Honestly this might be as good as they come 
At least in a majority of aspects
I’m pretty blown away 
Juggled so many different characters and dynamics and pulled them all off
Maybe a few inclusions were less desirable, but by the end they rounded off so neatly in their own right that it’s hard to really fault them 
Had the perfect ending like 2 or 3 times 
What it went for in the end was also great again in its own way but I can only imagine what sort of beast would’ve come from this with a few changes
The beginning and endings showcase some of the most impressive and innovative feats I’ve seen from any chanbara 
Some honestly pretty bold new-wave type edits sprinkled in and about
Compelling friendship ?! 
Glorious composition 
Handheld camera ?!?! Claustrophobic action intertwined with really well spaced establishing shots 
You can get completely lost in the messiness and sloppiness of the swordplay, but still know what’s going on and such and such 
So so much to be impressed by here
I’d be lying if I said there felt like a fairly weak portion in the middle but what it did otherwise was just so fantastic 
I can only wish it was strung together better maybe
Also it didn’t overcomplicate the politics at all like how Shinoda and Okamoto seem to manage almost all the time 
So it’s nice to see some proof of concept on potential improvements to other films such at those 

This definitely hits a soft spot with a bunch of things I’ve been wanting to see from a chanbara flick for a longgg time 
So I’m sure that’s leaving an impression that leans towards sweet and further from sour 
But man I do feel like it deserves it in this sense 
There’s always more of these out there I just gotta hunt deeper and deeper
Watches like these do make me think it’s out there
Some magical relic of my perfect chanbara 
It’s gotta be out there
I can picture it 
Been nice to be on a streak of films I’ve wanted to tick off for ages and actually really liking them 
Hell yeah
So many amazing moments I keep trailing back to in my head I can’t leave them alone 
But there is definitely a lot of padding that distracts from proper clarity in its plot and themes 
Probably 10 minutes max worth of it that hold it back from something like the almighty top 50 for me
I lowk want it there so bad bc so much of this was that good that i don’t want it to go under-appreciated 
I’m going with my gut on this one tho 
Feels so silly typing out about this side of watching filmsies but ibr for me it’s half of the fun
Okay lit

Honestly this might be as good as they come 
At least in a majority of aspects
I’m pretty blown away 
Juggled so many different characters and dynamics and pulled them all off
Maybe a few inclusions were less desirable, but by the end they rounded off so neatly in their own right that it’s hard to really fault them 
Had the perfect ending like 2 or 3 times 
What it went for in the end was also great again in its own way but I can only imagine what sort of beast would’ve come from this with a few changes
The beginning and endings showcase some of the most impressive and innovative feats I’ve seen from any chanbara 
Some honestly pretty bold new-wave type edits sprinkled in and about
Compelling friendship ?! 
Glorious composition 
Handheld camera ?!?! Claustrophobic action intertwined with really well spaced establishing shots 
You can get completely lost in the messiness and sloppiness of the swordplay, but still know what’s going on and such and such 
So so much to be impressed by here
I’d be lying if I said there felt like a fairly weak portion in the middle but what it did otherwise was just so fantastic 
I can only wish it was strung together better maybe
Also it didn’t overcomplicate the politics at all like how Shinoda and Okamoto seem to manage almost all the time 
So it’s nice to see some proof of concept on potential improvements to other films such at those 

This definitely hits a soft spot with a bunch of things I’ve been wanting to see from a chanbara flick for a longgg time 
So I’m sure that’s leaving an impression that leans towards sweet and further from sour 
But man I do feel like it deserves it in this sense 
There’s always more of these out there I just gotta hunt deeper and deeper
Watches like these do make me think it’s out there
Some magical relic of my perfect chanbara 
It’s gotta be out there
I can picture it 
Been nice to be on a streak of films I’ve wanted to tick off for ages and actually really liking them 
Hell yeah
So many amazing moments I keep trailing back to in my head I can’t leave them alone 
But there is definitely a lot of padding that distracts from proper clarity in its plot and themes 
Probably 10 minutes max worth of it that hold it back from something like the almighty top 50 for me
I lowk want it there so bad bc so much of this was that good that i don’t want it to go under-appreciated 
I’m going with my gut on this one tho 
Feels so silly typing out about this side of watching filmsies but ibr for me it’s half of the fun
Okay lit