Blade of the Immortal Omnibus Volume 1

Blade of the Immortal Omnibus #1

by Hiroaki Samura

A cursed, seemingly immortal warrior aids a young girl in her quest for revenge, as the students of a brutal new sword school tear a bloody path across Japan. Hiroaki Samura's massive manga series spawned an anime run, a spinoff novel, an art book, and a live-action film! Samura's storytelling tour-de-force also won Japan's Media Arts Award, several British Eagle Awards, and an Eisner Award, among other international accolades. Intense and audacious, Blade takes period samurai action and deftly combines it with a modernist street idiom to create a style and mood like no other work of graphic fiction.

"Blade of the Immortal Omnibus Volume 1" contains the first 3 volumes of "Blade of the Immortal" by Dark Horse.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical

576 pages, Paperback

First published April 17, 1995

About the author

Hiroaki 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.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of an immortal samurai who befriends a teenage girl in her quest for revenge after a gang of sword masters kill her parents. Manji's blood is filled with bloodworms that heal any injury including severed limbs.

I didn't find this to be the end-all, be-all Manga some proclaim it to be. I found the story one-note. While the art did improve as the book went on, I found a lot of it rudimentary and overly sketchy. I sometimes had a hard time telling who was who due to the amount of speed lines in a panel to indicate motion. But art is subjective and I know a lot of others really love the art. The artist did request that pages not be mirrored for American audiences but instead the panels be cut up and repositioned. I do feel like that harmed the flow of some pages. I didn't find the story intriguing enough to carry on any further with this title.

Received a review copy from Dark Horse and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.

There’s a saying that revenge is a dish best served cold. However, is it really a quest that one should embrace in their life? Is embarking on a bloodthirsty journey where emotions dominate reason a path that will appease one’s most vengeful desires? The answer to these questions might maybe only lie in the odyssey itself rather than its culmination. For one young woman and her sword-wielding bodyguard, the road to revenge will be a long and perilous adventure. For the first time ever, this stunning faux-leather deluxe hardcover edition collects the mangaka Hiroaki Samura’s first three volumes (Blood of a Thousand, Cry of the Worm, and Dreamsong) of his critically-acclaimed series and sends readers to Japan during the mid-Tokugawa Shogunate period to discover a legendary immortal samurai.

What is Blade of the Immortal (Vol. 1) about? The story follows Manji, a rōnin warrior of feudal Japan cursed with immortality, where any severe injury is undone by sacred bloodworms thriving within him. Following a massacre of his own doing and recent tragedy, he seeks redemption by vowing to kill a thousand enemies. Serendipity luckily leads a young girl by the name of Rin to request his help in her own quest for revenge when the students of a brutal new sword school calling themselves the Itto-Ryū is out to eradicate every sword school in the country and unify them under their control. As the two of them march on to avenge her father’s destroyed Mutenichi-ryu dojo and life, they run into various swordsmen with troubling pasts and unparalleled killer skills.

Mangaka Hiroaki Samura introduces science-fiction (only in the form of immortality for the time being) into his ultra-violent historical fiction centered around period samurai action as he wrote and penciled this ground-breaking manga. Although the gory elements are highlights in themselves with its ludicrous and extravagant qualities, they remain central to this series’ identity as the episodic nature of this revenge tale sets up a climactic battle with various enigmatic characters who often also receive a fascinating and comprehensive background to better understand their own story. The protagonist also showcases evident macho and street traits that challenge traditions found among samurais, allowing him to challenge those who question honour, respect, and dignity on the battlefield.

On top of the intriguing revenge story carefully sewn together to depict a tragic and ruthless universe, mangaka Hiroaki Samura’s artwork merits a standing ovation. Beautifully penciled, he illustrates his action sequences with incredible tact, allowing readers to effortlessly follow the rapid showdowns. Within each story-arc, poetic and stunning splash pages also adds a certain crowning touch that makes it all much more satisfying by the end. Per the request of the mangaka, the manga also avoided utilizing mirror image techniques to allow the left-to-right reading, preferring a panel-to-panel crop-and-paste technique. This, unfortunately, does have consequences in the reading directionality, sometimes killing the flow, but never really destroys the story’s charm.

