Back in 2017, there was a spin off of an anime spin off, which was itself a spin off of a collectible video card game. That game took the myth of swords having “life” and “personality”, the game was called “Touken Ranbu”. The game featured swords of famous swordsmen and eventually a spin off anime called Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru was created which featured the sword of Okita Souji, who is personified as Yamatonokami Yasusada. The story doesn’t follow Okita Souji but rather his sword as he gets to know the citadel where other famous swords enjoy daily life. It’s somewhat of a light hearted and dare I say “cute” anime?
But enter the other spin-off Katsugeki: Touken Ranbu which originally aired as a 13 episode anime back in 2017. This was more my style! Great captivating story! Great animation! Great characters! And central to the story are two swords of the Demon Vice Commander Hijikata. The swords are Izuminokami Kanesada and Horikawa Kunihiro. One a more seasoned warrior and the latter a recent recruit to the citadel to help stem off the retrograde army aiming to change the course of history! And this history includes who else but Hijikata Toshizo. Soon their fates will cross!
I LOVED THIS ANIME! Although we hardly get to see Hijikata, we do see him and the attachment of the personified swords are very apparent in this somewhat serious and heavy themed anime compared to Hanamaru. At the end of this anime back in 2017 they teased the movie. It’s now the last day of 2021 and a couple of days ago ufotable and Aniplex both confirmed that the movie is still in the works! Watch the teaser and enjoy!
A description of the anime from Aniplex below:
The year is 1863 as the tumultuous samurai era is coming to an end, Japan is split between the pro-shogunate and anti-shogunate factions. The fate of the world is threatened as an army of historical revisionists are sent from the future to alter the course of history. In order to bring these forces down and protect the real history, two sword warriors, spirits who are swords brought to life by Saniwa (sage), rush to Edo. The polite and thoughtful Horikawa Kunihiro and the short tempered yet skillful Izuminokami Kanesada, who served the same master, confront the invading army along with a lively gang of other warriors including Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki, Yagen Toushirou, Tombokiri, and Tsurumaru Kuninaga. As the fate of history lies in these hero’s hands, what meets the blade is yet to be uncovered…