I still think that the reason katana and wakizashi cost so much is exotic weapon/weeaboo tax. You want it that bad for style points? Pay extra for the fancy sword. It's not a huge deal.
Having owned a +3 wakizashi, it's really good for what it is. It has the speed of daggers/knives but nearly double the length. The short falchion is borderline OP, so comparing it to that weapon alone isn't fair. It's an insanely fast 0 slot weapon that can block. When I was 18/24 1H shielder I loved the thing.