Blade of the Immortal (Vol. 1) is a thrilling and action-packed samurai revenge tale filled with bloodlust and a search for redemption.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[Nikkie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my god, this is awesome. It's like the love child of Rurouni Kenshin and Berserk and I flipping love it. I held back a star because some points felt like they should have been built up more and ended up just getting glossed over, but I will be checking more of this out and potentially adding it to my collection. It's not a bad price for what you get, and so very, very weird, in the good way! I like things that are weird in the good way!

[ダンカン · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Elegance of an Immortal Samurai I love the romance of the samurai edo era, especially when it comes to Lone Wolf and Cub, where to me to this day is the best ever written and drawn samurai manga ever published. What is an epic tale of revenge and honor in Lone Wolf and Cub and what is romantic meiji swordsman story in Rurouni Kenshin, Blade of the Immortal makes up what little essence of those two into an elegant beautifully drawn manga by Hiroaki Samura. The first time I read it, I did not really enjoy it but some how after more than a decade over, I am drawn by its beauty. Finally - an omnibus edition was recently released and it collects the first three volumes published by Dark Horse. It was the second time around rereading that now, I do appreciate it.
 
Enter Manji, an immortal samurai that just can't die. Literally he can't. He wanted too (either by poison or decapitate his head) and and so he vowed to kill a thousand men. So he is immortal for years unknown how many and his only sister were killed and he has nothing much left to do. When a sixteen year old girl name Rin hired him to be his bodyguard on a quest of revenge to kill Kagehisa Anotsu and his Itto-Ryu clan, Manji might reached his goal.
 
Blade of the Immortal has a slow introduction start. We are introduced by the characters in the first volume Blood of a Thousand that followed with second volume Cry of the Worm and finally ends in the third volume of the omnibus Dreamsong, which pretty much sums up a lot about why it has been a popular cult hit among manga readers. For one thing - I am mesmerize by the artwork. The fine lines and tones and speed lines just makes it right for the atmosphere and the following eye movement while reading just makes me comfortable. What was even a beaut is the splash-page kill shot that Samura had take the effort to draw it that can be a good poster pin-up on a wall. With such art, its not wonder manga readers like it.
 
The story on the other hand isn't much, which there's plenty of dialogue to go through that at times, it can be a hassle. There are moments that it is ambiguous that you need to figure out what it means. Don't expect an all out action or some thing epic from it, but I do understand it is a fitting reasoning why its meant to be told that way and slowly too. While the layers of characters are unfold slowly as the story progress, I can't help but to wonder whether there are side-stories that might just turn up and progressively kills the story mid-way.
 
Blade of the Immortal is not a bad read and certainly eye-candy when it comes to art. I do not mind now to follow the series until the end (it completed its run) and with an already released anime and now this year's upcoming live action adaptation movie to be release with Takuya Kimura as Manji, Blade of the Immortal will appeal who love elegance and beauty with a slow pace of a good afternoon tea.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny enough when I read this really young I didn't love it but reading it now I had a blast.

So Manji is a Samurai warrior who can't die. You slash him up, cut his hands off, stab his stomach and it'll regrow. However, based on his past actions, he really regrets what he had done. So to make amends he decides to kill "bad" people. However, when he meets Rin and learns of her past and her revenge scheme he decides to help her for a price.

This is a vicious tale, with lots of brutal fucked up fights, and some grimy as hell characters. I really enjoyed these stories, especially the story of a woman who is tired of being used. The art is fantastic, with some amazing shots. Mostly pretty easy to follow. If you're a fan of shows like Kenshin this one is a bloodier and meaner version of that.

