Sword for Truth

Original Title: 修羅之介斬魔劍 - 死鎌紋の男
Romanized: Shuranosuke Zanmaken - Shikamamon no Otoko
Literal: Demon-slaying Sword of Shuranosuke - The Man of the Crest fo the Death Scythe

Plot Synopsis

A wandering swordswinger is hired to rescue a princess (well, actually, he's supposed to trade a family treasure of her father for her). In the process, he runs into a big group of bad men who are trying to unleash demons upon the world (or something like that) using that artifact. They aren't the only ones after it--there's also a troupe of female ninjas and a tragic assassin. Anyway, the traveling stoic guy saves the girl, but it looks like he's going to have to do something about all those nasty people trying to kill her (and him), and (surprise, surprise!) he kinda likes her, too. Wonder what her dad's gonna think...

Quick Review

Rating: 0 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2003-08-03

Sword for Truth is bad. If you want a breakdown, here: The art is ugly, the plot is mostly random, it's totally inconclusive, and the whole mess is almost completely devoid of originality. The closest things it has to saving graces are heaps of poorly drawn gore and pointless sex--yes, that's the good stuff.

Perhaps there are those who will enjoy parts of it, but unless you're a very big fan of ninja mayhem, you probably won't care enough to even sit through it.

US DVD Review

The DVD version features bilingual stereo audio, an English subtitle track, a chapter index, and little else. Manga says its digitally remastered, for whatever that's worth.

Content Guide

Violence and pointless sex, and the wrong kind at that--easily in the 16-up category, maybe even 18-up.

Violence: 4 - Not wildly graphic, but lots of flying limbs.

Nudity: 3 - A fair amount.

Sex/Mature Themes: 4 - A surprising ammount of unwholsome activity.

Language: 2 - Nothing noteworthy.

Notes and Trivia

Based on a novel by Takeshi Narumi, which apparently contained a whole lot more depth, perhaps explaining why there are so many non-sequiturs in the plot. The director, Osamu Dezaki, is known for a whole lot of much better movies, including both Golgo 13 movies and the quality sci-fi drama They Were 11, of all things.

Availability

Available in the US from Manga Video on bilingual DVD. Was previously also available on subtitled or dubbed VHS. (If you're looking for it, here's the DVD at RightStuf and AnimeNation)

Looking to buy? Try these stores: RightStuf (search) | AnimeNation | Akemi's a(nime)Store