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Blade of the Immortal (US) #8
Blade of the Immortal, Volume 8: The Gathering
Manji, a ronin warrior of feudal Japan, has been cursed with immortality and to rid his eternal suffering and lift the curse, he must slay one thousand enemies, and his quest begins with a young girl who seeks revenge on her parents' killers.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
10 people are currently reading
192 people want to read
About the author
Hiroaki Samura
476 books246 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 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 30, 2024
The story picks up as Rin decides to head out solo to hunt down the Itto-ryu dojo, the group responsible for her parents’ deaths. Manji, though left behind, doesn’t let her go that easily. He tries to catch up with her but instead bumps into three men from the very dojo Rin’s after. The battle that follows is intense, with the trio getting a brutal firsthand look at Manji's so-called immortality.
This is a solid step forward for the story, even if it holds off on some of the major action. The artwork is as stunning as ever—Samura really knows how to build up tension and detail in every fight and character. It’s definitely a slower-paced volume, but it adds some nice development and sets up the next part of the series perfectly which pretty much continues the fight that ended pretty great.
Amazing artwork!
This is a solid step forward for the story, even if it holds off on some of the major action. The artwork is as stunning as ever—Samura really knows how to build up tension and detail in every fight and character. It’s definitely a slower-paced volume, but it adds some nice development and sets up the next part of the series perfectly which pretty much continues the fight that ended pretty great.
Amazing artwork!
January 6, 2019
I love the blonde lady.
December 9, 2021
After the truly upsetting ending to vol 7, this picks up with Manji and Rin separating from the Mugai-Ryu over both their association with Shira and the bad information they got. They know that Anotsu with be staying in Kaga, but they won't tell Manji and Rin where. Rin decides to leave Manji and set out after Anotsu on her own as they don't think they can get him through the checkpoints to Kaga. Rin learns the hard way that she and Manji are now wanted dead or alive for the murder of the travelers that Shira killed and separately Manji figures Shira is the one who gave them to authorities in retribution. They both start making their own plans to try to get to Anotsu and this volume gets good and truly involving. Manji gets into his biggest fight yet (carries into the next volume) and Rin puts her life in the hands of strangers.
The art is, as always, the strength of this tale. Especially when Manji is taking on 3 of the toughest warriors yet seen in this series, it becomes faster paced and frenetic. This was overall an interesting progression of the plot and it's becoming a more nuanced story all the time.
The art is, as always, the strength of this tale. Especially when Manji is taking on 3 of the toughest warriors yet seen in this series, it becomes faster paced and frenetic. This was overall an interesting progression of the plot and it's becoming a more nuanced story all the time.
October 7, 2014
slower pace than previous volumes, but there is still action at the end of the book.
October 4, 2023
Took a long time before we got to a battle.
July 8, 2009
Eight volumes in and Blade of the Immortal remains a superior mixture of visual art and storytelling. Samura's is a fine balance of scratchy pencil drawings and deep detail, able to grant character both to mountain ranges and human faces with very few lines. Unlike most manga artists, he's more adventurous in what he draws, often depicting the backs of speakers, or their hands or feet, to give a hint of the way they gesticulate or what they're doing as they talk. Given his already expressive faces, these touches ensure that every page has character, inviting the eyes to fly along it caught in the samurai intrigue of the plot, or to loiter of the patterns of clothes and the poses of human bodies.
This volume wisely tones the violence down after the end of "Heart of Darkness" went into borderline torture-porn gore. “The Gathering” balances the previous volume, with characters lying low to avoid blame for that gruesome event. Its oppressive atmosphere expresses the anticipation of punishment as keenly as the previous volume expressed the disturbing nature of a sociopath. It's a deep credit to Samura as a storyteller, showing Blade of the Immortal isn't just a book of cool fight scenes as the first volume might lull people into thinking, but something mature that is merely fascinated with the naive and the horrible. Characters are still charitable, thoughtful and penitent in this world. It is not all tough guys and blades, though those, too, get their time. Ironically the one fight scene of the book is the worst drawn of the series, and the poorest scene in the volume, almost too frantic to follow.
In the subdued story of this volume, Samura also highlights another strength. Many of his expository chapters fly along as you try to figure out the next steps in each person's plan for the Itto-Ryu assassination. These make the upcoming violence more important, while giving an essential breather.
This volume wisely tones the violence down after the end of "Heart of Darkness" went into borderline torture-porn gore. “The Gathering” balances the previous volume, with characters lying low to avoid blame for that gruesome event. Its oppressive atmosphere expresses the anticipation of punishment as keenly as the previous volume expressed the disturbing nature of a sociopath. It's a deep credit to Samura as a storyteller, showing Blade of the Immortal isn't just a book of cool fight scenes as the first volume might lull people into thinking, but something mature that is merely fascinated with the naive and the horrible. Characters are still charitable, thoughtful and penitent in this world. It is not all tough guys and blades, though those, too, get their time. Ironically the one fight scene of the book is the worst drawn of the series, and the poorest scene in the volume, almost too frantic to follow.
In the subdued story of this volume, Samura also highlights another strength. Many of his expository chapters fly along as you try to figure out the next steps in each person's plan for the Itto-Ryu assassination. These make the upcoming violence more important, while giving an essential breather.
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...