A easy 4 out of 5.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I read this expecting something like Lone Wolf and Cub, and while it is similar, it is also very different. For one thing rather than being authentic to the time period, Samura uses contemporary language in many cases even though this is set in Feudal Japan. Plus, I find the artwork confusing at times, which might just be me. I have trouble telling the characters apart, and sometimes flashback are inserted into without much warning so I'm not sure what's going on until I'm well into the scene. These issues could be that I'm not overly familiar with Manga, as I have read plenty over the years but still not a great deal.

Now, with all of that out of the way, the story is still really good and I do enjoy the art for the most part. The basic plot is an immortal samurai must kill 1,000 evil men to atone for his past, and he's on a quest to help a teenage girl avenge the death of her family at the hands of a "rogue samurai school" (for lack of a better term.)

So if you like Samurai Manga, well, you've probably already read this, but if not, you should.

[bee ⭑.ᐟ · Rating 5 out of 5]

the art in this is so stunning

[Skjam! · Rating 3 out of 5]

Manji used to be the samurai retainer of Lord Horii, and served faithfully until the day he discovered that the people he’d just killed on orders from Horii were in fact not criminals, but innocent peasants who were going to the government with evidence of the lord’s tax embezzlement. In a fit of rage, Manji executed his master. Now a fugitive, Manji wound up killing one hundred police officers in his efforts to remain free.

The last one turned out to be his sister Machi’s husband, and witnessing this event drove her mad. This sobered Manji somewhat, and he reconsidered his habit of resorting to lethal violence while trying to take care of his sister. It was at this point that Manji met the Buddhist nun Yaobikuni, who infested him with the kessen-chu (holy bloodworms) that regenerate any wound, making Manji functionally immortal.

After a ronin (masterless samurai) gang murders Machi to force Manji into a duel, he no longer has a reason to be immortal. It turns out that he can be released from the bloodworms if he can complete a worthy goal. Manji decides to make up for murdering one hundred cops by killing one thousand criminals. But he believes he must have proof of evil before he kills someone, otherwise he’ll just be adding more stains to his soul….

This 1990s seinen manga series (originally titled Mugen no Juunin “Inhabitant of Infinity”) is set in the Edo period of Japanese history, but uses deliberate anachronisms to indicate that historical accuracy is not to be found here. The creator states in an interview contained in this volume that he was trying for a “punk” sensibility.

After the introductory chapter, the story begins to focus on the other protagonist, a young woman named Rin. She is seeking revenge on a man named Anotsu who murdered her father (in revenge for his grandfather’s offense against Anotsu’s grandfather) and had her mother raped before carrying the woman off. The problem is that Anotsu is the leader of the powerful Itto-Ryu gang, renegade warriors who are out to destroy all other schools of weapon use. Rin may be plucky, and can handle weapons, but she hasn’t had nearly enough training to handle expert fighters.

Yaobikuni suggests that Rin hire Manji to help her. He’s dubious at first–he’s been lied to before, after all, and how does he know which if any side of a revenge cycle are the evil ones? But because she reminds him of his sister, he’ll at least come along and see for himself.

As it happens, one of the Itto-Ryu members is locatable as Kuroi Sabato has been sending Rin love poems since participating in the murder of her father. As you might guess from this inappropriate behavior, Kuroi is very wrong in the head(s), and Manji agrees to help Rin out with her revenge.

The remainder of the series is trying to track down Anotsu and getting him to stay in one place long enough for Rin to get revenge, while battling members of the Itto-Ryu and other enemies made along the way.

This omnibus edition covers the first three Japanese volumes. The art is nifty with distinctive character designs (though the young women do tend towards same face.) There’s plenty of exciting blood-drenched fight scenes, and musing on the cycle of vengeance and where it gets you. The dialogue is generally good, but heavy on the snark from most of the characters, which can get tiresome.

