Dagger of Kamui

Original Title: カムイの剣
Romanized: Kamui no Ken
Literal: The Blade of Kamui

Plot Synopsis

In the middle of the 19th century, the era of Shogun rule in Japan is nearing its end. Corruption in the government and warring between the factions vying for power have facilitated the rise of powerful Ninja clans, making use of lethal skills and mystic arts to attain their goals. But not all ninjas are evil--some are noble men, but are also apt to be manipulated by the clans they serve.

When a kind woman and her daughter are found murdered, Jiro, the child they found by the river and raised, is chased from the village as a parent-killer. Left with nothing but the dagger he found by the body of his foster mother--the Dagger of Kamui--Jiro is taken in by Tenkai, the head of a powerful ninja clan and a an evil Buddhist monk. First allowed to take vengeance on his family's apparent killer, and then trained in the ways of the ninja by Tenkai and his minions, as he reaches maturity Jiro realizes what kind of organization he has been taken in by, and vows to stop them in their apparent plan to take control of Japan. He flees the ninja and begins seeking not only a way to combat Tenkai and his minions, but to learn the truth about himself and his parents. Hounded by Tenkai's underlings and tormented by fate, Jiro begins his quest armed only with the mysterious Dagger of Kamui and a legend about Kamui, a mystical mountain somehow connected to both the dagger and Jiro's past.

Review

Rating: 5 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2005-07-10

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, 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 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, and the archetypal portrayal of the 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--and the lines between good and evil are 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, keeping the characters human despite their larger-than-life rivalries and abilities and helping the globe-spanning plot work. The plot is detailed but not convoluted--based loosely on an actual period in history, it is intricate and laced together quite well. It does hinge quite heavily on coincidence, but there is an air of fate and mysticism throughout the movie that makes it seem believable.

The use of magic is similar; there is never really 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. In fact, this movie 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--which definitely don't shy away from ninja movie gore--are animated in a style that seems almost like a dance or some kind of semi-abstract art (particularly the illusory battles I mentioned earlier). The blend of action and art succeeds on both levels--simultaneously exciting and beautiful. The movie also features some of the coolest throwing stars of all time.

Action aside, the visuals as a whole are 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, and the stylized character designs are distinctive. The backgrounds are subtle, but richly painted, and there are a few distant battle scenes that deserve a good long look.

Although there is an English dub (two, in fact), 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, is a first-time voice actor, though he's well known for live action performances.

Both in terms of dialogue and music the Dagger of Kamui is a remarkably quiet movie, but what background music there is is very unusual, a combination of a sort of tribal chanting, heavy drums, and a more modern beat. Though different from the swelling orchestral themes you'd expect to go with an epic story of this scale, it 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 and folk song song, is very pretty as well, and worth watching the credits for.

To sum all that up, the Dagger of Kamui is not only an anime classic, but 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 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.

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 post-modern style overload).

US DVD Review

Based on AnimEigo's reputation, I'm going to assume it is because of a lack of good source material, but this is not an impressive DVD. The Japanese audio is clean if not impressive stereo, but sounds good for a movie of this vintage. The video, on the other hand, looks a bit washed out and rather soft, has some unpleasant color artifacts around sharp edges, and is interlaced--looks like a direct transfer from a video source of unimpressive quality. This would've been a great film to see a Macross-style cleanup on, but the result, though a disappointment by videophile standards, isn't all that bad. The special features consist of some basic maps of the various locations Jiro travels to, a series of character bios, and the original theatrical trailer. There are also two sets of subtitles; one with full subtitling, and one that only translates onscreen text (of limited value to most viewers, since the dialogue is Japanese-only).

Content Guide

Rated 13-up by AnimEigo on account of some mature themes and violence.

Violence: 3 - Not gratuitous, but still quite violent.

Nudity: 2 - A couple of brief scenes.

Sex/Mature Themes: 1 - Implied romance only.

Language: 1 - Not noteworthy.

Notes and Trivia

As always, AnimEigo's famed liner notes (as well as full credits and song lyrics) are available on the web, and in this case are extremely extensive.

The film is based on a series of five novels by Tetsu Yano.

As for the story, it's quite strange to think of a ninja hanging out in the wild west, but the periods were in fact simultaneous, and this is probably your only chance to see it happen (with a serious face, anyway).

Note also that this is one of AnimEigo's first releases, but there are also two old VHS versions of it floating around, each by a different company. One is a full-length dubbed version called "The Blade of Kamui." The other is a different dubbed version released under the name "The Sword of Kamui," which apparently had about an hour of the movie cut out and somehow added an alien invasion to the plot if the text on the box is to be believed. I have seen neither, but I'd guess that the latter ranks with the "Warriors of the Wind" dub of Nausicaa as one of the greatest anime travesties of all time (though I do have to wonder what kind of creative dubbing they employed to get aliens into 19th century Japan).

There was a little-known video game adaptation of this story for the FM-7 computer, only available in Japan. It was of the text-based adventure sort, but with color illustrations.

Availability

Available on subtitled Japanese-only DVD from AnimEigo. Was previously available on subtitled-only LaserDisc and VHS, also from AnimEigo. There were also dub-only VHS versions sold as The Blade of Kamui and The Sword of Kamui, the latter of which is heavily edited, and neither of which is now in print.

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