Katanagatari

Katanagatari
File:Katanagatari.png
刀語
Genre	Chanbara, Comedy, Romance
Light novel
Written by	Nisio Isin
Illustrated by	Take
Published by	Kodansha
Original run	January, 2007 – December, 2007
Volumes	12
Anime television series
Directed by	Keitaro Motonaga
Studio	White Fox
Original network	MBS
Original run	January 25, 2010 – present
Episodes	12

Katanagatari (刀語, Sword Story) is a Japanese light novel series written by Nisio Isin and illustrated by Take. The series is published by Kodansha under the Kodansha Box imprint. An anime adaptation by White Fox started airing on January 25, 2010 and is set for 12 episodes. The story revolves around the collection of twelve weapons that were created by a fictional swordsmith. A single episode of the series is planned to be aired each month.

Plot and settings

Katanagatari centers on Shichika Yasuri, the seventh head of the Kyotō-ryū (虚刀流, literally "swordless style") of Japanese sword martial arts. One day, a girl named Togame arrives on the island where Shichika and his older sister Nanami live with a favor to ask of him. Togame tells Shichika that she is on a mission to find and collect the final twelve swords forged by a master swordsmith by the name of Kiki Shikizaki, and that she needs his help. They both then leave the island together to seek out the swords. On their journey they confront twelve individuals that possess his twelve unique swords while romance and hilarity ensue.

Characters

Shichika Yasuri (鑢七花, Yasuri Shichika)

Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hosoya

The main character of the story, he is the twenty-year-old seventh head of the Kyotōryuu school of Japanese sword martial arts. After living on a certain island in the country of Tamba for the past twenty years, he is sought out by Togame with a mission to find twelve unique swords. As a practitioner of the Kyotōryuu school of swordplay, he does not use a single sword when fighting, instead using his hands and legs as his primary weapons. In a sense, he is actually a physical fighter, but since he uses hand-chops, he considers it to be an art of the sword. The reason why he practices Kyotōryuu is because the Yasuri family has no talent in handling swords, which dates back to as far as the first head of the school, Kazuni Yasuri. He is in love with Togame and will do anything she tells him to do; however, he sometimes considers her orders a hassle. After defeating Hakuhei Sabi and retrieving his sword, Shichika also inherits Hakuhei's title and becomes known as the strongest swordsman in Japan. His catchphrase is "but before then you'll be torn to pieces".

Togame (とがめ, Togame)

Voiced by: Yukari Tamura

A self-titled strategian, she arrives on the island where Shichika resides in order to seek his help with finding the final twelve swords forged by Shikizaki Kiki. Her father was Takahito Hida, the leader of the last rebellion and also one of the people Mutsue Yasuri had killed back then; this makes Shichika the son of Togame's father's killer. The reason behind her seeking help from Shichika is that he has no reason to keep the swords for himself and she believes that people who work for love can be trusted the most; that is why she tells Shichika to fall for her. She has a habit of saying "cheerio" while punching Shichika.

The Wielders of the Twelve Deviant Blades

Koumori Maniwa (真庭蝙蝠, Maniwa Koumori)

Voiced by: Chihiro Suzuki

A member of the Beast Squad, he is one of the heads of the Maniwa Corps, a group of ninja that have interest in seeking out the Deviant Blades. He is the first opponent in the series Shichika fights for said swords. He wields Kanna, a straight blade designed to never bend nor break that he stores inside his body. He is able to shoot kunai from his mouth and transform into an exact physical copy of any being. He is killed by Shichika while copying Shichika's appearance and wearing Togame's outfit. His name Koumori means 'bat'.

• Nickname: Hades Koumori
• Ninpou: Kotsuniku Zaiku - This technique allows Koumori to shape-shift into any person he wants.