Manji wears his namesake symbol, the counter-clockwise swastika, on his back. This is in context a Buddhist reference and has nothing to do with Nazis.

More problematic is that there’s a lot of rape in this series. While none takes place onstage in this volume, there’s discussion of it in the backstory , and male characters often threaten or express a desire to rape women. (Later on in the series, one of the recurring villains is a serial rapist.) Also, when we see Anotsu’s backstory, we learn that his grandfather was physically and emotionally abusive to both him and his cousin.

That cousin, Makie, has a story that’s centered around the ill effects of sexism. Because she has a natural talent for weapons use that is far greater than any other person in the series, Makie can’t fit into the standard social roles for women. (She tries being a prostitute for a while, and then a geisha; neither work out.) But she can also never get the respect or rank that her skills would earn if she were a man. To be Makie is suffering.

I’d recommend this series to fans of samurai revenge drama who enjoy some anachronism and can overlook the problematic elements.

[OmniBen · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review) 4.75/5
Thank the comic gods, I've finally found a manga series that isn't either a promising although poorly executed concept (See Berserk). Or an absolute trash fire of poor storytelling in both pictures and words. I can't claim to have a massive amount of experience with the medium, although I have certainly tried a number of very well thought of titles, and to say I have been underwhelmed by the stories themselves, but the medium in general would be an understatement. If I didn't already have a couple of the Blade of the Immortal deluxe editions sitting there already, I would never have tried this series, and would have solemnly vowed to never pick up a manga volume again (or for a long while at least).
So again, thank the comic gods that this story pretty much ticks every box I look for in a comic, and stands head and shoulders above every other manga I've touched. The story actually has some flow about it. Word panels connect nicely with each other, and the dialogue and narration has a poetry and structure that is not only more akin to a well told Western story, but simply put, a well told story, period. The narrative can actually be quite beautiful at times. Yes, there is very occasionally a bit of the Japanese 'cheese' that I've found all too common, and rather galling within this medium. The characters are extremely well fleshed out and varied. All of them have some amazingly unique traits, and no one is over powered or flawless, as is far too overdone everywhere else.
Another plus, it is an ongoing narrative, and it is very well executed. Within the 600 or so pages in this volume, there were numerous opportunities to phone an arc in, and do the usual safe, samurai tale. But no, each one of these stands out as unique and very well done. It is a very rare thing for me to be shocked about a plot twist, although I never quite knew what was going to happen throughout these stories. Or if I knew the overall destination, I certainly didn't foresee the journey.
The art is absolutely phenomenal. Best manga I've seen. Yep, better than Berserk. It might not be technically as adept a Muira's title, although it is far more evocative and meaningful. I don't think I've ever lingered on panels as long as I did here. Sure, some are rushed inks, although Samura's pencil work is exquisite.
So yeah, before I drown myself in a hyperbolic soup of my own making, go out and check out this book. I'm so glad I have volume two to pull off the shelf and carry on with. And volume three is about to come out as well. God only knows what I'll do when I've read all of those. A very painful wait, I guess. 4.75/5


OmniBen.

[nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[A Serious Firefighter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going back and logging some pre Goodreads January reads

[Blindzider · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was an adjustment period while reading this, having read primarily American comics for decades. Panel to panel storytelling is a little different from what I'm used to. The dialogue in the first book was rough, but it improves immensely after that. The placement of the word balloons, with a very small pointer to who is talking, occasionally creates confusion on who is saying what. The only other issue I have is sometimes the characters look a little too much alike, especially when it's a close-up of the face. The rest of the body, outfit, outline aren't there, making it difficult to distinguish who it is.

Despite all that, I really do like the art. Samura's perspective and use of speed lines accentuates the action sequences. The fully pencil shaded splash pages and covers are tremendously beautiful.

