Blade of the Immortal (2008) User Reviews (6)

Actually pretty good...except that it ends incomplete at episode 13

[JimPettis · 7/10 · 21 January 2012]

Probably an additional 13 episodes were planned. The story ends abruptly without resolution, but is pretty good as far as it goes.

The action is good (not great). The hero is particularly interesting because all of his opponents seem to be noticeably better than him in combat. With minor exceptions, the young girl who is the companion of the hero is treated (by the writer) in a respectful manner and the show is only mildly adult as a result. The villains are "fleshed out" better than is the case with most anime - they have motivation, occasionally insane but usually rational and believable.

The action is occasionally interrupted with long-winded philosophizing from the villains and, occasionally, from the hero.

Blade of the Immortal

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 7 March 2014]

This anime series follows Manji; a samurai who killed a hundred people in service of his master before learning that his master was evil. He is determined to atone but he can't kill himself as he has been infected with Sacred Bloodworms which render him immortal… so he decides he will kill one thousand evil men! He is joined by Rin Asano; a girl who wants revenge on the group that brutally murdered her parents when she was a child. Together they seek out the group and kill its members and eventually Rin comes face to face with its leader and learns why he murdered her parents.

As one would expect from such a series there is plenty of blood shed here but not an excessive amount. The characters are well fleshed out; it was nice to see antagonists who weren't cliché cartoon villains and heroes who must occasionally question what they are doing and aren't more powerful than those they are fighting. The character designs are great as is the animation; this really helped draw me into the story which was just beautiful to look at. For all the good things about this series there is one noticeable flaw… it lacks a proper ending; it feels as though the makers intended to make a second season but never got round to it as very little is actually resolved by the end.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

Okay but wasn't fully finished

[WeAreLive · 8/10 · 14 March 2021]

In medieval Japan, a witch curses a master swordsman with immortality. After many years he grows tired of it and asks her to make him mortal again if he atones for his sins by killing a 1000 evil men. A girl seeking revenge helps him.

I thought the series was a good watch but as we now have a reboot the series never fully covered the whole series. Which is the only downside.

However, I do think it has a good art style, voice cast both dub and sub were good and a good intro.

BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL: Revenge & Redemption

[Jinxxa_Wolf · 10/10 · 14 November 2023]

BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL (Mugen no jûnin) (2008) is based on the epic dark historical fantasy Japanese Manga series; created, written and illustrated by the brilliant mangaka, Hiroaki Samura, in 1993.

"In medieval Edo Japan, an 800 year old witch curses Manji, a master swordsman with immortality, after he commits sins that cause the death of 100 innocent samurai. After many years living as a undying Ronin, he grows tired and asks the witch to make him mortal again if he can manage to atone for his sins by killing 1000 wicked men and use his skills to protect the innocent. A young girl, Rin, who seeks revenge for the death of her family, hires Manji as her bodyguard and trainer, and together they go on a journey of revenge and redemption."

As one of my all time favorite manga series, this anime is really enjoyable and although doesn't perfectly follow step by step how the manga went, it does really capture the tone and aesthetic of the original Blade of the Immortal, although a bit less violent and bloody. The original is quite brutal. Manji and Rin are great characters and make such a great duo, with one seeking redemption and the other seeking revenge.

Overall, this was a great first series. I'm glad they made another series (remake/reboot) that is finished, as this anime series was sadly left unfinished. However, it was still a really good show and very enjoyable to watch. The other series is great too. Blade of the Immortal is one of the best manga and anime series around.

"All samurai walk the path of Nothingness..."

[poe-48833 · 10/10 · 25 January 2016]

BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL was one of my favorite Manga for a long time because of the artwork (nor was it was badly written, either). Manji's irreverent tone made him more Contemporary in his attitude than most of the heroes or villains in Period Manga and the Rogue's Gallery of villains rivaled the lineup in Chester Gould's DICK TRACEY (which strip later influenced the BATMAN comics). The violence of the Manga is toned WAY down for this show, but it's all so beautifully rendered (especially the painted backgrounds) that one can make allowances for that. There are characters that've been added to make everything more "viewer friendly" (though the commercial breaks are as irritating on a DVD as they are during broadcast- if shorter), and Rin's bloodthirsty desire for revenge is also toned down, but at least we see Sabato in all his grisly glory, with the heads of two women (one of whom is Rin's mother) bookending his own (they've been grafted onto his body so that he "won't be without them").

What crappy animated novel am I watching with poor Direction

[kegebler · 5/10 · 11 July 2021]

Can I please give you some what of a Direction. This series of seemingly skipped many important parts and not to mention fight scenes are super unfinished. This anime reeks of a a decent plot with horrible Direction. Also it is hard to get through because one of the main protagonist is so hard to watch she is a weak excuse of trash. Get over yourself really hard to watch bad Direction. If I change my mind I will leave a better review however I am pulling Nails.