Ginkaku Uneri (宇練銀閣, Uneri Ginkaku)

Voiced by: Mitsuru Miyamoto

A swordsman who lives in a vast desert in the country of Inaba, he is the second opponent Shichika fights for the Deviant Blades. He wields Namakura, the katana that had been handed down from his family, and is unwilling to surrender it to anyone. He has lived in the desert guarding the palace; as he says, "a warrior must live to protect something". His fighting style is solely based on a sword-drawing technique called Zerosen, which can kill his opponent with one strike, and his katana allows him to do it perfectly. His sword-draw speed is so great that Shichika is never able to see the blade, and he can further increase it by using his own blood. His preferred fighting ground is the very room he stays inside, located within the palace he lives in. He's a depressing figure who wishes to see the land he resides in return to its former beauty when it had once flourished with life, an impossibility according to Togame. He is killed by Shichika after the latter exploits the one weakness in the former's technique, the blind spot directly above his head.

Meisai Tsuruga (敦賀迷彩, Tsuruga Meisai)

Voiced by: Atsuko Yuya

The head of the Sanzu shrine located in Izumo, she is the third opponent Shichika fights for the Deviant Blades. She wields Tsurugi, a thousand exact copies of one sword of Shikizaki's doing. She claims that her real name had been long forgotten. Her current name had been taken from a priest she had killed. She was the daughter of a powerful kendo master who was also a commander of Izumo's defense corps and had died alongside all of his followers. She had later become a bandit leader, inheriting Tsurugi from them. Her killing spree had come to an end after meeting and killing the original Meisai Tsuruga, and she now takes care of a group of mikos that have been abused by men to the point of killing almost any man. The thousand Tsurugi copies are used by her mikos and two bodyguards, and she hopes that the blades' supposed magical properties could cure the abused girls of their dangerous nature, which had worked to a small degree. Despite her willingness to surrender Tsurugi to Togame, she duels Shichika for the sake of the girls. Her fighting style is called Sentouryuu, which revolves around using many blades at her disposal, and Tsurugi provides those means. She is killed by Shichika in one last stand after he tells her that she is wielding the real Tsurugi out of the thousand, and that it was fate that had brought her and her sword together. Before dying, she asks Togame a favor: protection from the shogunate over the shrine and the girls, to which Togame agrees.

Hakuhei Sabi (錆白兵, Sabi Hakuhei)

Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa

Renowned as one of Japan's strongest swordsmen, he is the fourth opponent Shichika fights for the Deviant Blades. He wields Hari, one of the Twelve Blades he had been sent to retrieve, but had ended up keeping for himself. He proves to be a much more powerful opponent than the others Shichika had fought. His catchphrase is "Ill have you fall for me".

Kanara Azekura (校倉必, Azekura Kanara)

Voiced by: Tsuyoshi Koyama

A rather tall pirate who rules a small port town in Satsuma, he is the fifth opponent Shichika fights for the Deviant Blades. He wields Yoroi, a suit of armor that he covers his appearance with most of the time and challenges fairly well-known individuals with often. He had a younger sister that, when he was younger, was killed along with the other crewmen on the ship they were on by pirates, and was taken in by her killers as a slave. During his stay with them, he was ordered to clean Yoroi, which they had happened to possess at the time. Five years later, he was urged to try on the armor, and used it to turn on his sister's killers. When Shichika and Togame arrived at Kyushu, Kanara saw that Togame resembled his younger sister and strikes a bargain with her: if he dueled Shichika and won, she would be his woman. During his fight against Shichika, the latter has difficulty finding a weak point in Yoroi as it blocks all his attacks. However, he is defeated after Shichika throws him up into the air, and he consequently crashes into the ground, which makes him the first survivor of Shichika's battles over one of the Twelve Blades. Out of spite for his defeat, he secretly has the ship Shichika and Togame board change its course.