The story gives a modern take on the ronin, constantly playing with the idea of honor and duty. By the end of this volume, the relationship between Manji and Rin has reached a milestone. Both clearly have some growing to do, so it'll be interesting to see where their character arcs take them. Multiple secondary players have appeared, foreshadowing their future involvement.

[Wim Dewilde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a manga-expert -far of it actually- but Blade of the immortal has a singular quality.

The action is fast packed, sometimes to the point of being unintelligible.
The drawings themselves are gorgeous and stunning.
The characters seem a little flat, but on the other hand Rin seems to grow on the reader untill she's got you under her spell.

The singular quality? Somehow all these things mingle and make a great manga.

[Scipio Africanus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely gorgeous graphic novel. The artwork is superb, and the story is great too. The characters are well formed, and I am looking forward to the next 9.

Apart from the sword battle violence this is a pretty clean graphic novel in comparison to some of its peers like Berserk. Definitely some adult themes and some horrific events are insinuated but the artist is tasteful enough not to show any of the actual violence.

Highly recommend for the artwork alone.

[Paulina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dropped one star only because it was difficult at times to keep track of who is who. Other than that, the story is absolutely amazing!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it's never a series I pick up without a work reason, I'm still always blown away by it.

[Nathan Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very excited to read the rest of this series. All around great characters, art style & story. The Dream Song arc was my fav & am obviously obsessed with Maki Otono-Tachibana

[Amarinske · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars with an average of 7.233/10
My rating system:
1 star: 1.0-2.9/10
2 stars: 3.0-5.4/10
3 stars: 5.5-7.0/10
4 stars: 7.1-9.0/10
5 stars: 9.1-10/10
Rating based on plot, characters, storytelling/art

Characters: 7.8/10
Plot: 7.4/10
Storytelling/art: 6.5/10
General enjoyment: 8/10

Review
After the time needed to start up (aka the original first volume) the story and character dynamics picked up in a way I somehow didn't expect. I didn't think Manji and Rin would act in such a personal way. Especially since it might be the case that there is some romantic tension building.
We get more backstory on the characters, mostly Manji and the main antagonist. It creates more depth and understanding of their stances and actions without actually talking about them as the right thing.
This story seems more character-driven than I expected, and I love it for that reason. I like characters with personality and reasons for acting the way they do. And I like it to make sense and to feel it in the end. That takes a lot in my case since these are fictional characters.

The only true, somewhat bigger, complaint I have is the art. The characters suffer a bit from same face syndrome, especially the women. Not completely, but enough to make it slightly confusing in the action scenes where mostly the expressions suffer from this problem.
Manji is easily recognizable due to his eye, but the other characters look alike and need to be distinguished by their clothing. This might be a slight issue when the characters change their outfit. Again mostly a problem with the women and also with side characters.
That being said, this wasn't a problem constantly, but solely in the action scenes, especially in the two page spreads where it happened a couple of times that the characters were difficult to distinguish, never mind their poses and faces.

When I have the time I'll still check out the follow up of this story. I'm curious how it will progress and the problems with the art will probably at least slightly correct themselves as we go along since the art usually significantly improves/becomes more detailed/distinguished throughout a manga.

[Horus Lupercal Online · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this one to just get a taste of this series, before committing to the entire run. This being a deluxe edition it’s certainly a book that was worth it’s price in looks alone. The leather bound tome, felt really sturdy, and the art contained within that alone is worth checking this one out for. But….I do have to admit that while the art was gorgeous, there were also certain moments that I had a bit of a hard time to tell apart some of the characters.

Story wise I have to say that it didn’t grip me enough to continue buying the rest of the books. The main character was quite honestly a bit of an anti-hero who I liked and hated a the same time it that makes sense. I certainly don’t have any regrets about this purchase, but I also at the same time know that I won’t regret not moving forwards with this. For those of you that like manga with a cool art style, and enjoy stories set in the times of the samurai I definitely think it’s worth at least checking this one out to see if it’s for you.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was good. It took me a long time to finish because I got side tracked and then bored of it. I don’t see myself reading the rest of the story. At least not at the moment.

