The appeal and evaluation of "SWORDGAI: Soutou Kai": A novel story and in-depth character development

"SWORDGAI: Soutougai": A dark hero's story of suffering and battle

■Overview of the work

"SWORDGAI: Soutou Gai" is an anime series that was released on Netflix on March 23, 2018. It is based on the manga "SWORDGAI" by Keita Amemiya, Toshiki Inoue, and Wosamu Kine. It is made up of 12 episodes, each 30 minutes long, and depicts the protagonist's struggles and struggles as a dark hero. The animation was produced by Landock Studios and directed by Takahiro Ikezoe.

■ Story

The story begins with a newborn baby being abandoned deep in the mountains. A passing swordsmith, Amon, names the baby Kai and adopts him. When Kai grows up, he becomes Amon's apprentice, but loses his right arm in an accident while forging a sword. The sword that caused the accident was a demon called the "Death Dragon," and Kai's life is in danger due to the curse. To save Kai, Amon transforms the demonic sword into a prosthetic arm for Kai, rescuing him from his suffering. However, at the same time, Kai's senior apprentice, Tatsumi, is captured by the magic of a spear given to him by an acquaintance and becomes a "Busoma," a monster that goes on a killing spree. Having lost his sanity, Tatsumi attacks Amon's daughter, Sayaka, and Kai, but as Kai roars, his prosthetic right arm transforms into a sword and cuts Tatsumi in half.

■Explanation

"SWORDGAI: Soutou Gai" is a Japanese manga with character design by Amemiya Keita, original story by Inoue Toshiki, and illustrations by Kine Wosamu. It began serialization in the December 2012 issue of "Monthly Heroes" as a major new series to celebrate the first anniversary of the magazine, and was later renamed "SWORDGAI: EVOLVE" and serialized from the December 2015 issue to the July 2019 issue. This is a dark hero story in which the protagonist, who has become a monster known as a "Busoma," struggles with his cursed power and faces his cruel fate. The anime adaptation faithfully reproduces the worldview of the original work while bringing out new appeal through visual expression.

■Cast

The cast includes Yuto Uemura as Gai Ogata, Yuichiro Umehara as Haruya Ichijo, Nobunaga Shimazaki as Shin Matoba, Yuka Aisaka as Sayaka Ogata, Jouji Nakata as Amon, Tomokazu Sugita as Naoki Miki, Hiro Shimono as Marcus Litos, Toshihiko Seki as Takuma Miura, Rina Sato as Kyouka Kagami, Maria Naganawa as Rie Matoba, Haruka Shiraishi as Sachiko, Akane Fujita as Sayori, Junichi Yanagida as Kagazuka, Takaya Kuroda as Grimms, Maaya Uchida as Himiko, Kazuyuki Okitsu as Kuromaru, Kenji Hamada as Tatsumi, Yu Shimamura as Mina Hiratani, Masaharu Sato as Higatsu, and Masaharu Matoba as Kaori. Kazuma is played by Takaya Hashi, Kei by Sumi Shimamoto, Hakim by Kosuke Toriumi, Midoriko by Ayane Sakura, Yasuko Tanaka by Rei Takano, Issei Ariga by Kohei Murakami, and Aronis by Michiko Neya. These actors express the individuality of the characters richly and add depth to the story.

■ Main staff

The original work is by Amemiya Keita, Inoue Toshiki, and Kine Wosamu, the original manga is by Kine Wosamu, the general director is Ikezoe Takahiro, the director is Naka Tomohito, the series composition and script are by Inoue Toshiki, the character design is Nakajima Atsuko, the original creature design is Amemiya Keita, the general animation director and sub-character design is Sato Akiko, the general animation director and prop design is Kikuchi Yosuke, the general animation director is Sakamoto Chiyoko, the busou ma designs are Sato Takayuki, Matsumoto Hideyuki, and Azuma Tsuyoshi, the mecha design is Nakahara Ryuta, the art director and art setting is Akashi Seiko, the color design is Sasaki Masato, the 3DCG directors are Kimura Akihiko and Isobe Kaneshi, the editor is Murakami Yoshinori, the sound director is Kameyama Toshiki, the music is produced by DLE, the music production is in cooperation with Undecided, the music is by Nakagawa Kotaro, the animation is produced by LANDOC Studios, and the animation produced by DLE and Production IG. These staff members worked together to recreate the world of the original work in the anime, maximizing its visual appeal.