Konayuki Itezora (凍空こなゆき, Itezora Konayuki)

Voiced by: Rina Hidaka

A small eleven-year-old girl who's the last of the Itezora clan located on Mount Odori in the Ezo region, she is the sixth opponent Shichika fights for the Deviant Blades. After meeting a lost and freezing Shichika and Togame and taking them to her makeshift home, Konayuki helps them find, and later wields, Kanazuchi, a sword that is too heavy for Shichika to lift and that she recalls was owned by the village mayor's son. Her appearance is that of a cute young girl with long white hair, a tooth missing, and, despite being the weakest of her entire village even amongst the children, enough strength to effortlessly wield Kanazuchi. She claims that an avalanche had claimed her clan, but they are revealed to have been killed off by Nanami in the latter's search for the Twelve Blades. She also claims that, as per her clan's instructions, she has to be dueled for Kanazuchi. Unwilling to kill her, Shichika goes easy on Konayuki, but she, with Kanazuchi and her amateur status, manages to break his left arm during the fight. While Shichika was recovering, Konayuki attacks Kyouken Maniwa, who later possesses her and uses her body to fight Shichika and Togame, but Shichika manages to kill the spirit rather than Konayuki, which knocks Konayuki out. She apologizes to Shichika and Togame for lying to them about dueling her for Kanazuchi, agrees to take it to the mainland and afterward live in the Sanzu shrine, and tells them that she had fun with them and won't feel lonely anymore.

Nanami Yasuri (鑢七実, Yasuri Nanami)

Voiced by: Mai Nakahara

Shichika's older sister, she is the seventh opponent Shichika fights for the Deviant Blades. She's depicted as gentle and weak; however, she can be frightening and intimidating to face during a fight. Despite not learning her family's fighting style, she has keen senses, fast reflexes, and the ability to think ahead, as she had observed her brother during his training and is shown to have used Kyotō when attacked by three ninja. Her primary fighting ability is to, by simply observing any fighting technique, learn it, then master it on second observation. She also has an unnatural ability to recover from serious injuries and poisons. Although her brother leaves the island with Togame, Nanami eventually follows them. She had fought Shichika only once, which ended in a draw because of her body's condition, and is stated by Shichika to be even stronger than Hakuhei. During her travels, she killed off the Itezora clan in search of Kanazuchi, but she did not take it because the sword is not useful to her. She comes into possession of Bita after killing off the people in Shireizan. The katana is later seen jabbed into her chest, which over comes her physical weakness. She later confronts her brother and asks him to kill her in order to die normally due to her unnatural superhuman strength. In the end she's killed by her brother, granting her the death she always wanted.

Biyorigou (日和号, Biyorigou)

Voiced by: Aya Endo

The name given to the katana Kanzashi, it fights Shichika in Volume 8 and Episode 8. It resides in an abandoned lake, attacking all that seem to threaten it. It's frightfully fast, flexible, and armed with numerous blades, and it also has a blade hidden in its mouth. Throughout the episode Togame tries to study its behavior as it only roams about through the deserted lake area. Despite their traps its fast thinking kicks in and is unaffected. Later confrontation, Shichika fights it, but proves to be a hassle as it blocks his attacks and surprises him with its unusual attack patterns. In one final attempt it uses its legs to propel itself into the air and attacks them from the sky. But Togame, foreseeing the lack of sunlight forces Byorigou to shut down and is rescued by Shichika before crashing down onto the ground. The doll is later sent to Princess Hetei.

Zanki Kiguchi (汽口慚愧, Kiguchi Zanki)

Voiced by: Shizuka Itō

A girl with black hair and a distinct lock on the left side of her face that has the appearance of a katana edge who runs a dojo. She's a calm, serious individual and a shogi player. She wields Nokogiri, a wooden sword also known as the King Sword. When first encountered she's dueled for control over Nokogiri, but she wins against Shichika. She later attempts to train Shichika in kendo, an activity he is unskilled in due to his family's inherent inability to wield a sword of any kind. While training with her they get caught up in a series of misunderstandings from Togame who comes to see progress, suggesting something sexual. Near the end of his training, Shichika is still unable to fight with a sword, but Togame outflanks her by reciting moves in shogi distracting her long enough to have Shichika land a hit. In the end she hands over Nokogiri admitting her lose and revealing a more feminine side before Shichika and Togame depart.

Rinne Higaki (彼我木輪廻, Higaki Rinne)

A saint resembling a girl with long greenish, black hair who wears a long scarf-like cloth as clothing. She wields Hakari, a sword that lacks an actual blade.

