Muramasa

While Shigurui certainly took the artistic presentation of the samurai culture of Japan to a historical and artistic level of brilliance (and anyone who believes otherwise has certainly not seen or cannot appreciate the degree of subtlety put into the final cut itself), it is clear that Muramasa is an anime which cannot be ignored and certainly can be seen as being a precursor to the intended mood Shigurui was aiming for. The art style, although seemingly low budget (and definitely lacking the fluidity which is marked and presented in Shigurui), are engaging in terms of the environment and the atmosphere this anime (Muramasa) was aiming for, and which are aspects used in Shigurui. The presentation of the unnamed samurai and how his own involvement with the sword is visual, and represents the state of mind of the samurai as well as his environment remarkably well from beginning till end. But the single most important reason for why Muramasa is recommended when compared to Shigurui is its sound - the characters never speak a word, and everything is reliant on the score. Combined with the already mentioned aspect of visual cues, this anime clearly shows a precursor and can be seen as inspiring Shigurui significantly. You do not need to know the Samurai, but are able to understand his dilemma and his struggle with this sword because of those two aspects. If you have seen Shigurui, then Muramasa is something which will be a satisfying watch. read more