LogFAQs > #968946864

65. Katana Maidens
https://myanimelist.net/anime/35589/Toji_no_Miko
Winter 2018 (24 episodes)
My Score: 7/10, MAL Score: 6.80/10
Best Character: Etou Kanami

My Kanami figure: https://imgur.com/XeDS6ti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLioVZ3bo5E

Premise: Evil beings called aradama threaten the world, and girls called toji use mystical katanas to defend against them. Etou Kanami is a gifted fighter, and she gets caught up in a conspiracy that could threaten the world.

The Good: Katana Maidens is an action anime. I was really enamored with it when it was first airing, as I'm sure anyone in the anime topic around that time will recall. My opinion on it has leveled out quite a bit, but I still think this is an underrated gem with a lot going for it. This write-up will be longer than usual just because I feel the need to explain myself. Still, I can see why KM never took off. I struggled to summarize it in the premise! Viewers get thrown into the setting and all its weird terminology without much explanation, but it isn't that complex. They can make mystical katanas that grant girls various abilities like a spiritual shield or bursts of speed. The process of forging these katanas also creates a byproduct called noro, which eventually takes the form of a malevolent monster that only the special katanas can destroy. There was a disaster twenty years ago when a huge amount of noro came together. The girl who eliminated it, Yukari, became a hero and now leads the entire toji organization.

However, things are more complicated than they seem. At a sword fighting tournament, a toji named Hiyori tries to assassinate the hero Yukari. When that fails, Hiyori goes on the run with Etou Kanami, the only person there who was gifted enough to see what actually happened. Yukari defended herself using aradama powers, meaning she never defeated the monster twenty years ago. The monster took her over, and the only two people who know it are being hunted by the entire toji organization.

I really adore that premise. I went into KM expecting another "cute girls fight waves of monsters" snoozefest like Strike Witches. Instead, it thrust me into an interesting conspiracy, and I became genuinely invested in whether or not Kanami and Hiyori could unravel it. I'm a big fan of stories where characters are on the run and have the odds stacked against them. The battles in this use CGI, but I thought they looked good and the back-and-forth was easy to follow. Kanami was also a stellar character who remains one of my favorites, even though my opinion of Katana Maidens itself eventually mellowed out.

The Bad: The second half of the anime isn't anywhere near as good. I wouldn't call it bad, and some of the hypest moments happened there. It just had some problems. There's one character, Yukina, who is a moronic bad guy caricature. I absolutely hated her and everyone stupid enough to work with her. Anything else I want to complain about would be a huge spoiler, so I'll just say there's plenty to nitpick here for people who want things to complain about. My good feelings from early on were enough for me to forgive most of them, though.

Overall: It didn't wind up being as good as it could've been due to a lackluster second half, but I still think Katana Maidens is a lot better than anyone but me ever gave it credit for. It had an interesting setting, a great conspiracy plot, and I liked all of the major characters. Hiyori and the comic relief sidekick animal Nene were considerations for my top 100 characters, but in the end only Kanami made the list.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/4/3/AAcDcBAAD0Db.png

CHARACTER: Etou Kanami (Katana Maidens)
https://myanimelist.net/character/151354/Kanami_Etou
Voiced by: Hondo Kaede
TOP 100 RANK: 6th

SPOILERS FOR KATANA MAIDENS

(I couldnt find a good video for her that wasnt the dub)

Kanami at her most basic is a character type I enjoy, an energetic optimistic girl who really loves sword fighting. What elevated her into my all-time favorites is the surprising amount of intelligence and depth she has on top of that. At the sword fighting tournament, when everyone else was still processing the fact that Hiyori tried to kill the great hero Yukari, only Kanami is astute enough to look past that and see what actually happened. She makes the split-second decision to assist Hiyori and go on the run, all because she saw Yukari use aradama powers. While they're in hiding, Kanami remains a friendly ally to the aloof Hiyori. She also displays a lot of skill and intelligence. When the two are fighting members of the elite guard, they don't waste time trying to defeat them. Kanami recognizes that victory, at this moment, is to escape, and that's what she and Hiyori manage to do.

As her skill level is revealed throughout the anime, though, it becomes clear that Kanami could've won if she wanted to. For years, she's been training in her sleep with the spirit of her mother (it's a long story). When Kanami is serious, only the greatest foes can hope to stand against her. Kanami rarely gets serious, though, because she usually doesn't fight in order to defeat people. She views sword fighting as a method of conversation, a way to see who someone really is. Kanami asks for duels at inappropriate times from everyone, including Hiyori, a reformed Yukari, and even an evil god. She does this because it's the best way to understand them, and for them to sense her feelings in turn.

When Kanami does get serious, though, shit gets real. When Hiyori has absorbed all three shards of an evil god (again, it's a long story) and is ready to die to banish them for good, Kanami refuses to let that happen. Hiyori has incredible powers, including a lightning sword and the ability to see every possible future. And, to her increasing terror, she can't find a single potential reality where she beats Kanami. Every path leads to defeat. Kanami literally cuts a lightning bolt in half and wins easily when they finally do come to blows. That was probably my favorite moment in all of Katana Maidens. I was impressed that Kanami could be so powerful without ever feeling like a Mary Sue, because her goal was usually to reach her enemy, not merely overpower them. It also really upped the stakes at the end when everyone was up against someone who could match her strength.