Houou Maniwa (真庭鳳凰, Maniwa Houou)

The acclaimed leader of the Maniwa Ninja Corps and the leader of its Bird Squad. As his name suggests, he wears a phoenix-like uniform. His personality is quite different from his fellow ninja heads, claiming he has a little more common sense then the others. He has the ability to decapitate anyone with a swing of his arm, as shown when he severs his own left arm to form an alliance with Togame, though he regains the use of said lost arm shortly after from Kawauso's corpse. He finds Mekki inside of a cave and claims it. Shortly after claiming it they are caught by Emonzaemon who's out to kill him. But he and Penguin escape leaving Oshidori to fight him.

• Nickname: God Houou
• Ninpou: Danzaien - This technique allows Houou to slice through anyone with a swing of his arm.

Emonzaemon Souda (左右田右衛門左衛門, Souda Emonzaemon)

A faithful follower of Princess Hitei, he's been informing her about Togame's adventures for some time. He is seen spying on Togame and Shichika after they recovered Kanazuchi. A rather quiet person who sits in on Princess Hitei's boastful conversations. He shows little emotion and does not get along well with Togame. He has long red hair that's bound in a ponytail and a tall height and wears a tuxedo-like uniform. His face is covered by a mask that was given to him by Princess Hitei and is written with the kanji for "unconcealed". He used to be a ninja under the Aioi Corps, a group that was eliminated by the Maniwa Corps over 170 years ago during the Sengoku Period. His ninjutsu revolves around the darkness of his surroundings. His ninja style was overpowered by the early Maniwa ninjas and claims only Houou is the sole person who knows about the Aioi Corps ways out of the present Maniwa Corps ninjas. He is the only person who has knowledge of Aioi Kempou. He wields Jyu, a pair of pistols.

Maniwa Ninja Corps Heads

A clan of ninja that are also looking for the Deviant Blades, each member's name is that of an animal (bird, beast, insect, and fish.) and is reflected on their clothing, and all members wear a chain somewhere on their uniform. The clan is split into four different groups based on the wildlife their members, in turn, are based on: Bird Squad, Beast Squad, Fish Squad, and Insect Squad. Both Shichika and Nanami have called the group by the nickname Maniwani, thinking that it made them sound cute.

Shirasagi Maniwa (真庭白鷺, Maniwa Shirasagi)

A member of the Bird Squad, not much is known about him except what has been heard of him. He speaks everything backwards. As his name suggests, he wears a white heron-like uniform. He is killed by Ginkaku before he has the chance to take any action.

• Nickname: Reverse-talk Shirasagi
• Ninpou: Gekirin Sagashi

Kuizame Maniwa (真庭喰鮫, Maniwa Kuizame)

A member of the Fish Squad, he is known as "Sabaku Izame", written with the kanji for "curse" and "chain", he wields a pair of chains, a sword attached to each one. After overhearing Meisai asking Shichika about what the latter fought for, Kuizame admits proudly that he himself fights for money and nothing else. He is killed by Meisai after she bypasses his Ninpou. He is later revealed to have respected Kamakiri despite being practically a murderer in a ninja outfit, according to Chouchou.

• Nickname: Chain-bind Kuizame
• Ninpou: Uzugatana - This technique allows Kuizame to swing his sword-tipped chains around him effortlessly.

Kamakiri Maniwa (真庭蟷螂, Maniwa Kamakiri)

The leader of the Insect Squad, he is a serious highly experienced and feared warrior. As his name suggests, he wears a praying mantis-like uniform. He and the rest of the Insect Squad go to the island of the Yasuri family in order to kidnap Nanami and find out what happened to Koumori. He acts not only as the leader, but also as an older brother and good friend for his Insect Squad comrades. While stalking Nanami, Kamakiri confesses to himself that if she weren't a target/enemy, Mitsubachi would probably fall for her. He is the first to attack Nanami in hopes of using her as a hostage/bargaining piece, but is quickly defeated. He is subsequently killed by Nanami shoving his own large nails, which she tore off his fingers, through his mouth after he refused to tell her any info about his fellow ninja.

• Nickname: Decapitate Kamakiri
• Ninpou: Tsume Awase - This technique allows Kamakiri to lengthen and strengthen his nails into powerful claws.