[Eduardo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great art, boring story.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing artwork and a good story. Immortality at a cost. Revenge that might never end. Very gory but realistic. Kuroi is creepy.

[Mr. Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not gonna lie, it was (surprisingly) a hard book to get into, but once I was hooked, that was it. Samurai af

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course I have heard of Blade of the Immortal for years, but this is the first time that I have decided to read it. 90% of that decision was based on the absolutely stunning deluxe edition I found on sale at the bookstore and probably spent wayyyy too much money on, but it was birthday money, so no harm no foul.

There is a certain aesthetic to the art style of Blade that I personally found quite appealing. Many of the pages had the details more typically found in artwork that hangs on the wall, not between the covers of a graphic novel. The action panels were a little too vague and "sketchy" for my taste, but I enjoyed that the line work is different from the manga I usually read.

As for the plot - when I first started reading part (original volume) one, I quickly became concerned that this story wouldn't be for me. The dialogue was sparse, there were gaping holes in the story that had giant question marks appearing above my head, and there was a lot of jumping from character to character, leaving me confused. All these things, however, improved immensely in the second and third part. There was more of a flow and I was able to become immersed in Manji and Rin's journey. I can't wait to continue on to the rest of the volumes that I purchased. (Go big or go home - I figured if I was getting one I would get all four that were already out). Hopefully things continue along the same vein!

[Yaroslav Chernovol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Дочитав таки Blade of Immortal Deluxe edition 1. Шо мушу сказати. Збільшене видання Дарк Горс ідеально підходить під неймовірний та дуже детальний малюнок Хіроакі Самури. Розглядати обкладинки та сцени боїв прям неймовірна насолода. Плюс видання в гарді і можна не перейматись що десь репне при перегляді.

Сюжет загалом стандартний. Самурайська епоха. Батька молодої дівчини вбивають представники школи Ітто-Рю, вона наймає собі охоронця, який допоміг би їй помститися. Ну і далі все по плану круті битви, передсмертні діалоги, трохи спогадів і все таке.

[Eye-ra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starting off I felt the hype for this book was way too much. But as it went on I found myself hooked completely and didn’t want to put it down. I need the next volume now!!

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 4 out of 5]

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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[Alexander Engel-Hodgkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3/5

I've seen Blade of the Immortal around for years. I may have attempted to watch the TV show when it first came out, but it didn't really grab me (I was thirteen or fourteen at the time). Over a decade has passed since then. Berserk and Hellsing both have amazing hardcover omnibus editions that serve the art and stories contained within them better than those small tankobons ever could, and they look great on my shelves. When I saw that Blade of the Immortal was being re-released the same way, my interest was piqued. In the past few years, samurai movies and art have interested me a lot more than they did back then. The films of Kurosawa sit on my shelf, mostly his samurai films, but I intend to obtain and view the rest of his filmography many times over.

So, picking up Blade of the Immortal again was an inevitability. Now that I've read the first deluxe edition out of what I'm assuming to be ten in total (as the series ended with 30 volumes), I can happily say that I'm intrigued and a new fan. The artwork here is very sketchy, which has its ups and downs where details are concerned, but I really like Samura's overall style. The storyline has just begun, and while the dialogue translations can be a little silly or on-the-nose sometimes, I quite like the writing. Only three volumes in and already the main antagonist has more depth than many shonen villains. I still don't know much about him, but the introduction of a villainess in the third volume added an element of humanity that I wasn't expecting for him or our protagonist, the anti-heroic Manji.

Manji is kind of a typical anti-hero right now, but I suspect there's a lot more than meets the eye with him. "Graced" with immortality, Manji has no choice but to assist a young woman in her quest for revenge. A simple springboard into a series that has a lot of potential to explore themes and side plots. The characters and the fights are the most interesting part of this, so far, with many unique villains (one in particular turned out to be a lot more horrific than expected--you know the one), a strong female lead with her own personal conflicts, and... Manji.

