Dagger of Kamui Anime Review

Quick Review

• Reviewer: Marc
• Review Date: 2005-07-10 (updated 2011-04-05)
• 5 stars out of 5 (?)

The Dagger of Kamui is a true anime classic, a historical epic full of action, intertwined fates, interesting characters, and subtle mysticism. It follows a grand quest across the changing world landscape of the 1800s, blending the framework of a ninja movie with the style of a reserved samurai drama to produce a film that has both exciting (yet artistic) action and traditionally reserved Japanese drama. It also manages a well-woven story that evokes a sense of greater purpose and the grand scale that the 19th century world held to its inhabitants, while still keeping the human drama at a realistic level.

Don't come looking for mindless action, and be prepared for a lengthy and methodically paced movie, but if you like Japanese history, tales of samurai and ninja, or just a great story, you will almost certainly enjoy the Dagger of Kamui.

Read the full-length review...

Full Review

• Reviewer: Marc
• Review Date: 2005-07-10 (updated 2011-04-05)
• 5 stars out of 5 (?)

The Dagger of Kamui is a true anime classic, a historical epic full of action, intertwined fates, nuanced characters, and subtle mysticism. It follows a grand quest across the changing world landscape of the mid-1800s, illustrating the Japanese struggle between feudal honor and individualistic emotion both on a national and personal scale. Something like the Gone With the Wind of ninja movies, it is not a movie for every taste, but is impressive in both scope and execution for those willing to invest the time.

I would go so far as to say the Dagger of Kamui is the ultimate ninja movie. Not because of its spectacular violence or the protagonists' feats of stealth (though it has some of both), but because of its combination of grand scale, artistry, and down-to-earth human connection.

The story isn't artificially epic--the fate of the world isn't at stake (though the future of Japan is), and there are no demon invasions to be found. What there is is a sense of greater purpose missing from many heroic stories, and a sense of the grand scale that the world of the 19th century had to its occupants. The hero's quest takes him from feudal Japan to Russia to America's wild west and back. Though the juxtaposition of such disparate places is a little odd, the historical periods were in fact concurrent. I'll also add that the archetypal portrayal of the gunfightin' West is no more unrealistic than the movie's version of Japan.

In most respects--length and leisurely pacing most noticeably--the Dagger of Kamui is closer to a samurai epic than a ninja flick. The characters, likewise, have a Japanese subtlety and depth more at home in a samurai drama--an awkward pause or thoughtful silence often replace dialogue. The lines between good and evil are also blurry enough to make things interesting. The slow pace will definitely put off some people, but as long as you're patient enough to let the story unfold, you'll be treated to a grand tale.

The story takes place in something of an enhanced reality, but it is always grounded enough to maintain a connection to the real world. This keeps the characters human despite their larger-than-life rivalries and abilities, and helps the globe-spanning plot work. The plot is detailed but not convoluted; painted on the canvas of real events, it is intricate and laced together quite well. It does hinge quite heavily on coincidence, but an air of fate and mysticism throughout the movie makes that believable.

Its treatment of the supernatural is similar; there's never anything that you would call magic per se, but there are a number of characters who use illusions (very artistically rendered ones, at that) that seem supernatural, at least in the way they're presented to the viewer. Whether they actually are is open to some interpretation. I thought this toeing of the line between fantasy and reality worked quite well.

Don't take all this to mean that the Dagger of Kamui is devoid of action--it most certainly isn't, nor does it shy away from ninja-movie gore. In fact, it has some of the most beautifully rendered violence of any movie I've seen. That may seem like a contradiction in terms, but most of the action scenes--particularly those illusory battles--are animated in a style that seems almost like a dance or some kind of semi-abstract painting. The blend of action and art succeeds on both levels--simultaneously exciting and beautiful. It also features some of the coolest throwing stars of all time.

The rest of the visuals are equally beautiful, particularly for a movie of this vintage. The animation is smooth and full of artistic flourishes. The art has a distinctive look to it, as do the stylized character designs. The backgrounds are subtle, but richly painted, and there are a few shots of historic battles shown from a distance that deserve a good long look.

Although two obscure English dubs exist, AnimEigo has only released subtitled versions, and that's all I've seen. The acting is quite low-key for the most part, which is appropriate, and all of the main characters are given distinctive, believable voices by the capable cast. Interestingly, Hiroyuki Sanada, who plays Jiro, was a first-time voice actor, though he was well known for live action performances.

Both in terms of dialogue and music the Dagger of Kamui is a remarkably quiet movie. What background music there is is striking and unusual, a combination of a sort of tribal chanting, powerful traditional Japanese drums, and a more modern beat. If you're familiar with the Kodo drum troupe, their style has many similarities--no coincidence, since Hayashi Eitetsu, one of the film's two composers, founded Kodo three years prior to this work. Though different from the swelling orchestral themes you'd expect to go with an epic story of this scale, the soundtrack fits quite well with the visual style, and the silence in the remainder is well-suited to the general mood. The end theme, a blend of modern rock and Japanese folk song, is very pretty as well, and worth watching the credits for.

In summary, the Dagger of Kamui is not only an anime classic, it is probably the greatest ninja epic ever filmed and a fine movie in its own right. The visuals are beautiful, the characters and plot are deep and intricate, and the story is told on a grand scale that is rarely so successful in movies of its type. Don't come looking for mindless action, and be prepared for the length and slow pace, but if you like Japanese history, ninja movies, or just a great story, you will almost certainly enjoy this film.

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Related Recommendations

In a class by itself, with the closest parallel being the somewhat more action-oriented samurai drama The Hakkenden. Stylistically, it has some similarities to other weighty old-school classics like Harmageddon, Venus Wars, and even AKIRA. If you're interested in a very good ninja movie at the exact opposite end of the depth and style spectrum, have a look at Ninja Scroll (for gory stylized action) and Samurai Champloo (for goofy postmodern style overload).