Movie – Stranger: Mukou Hadan

Movies May 7, 2020

Overview:

The boi Kotarou is being hunted by down by some Chinese… yup Asians hunting Asians in the era of samurai with blood, swords, somehow a gun, ~~and blood sacrifices~~. Nanashi is working through his own demons when he meets kotarou. Nanashi is hired by Kotarou to escort him and protect along the way.

The Chinese Ming dynasty is after something that they believe Kotarou will provide and have traveled the seas to find the boi. Immediately when shown it is apparent there are some strong fighters in the group sent over for the hunt. Shows off some skill of them and sets a darker mood that they will find and capture him no matter what due to whatever the goal they are set on achieving.

Visuals/Music:

Visuals considering it is a film from 2007 is very good. It has held up very well and is detailed with clarity throughout. Several times there are moments that could be paused and used as backgrounds. Fight scenes themselves feel fluid and have a good flow throughout. There is blood and injuries that happen during the fights and unlike a lot of shows and movies the characters did have a reaction and didn’t act as though it never happened. The way they fought changed up a bit to compensate showing the creator was paying attention and wanting to create a good fight not just something flashy and fanservicy.

Music throughout was good enough and matches the mood keeping the viewer engaged and immersed. It does the job and may not be memorable, but it isn’t needing to be. OST and sound effects both fit the feel and are well placed throughout.

Final Thoughts:

At only an hour and a half the film tells a brief and quick story. A story that is engaging and fun to watch with fights and scenes throughout that keep the viewer pleased. Backstory is told and kept to a minimum to not force a connection to characters which was nice to see. Its tossed in as more of here is the reason not a feel for him due to this which is how proper storytelling should be in this type of film.

I recommend this to anybody wanting some action with good fights throughout and characters that are enjoyable to watch. It’s a quick short film but feels longer than the actual time but for good reasons… and a kyuu doggo :D .