Ironically, Manji is the weakest link, but it helps that he's not an invincible, unfeeling, totally aloof killing machine who spouts off speeches about friendship and how he'll be the coolest/strongest/whatever. Don't get me wrong; Manji isn't a two-dimensional character in his own right, as Samura implements several nuances and decisions in him that are atypical of most characters like him. He's likeably unlikeable, and pretty cool, overall.

I can't say I have any major complaints about this so far. I do wish I'd picked it up sooner, though, that's for sure.

[Paul Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

For years I was told this is a classic series, a must read for any manga lover out there. So there was no better time then when they cam out as deluxe hardbacks that complied the stories into (currently 8) volumes.

First the book itself, the quality is very nice. I like the feel of the book and the look of the spine is very ascetically pleasing. The larger book and pages makes for easier viewing and reading of the content within. There are two knocks against it: first is that the cover image appears to be glued on, which over time will erode to and fall off most likely. Second it reads left to right. While both of these are small issues to me personally I know some people will not be as forgiving.

Now for the content. Manji and Rin play off each other well, an immortal that is world weary and a young girl that has hardly experienced it. Both have dealt with loss and are looking for ways to alleviate their souls of the pain it has brought them.

The backdrop is set and when the pieces start moving it is a little clunky. The pacing is odd at times, sometimes you get full days or multiple in a row and other times there are random time skips. The focus of the story is Rin wanting revenge for something that happened in her life and Manji being the force to bring this about, however, that is all that happens in most sections...just jumping from fight to fight. While this isn't that bad and the characters show growth within the battles and the small sections after it does leave you wanting them to have more time just talking instead of saving each other to watching Manji get sliced and stabbed.

This doesn't mean it is bad though. The characters grow and change overtime, the fight scenes are fun and the story is worth looking into.

Two things I have seen people not liking: first is the art style. Art is subjective and in the eye of the beholder, personally I like the style but it does make some of the combat hard to follow. Next is the manji symbol on Manji's back, this is of course mostly thought of as a swastikas now as Nazi Germany appropriated it in the 1930s and 40s. It isn't talked about in this volume but it will always give off an anti-sematic vibe to many readers.

All in all I will be continuing on with Rin and Manji over the next bunch of volumes. While I can't say from this book that the series is a must read it is at least worth the readers time to make that judgement.

[drown_like_its_1999 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall series - The story starts off as a relatively formulaic revenge plot with a supernatural twist. We follow a young girl named Rin as she recruits the immortal swordsman Manji as her bodyguard to avenge her family's death at the hands of the "Itto Ryu"; a band of kenshi who seek to forcibly unify Japanese sword schools under their banner. As the story progresses the character focus broadens and the cast becomes more of an ensemble becoming less a story of revenge and more a story of competing motivations and ideologies. The various characters and their perspectives really shine here as we get to know around 15 unique and well developed personalities all with their own ideas about what the future of Japan should hold and what they want from their lives. The story is a bit meandering but always interesting and capitalizes well on the supernatural gimmick of an immortal main character delivering some high-concept storytelling and some stellar battles. As would be expected from a samurai revenge story the action is the main focus and it does not disappoint although the art can get a bit muddy / confusing during complicated action panels. The last action setpiece is really spectacular and is a wonderful climax to the story. There are however some issues I have with the plot which did detract from the experience. Pivotal story moments are often very convenient as characters will routinely meet / interact by pure serendipity, wandering into a situation they had little previous knowledge of while traversing large distances across Japan. While this would be less of an issue if it were to happen once or twice this occurs many, many times and made the setting seem small and unrealistic as if Japan was a single town occupied by only the characters we know. I still very much enjoyed myself and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys samurai / kenshi fiction and loves some great action sequences; 8.25/10.