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Blade of the Immortal (US) #18
Blade of the Immortal, Volume 18: The Sparrow Net
The immortality of the captive Manji is being sorely tested, as the horrifying experiments commanded by Habaki Kagimura in the dungeons below Edo castle continue. One of Kagimura's doctors, Ayame Burando, has already gone half-mad, tormented by the sickening mutilations intended to unlock the secret of passing Manji's amazing regenerative powers to others, and Burando's replacements have upped the ante with their utter incompetence. Meanwhile, Manji's charge, Rin, is desperately trying to find him, but Edo's brutal police are on her trail, and the race is on for Rin to free her immortal bodyguard before she joins him behind bars!
280 pages, Paperback
First published October 30, 2005
5 people are currently reading
181 people want to read
About the author
Hiroaki Samura
485 books248 followersHiroaki Samura ( 沙村広明) is a Japanese cartoonist and illustrator. He is best known for writing and illustrating the manga Blade of the Immortal (1993-2012). Among his other manga series Die Wergelder (2011-2018) and Wave, Listen to Me!, the latter serialised since 2014.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
February 2, 2020
Rating: 10.00/10.00 | 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕
Fantastic! Hopefully we are over the mini-slump 🤞
Fantastic! Hopefully we are over the mini-slump 🤞
April 28, 2013
The next installment in this Frankenstein-like arc to steal Manji’s immortality through medical and surgical experiments, and thankfully, the least graphic to date. Part is that Samura doesn’t have much else to draw for shock value, but part is that our master surgeon, Burando, is slipping down that mental slope so fast that more hectic art befits him. Victims fly by, mostly unmauled, but rather in less canny reference to how many people he’s going through. It’s an ugly story that takes us into his madness.
Ugly in concept, but not in narrative or art. Samura’s craft is still gorgeous, particularly strong in the scenes between Rin and Doa, the unlikely partners. Neither has fully grown up, but Rin’s morality has hardened her into an almost maternal figure for the assassin, and so they get these striking moments of facial expressions together. There are some points at which they’re so close up that only a hand like Samura’s could draw people as distinct, and yet he fills the panels with human intention.
Also, thankfully, Rin gets off her ass and is hunting Manji down. She provides the second finger in a pincer of hope that we’ll actually move on from this arc. Manji keeps mentioning one last idea he’s got, but we wait the whole volume and still don’t see it. It says something that eighteen volumes in, I’m still able to be made curious.
Ugly in concept, but not in narrative or art. Samura’s craft is still gorgeous, particularly strong in the scenes between Rin and Doa, the unlikely partners. Neither has fully grown up, but Rin’s morality has hardened her into an almost maternal figure for the assassin, and so they get these striking moments of facial expressions together. There are some points at which they’re so close up that only a hand like Samura’s could draw people as distinct, and yet he fills the panels with human intention.
Also, thankfully, Rin gets off her ass and is hunting Manji down. She provides the second finger in a pincer of hope that we’ll actually move on from this arc. Manji keeps mentioning one last idea he’s got, but we wait the whole volume and still don’t see it. It says something that eighteen volumes in, I’m still able to be made curious.
October 30, 2015
This particular arc has taken a bit too long to start to get to its point. The art is still fantastic and I'm horrified and intrigued by Burando's break from morality (also of note is the commentary on how Japan's isolationist policy handicapped its medical and scientific advancement) , but I don't particularly like Doa and Isaku and find myself a bit irritated by the sudden penchant for over-exaggeration in the supporting characters. I suppose that's a deliberate way to insert some levity into the arc's deepening grotesqueness, and therefore arguably appropriate and necessary. But I'm ready to move on at this point.
January 21, 2019
Dōa is my girl.
May 17, 2025
This series is very dark and this particular volume is truly a new level of bleak. "otters" will stay with me longer than I'd like to admit.
