History Literature / Katanagatari

** How about when [[spoiler:Nanami slices off Togame's hair in Episode 7]]? A hair cut like that should have left it frayed, but somehow it's a perfect bob. [[spoiler:[[LampshadeHanging Shichika even comments that his sister is pretty good at it]].]]

''Katanagatari'' is a {{Light Novel|s}} series by written by Creator/NisioIsin and illustrated by Take, which was first published in 2007 and ran for 12 volumes (one volume was released per month throughout the year). It was later adapted into a TwelveEpisodeAnime in 2010. Despite the similar name, it is not related to Isin's other work ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}''. A spin off, ''Maniwagatari'', was released in 2008.

* PunnyName: The title is a pun on the ''katanagari'' ("sword hunt") issued by UsefulNotes/ToyotomiHideyoshi, which stripped peasants of their weapons to prevent an uprising. However, in this case, Shichika and Togame are literally hunting for a group of swords. There's also the fact that ''gatari'' can be read as "story" (making the title literally mean ''Sword Story''), similar to Isin's other series ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}''.

** This is at least implied for Shichika when Togame asks if he will be able to fight Konayuki despite her age. He replies that a child opponent would be easy.[[note]]even though she's the first of the sword wielders to injure him in battle[[/note]]

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Kyotouryuu (a sword fighting style that doesn't use swords) sounds silly until you remember that a certain [[Creator/BruceLee big name in martial arts]] created a fighting style that incorporated fencing tactics.

''Katanagatari'' is a {{Light Novel|s}} series by written by Creator/NisioIsin and illustrated by Take, which was first published 2007 and ran for 12 volumes (one volume was released per month throughout the year). It was later adapted into a TwelveEpisodeAnime in 2010. Despite the similar name, it is not related to Isin's other work ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}''. A spin off, ''Maniwagatari'', was released in 2008.

A twelve volume novel series by Creator/NisioIsin and illustrated by Take, later adapted into a TwelveEpisodeAnime in 2010. Despite the similar name, it is not related to Isin's other work ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}''. A spin off, ''Maniwagatari'', was released.

* ArmorPiercingSlap: Togame ''tries'', but inevitably hurts her hands more than she does Shichika.

The anime adaptation is notable for its ''highly'' unusual approach. Not only does it use a very stylized, angular ThickLineAnimation visual style rooted in the light novels' equally stylized illustrations, but its episodes are fifty minutes each and were aired monthly over the course of a year, as opposed to the industry standard of 22-minute weekly episodes. It also has a prequel Drama CD series by the author bundled with the DVD/BDs.

A twelve volume novel series by Creator/NisioIsin and illustrated by Take, later adapted into a TwelveEpisodeAnime in 2010. Despite the similar name, it is not related to Isin's other work ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}''. A spin off, ''Maniwagatari'', was released too.

A twelve volume novel series by Creator/NisioIsin and illustrated by Take, later adapted into a TwelveEpisodeAnime in 2010. Despite the similar name, it is not related to Isin's other work ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}''. It has a spin off.

A twelve volume novel series by Creator/NisioIsin and illustrated by Take, later adapted into a TwelveEpisodeAnime in 2010. Despite the similar name, it is not related to Isin's other work ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}''.

The anime adaptation is notable for its ''highly'' unusual approach. Not only does it use a very stylized, angular ThickLineAnimation visual style rooted in the light novels' equally stylized illustrations, but its episodes are fifty minutes each and were aired monthly over the course of a year, as opposed to the industry standard of 22-minute weekly episodes.

* CursedWithAwesome: Nanami feels this way. She claims to envy people who have to actually put in effort to learn abilities (she can learn a skill by seeing it once and ''master'' it after seeing it twice) and she hates that her body won't allow her to die no matter how much suffering she endures as a chronically IllGirl (she's pretty much immune to most poisons as a result and doesn't even flinch as she ''rips a hooked caltrop out of her back'').
* CuteAndPsycho: [[spoiler:That sweet IllGirl of an older sister we meet in Episode 1?]] She's a powerful martial arts prodigy who even scared her father and [[spoiler:forced her brother out of his nail-biting habit]] by ''tearing them off'' when they were children. In Episode 4 she eliminates the unlucky QuirkyMinibossSquad sent to capture her without remorse. Then she goes on a little tour of Japan, leaving a bloody trail in her wake.

* IllGirl: Nanami. [[spoiler:She's an Ill Girl because she's SO INSANELY POWERFUL that learning a new technique makes her WEAKER. So powerful that her frail human body can't contain it. Her efforts at PowerCopying actually make her weaker, read: healthier.]]

* StayInTheKitchen: Subverted with Nanami. Her father refused to teach her Kyotouryuu and decided to make Shichika the next head of the Yasuri clan -- not because she was a woman, and not because she was an IllGirl, but because she was ''too powerful for him to properly train''. Not that it mattered -- she mastered Kyotouryuu anyway by simply ''watching'' her father train her brother.

* StrongerSibling: Nanami to Shichika. The last time they had a match, Shichika was battered and bruised and Nanami wasn't even ''scratched''. It was only a "draw" because she gave up on account of her low endurance as an IllGirl. Shichika even thinks that Sabi Hakuhei, the "strongest swordsman in Japan" who wielded one of the 12 swords and could supposedly cut the moon in half, wasn't as strong as Nanami.