Manga Monday: Blade of the Immortal “Note from the Editor”

03/30/2015 12:24pm
Blade of the Immortal first debuted in its comic-book form (or “pamphlet format,” as some are calling it these days) in June 1996. This week, Dark Horse Manga’s final volume goes on sale, ending one of the longest-running English-language manga series.
The story that Hiroaki Samura lays down in his first Blade of the Immortal volume is insane, but fairly simple. In a nutshell, young Rin seeks revenge against a renegade Japanese sword school led by Anotsu because he and his thugs callously murdered her parents on her fourteenth birthday. (Anotsu has beef against her family, too, because of a slight to his grandfather many years ago.) Rin is paired with the powerful—and aloof and foul-mouthed—ronin called Manji in her quest for revenge. Manji is immortal due to the mystical, regenerative kessen-chu bloodworms in his system, and he’s on a quest of his own. Before his immortality can be lifted, Manji must kill one thousand evil men to atone for the one hundred good soldiers from Edo Castle that he killed. (They were just doing their jobs, but Manji didn’t want to be captured by them.)
Manji steals the show right away, and his anachronistic speech and ungentlemanly behavior make him the perfect foil to the proper, driven, serious Rin. Little Rin tracks and identifies each member of Anotsu’s gang that’s responsible for her anguish, and Manji sloppily disposes of them. He’s a resilient, charming rogue. Along the way, though—through thirty-one volumes—brilliant writer/artist Hiroaki Samura’s epic manga series becomes just as much Rin’s show as it is tough-guy Manji’s.
While some readers were taken aback by the so-called “Prison Arc” storyline (which runs through Blade of the Immortal Volumes 16 to 21, with Manji chained, drugged, and subjected to horrific experiments throughout most of his scenes), Samura’s ultimate intent with “sidelining” Manji was to focus on Rin and get readers thinking about her transformation into a strong woman. Although weakened by a long dunk in freezing waters recently, as Blade has been drawing to a close it’s obvious that Rin’s persistence, intelligence, and willpower now matches Manji’s, even if she still struggles to believe that herself sometimes. 
Was the “Prison Arc” the first time that Samura explored Rin’s transformation into a powerful woman? No. Rin took center-stage in the “Road to Kaga” arc, too, where she’s seen befriending and helping her nemesis Anotsu survive through an excruciating illness and mysterious road trip. (Just so she can kill him later when he’s back up to one hundred percent strength, she’s hoping. How noble!) That story arc also takes its time, as it slowly unspools in Blade of the Immortal Volumes 8 to 14. Now is a great time to read through those volumes again to get to Samura’s explosive, heartbreaking finale—and to see how Rin evolves in the end.
In Hiroaki Samura’s final Blade of the Immortal volume, multiple plot threads, fascinating character relationships, crazy-complex grudges, old faces, and exotic new characters dovetail into one big pile of bloody chaos and ringing steel. And Rin makes the ultimate choice. Does her cycle of revenge continue—or does she possibly join forces with Anotsu and rebel against the equally evil ones from Edo Castle? If you haven’t been keeping up with recent volumes, it’s the perfect time to return to Blade of the Immortal and marvel at the masterful storytelling and artistic prowess of the one and only Hiroaki Samura! 
Heba,
—Philip R. Simon, Blade of the Immortal editor
Blade of the Immortal first debuted in its comic-book form (or “pamphlet format,” as some are calling it these days) in June 1996. This week, Dark Horse Manga’s final volume goes on sale, ending one of the longest-running English-language manga series.

The story that Hiroaki Samura lays down in his first Blade of the Immortal volume is insane, but fairly simple. In a nutshell, young Rin seeks revenge against a renegade Japanese sword school led by Anotsu because he and his thugs callously murdered her parents on her fourteenth birthday. (Anotsu has beef against her family, too, because of a slight to his grandfather many years ago.) Rin is paired with the powerful—and aloof and foul-mouthed—ronin called Manji in her quest for revenge. Manji is immortal due to the mystical, regenerative kessen-chu bloodworms in his system, and he’s on a quest of his own. Before his immortality can be lifted, Manji must kill one thousand evil men to atone for the one hundred good soldiers from Edo Castle that he killed. (They were just doing their jobs, but Manji didn’t want to be captured by them.)

Manji steals the show right away, and his anachronistic speech and ungentlemanly behavior make him the perfect foil to the proper, driven, serious Rin. Little Rin tracks and identifies each member of Anotsu’s gang that’s responsible for her anguish, and Manji sloppily disposes of them. He’s a resilient, charming rogue. Along the way, though—through thirty-one volumes—brilliant writer/artist Hiroaki Samura’s epic manga series becomes just as much Rin’s show as it is tough-guy Manji’s.

While some readers were taken aback by the so-called “Prison Arc” storyline (which runs through Blade of the Immortal Volumes 16 to 21, with Manji chained, drugged, and subjected to horrific experiments throughout most of his scenes), Samura’s ultimate intent with “sidelining” Manji was to focus on Rin and get readers thinking about her transformation into a strong woman. Although weakened by a long dunk in freezing waters recently, as Blade has been drawing to a close it’s obvious that Rin’s persistence, intelligence, and willpower now matches Manji’s, even if she still struggles to believe that herself sometimes.
 
Was the “Prison Arc” the first time that Samura explored Rin’s transformation into a powerful woman? No. Rin took center-stage in the “Road to Kaga” arc, too, where she’s seen befriending and helping her nemesis Anotsu survive through an excruciating illness and mysterious road trip. (Just so she can kill him later when he’s back up to one hundred percent strength, she’s hoping. How noble!) That story arc also takes its time, as it slowly unspools in Blade of the Immortal Volumes 8 to 14. Now is a great time to read through those volumes again to get to Samura’s explosive, heartbreaking finale—and to see how Rin evolves in the end.

In Hiroaki Samura’s final Blade of the Immortal volume, multiple plot threads, fascinating character relationships, crazy-complex grudges, old faces, and exotic new characters dovetail into one big pile of bloody chaos and ringing steel. And Rin makes the ultimate choice. Does her cycle of revenge continue—or does she possibly join forces with Anotsu and rebel against the equally evil ones from Edo Castle? If you haven’t been keeping up with recent volumes, it’s the perfect time to return to Blade of the Immortal and marvel at the masterful storytelling and artistic prowess of the one and only Hiroaki Samura!
 
Heba,
—Philip R. Simon, Blade of the Immortal editor

Blade of the Immortal Volume 31: Final Curtain is on sale April 1st. Check out preview pages here!

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manga blade of the immortal hiroaki samura monday volume final Curtain,
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