Chouchou Maniwa (真庭蝶々, Maniwa Chouchou)

A member of the Insect Squad, he is a little hotheaded and quick to lose his patience especially when it comes to games, accusing others of cheating. As his name suggests, he wears a butterfly-like uniform. Chouchou admires Kamakiri as a great leader and considers both Kamakiri and Mitsubachi as very good friends. He was a heavy smoker and gave up smoking for the sake of Oshidori, who he is going to marry at some point, but he is killed before he could confess his love for her. He is the second person who fights Nanami after Kamakiri, using his Ninpou both to gain the advantage and to experience the thrill of fighting that the respective founders of both his and Nanami's styles had experienced long ago, but is killed by her after she copied his Ninpou, used both his and Kamakiri's Ninpous against him, pinned him to the ground, and broke his neck. In the light novel he was originally called Maniwa Tefutefu, the kanjis used for his name can be pronounced either way.

• Nickname: Weightless Chouchou
• Ninpou: Ashigaru - This technique allows Chouchou to make his body weightless, thus increasing his speed and rendering him unhittable. He can also use it to skate on water even with the additional weight of both Kamakiri and Mitsubachi on his shoulders.

Mitsubachi Maniwa (真庭蜜蜂, Maniwa Mitsubachi)

A member of the Insect Squad, he is the most gentle, fair, and calm of its three members, preferring to avoid conflicts with his friends. As his name suggests, he wears a honey bee-like uniform. Besides being the tallest of the squad, he is also the youngest among them and is the only member among them that carries and uses man-made weapons. After witnessing Nanami killing Chouchou, Mitsubachi is the third person who fights Nanami, attacking her from behind and at a distance using his Ninpou in order to weaken and subsequently capture her or finish her off. His own Ninpou is also used against him after he realized too late that her body can survive from non-lethal poison, and he allowed her to see, then copy his Ninpou. By using Ashigaru and Tsume Awase, she was able to dig out the caltrops and quickly attack him. He asks her to kill him with his own sword so that he wouldn't die in shame by the poison she found in Kamakiri's molar and used in her counterattack, and bury his corpse alongside his fellow ninja, both of which she fulfills.

• Nickname: Thorn Mitsubachi
• Ninpou: Makibishi Shidan - This technique allows him to launch small caltrops that are hook-tipped to make pulling them out impossible and poison-tipped to immobilize his enemy so that he can get in close and kill them with his katana.

Kyouken Maniwa (真庭狂犬, Maniwa Kyouken)

A member of the Beast Squad, she despises Togame for the deaths of her fellow ninja and the mess they've caused within the Maniwa village. As her name suggests, she wears a wolf-like uniform. Houou reveals that the current Kyouken is actually the spirit of the first Kyouken Maniwa that had died long ago. She is initially defeated by Konayuki, but she later takes over Konayuki, reads her memories, and uses her body to fight Shichika and Togame, stating that she has had over 2000 hosts in her lifetime, most of them being female ninja, and a vast amount of fighting experience. She is defeated by Shichika and loses control over Konayuki's body after he realizes that Kyouken's fighting experience is the reason he can now read the movements of Konayuki's body, in sharp contrast to Konayuki's amateur status.

• Nickname: Infest Kyouken
• Ninpou: Kyouken Hatsudou - This technique, secretive to the point that even the leader of the Beast Squad, Kawauso didn't know, allows Kyouken to take control, and read the memories of any host. Houou reveals that the new host must be female.

Kawauso Maniwa (真庭川獺, Maniwa Kawauso)

The leader of the Beast Squad, he is invaluable to the Maniwa Corps as he can ascertain the locations of the Deviant Blades. As his name suggests, he wears an otter-like uniform. He is willingly killed by Houou in order to maintain the alliance between the Maniwa Corps and Togame.

• Nickname: Read Kawauso
• Ninpou: Kiroku Tadori - This technique is a form of psychometry that allows Kawauso to read the past of almost any inanimate object. However, he admits that his reading skills don't allow him to read other people's memories due to his shyness.

