Well, not exactly. To be more accurate, the British Royal Academy is hosting an exhibition of the works of 19th century Japanese artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861), whose work is seen as being the origin of modern manga. Running alongside the exhibition Curzon Cinemas is going to be showing a selection of anime movies.
As you have probably already guessed from the title, Sword of the Stranger is a Samurai action (or chanbara チャンバラ) movie, and the feature film debut of Masahiro Ando, who’s previous directorial work includes the TV series Canaan as well as being a key animator on projects such as Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in The Shell and Planetes. It’s an impressive CV, no doubt about it, and one that means expectations from both the industry and fans are high.