August 10, 2022
(Zero spoiler review for the deluxe edition collecting this volume) 3.75/5
Sadly I've gotta say, I'm a smidgey bit disappointed with this one. It didn't help that volume 5 was pretty much god tier. It didn't help it that I've literally been creaming my jeans about this series since the moment I cracked open volume 1. Surprisingly, it didn't even help it we got four volumes instead of the usual three here, bargain though it was. This will be the first volume I don't give five stars to (although volume 4 only just scraped it from memory). This will be the first volume I don't include in my favourites list. This will be the first volume I am not looking forward to rereading. So why is that?
Well, basically, the central plot running through this 'four' volume collection was interesting, although drastically outstayed its welcome, and its still not even resolved. We got some new characters, so that some of the previous main characters can retire to the background to prevent over exposure and boredom setting in (and to have them around for the narratives ultimate conclusion). The commensurate characters we are given are less interesting versions of other characters we have seen at various points. Some of which were fine, although they suffered from the plot being dragged out longer than it should have.
Blade of the immortal has been at its strongest when it goes balls to the wall with its very beautiful, very idiosyncratic historic Japanese-ness. When the story and the art come together to make something that can be little short of breathtaking. There was little if any of that throughout this entire arc, with the narrative, the execution, and the art being the closest thing to 'generic manga' that Samura has offered me, and I wasn't terribly impressed with it. It had occasional highlights, but they were more than drowned out by 800 or so workmanlike pages of nuts and bolts, not terribly amazing manga. But again, this book has so exceeded my expectations up to this point, that good is nowhere near good enough anymore.
Don't let my new found disappointment stop you from starting this exceptional series. It's still an absolute must read. Hopefully this is just a temporary blip on what has been a near flawless record thus far. 3.75/5
OmniBen.
Sadly I've gotta say, I'm a smidgey bit disappointed with this one. It didn't help that volume 5 was pretty much god tier. It didn't help it that I've literally been creaming my jeans about this series since the moment I cracked open volume 1. Surprisingly, it didn't even help it we got four volumes instead of the usual three here, bargain though it was. This will be the first volume I don't give five stars to (although volume 4 only just scraped it from memory). This will be the first volume I don't include in my favourites list. This will be the first volume I am not looking forward to rereading. So why is that?
Well, basically, the central plot running through this 'four' volume collection was interesting, although drastically outstayed its welcome, and its still not even resolved. We got some new characters, so that some of the previous main characters can retire to the background to prevent over exposure and boredom setting in (and to have them around for the narratives ultimate conclusion). The commensurate characters we are given are less interesting versions of other characters we have seen at various points. Some of which were fine, although they suffered from the plot being dragged out longer than it should have.
Blade of the immortal has been at its strongest when it goes balls to the wall with its very beautiful, very idiosyncratic historic Japanese-ness. When the story and the art come together to make something that can be little short of breathtaking. There was little if any of that throughout this entire arc, with the narrative, the execution, and the art being the closest thing to 'generic manga' that Samura has offered me, and I wasn't terribly impressed with it. It had occasional highlights, but they were more than drowned out by 800 or so workmanlike pages of nuts and bolts, not terribly amazing manga. But again, this book has so exceeded my expectations up to this point, that good is nowhere near good enough anymore.
Don't let my new found disappointment stop you from starting this exceptional series. It's still an absolute must read. Hopefully this is just a temporary blip on what has been a near flawless record thus far. 3.75/5
OmniBen.
October 23, 2020
This is a review of the entire series.
Manji is a ruthless ronin stricken with the curse of immortality. To undo his curse, he must take the lives of a thousand sinners. He's a wandering sword for hire that kills without mercy and hunts down evil warriors all over feudal Japan. He wanders and kills without purpose for quite some time, but his long journey to end his own life takes an unexpected turn when he meets a compassionate young girl named Rin who is seeking revenge for her parents after they were murdered by members of a brutal new sword school called the Itto-ryu. Manji accepts the role of Rin's guardian and their drastically different ideals and personalities begin to change each other in ways neither of them could've foreseen as they clash with one merciless sinner after another.
