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Blade of the Immortal (US) #23
Blade of the Immortal, Volume 23: Scarlet Swords
To atone for the atrocities committed under his watch, Habaki Kagimura is no longer the top general for Edo castle and the shogunate, and - he must commit ritual suicide. While his replacement gave the despised Itto-ryu gang a reprieve and an order to leave Edo and remain in exile, Kagimura still has one shot to redeem himself. Desperate and with very little time left, he's assembled his Rokki-dan warriors -- with Kagimura's own daughter among their numbers -- and he now seeks to hunt down and wipe out the Itto-ryu for good. But in his haste, will he fall for a string of traps planned by Anotsu, their devious leader? Freed and unfazed by his time in Edo's dungeons, Manji searches for his missing limb, and a few old friends return to the pages of this action-filled, epic manga series.
224 pages, Paperback
Published February 15, 2011
About the author
Hiroaki Samura
487 books258 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 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 21, 2025
"Let us go! To rouse those who sleep and to inflict eternal nightmares on those who will not wake." - Anotsu Kagehisa
Once again, a nice calm before the storm volume, with Manji and Rin getting ready to travel and basically follow the Itto Ryu dojo, or what's left of it, and the Itto Ryu try to flee away while also survive each attack from other dojos. Solid read and with an amazing artwork that gets better and better with each volume.
What's most exciting about this volume though is the end and what's to come for the next one!
Once again, a nice calm before the storm volume, with Manji and Rin getting ready to travel and basically follow the Itto Ryu dojo, or what's left of it, and the Itto Ryu try to flee away while also survive each attack from other dojos. Solid read and with an amazing artwork that gets better and better with each volume.
What's most exciting about this volume though is the end and what's to come for the next one!
February 10, 2020
Rating: 9.14/ 10.00 | 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕
February 5, 2019
This was a volume with some pretty dramatic moments, including one horrifying moment that caught me off guard. As has been stated in previous reviews, however, this is more of a set up volume than anything else as we are heading for the big final battle. Sometimes the cast of characters is hard for me to keep up with, especially since there are a few groups at play, but overall this is a cool read and I'm really curious to see how things end up, especially for our main two protagonists who unfortunately have taken somewhat of a backseat in the overall story. I'm sure that will change soon, though, as we are heading for a no doubt epic climax.
March 4, 2019
Holy crap. First we get a tear jerking scene with a woman killing her son and then herself followed by two women talking about their boobs. I fucking love it.
October 31, 2015
Two things.
1) This is a setup book, rearragning the survivors of the Prison Arc into two general sides, and aligning them for the conflict that will end the series
2) This book has one of the biggest HOLY CRAP moments in the entire series.
If you're reading this, you know who's survived so far. It's interesting to see such bitter enemies now asking each other for allegiance. Annotsu, who once seemed like the series' enigmatic villain, is now just one of two figureheads in a cultural war, and he wants Manji's help in bringing down the Shogunate. Assassins spring minor traps here that only kill a few characters, and mostly happen to remind us who the primary players are after so many pages of struggle.
Annotsu and Kagimura mirror each other. Both have suffered losses and nearly died, and now both visit their beloveds on the eve of war. Those two oppressed women have very different reactions to their men facing likely death, dishonor, and the destruction of their entire ways of life. Both are radical reactions, and I won't spoil which one made me drop the book in surprise, but Samura deserves great praise for showing how differently they split. You can see very similar pressures forcing them to do things their culture would abhor, but which are still in opposition to each other.
That was too vague, wasn't it? Hell, just read the freaking series. It's one of the greatest works of Fantasy I've ever found.
Also, how did Hiroaki Samura make it so convincing that both sides were screwed? That shouldn't be possible and I may have to write sternly worded letter to the authorities about it.
1) This is a setup book, rearragning the survivors of the Prison Arc into two general sides, and aligning them for the conflict that will end the series
2) This book has one of the biggest HOLY CRAP moments in the entire series.
