This replica of Saya Otanashi’s sword from the Anime series Blood+ misses one of the unique features of the personal weapon of the good queen of the vampiric chiroptera. Aside from that, the off-center katana does hold to the basic pattern of that purely fantasy weapon.
It’s easy to understand why the makers didn’t include the diagonal blood grooves which split from the main channel of the sword, but it’s also disappointing that they didn’t go the extra mile here since that’s really what sets this katana apart from the rest. The obvious features which did make it through to reality are the offset blade and bound scabbard, so there is enough replication of the idea of Saya’s katana to be unmistakably familiar on display.
If you don’t know the story, you’ll probably be fascinated and puzzled by this sword, which to human hands does feel unbalanced. The blade works so well for Otanashi because she’s not human, taking on human shape while she fights a war against the children of her twin sister, the evil chiroptera queen Diva. The sword as depicted in the anime series represents an interesting technical challenge for a good smith and in the virtual worlds is rare among fantasy blades, since its magic is mechanical and not ethereal. Only the blood of Saya can kill the chiroptera she battles, which explains the multiple blood grooves which carry her own life fluid directly to the enemy. It’s a unique concept among battle weapons and no doubt expensive to actually produce in high carbon stainless steel.
Fans of the series will appreciate this 46-inch-long katana, forged from 440 stainless steel with a single central blood groove. The sword set includes a matching hardwood scabbard with leather wrapping as reinforcement at the elbow of the sheath.