■ Main Characters

・Ogata Gai: The protagonist of this work. 17 years old. A boy born to a mother who committed suicide by hanging herself in the forest. He is picked up by swordsmith Amon and raised as his apprentice. His defining feature is the bead hair accessory he wears. He hates his mother for abandoning him, and is usually calm and unsociable.
・Ichijou Seiya: A Shoshidai fighter who was in cryosleep. He uses his ki-generated chakrams to emit a light that has the overwhelming offensive power to destroy the weapons of the "Busoma", and his fighting power is so great that even in Shoshidai he is called legendary.
・Matoba Shin: Heir to the Matoba Group. Chrysalis of the "Shiryu (Shinuchi)". His father is Kazuma and his sister is Rie. In the past, he was attacked by Grimms, his mother was killed and he and his sister were seriously injured, which triggered him to develop an abnormal sense of justice and kindness.
・Ogata Sayaka: The heroine of this work. Amon's daughter. 17 years old. A lively and bright girl, she thinks of Gai as a younger brother even though they are the same age, and is always eager to take care of him.
・Ogata Amon: Gai's stepfather and Sayaka's father. A swordsmith. He owns a forge in the Hida mountains and is a master swordsmith with many apprentices. When Gai lost his right arm in an accident while forging a sword, he destroyed the magic sword "Shiryuu" that had been passed down for generations and gave it to him as a prosthetic.
・Naoki Miki: A Shoshidai fighter. Chrysalis of Fallgon. He is in a relationship with Hiraya, but keeps it a secret from those around him.
Marcus Litos: A combatant of the Shoshidai. He is the master of the Azoth Sword Chrysalis, in which Beelzebub is sealed. He lost his family in an accident two years ago and is now partially paralyzed.
Takuma Miura: A former administrator of the Shoshidai who became obsessed with the magic sword Zoldgein 16 years ago and became a "Busoma" (Armed Demon). He is Kyoka's father. It is unknown why father and daughter have different surnames.
・Kyouka Kagami: A beautiful, glasses-wearing commander who belongs to the "Shoshidai" organization that exterminates and manages the Buso Ma. She is calm and doesn't let her emotions get in the way of operating Chrysalis.
・Rie Matoba: Shin's younger sister.
・Shoko: A strong-willed girl with short black hair. A patient in the same room as Rie.
Sayori: A girl with brown bob hair. A patient in the same room as Rie.
・Kagazuka: The doctor in charge of Rie and the others.
Grimms: A male "armed demon." A two-horned demon who uses a giant scythe as a weapon.
・Himiko: The leader of the Gabei-shu, who has mastered Mushushinkenpo. A beautiful woman with long hair and a young girlish appearance, she has incredible skills and great talent.
・Ichikumo: Kazuyuki Okitsu ・Kuromaru: A boy who is bullied by his classmates. He is very sensitive to the word "friend" and shows obsession.
Tatsumi: A swordsmith who trained under Amon and is Kai's senior apprentice.
・Mina Hiratani: Yu Shimamura ・Kigetsu: Masaharu Sato ・Kazuma Matoba: The manager of the Matoba Group and father of Shin and Rie.
Kei: Ichijo's lover. An elderly woman who has been waiting for Ichijo faithfully for decades and has lived alone, but she believes herself to be in her 20s and believes in the delusion that they spend time together when Ichijo is not around.
- Hakim: The owner of Flamberge who became a "Busoma".
・Midoriko: The champion of the fighting game "Toukon Yugi" and an underground idol.
Yasuko Tanaka: Gallon Hammer's Chrysalis. A huge, fat, nouveau riche MILF. She has been married five times and all of her husbands have died.
・Issei Ariga: A charismatic hairdresser and the Chrysalis of Nevestigma. He has a unique passion for hair and a unique way of serving customers, but he is very skilled.
・Aronis: A female "busoma". She usually appears as a beautiful woman dressed provocatively.

■Subtitle

Episode 1/
Episode 2
Episode 3/Dragonfly Cutting
Episode 4/Busoma
Episode 5/Summer Festival
Episode 6/The World We Should Be

■ Theme songs and music

Opening theme "Sadamagoto"
Lyrics: Shio Watanabe Composition and Arrangement: Kotaro Nakagawa Vocals: Kai Ogata (Yuto Uemura)

■ Evaluation and impressions

"SWORDGAI: Soutou Gai" is a work that depicts the protagonist's struggles and struggles as a dark hero, and has been praised for its deep themes and detailed storytelling. In particular, the curse of the demonic sword "Shiryuu" that resides in Gai's right arm and the sight of Gai confronting it leave a strong impression on viewers. In addition, the backgrounds and feelings of each character are carefully depicted, adding depth to the story as a whole.

The animation quality is also high, highlighting the technical capabilities of LANDOC Studios. The designs of the "Busoma" and the battle scenes in particular are visually very appealing and capture the viewer's attention. The music, composed by Kotaro Nakagawa, is also an important element in enhancing the atmosphere of the story.

The acting of the cast is also excellent, especially the voice of Ogata Kai played by Uemura Yuto, who expresses the inner thoughts of the character deeply. In addition, the other cast members also play their characters' personalities richly, adding depth to the story.

■ Recommendation points

"SWORDGAI: Soutougai" is recommended for those who like dark hero stories and those who are looking for a work with a deep theme. It is also a work that can be enjoyed by those who are interested in action scenes and creature designs. In particular, the story depicting the protagonist's suffering and growth will give viewers a lot of emotion and empathy.

In addition, this work is distributed on Netflix, so you can watch it easily. It is a work that can be enjoyed not only by anime fans but also by general viewers. Please give it a try.

■ Related works

We also recommend the original manga Sword Gai, which is the basis for Sword Gai: Soto Gai, and its sequel Sword Gai: Evolve. These works offer a deeper story and character background. Other related works include the Xenosaga series, whose character designs are also by Keita Amemiya, and Mobile Suit Gundam UC, whose original work was written by Toshiki Inoue. These works also have deep themes and detailed storytelling.

Conclusion

"SWORDGAI: Soutougai" is a work with deep themes depicting the suffering and battles of a dark hero, and has been praised for its detailed storytelling and high-quality animation. The acting by the cast and the music are also excellent, leaving a strong impression on viewers. Please give it a watch.