Umigame Maniwa (真庭海亀, Maniwa Umigame)

The leader of the Fish Squad, as his name suggests, he wears a turtle-like uniform. He wields a rapier. He fights Emonzaemon and is killed.

• Nickname: Longevity Umigame

Oshidori Maniwa (真庭鴛鴦, Maniwa Oshidori)

A member of the Bird Squad, she is first mentioned as the object of Chouchou's affection. As her name suggests, she wears a duck-like uniform. She fights Emonzaemon while letting her leader and Penguin flee. Her Ninpou proves to be a hassle for him as he cannot sneak up on her. But she's later gunned down by Jyu, which were in Emonzaemon's possession at the time.

• Nickname: Rewind Oshidori

Pengin Maniwa (真庭人鳥, Maniwa Pengin)

A member of the Fish Squad, she is the group's informant and its youngest head. As her name suggests, she wears a penguin-like uniform. A shy and soft-spoken girl, she stutters when trying to bring something up.

• Nickname: Propagate Pengin

Other characters

Takahito Hida (Hida Takahito)

The leader of the last rebellion and Togame's late father. He was killed in front of a young Togame by Mutsue inside Hida Castle, which turned her hair white, and inspired her to collect the deviant blades.

Mutsue Yasuri (Yasuri Mutsue)

The sixth head of the Kyotō school of Japanese sword martial arts, he was the late father of Shichika and Nanami and the person Togame is initially seeking for the mission to find the Deviant Blades. After killing Takahito, Mutsue and his family were exiled to a certain island in the country of Tamba. He is later revealed to have attempted to restrain Nanami's power and denied her succession to the Kyotō art despite his willingness to- not because of her gender or frailty, but because he was simply unable to raise such an exceptionally powerful individual, also noting that she had the same eyes as those of his father. After training Shichika in the Kyotō art to become his successor, Mutsue requested Shichika to kill him, which Shichika fulfilled.

Kiki Shikizaki (Shikizaki Kiki)

A master swordsmith of the Sengoku period who was reclusive, belonged to no house nor country, and is renowned by many of the other characters, his work was regarded so highly that during said period, 1000 of his swords were distributed over 25 countries and that the country with the most of his swords during that time dominated it. Of those 1000 swords, the first 988 he had created are believed to have been practice for the last twelve: the Deviant Blades. He is rumored to have had a close connection with the founder of the Kyotō art and dabbled in alchemy and the occult during his development of the Deviant Blades.

Princess Hitei (否定姫, Hitei Hime)

A princess residing in Owari who has recently come back into power. She's a beautiful lady with long blonde hair and bluish-green eyes. She has a shinobi, Emonzaemon under her control whom she looks down on and demoralizes even though he appears unfazed by it. Her role in the story is unknown as of yet, but she seems to be plotting against Togame. Also, she has Jyu under her possession.

The Deviant Blades

The main focus of the story is the gathering of twelve distinct katanas that were crafted by Kiki Shikizaki, a reclusive swordsmith. His bladework had been widely popular during the last war, but only twelve out of the many he had done are rumored to have been specially crafted via alchemy, the occult, and other magical means. Although they are supposedly "katanas", not all of them are such, for they have different forms, such as a suit of armor, a dagger, and a pair of guns. The reason for the "Deviant" label is that the people wielding them are prone to their "poison" and will do anything to keep it to themselves, which is the case of most of their current wielders. Each of the blades has a distinct feature or ability that makes them the strongest.

Kanna (絶刀「鉋」, Zettō Kanna, [Absolute sword, Plane])

The first blade retrieved by Shichika and Togame, it is in the possession of Koumori. The blade is straight unlike most katanas, and it is the hardest blade with the ability to never break or bend. The hilt is neatly decorated with plum flower designs. This blade is strongly based on the real life Dotanuki.

Namakura (斬刀「鈍」, Zantō Namakura, [Decapitate sword, Blunt])

The second blade recovered, it is in the possession of Ginkaku. It is the sharpest blade with the ability to cut through anything, in sharp contrast to its ironic name, meaning "blunt". It was made for unsheathing at an incredible speed. The katana has triangular patterns around its hilt guard and a black sheath.