May 7, 2022
(Zero spoiler review for the deluxe edition collecting this volume) 4.75/5
What an honour to be the first to write a review for this seminal and amazing series. I've previously expressed my mixed feelings with manga, and how despite a significant number of positives, I just keep finding far too many personal inadequacies within the overall industry to really fall in love with it. That said, if more manga was like Blade of the Immortal, then I would be man crushing on this shit so hard, it would be squeezing out the sides. Blade of the Immortal is one of the best things I have ever read, period! Not just in comics, but ever. I can't get enough. God knows how I waited a few months to find this volume at a decent price. I should have just bought it the second it came out at whatever ludicrous price this volume has been selling for since release. I devoured it with a ferocity that few other stories ever evoke, despite knowing that the sooner I finish it, the sooner it would be over. Praise be to Jebus I have volume four sitting a few feet away, and will be cracking it open as soon as I am done writing this.
Picking out individual points to highlight here seems an exercise in futility, as there really isn't anything I don't like about this. The characters continue to grow and expand, forming into pivotal figures within my mind like few have before. Samura's ability to make the fights, which are thankfully not over done or methodical (as becomes all too frequent in bog standard superhero fare). But rather, each is wholly unique and special to the story at the time. One criticism might be that occasionally it can be a little hard to discern every detail of his fight scene art, although that is a minor quibble in what is an amazing book. The final arc of this collection, which focused on Rin (probably my favourite character) had be so entranced, and was so well executed, that I read about 100 pages more than I intended to, and finished the book despite being dreadfully tired. I just couldn't put it down.
In short, even if you are a paid up member of the manga sceptics society like I am, you absolutely need to read this book. And preferably in this exquisite deluxe format, which is easily one of the prettiest looking books I own. I can't foresee any circumstance in which you would be anything but very glad you did. If Dark Horse doesn't finish out this series in this format, heads are gonna roll. 4.75/5
OmniBen.
What an honour to be the first to write a review for this seminal and amazing series. I've previously expressed my mixed feelings with manga, and how despite a significant number of positives, I just keep finding far too many personal inadequacies within the overall industry to really fall in love with it. That said, if more manga was like Blade of the Immortal, then I would be man crushing on this shit so hard, it would be squeezing out the sides. Blade of the Immortal is one of the best things I have ever read, period! Not just in comics, but ever. I can't get enough. God knows how I waited a few months to find this volume at a decent price. I should have just bought it the second it came out at whatever ludicrous price this volume has been selling for since release. I devoured it with a ferocity that few other stories ever evoke, despite knowing that the sooner I finish it, the sooner it would be over. Praise be to Jebus I have volume four sitting a few feet away, and will be cracking it open as soon as I am done writing this.
Picking out individual points to highlight here seems an exercise in futility, as there really isn't anything I don't like about this. The characters continue to grow and expand, forming into pivotal figures within my mind like few have before. Samura's ability to make the fights, which are thankfully not over done or methodical (as becomes all too frequent in bog standard superhero fare). But rather, each is wholly unique and special to the story at the time. One criticism might be that occasionally it can be a little hard to discern every detail of his fight scene art, although that is a minor quibble in what is an amazing book. The final arc of this collection, which focused on Rin (probably my favourite character) had be so entranced, and was so well executed, that I read about 100 pages more than I intended to, and finished the book despite being dreadfully tired. I just couldn't put it down.
In short, even if you are a paid up member of the manga sceptics society like I am, you absolutely need to read this book. And preferably in this exquisite deluxe format, which is easily one of the prettiest looking books I own. I can't foresee any circumstance in which you would be anything but very glad you did. If Dark Horse doesn't finish out this series in this format, heads are gonna roll. 4.75/5
OmniBen.
March 8, 2020
suprrisingly entertaining...1st manga series i've read and probably be the last but definitely worth reading. Might pick up the other volumes in teh series (outta order). Don't much like B&W or the effects but the story is interesting, and teh actino is great...wish there were Chinese series like this translated to english about travelling back then
February 16, 2025
[4.5/5] Really solid volume. The fight at the end was a bit frustrating as it was hard to follow really good fight but could not be appreciated as well as it could have been due to the somewhat confusing art and lack of clear movement shown. I do like the fact that the fights Manji has are all different with regard to location and action.
October 30, 2020
I'm hoping that the combination of this and volume 9 will be so good that I bump it up to five stars. On it sown it was great, but it's the first book in the series that felt like it ended in the middle of a story (which it did, it's part one of a two part story).
December 20, 2017
Good volume.
Want to read
September 26, 2025manga
May 24, 2018
Following the events in volume 7,
Heart of Darkness
, this eighth volume of Hiroaki Samura's samurai manga with fantastical elements sees Rin and Manji wanted by the law, after having been left with the blame for the ruthless Mugai-ryū assassin Shira's cruel deeds. The fellow Mugai-ryū assassin Hyakurin try to make amends of sorts for the former's failings, but this sets the story on a slightly new course.
Samura continues to impress me with his plotting and vivid character relations, and the series keeps me hooked.
Samura continues to impress me with his plotting and vivid character relations, and the series keeps me hooked.
November 30, 2019
Well, now Rin and Manji are finding themselves wanted, dead or alive, not only by the Itto-Ryu, but by the shogunate as well. So, now they need to find a way to get out of Edo through the heavily guarded checkpoints, while also avoiding the agents of the Itto-Ryu.
October 30, 2015
Still building beautifully on the characters, character relationships, and tension in the pursuit of Anotsu. The end fight is a little haphazard and hard to follow, however, which is unfortunate.
August 28, 2013
Love it. The first two thirds of the book involve to fighting, just waiting and plotting. Yet somehow the tension keeps it interesting.
October 12, 2025
7.5/10
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]
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews