed Ability]]: Sabi Hakuhei was apparently the strongest swordsman in Japan. It was rumoured that he could even slice the sun in half. Then he gets killed off-screen by Shichika...

** The light novel sometimes comments or references on the genre savviness of characters, and starts hanging the lampshades around.

** Shichika in episode 11 as well, when the pair are speaking to Maniwa Houhou/ {{spoiler|Shikizaki Kiki}}.

* [[Magic Skirt]]: Togame's impossibly tiny, ''decoratively torn'' skirt is nothing short of miraculous in its ability to conceal the goodies.

** It fails in a few frames if you look closely enough.

** You will never get a straight answer out of Hiteihime, this is largely because 'hitei' means to deny in Japanese.

* [[Mega Manning]]: Nanami can learn other people's techniques after seeing them once and master them after seeing them twice. {{spoiler|She does this in order to become ''weaker''. Her instinctive skills are so perfect that anything she might learn can only be called a step down.}}

** Konayuki too, after she drops off Kanazuchi at the capital and joins the shrine.

* [[Mind Screw]]: Episode 4... Just... episode 4. This series is seriously playing mind games with us.

* [[Mugging the Monster]]: The Insect Squad attacked Nanami thinking she was at best a "mere" Kyotouryuu practitioner weaker than her brother (who is technically the head of the family) -- a fatal mistake.

* [[Named Weapons]]: All of the Deviant Blades.

** Let's not forget, {{spoiler|his purpose for even going to the castle was [[Death Seeker|to die.]]}}

** The same could also be said for {{spoiler|Nanami}}, who {{spoiler|managed to continue fighting her brother after they removed the sword from her body. If you're wondering why that fight would fit this trope, [[Body Horror|she had a gaping hole in her chest]].}}

* [[Not What It Looks Like]]: A running gag between Togame and Shichika. Episode 9 is ''full'' of this once Togame's imagination runs away with her.

* [[Older Than They Look|Older Than She Looks]]: Togame, who is around Shichika's age (24) but looks much younger. Hiteihime even mocks Togame relentlessly for this {{spoiler|after her [[Traumatic Haircut]]}}.

* [[One-Man Army]]: Every member of Kyoutouryu. Shichika {{spoiler|takes down dozens or hundreds of the Shogun's warriors, then his bodyguards, each wielding one of the Deviant Blades, and Hiteihime's [[The Dragon|Dragon]]}} with relative ease.

** {{spoiler|And then he ''[[Megaton Punch|punches the Shogun's castle (keep) in half]]''. Mind you, with a '''single''' blow.}}

** {{spoiler|Shichika himself}}. Or at least, if not an entire city, dozens (if not hundreds) of soldiers, plus eleven [[Elite Mooks]], plus a [[The Dragon|Dragon]]. And at the very end, he ''{{spoiler|punches a castle in half}}''.

* [[Princess Curls]]: Togame goes for broke by combining these with a [[Hime Cut]] and [[Rapunzel Hair]] with some shots of [[Godiva Hair]], even. Oh, she's also a [[White-Haired Pretty Girl]]. Now what do you think the odds are she's a main character? Also followed by her rival, Princess Hitei.

* [[Retirony]]: Used ''hard'' in ep4, where one of the ninjas goes on for several minutes about his plans to go home and get married after this last mission. His companion even starts to interrupt and tell him that saying all that is a bad idea... then stops, since there's a strong sense that they both know he won't survive.

** Also, in a rare {{spoiler|protagonist}} example, {{spoiler|in episode 11, Togame talks about going on a sight-seeing journey with Shichika after all the action is over, she is shot to death one minute before the credits roll}}. Cruelly subverted when {{spoiler|she admits in her [[Final Speech]] that it was all a lie; she was planning to ''kill'' Shichika to avenge her father}}.

* [[Red Eyes, Take Warning]]: Houou when he's {{spoiler|possessed by Dokutou Mekki}}. More of a case of [[Eyes Always Shut|Red Eyelids Take Warning]].

* [[Revenge Before Reason]]: {{spoiler|Togame was going to kill Shichika after their journey was over to avenge her father's death at the hands of Shichika's father. She admitted that she would have gone through with this even though she truly loved Shichika if she hadn't been mortally wounded. To her, everything -- people, swords, even her own heart -- were tools for her vengeance. When Shichika calls her an idiot for wasting her entire life on revenge like this, she readily agrees with him}}.

* [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]]: {{spoiler|Shichika against the Shogun in the last episode.}}

** Although, he says that he's ''not'' doing it for revenge. {{spoiler|He's rebelling against Togame's last order and harboring a [[Death Seeker|deathwish]].}}

* [[Run the Gauntlet]]: Shichika goes through this fighting {{spoiler|eleven Shogunate warriors equipped with Shikizaki Kiki's swords}} in the last episode.

* [[Schizo-Tech]]: Other than the third and ninth blades, the 12 blades are quite weird and unnaturally powerful for pre-18th century mechanics and forging skills. In the second to last episode it is revealed that {{spoiler|Kiki utilized his soothsayer abilities to find new blade-making techniques, essentially making all the blades weapons from the far future}}.

* [[Shout-Out]]: Episode 7 has a scene where {{spoiler|Nanami's}} attack on the monks in an overhead view very similiar to the game ''Pocky and Rocky'' (''Kiki Kaikai'') for the SNES and GBA. Earlier in the episode there's a conversation between three portraits of the characters as if it were a [[Visual Novel]].

** The few seconds before the meeting with Emonzaemon in the same episode may possibly be a shoutout to ''[[Muramasa: The Demon Blade]]'', as the way the map is shown is similar to how the map is displayed when moving between areas in the game, and the exclamation mark and sound effect that accompanies it as they encounter Emonzaemon is the exact same thing that happens in the game right before an enemy encounter. Not to mention the side scrolling view it shifts to as they get off the boat.

* [[Slasher Smile]]: When Nanami gets one of these, you ''know'' you're screwed.

* [[Stay in the Kitchen]]: Subverted with Nanami. Her father refused to teach her Kyotouryuu and decided to make Shichika the next head of the Yasuri clan -- not because she was a woman, and not because she was an [[Ill Girl]], but because she was ''too powerful for him to properly train''. Not that it mattered -- she mastered Kyotouryuu anyway by simply ''watching'' her father train her brother.

** He speaks normally {{spoiler|after Ginkaku cuts him in half}}.

* [[Stronger Sibling]]: Nanami to Shichika. The last time they had a match, Shichika was battered and bruised and Nanami wasn't even ''scratched''. It was only a "draw" because she gave up on account of her low endurance as an [[Ill Girl]]. Shichika even thinks that Sabi Hakuhei, the "strongest swordsman in Japan" who wielded one of the 12 swords and could supposedly cut the moon in half, wasn't as strong as Nanami.

** And yet Shichika doesn't hold a candle to the Itezora Clan. The little girl, Konayuki, last of her kind and the only one left that can wield the insanely heavy Soutou Kanazuchi, is the first person in the sword hunt to ever hurt Shichika, and she was the weakest of all the village ''children''. {{spoiler|Still their [[Super Strength]] did nothing to save them from being wiped out by Nanami.}}

** And now {{spoiler|Nanami}} has learned the [[Super Strength]] of a fully grown warrior of the Itezora Clan.

* [[Suspiciously Specific Denial]]: Princess Hitei in Episode 10. {{spoiler|''"The way you put it, it almost sounds like I'm the descendant of the legendary Shikizaki Kiki who ruled over the Sengoku Era, and that I've kept track of all of the Perfected Deviant Blades and stayed one step ahead of that unpleasant woman to collect them. That's totally not true of course, so there's no need to say it."''}} This may even be mockery of this trope - the way she says it, it's like she wants you to know.

* [[Take Our Word for It]]: The fight between Shichika and Sabi Hakuhei was apparently 11 different kinds of epic. Of course, this all happened off-screen...

* [[Throwing Your Sword Always Works]]: Subverted [[Crowning Moment of Funny|hilariously]] in the final episode. {{spoiler|Saraba, the wielder of Seitou Hakari decides to just chuck the weapon at Shichika, who proceeds to knock it back at her. At least she's the only one of the Boss Rush who doesn't die.}}

* [[Tickle Torture]]: Togame with her collarbones. Highly suggestive of arousal too, from her [[Luminescent Blush]]. Tickling also proves enough to make her reveal her schemes. In both cases it was just Shichika being silly though.

* [[Unspoken Plan Guarantee]]: Yeah, like the technique they carefully discuss and demonstrate in advance in episode 5 is really going to work...

* [[Villainous Valor]]: Almost the entirety of the fourth episode. Nanami is scary.

* [[Was It All a Lie?]]: {{spoiler|Shichika}} asks {{spoiler|a dying Togame}} if their plans to travel together were just a lie, desperately trying to convince {{spoiler|her}} to hold on to life. {{spoiler|It was all a lie. She was planning to kill him to complete her lifelong mission of vengeance.}}

* [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?]]: Lampshaded with bladeless sword Seitou Hakari in {{spoiler|the final fight sequence; all the other fighters find at least some way to use their sword, but the little girl who gets Seitou Hakari can only say ''"this thing is kind of useless..."'' and is reduced to relying on Shichika for an idea on how to attack him with it}}.

* [[White-Haired Pretty Girl]]: Togame, Hiteihime, and Kousha Saraba.

* [[Wolverine Claws]]: Nanami learns how to grow long fingernails for this purpose after seeing a (male) ninja attempt the technique against her. Hers aren't ''quite'' as powerful since she only saw the technique once -- not that it matters.

[[Category:The New Tens]]

[[Category:Light Novels]]