The story cycles between several groups of samurai warriors each with their own moral codes and objectives. Other than Manji and Rin, there is Anotsu Kagehisa; the leader of the Itto-ryu and his band of rogues that openly defy old traditions as they seek to revolutionize the way of the samurai through force. Hyakurin and her partner Giichi who work as government cutthroats under a faction called the Mugai-ryu along with a serial killer named Shira, and so on. There are also hundreds of assassins, criminal gangs and shady individuals that wish to learn the secrets of Manji's immortality for their own nefarious purposes. With so many vicious people on the loose, it's no surprise that this ends up being one of the most brutal and bloody samurai tales ever told.
Blade of the Immortal makes ultra-violence look like a poetic art form. Blood and limbs fly like scarlet paint. Blades cut through flesh and bone like knives through butter. The use of clever battle poses and finishing techniques against the backdrop of hyper-stylized Edo period art makes for some museum-worthy battle and death scenes.
Despite how glamorized violence and bloodshed is throughout the series, it does not shy away from exploring the aftermath of said violence and how it impacts the psychological state of the characters. A sweet girl like Rin seeks revenge against Anotsu of the Itto-ryu for leading an assault that resulted in the murder of her family and slowly grows accustomed to the constant brutality that the path of revenge leads to. Anotsu himself isn't the one-dimensional evil monster that Rin believes him to be as he is driven by a sense of revenge himself; his revolution against outdated traditions begins only because people he loved were hurt, killed and outcasted by the harsh rules and teachings of the old sword schools. Even those who live through vicarious swindling and assassination such as Hyakurin and her partner Giichi have very traumatic upbringings and take no joy in their work.
We see how violence warps these characters into killing machines and then we see how the violence they inflict on others leads to more tragedy and bloodshed. Whether it be physical, mental or sexual, the violence throughout the series never goes unexplored or unpunished. It somehow manages to be brutally elegant and mature at the same time, the bloody battles are fantastic and the effects it has on the characters is even more so.
What seems to be a cliche samurai revenge story subtly transforms into an exploration of the psychological effects that violence has on many different types of individuals. Some are defined by it, some are bound to it, some love it while others allow themselves to grow from it or be destroyed by it. Violence and revenge are never fully justified nor condemned. It's presented from a very neutral and realistic point of view, allowing you to see it from every angle possible and judge for yourself whether it can be justified or not.
The story is simple, but the webs of conflict between many groups of complex and dangerous characters is where it truly shines. Strong development, elegant violence, moral ambiguity and an unusually modern punk tone in the dialogue and mannerisms of the characters offers a unique way of exploring a feudal-era drama that defies the expectations of a traditional revenge story.
***
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Manji is a ruthless ronin stricken with the curse of immortality. To undo his curse, he must take the lives of a thousand sinners. He's a wandering sword for hire that kills without mercy and hunts down evil warriors all over feudal Japan. He wanders and kills without purpose for quite some time, but his long journey to end his own life takes an unexpected turn when he meets a compassionate young girl named Rin who is seeking revenge for her parents after they were murdered by members of a brutal new sword school called the Itto-ryu. Manji accepts the role of Rin's guardian and their drastically different ideals and personalities begin to change each other in ways neither of them could've foreseen as they clash with one merciless sinner after another.
The story cycles between several groups of samurai warriors each with their own moral codes and objectives. Other than Manji and Rin, there is Anotsu Kagehisa; the leader of the Itto-ryu and his band of rogues that openly defy old traditions as they seek to revolutionize the way of the samurai through force. Hyakurin and her partner Giichi who work as government cutthroats under a faction called the Mugai-ryu along with a serial killer named Shira, and so on. There are also hundreds of assassins, criminal gangs and shady individuals that wish to learn the secrets of Manji's immortality for their own nefarious purposes. With so many vicious people on the loose, it's no surprise that this ends up being one of the most brutal and bloody samurai tales ever told.
