Atsu's Sword-Drawing Technique in Ghost of Yotei May Look Impossibly Cool, but According to Japanese Martial Arts Experts It Is (Kind Of) Doable in Real Life

Ghost of Yotei gives its revenge-seeking protagonist Atsu a wide scope of accepted Japanese weapons to wield, including bows, swords and spears. Last week, however, a Japanese-speaking idiosyncratic connected X questioned whether it was realistic oregon adjacent imaginable for Atsu to gully a precise agelong sword from her back, prompting a flood of video comments from accepted Japanese martial arts practitioners.

In Ghost of Yotei, you’ll prime up the Odachi (literally ‘big sword’) successful The Way of the Odachi quest (check retired our walkthrough here). It is simply a utile summation to Atsu’s arsenal, particularly erstwhile facing disconnected against larger enemies (brutes). It allows her to artifact dense attacks and past propulsion backmost against the opponent, opening them up for a devastating slice.

As she already has 2 swords astatine her hip, Atsu opts to sheath the Odachi connected her back, nevertheless X idiosyncratic ikazombie questioned however connected world you’d propulsion this disconnected without dislocating something. Upon slowing the clip down, they realised that you could theoretically gully and sheath it from implicit your near shoulder, but seemed unconvinced astir however this would beryllium accomplished successful existent life.

大太刀、あんなデカい刀を背負ってどうやって抜刀すんねん関節外れるぞと思ってたんだけど、予想外のモーションで ” 理 論 上 は ” 問題なく抜刀/納刀できてたの笑う#GhostofYotei #ゴーストオブヨウテイ pic.twitter.com/j31VjGpgDk

— ジェット・リョー (@ikazombie) October 5, 2025

Japanese martial arts practitioners commented with videos. User Harima_mekkai (a subordinate of the Tenshinryu school) decided to effort retired Atsu’s mode of wearing and drafting an Odachi. She posted a video of herself successfully unsheathing a 1m agelong sword weighing 1.5kg from implicit her near shoulder. This shows that the drafting portion of Atsu's Odachi method is really doable, albeit it takes effort and grooming to propulsion it disconnected that smoothly.

— まーこ　11月29日生誕祭🎂 (@harima_mekkai) October 7, 2025

Another idiosyncratic by the sanction of Lornplum replied with a video of himself drafting and sheathing a back-mounted sword and described the mode Atsu deals with the magnitude by holding the leaf arsenic she draws it arsenic a "brilliant interaction of realism."

刀身持って長さを稼ぐやり方としては絶妙なリアリティ
現実でやるならこういうかんじhttps://t.co/X3PqwBcMOq

— lornplum (@lornplum) October 5, 2025

Sucker Punch did get members of the Tenshinryu schoolhouse to bash question seizure for the sword fights and stances successful Ghost of Yotei. Tenshinryu is simply a accepted Japanese martial creation which dates from the 1600s and covers the creation of a wide assortment of weapons, including spears, swords and concatenation sickles. PlayStation Japan precocious posted a side-by-side video of Ghost of Yotei footage and Tenshinryu members enacting the combat scene.

— プレイステーション公式 (@PlayStation_jp) October 9, 2025

However, determination is inactive a spot of video crippled coolness trumping realism here. The clips of real-life pros amusement them moving the sheath up and implicit their enarthrosis much (or adjacent astir their body) to marque it easier to gully and sheath the weapon. This is particularly evident erstwhile sheathing the sword. It seems that the magnitude of question successful Atsu’s Odaichi sheathing was reduced, apt to marque whipping retired and holstering the limb smoother and much responsive for players.

As Lornplum commented connected Harima_Mekkai’s objection of drafting a Odaichi Atsu-style: “As you tin see, with immoderate effort anyone tin negociate to gully it, nevertheless sheathing it (like Atsu does) is beauteous overmuch impossible.”

While they look chill successful games, it goes without saying that having a sword connected your backmost successful existent beingness makes it overmuch much awkward to entree than if it was astatine your hip. Last year, a Link cosplayer recovered it intolerable to unsheath their back-mounted sword Breath of the Wild-style. However, they received a spot of unexpected proposal from nary different than Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai, who explained that they made Link’s sword skills a small much realistic for Smash Bros. Ultimate by having him determination the scabbard.

IGN's Ghost of Yotei reappraisal returned an 8/10. We said: "A predictable but well-executed communicative takes you done Ghost of Yotei's gorgeous landscapes and satisfying, fluid enactment – it whitethorn not beryllium revolutionizing unfastened satellite games, but it's a large distillation of the samurai fantasy."

Ready to maestro Ghost of Yotei? Check retired our broad guides, which screen everything from things to bash first, champion skills to unlock, precocious combat tips, getting the champion early-game armor set, and uncovering each Altar of Reflection location. Our Walkthrough besides provides indispensable tips and strategies for defeating each boss, and our secrets and easter eggs usher ensures you ne'er miss different hidden notation again.

Verity Townsend is simply a Japan-based freelance writer who antecedently served arsenic editor, contributor and translator for the crippled quality tract Automaton West. She has besides written astir Japanese civilization and movies for assorted publications.