Mugen no Jyunin :: Blade of the Immortal
 

Blade of the Immortal is an action-filled samurai story, full of revenge, violence, honor and philosophy. It's by Samura Hiroaki and runs in the Kodansha publication "Afternoon," which also ran titles like "Oh My Goddess." The real title, Mugen no Jyuunin, means something like "Dweller of Infinity." Dark Horse, who publishes it in the USA, has renamed it "Blade of the Immortal." Above are both the original logo and the Dark Horse version. Hopefully you will be able to find this book in one form or another someplace.

The story is told from several different perspectives and at different times it appears to be about different people. The main character, mentioned in the title, is the immortal swordsman, Manji. He killed his own daimyo and has no master. Manji didn't have much of a direction in life, possibly because what he wants out of it is to die. No such luck, though. Manji was given special blood-worms by an old woman, Yaobikuni. The worms repair any damage to his body, no matter how great. This immortality will not go away until he's killed 1,000 evil men. Rin is a young girl whose parents were killed by a man named Anotsu. Her father was the head of a dojo; Anotsu is dedicated to making his sword school, the Itto-Ryu, the only one in Japan, and to make sure, he's killing off or absorbing all the others. Rin had to watch her parents die and has sworn revenge on Anotsu, training herself and hoping one day she'll meet him and kill him. She goes looking for Manji because she was told he's a wandering samurai who'd really good, and she knows she needs help. She begs him to help her.

After a while, Rin convinces Manji to help her, and they go out searching for Anotsu, killing people along the way. Anotsu is having his own problems and has his own troubled past; meanwhile, the kind of people Rin and Manji have to ally with sometimes seem even worse than the enemy.

Rin realizes that she is becoming more and more like Anotsu, who has discarded the rules of the sword schools and simply seems to believe the might makes right; she also finds herself doing terrible things for revenge. She begins to wonder if she's chosen the right path.

As they travel, Rin and Manji meet many strange people; strong female killers, psychotic poetry-writing homicidal maniacs, prostitutes, geisha, artists, and other types of people. Some of them are good, some are bad, most are indefinable and simply human. Rin has to make a personal journey and decide what she really should be doing.
 

ART: I really, really, REALLY love the art of this manga. I simply can't find enough good things to say about it. It's not "cute" at all, and it can appear very rough or even sketchy, but I think it's beautiful. Look at the skill and care with which Samura-sensei renders hands and finger, the curve of a blade, the arch of someone's foot... he's simply amazing. The detail he puts into a person's hair or face is really unbelievable. His people look very real, while at the same time very manga-like. It's a hard thing to balance, but somehow he's managed. There are a lot of still frames, or pauses in action; something about this title is also much more subtle than any other action manga I've ever read.

The action scenes are very static, somehow. There's the impression of quick motion, but also somehow a feeling of timeless silence and stillness. I really like that feeling, myself. If there was somehow anime ever made of this title, I would be startled to hear a soundtrack. It's like it would destroy the soft layer of quiet air wrapped around you when you read this. Which is not to say that people don't have their moments of swearing, and there's certainly enough motion and action for anyone, but even so, something about this is very peaceful at times.

I like to see what the inside art looks like myself, and few reviewers bother to show it to you, so I've done a nice thing and made a few scans from this fine title.
Anotsu (a splash page)
A random page of manga (in english)

PLOT:
It can be a bit complicated at times. It's hard (for me at least) to remember who everyone is and which side they're on and what ideals each side is fighting for. I think this is partially because I read the manga as it comes out monthly in English, so I sort of tend to forget little details from issue to issue. It's probably easier to follow if you've got the graphic novels. Still, there are a LOT of small details and characters to remember. Anyway, I really think it's interesting, and I like how the plot sort of amalgamates the action; they are two parts of a whole, not two things in conflict. I really enjoy reading about the character's thoughts, and the little things they say to each other that aren't plot related, just character development.

CHARACTERS:
I like almost all of the characters too! (Except Shira.) Well, you were probably expecting that. Manji is just really cool; he has a sarcastic sense of humor and finds things funny at all the wrong times. He lightens up situations which might have otherwise been extremely dark; it's a kind of black humor, though. His sarcasm makes him a strong character. Rin is also a strong character; she has a lot of conflicts in her heart and she has to make difficult decisions. Anotsu is your typical villain at times, but you get to know him, and though you know the things he does are often wrong, it's also easy sometimes to see why he did the things he did. Many of the other characters are very likable too; most of  the bad guys are presented as very human; interestingly, most of the victims are only human too, and sometimes you just don't feel quite as sorry for them as you should. Other times, everyone is pitiable.

TRANSLATION:
Well, some people have a problem with it, but personally I think Studio Proteus, who translates it for Dark Horse, does a beautiful job. It was written with a lot of modern sayings and slang thrown in, and everyone talks in a modern fashion, not like samurai of old. I think the translations really get that feeling across, the almost anachronistic speech and style. I also think Dark Horse does a great job typesetting, and the prices for their graphic novels are some of the best out there. They also have a high quality graphic novel (contrasted with Mixx Entertainment, who charge about $1 less and manage to make the print quality horrible, the cover cheap, and the pages fall out because the binding is so cheap). I really think the translated version of this is worth reading, and though I plan to pick up the Japanese version, I can't say I've ever had a problem with the US version, and I'll continue to buy it. It may also be of interest to know that there are a LOT of words which just aren't translated at all; instead, they've included a glossary at the end of each book explaining the Japanese words and their connotations. They also include some cultural notes and other things. I love the non-americanization of it, while it's simultaneously easy for any american to read who isn't afraid of a little foreign culture. I wish all translated manga got this treatment.

Here's a really cool and informative page (with a spectacular gallery!). This person has lots of info on the awards this manga has won in Japan, on the author, and all the characters. He goes into much more depth than I can, and I really recommend this page. 
(http://www.sutic.nu/blade/)

Want Japanese ISBNs? Check out the Product Info page.