Blade of the Immortal makes ultra-violence look like a poetic art form. Blood and limbs fly like scarlet paint. Blades cut through flesh and bone like knives through butter. The use of clever battle poses and finishing techniques against the backdrop of hyper-stylized Edo period art makes for some museum-worthy battle and death scenes.
Despite how glamorized violence and bloodshed is throughout the series, it does not shy away from exploring the aftermath of said violence and how it impacts the psychological state of the characters. A sweet girl like Rin seeks revenge against Anotsu of the Itto-ryu for leading an assault that resulted in the murder of her family and slowly grows accustomed to the constant brutality that the path of revenge leads to. Anotsu himself isn't the one-dimensional evil monster that Rin believes him to be as he is driven by a sense of revenge himself; his revolution against outdated traditions begins only because people he loved were hurt, killed and outcasted by the harsh rules and teachings of the old sword schools. Even those who live through vicarious swindling and assassination such as Hyakurin and her partner Giichi have very traumatic upbringings and take no joy in their work.
We see how violence warps these characters into killing machines and then we see how the violence they inflict on others leads to more tragedy and bloodshed. Whether it be physical, mental or sexual, the violence throughout the series never goes unexplored or unpunished. It somehow manages to be brutally elegant and mature at the same time, the bloody battles are fantastic and the effects it has on the characters is even more so.
What seems to be a cliche samurai revenge story subtly transforms into an exploration of the psychological effects that violence has on many different types of individuals. Some are defined by it, some are bound to it, some love it while others allow themselves to grow from it or be destroyed by it. Violence and revenge are never fully justified nor condemned. It's presented from a very neutral and realistic point of view, allowing you to see it from every angle possible and judge for yourself whether it can be justified or not.
The story is simple, but the webs of conflict between many groups of complex and dangerous characters is where it truly shines. Strong development, elegant violence, moral ambiguity and an unusually modern punk tone in the dialogue and mannerisms of the characters offers a unique way of exploring a feudal-era drama that defies the expectations of a traditional revenge story.
***
My Social Media
My YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPs...
My Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/michael_sor...
My Wattpad Account: https://www.wattpad.com/user/Michael-...
My Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/SorbelloHorror
My Facebook Account: https://www.facebook.com/michael.sorb...
June 20, 2017
So. This series has taken a turn. Gone is the action adventure revenge narrative we started with. There hasn't been a proper fight scene in, what, three volumes now? No Anotsu, no Makie. Hyakurin and Giichi are shadows of their former selves. All Manji does is sit in a room getting his limbs chopped off, while incompetent doctors disregard and waste the lives of convicts -- a concept I strongly dislike. My sense of justice finds the indifferent treatment of any life affronting.
There's no reflection on the morality of any of this experimentation either. I feel like if Samura wants to explore the ethical boundaries of scientific discovery then he should just do that. But so far the closest we've come to a philosophical message (barely, very barely) are two doctors laughing at Ayame for believing he could make people immortal. The criticism here isn't that Ayame has morally transgressed; rather, that he's just an idiot that believes in fairy tales. That's not the right conversation for this sort of narrative. Samura isn't writing the sort of dialogue/plot he needs to be to adequately explore this theme. That is so frustrating.
But my biggest frustration is the feeling of a bait and switch. Where have the action scenes gone? Where are the complicated questions of hero or villain? Foes becoming friends becoming foes again? Who has the right to seek revenge -- and how do you stop yourself from becoming the evil you're trying to end (spoiler alert: you don't). Instead, its been page after page of amputations and human experimentation. It's like you signed up for Mad Max but got Island of Doctor Moreau instead.
I hope this story arc passes soon.
There's no reflection on the morality of any of this experimentation either. I feel like if Samura wants to explore the ethical boundaries of scientific discovery then he should just do that. But so far the closest we've come to a philosophical message (barely, very barely) are two doctors laughing at Ayame for believing he could make people immortal. The criticism here isn't that Ayame has morally transgressed; rather, that he's just an idiot that believes in fairy tales. That's not the right conversation for this sort of narrative. Samura isn't writing the sort of dialogue/plot he needs to be to adequately explore this theme. That is so frustrating.