Tsurugi (千刀「鎩」, Sentō Tsurugi, [Thousand sword, Sword])

Comprising 1000 swords, with the last 999 being copies of the first, all 1000 of them are in the possession of Meisai. Even though there are 1000 swords, all of them together are considered to be one sword. It is the most numerous blade with the ability to overwhelm its enemy with its numbers. What makes them stand out is their red sheaths. Only Shichika is able to identify the original sword.

Hari (薄刀「針」, Hakutō Hari, [Thin sword, Needle])

An extremely thin blade as per its namesake, meaning "needle", it is in the possession of Hakuhei. It is the thinnest blade as the blade itself is made of glass, which gives it its light weight, but it is rather fragile if used incorrectly. The sheath and hilt are white and decorated with floral patterns.

Yoroi (賊刀「鎧」, Zokutō Yoroi, [Bandit sword, Armor])

A massive full set of armor, it is in the possession of Kanara. It is the most defense-oriented blade with the ability to protect the user from any damage, especially against attacks that have armor-piercing properties. Its design was based on Western armor, and it has numerous blades around it if observed carefully, both according to Togame. The armor is decorated with many references to the ocean, such as shells and a helmet that's based on a whale.

Kanazuchi (双刀「鎚」, Sōtō Kanazuchi, [Twin sword, Hammer])

A large, blunt-looking, stone sword, it comes into the possession of Konayuki. The blade is extremely heavy, capable of leaving a crater even when it is simply dropped, and only Konayuki is capable of wielding it with ease. It is the heaviest blade with the ability to crush the enemy with its weight. The sword can also be held by its tip, and used as a hammer instead, hence its "twin" title.

Bita (悪刀「鐚」, Akutō Bita, [Evil sword, Poor])

A small yellow kunai-like weapon, it comes into the possession of Nanami. It holds electricity within it and was designed similar to a lightning bolt. It is the evilest blade with the ability to give the user incredible strength and rejuvenates the body. The blade however slowly drains away the user's life.

Kanzashi (微刀「釵」, Bitō Kanzashi, [Fine sword, Sai])

A four-armed, four-legged, solar powered clockwork mechanical doll that seems to function on its own. It is the most human-like blade with the ability to think by itself and adept to any situation. It wears a kimono and tall black shoes. Each of its arms hold a sword, and an extra one is hidden in its mouth. Its appearance, made in the image of its creator's love, changes according to the situation, becoming more menacing.

Nokogiri (王刀「鋸」, Ōtō Nokogiri, [King sword, Saw])

A wooden sword that sharply contrasts its title as "King of Swords", it is in the possession of Zanki. Unlike the other Deviant Blades, it doesn't have any of the poison found in Kiki's blades. It is the purest blade with the ability to cure the poison the other swords have on their owners. A small floral mark and yellowish streak on the sword identifies it as Nokogiri.

Hakari (誠刀「銓」, Seitō Hakari, [Truth sword, Balance])

A sword with no blade, it is in the possession of Rinne. The blade itself is not meant to "cut" anyone other than its owner. The sheath is black and decorated with orange floral patterns, and a wreath of those flowers encircle the top part of the sheath.

Mekki (毒刀「鍍」, Dokutō Mekki, [Poisonous sword, Gilt])

A black jagged and bladed katana decorated with iridescent designs, it is now in the possession of Houou. The blade also gives off a dark cloudy aura. This blade originally has no owner as it was found inside of a crystal-like spire. It is the most poisonous blade.

Jyu (炎刀「銃」, Entō Jyu, [Flame sword, Gun])

A pair of pistols, one a blue six-chambered revolver and the other a red semi-automatic that holds eleven bullets, both are in the possession of Emonzaemon. It is actually in the possession of Princess Hetei. Each is decorated with a long flowing mane with a bead on its end. It is the fastest blade with the ability to shoot down enemies from a distance.

External links

• Official Katanagatari anime website Template:Jp icon
• Fuji TV Katanagatari webpage Template:Jp icon
• Katanagatari (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia