A story of revenge and the burdens of a war-torn world, eternally in a cycle of hatred and demise. Even in the modern day, this is still going on. And though the story of Blade of the Immortal is purely fictitious, following Manji on his journey is still insightful.
An original manga from 1993 and later completed in 2012, Blade of the Immortal tells the story of Manji, a rounin who's been cursed with immortality. Also known as the 100-man killer, he wanders Japan with the burden of his sister's death as well as other innocents on his shoulders. To atone for his past crimes, he makes a vow to kill 1,000 evil men to make up for the 100 he had killed prior. After the manga, there are currently two anime adaptations and a live action movie by Takashi Miike. This article will be covering the second anime adaptation (2019).
Edo In The Tenmei Era
The time of the shogunate were rampant and soon after the capital of Japan was moved to Edo (now known as Tokyo) in 1603, things have only escalated from there. While the warring states period had finally come to an end, this didn't mean there were no more skirmishes. Years after he was given immortality, Manji lives his life day-by-day, traveling and occasionally taking up jobs. A young girl, Rin offers him a job as her bodyguard, so she can hunt down Kagehisa, the leader of Ittou-ryuu, the largest sword school in the region, as revenge for her father's death.
Their journey is a rough one, and as the two become closer, tragedy still follows them everywhere. Blade of the Immortal is bleak, and it provides insight to the viewer on how cut-throat the world is. At one point, Rin needs to travel to another town over, but she and Manji are both wanted in the current area. To avoid this, she poses as another woman's sister and when she confronted, she's tested on her knowledge to make sure she'd actually a relative, in order to pass through. But it isn't that simple - as the woman she's impersonating has a distinct scar on her belly. In order to make ensure trust, Rin endures having her abdomen cut into to make a scar reminiscent of a Cesarean section.
Manji finds himself in similar predicaments. As word gets out about his immortality, an infamous scientist tracks him down for experimentation. Among others, he is also forced to fight against a world that's out for his head. Most of the men on his hit list are lords, after all.
Characters and Development
The story is one thing, but what makes it progress is the characters. They all play a part in the overarching story with their own ambitions in mind - most out for revenge. And grey morality is touched upon in Kagehisa's character, but the primary antagonists of the story are standard "true" villains. Shira, a former member of the Mugai-ryuu, is a cold-blooded killer who derives pleasure from torture, murder, and assault of all kinds. His position as a member of the Mugai-ryuu means nothing to him, if he can't do as he pleases. He acts as a foil to Manji later on, as he seeks him out for revenge, acquires immortality himself, and forces a boy around Rin's age to "serve" him, Renzo.
One of Blade of the Immortal's largest becomings is that mistreated characters don't belong to just a single group. Renzo is thrown into a cell with Shira upon being detained for a crime. As this occurred after his initial fight with Manji, Shira decides to use Renzo as his plaything and servant, forcing him into relying on the man, when he (Renzo) has no family left. More of his ordeal is explored in the manga, but even those around him look the other way, or mock him instead. In most media, we see young women in these situations, but Blade of the Immortal was able to make a good point: no one remains unaffected.
And though women who worked as escorts were seen as "lesser" historically, the anime still tells their stories as well. Makie, Kagehisa's lover was an escort at one point, left with no other choice to feed herself. Her swordsmanship is exceptional and even works as an assassin, but her gender gave her countless setbacks as she had to not only prove herself, but to be disrespected. Hyakurin, a shinobi is another strong female character that can hold her own, but when she and her other female teammates get cornered, their male captors resort to attempted assault before interrogation. Each of them are well written with their own ambitions and development, but Blade of the Immortal doesn't shine over the grim reality of being a woman, let alone in a primarily patriarchal society.
Good Ambiance
Liden Films does an exceptional job in its animation, and gives each scene fluid motion. It uses its transitions very sparingly and doesn't rely heavily on CGI. Fight scenes are easy to follow with enough leeway for Manji and his opponent to set the stage. A lot of animation puts its focus on the "good guy" of the fight, rather than providing an equal visual. While the original 2008 anime adaptation did fall under this category, thankfully the 2019 version managed to patch that up - and arguably that's Blade of the Immortal's biggest strength.
The soundtrack is another noteworthy asset. It doesn't have a solely J-rock genre, though you can hear it sprinkled in here and there in the opening. Most of the instrumentals used in the ambiance are traditional koto (stringed) and shakuhachi (flute). Because of the choice of using classic music, it helps with immersing the viewer deeper into the story.