If you're reading this, you know who's survived so far. It's interesting to see such bitter enemies now asking each other for allegiance. Annotsu, who once seemed like the series' enigmatic villain, is now just one of two figureheads in a cultural war, and he wants Manji's help in bringing down the Shogunate. Assassins spring minor traps here that only kill a few characters, and mostly happen to remind us who the primary players are after so many pages of struggle.
Annotsu and Kagimura mirror each other. Both have suffered losses and nearly died, and now both visit their beloveds on the eve of war. Those two oppressed women have very different reactions to their men facing likely death, dishonor, and the destruction of their entire ways of life. Both are radical reactions, and I won't spoil which one made me drop the book in surprise, but Samura deserves great praise for showing how differently they split. You can see very similar pressures forcing them to do things their culture would abhor, but which are still in opposition to each other.
That was too vague, wasn't it? Hell, just read the freaking series. It's one of the greatest works of Fantasy I've ever found.
Also, how did Hiroaki Samura make it so convincing that both sides were screwed? That shouldn't be possible and I may have to write sternly worded letter to the authorities about it.
August 16, 2011
Volume 23 (22 for the Japanese) marks the pivot for the final arc--the "winter war"--of this series. As in the previous "prison" arc, Samura takes his time setting up his pieces before unleashing the usual ultraviolent climax. But unlike the "prison" arc, where the buildup took up 4-5 volumes and the climax consisted of 2 ('demon lair'), "winter war" has 2 volumes of buildup followed by what appears at this point to be at least 8 volumes of climatic action (the series isn't quite finished yet in Japan, but it's at the final showdown).
So... yeah. This is a fairly slow volume, though Samura seeds the final arc fairly well in these build-up volumes with humorous asides and some romance (!). Pretty much from here on out all hell will break loose, with Anotsu giving the Shogun's magistrates a pointed "lesson" before galloping off to confront his nemesis Habuki, and everyone's favorite psychopath Shira conducting his master-plan to finally get Manji to commit to some sweet lovin'...
Prediction: the series will run 30-32 volumes, making this just about the 2/3rds point. Fairly astonishing, given Samura intended this orginally to run 5 volumes.
So... yeah. This is a fairly slow volume, though Samura seeds the final arc fairly well in these build-up volumes with humorous asides and some romance (!). Pretty much from here on out all hell will break loose, with Anotsu giving the Shogun's magistrates a pointed "lesson" before galloping off to confront his nemesis Habuki, and everyone's favorite psychopath Shira conducting his master-plan to finally get Manji to commit to some sweet lovin'...
Prediction: the series will run 30-32 volumes, making this just about the 2/3rds point. Fairly astonishing, given Samura intended this orginally to run 5 volumes.
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...
April 1, 2023
(Zero spoiler review for the deluxe edition collecting this volume) 4.5/5
I wish, I truly wish that more manga was like Blade of the Immortal. The haunting beauty of the artwork and the stark fragility of the writing is so far above anything else within the medium (and not just because of the sublime Dark Horse deluxe editions), as to make anything else I've found within manga utterly fail in comparison. That said, if there are any manga as well written (firstly) and as maturely and artistically drawn as this, then please let me know. Then I could exorcise the agony inside me, and leave western comics in the dirt where their cultural marxism and ideology has driven them. A medium that values fans and gives them stories they want sounds oh so appealing. I really do wish more manga was like BotI.
To say this was a rollercoaster would be an unfair use of a considerably overused analogy. But it bloody was, and its (as usual) really bloody good. The cast is probably at its most expansive here, and that doesn't bother me one bit. I love it. The ongoing central theme running throughout the book since page one, that of Rin's quest for vengeance with the aid of Manji is still present, but now has numerous other interweaving characters and plot threads. The results of which are, as mentioned, bloody fantastic. I like every single one of them for various reasons, regardless of where their allegiances lie, what their motivations are, or their morality. Their are some pretty heinous people still left here, yet they are all unique and interestingly executed. There was even a little humor thrown in here, something that is far more miss than hit in comics, but Samura pulls it off with aplomb. To have created such a majestic, long running story, with the same breathtaking art is something that can never be understated or underappreciated. And the cliffhanger that this volume left me on... I wasn't paying attention to the pages disappearing, so engrossed was I with the final arc, that when I ran out of pages and realised I would be waiting months for the next instalment, I was crestfallen. The man is seemingly without peer.