But my biggest frustration is the feeling of a bait and switch. Where have the action scenes gone? Where are the complicated questions of hero or villain? Foes becoming friends becoming foes again? Who has the right to seek revenge -- and how do you stop yourself from becoming the evil you're trying to end (spoiler alert: you don't). Instead, its been page after page of amputations and human experimentation. It's like you signed up for Mad Max but got Island of Doctor Moreau instead.
I hope this story arc passes soon.
October 9, 2020
Idk where the story is going right now. We get two new characters I could care less about. As a side note, another reviewer was wondering why there wasn't more philosophical thought given about the experiments being done on criminals...well, I hate to break it to you, criminals in Japan at the time didn't have rights like they do today. In fact, sometimes samurai would test their blade not only on the corpses of dead criminals, but on live criminals as well. To demand that people from a bygone era be held to our modern standards is...naive, to say the least.
February 23, 2025
This volume felt a bit chaotic, even though we are still in more of less the same position as we ended the prior volume. It does seem like this arc may be coming to a conclusion soon, which is good as while the storyline is engaging it’s going on a bit too long imo. Thank goodness for the glossary as there were a lot of words I would not have understood otherwise, I do appreciate that we get a more self sufficient and less needy Rin in this volume - her helping Doa gave her some character development.
March 17, 2025
Gotta say, this one started out slow and was almost at the same pace as the last volume, all the while still dealing with Manji being a prisoner and a labrat, which I'm done with and need some outcome soon because it's getting real old.
But then, halfway through it picks up with some revelations and we finally getting Rin taking some action and we also discover what the doctor was up to, really creepy and disturbing. Other than that, hopefully next volume will be done with Manji being useless and we're gonna get some development.
Exceptional artwork as always!
But then, halfway through it picks up with some revelations and we finally getting Rin taking some action and we also discover what the doctor was up to, really creepy and disturbing. Other than that, hopefully next volume will be done with Manji being useless and we're gonna get some development.
Exceptional artwork as always!
December 5, 2020
Because I don't care at all for the two new characters introduced in the last volume, I did not enjoy this volume, which split its focus between their tragedy, and the continued imprisonment of Manji.
This volume is a Drag to get through. The highlight, for me, were the chapter headings. They seemed even crisper than usual, and had some cool angles.
The story, however, had me considering putting the series down and not coming back to it.
This volume is a Drag to get through. The highlight, for me, were the chapter headings. They seemed even crisper than usual, and had some cool angles.
The story, however, had me considering putting the series down and not coming back to it.
January 2, 2018
Good volume.
August 9, 2018
Ok manga....Overall story💩1/10 But on the plus side pretty decent samurai/Feudal japan type manga with lots of Explicit Violence(Heads,ears and other body parts flying all over the place)👌😅💀👂👃💕💕
April 28, 2020
7.5/10
January 24, 2024
The story’s momentum has come to a screeching halt.
June 16, 2025
Things are coming to a head for Manji’s storyline and Rin and Doa start to make progress. Grisly at times but well done.
Want to read
September 26, 2025manga
March 7, 2008
This is the first of the BotI series that I actually put down mid-read. I picked it up again later, of course, but it was definitely lacking the intriguing character development and action that all the others hold. There were some interesting parts, but overall, it was just ok compared to the rest of the series. We need to get Manji out of the dungeon and Giichi out of the gutter. And where the heck is Magatsu?
May 16, 2008
I've been reading this extremely bloody manga for years now, despite its departure from my usual style. This volume had some great characterization, par usual, but if Rin doesn't get Manji out of that hole soon, it's going to get boring. :) Rin and Manji together are the most interesting; Hiroaki separated them volumes ago, and it's about time to fix it. ;/
February 16, 2023
Larger than the other editions. I'd like to have seen Rin become more of a warrior here instead of the open mouthed young girl shocked at the horror of it all. Rin should be a stronger character by now, but Doa comes along and takes centre stage. Meanwhile our hero languishes in capitivity...still...again. Will someone PLEASE rescue him!
November 24, 2013
All right if the introduction of Western medicine into Edo-era Japan wasn't enough, now they step it up with Christianity. Also, the unethical doctor is now officially nuts. And like any well-developed bad guy, he says that his cruelty is for the greater good. So who's going to win? A respect for traditional medicine or will the arrogance of the Western-influenced doctor get smacked down?
January 31, 2013
Breaking one of my rules of starting a series at the beginning, mainly because no others available. I found that there was no introduction, so I hadn't a clue what the plot was. I was more impressed with the black and white artwork, which is superb.
September 17, 2018
[REVIEW FOR THE SERIES...]
Blade of the Immortal (Vol. 1-31)
Blade of the Immortal (Japanese: 無限の住人 Hepburn: Mugen no Jūnin, lit. "The Inhabitant of Infinity") is a Japanese seinen manga series by Hiroaki Samura. The series is set in Japan during the mid-Tokugawa Shogunate period and follows the samurai Manji, cursed with eternal life, who now has to kill 1000 evil men in order to regain his mortality. The series ran from 1993 to 2012, and has garnered itself quite a fan following and now has several animated and movie adaptions.
The Blade of the Immortal series is perhaps one of my top favorite manga series of all time and I’ve read a lot of manga in my life. I’m still not completely sure what it is about this series that worked for me; all I know is it did. The truth is it is a very dark, violent, historical manga with elements of fantasy and mysticism. Much of it involves very gritty and gory sword fighting scenes and super fascinating cast of characters, heroes, villains and all shades in between. The story keeps you on the edge of your seat, if you manage push past the first few chapters, which can be very confusing honestly. Once you get into the meat of it though, it becomes enthralling, disturbing and even emotional. And the art...well it’s exquisite and only improves as you continue through the volumes... Check it.
WOW. Epic no? So this is Manji, our cursed yet extremely skilled samurai hero (anti-hero?) who is on a quest to kill 1000 evil men in oder to relieve himself of this curse and die peacefully. So it all starts when he is the cause of the death of 100 good samurai, due to his criminal actions, and is cursed to immortality, (by means of "sacred bloodworms" (血仙蟲 kessen-chū) that allow him to survive nearly every injury and even reattach dismembered limbs, by a 800-year-old nun. After a tragic turn of events he then vows to make amends for his sins that will allow his curse to be ended. This dark endeavor for redemption causes him much sorrow and suffering, but Manji always manages to persevere. His life only gets more complicated, however, when he meets Rin.
Manji later crosses paths with a young girl, named Asano Rin, and promises to help her avenge her parents, who were killed by a group of master swordsmen led by the mysterious and evil Anotsu Kagehisa. Anotsu killed Rin's father and his entire dōjō, making them a family of outcasts. Anotsu's quest is to gather other outcasts and form an extremely powerful new dojo, the Ittō-ryū (a school teaching any technique that wins, no matter how exotic or underhanded), and has started taking over and destroying other dojos, and threatens to defy the honorable system of the samurai realm.
Manji and Rin team up together to hunt down the savage Anotsu, which leads them on a perilous adventure, down a simultaneous path of revenge and redemption. I love the platonic dynamic between Manji and Rin. This series is a wonderfully thought out read, amazing illustrated and filled to the brim with action, excitement, mystery, and suspense and of course, a load of violent sword fighting scenes. There are a series of other interesting characters that I will not go into in this review, but suffice it to say, Blade of the Immortal is a read to remember. I highly recommend this to seinen manga fans, but not to the squeamish or faint of heart. This is a very graphic series.
[OFFICIAL RATING: 4.8 STARS]
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