To get the same artist on a modern western comic for more than six issues seems a rare thing, but Samura will have given us more than 6000 pages of HIS story and HIS art when this is all said and done. Please read this, and please buy the deluxe editions. I promise you won't regret it. 4.5/5
OmniBen.
I wish, I truly wish that more manga was like Blade of the Immortal. The haunting beauty of the artwork and the stark fragility of the writing is so far above anything else within the medium (and not just because of the sublime Dark Horse deluxe editions), as to make anything else I've found within manga utterly fail in comparison. That said, if there are any manga as well written (firstly) and as maturely and artistically drawn as this, then please let me know. Then I could exorcise the agony inside me, and leave western comics in the dirt where their cultural marxism and ideology has driven them. A medium that values fans and gives them stories they want sounds oh so appealing. I really do wish more manga was like BotI.
To say this was a rollercoaster would be an unfair use of a considerably overused analogy. But it bloody was, and its (as usual) really bloody good. The cast is probably at its most expansive here, and that doesn't bother me one bit. I love it. The ongoing central theme running throughout the book since page one, that of Rin's quest for vengeance with the aid of Manji is still present, but now has numerous other interweaving characters and plot threads. The results of which are, as mentioned, bloody fantastic. I like every single one of them for various reasons, regardless of where their allegiances lie, what their motivations are, or their morality. Their are some pretty heinous people still left here, yet they are all unique and interestingly executed. There was even a little humor thrown in here, something that is far more miss than hit in comics, but Samura pulls it off with aplomb. To have created such a majestic, long running story, with the same breathtaking art is something that can never be understated or underappreciated. And the cliffhanger that this volume left me on... I wasn't paying attention to the pages disappearing, so engrossed was I with the final arc, that when I ran out of pages and realised I would be waiting months for the next instalment, I was crestfallen. The man is seemingly without peer.
To get the same artist on a modern western comic for more than six issues seems a rare thing, but Samura will have given us more than 6000 pages of HIS story and HIS art when this is all said and done. Please read this, and please buy the deluxe editions. I promise you won't regret it. 4.5/5
OmniBen.
January 12, 2021
A denoument for the prison escape stoyrline, and a setup volume for future issues, I found this book irritating. I somehow care less about the new characters than I do about the last batch of new characters (who are gone...probably just for now). There is a surprise return that neither surprised noe intrigued me. And the once fascinating villain from the beginning of the story who evolved into a complicated character has just been relegated to background character while the more recent Big Bad character is supposed to be maybe made empathetic in this volume but his arc just strikes me as dull.
This series has been all over the place, so I imagine the next volume could be utterly excellent, but I think I would have rather read a Wikipedia entry about this volume rather than struggle through it.
This series has been all over the place, so I imagine the next volume could be utterly excellent, but I think I would have rather read a Wikipedia entry about this volume rather than struggle through it.
January 2, 2018
Good volume.
May 17, 2020
6.5/10
January 28, 2024
Getting real good.
March 11, 2025
This was a bit of a ‘between main action’ volumes. Still good and it progresses the story along with the different factions. My main gripe was the unbelievability of one of the konoichi running way with her colleague, carrying her bridal style, but getting away from healthy folks not carrying anyone, with her speed.
March 12, 2011
This manga is still my forever-love.
June 5, 2014
Loved it. The middle is pretty gruesome. And the introduction of the ditzy ninjas is fun.
May 17, 2018
There's a nice section at the back of this book where Hiroaki Samura and his assistants describe struggling to meet the deadlines of the book and play video games at the same time.
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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