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Blade of the Immortal Deluxe Volume 2
Blade of the Immortal returns in deluxe hardcover editions, collecting Hiroaki Samura's epic series for the first time in its original 7x10 serialized format.
A young survivor continues her quest across feudal Japan to avenge the murder of her parents, joined by her seemingly immortal protector.
The eccentric Ittö-ryü sword school carves a path to Edo castle--led by the bloodthirsty Anotsu--as they obliterate all rival schools along the way. They don't know that the deadly Mugai-ryü has formed and is waiting--with the sole purpose of destroying Anotsu's clan!
This epic manga series won Japan's Media Arts Award, several British Eagle Awards, and an Eisner Award, among other international accolades. Relentless and shocking, Blade takes Edo-era samurai action and combines it with modernist street idioms to create a style and mood like no other work of graphic fiction.
Collects Blade of the Immortal volumes 4 to 6 in the original 7x10 serialized format, in a faux-leather hardcover treatment, and with a bookmark ribbon.
A young survivor continues her quest across feudal Japan to avenge the murder of her parents, joined by her seemingly immortal protector.
The eccentric Ittö-ryü sword school carves a path to Edo castle--led by the bloodthirsty Anotsu--as they obliterate all rival schools along the way. They don't know that the deadly Mugai-ryü has formed and is waiting--with the sole purpose of destroying Anotsu's clan!
This epic manga series won Japan's Media Arts Award, several British Eagle Awards, and an Eisner Award, among other international accolades. Relentless and shocking, Blade takes Edo-era samurai action and combines it with modernist street idioms to create a style and mood like no other work of graphic fiction.
Collects Blade of the Immortal volumes 4 to 6 in the original 7x10 serialized format, in a faux-leather hardcover treatment, and with a bookmark ribbon.
536 pages, Hardcover
Published February 23, 2021
6 people are currently reading
126 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 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 22, 2021
You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.
Vengeance has often seemed like an easy path to take to achieve the peace of mind that we crave deep down. The journey to realizing vengeance, however, is one riddled with obstacles, the mind being the first wall of reason. The mere resilience and conviction that one must showcase to achieve their goal are often misjudged. After all, when vengeance implicates the death of another, it is not unwarranted to see people’s persuasion become shaky and crumble under the weight of their own consciousness. But how far would one go if they don’t have anything to lose anymore? Receiving Dark Horse Manga’s faux-leather hardcover treatment once again, this second deluxe edition of the critically-acclaimed manga series collects the next three volumes (On Silent Wings, On Silent Wings II, and Dark Shadows) in the original 7×10 serialized format with a red bookmark ribbon.
What is Blade of the Immortal (Vol. 2) about? Rin, driven by revenge against the Itto-Ryū clan that murdered her parents, continues her journey to avenge them alongside her immortal bodyguard Manji, a rōnin warrior of feudal Japan. As they travel across the country, they train in hopes to build the right mindset and physical skillset for Rin to face her adversaries. They also remain alert for any hints to the members of the clan who is out to eliminate all rival schools, making sure to put an end to their existence as soon as possible. As they run into these killers, they learn about their motives and intentions, ultimately forcing them to reflect upon their own purpose in life. Meanwhile, the Mugai-ryū seeks to put an end to the renegade clan. With multiple parties out hunting one another, no one is safe from a devastating fate but who will have their most profound desires answered?
Surprisingly enough, mangaka Hiroaki Samura steers clear from the fantasy elements introduced in the first deluxe volume to focus on Rin’s psychological plight and the Edo-era samurai landscape. In fact, Manji goes into the background with just one major encounter where he’s fully involved, allowing Rin to become the centerpiece. Readers are especially invited to acquaint themselves with her struggle, fully embrace her pursuit of vengeance, and understand her desire to get strong enough to face other swordsmen. Although the plot progresses steadily, without rushing into every encounter with a member of the Itto-Ryū, the story looks to bring into play the intricacies of vengeance, life, and death through various characters and their own motives, whether it’s blanketed in good or evil, presenting their raison d’être as warriors.
Mangaka Hiroaki Samura also doesn’t fail to maintain the outstanding penciling work from the first deluxe volume as he embraces his style’s detailed and expressive nature once again. He continues to brilliantly capture tenser moments by occasionally shifting his rougher penciling for smudged grayscale work and by discarding dialogue for silent moments. His signature splash pages are also present yet remain toned down in their poetic qualities to simply paint a more soothing exchange between characters. There’s rarely any instance that is hard to follow, even during key battles, properly conveying the story without feeling overly choppy or pointlessly drawn out. Violence and sexuality are still important ingredients in this recipe but are never in abundance or romanticized, simply presented in their raw form, while leaving the gruesome details to the reader’s imagination. Properly giving readers more insight into the past events and the current emotional state of the protagonists, it is clear that more crucial events will be coming soon. It is only a matter of time.
Blade of the Immortal (Vol. 2) is an enthralling journey that continues Rin’s quest for vengeance and explores her resiliency amidst adversity.
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
July 28, 2021
(Zero spoiler review) 4.5/5
If you happened to have read my review of BOTI Deluxe 1, then you would know how much I adore this series. I have a very tenuous relationship with manga, with the quality of the writing and frequent lackadaisical artistic storytelling being a particular sticking point to me. I had bought a few manga series sight unseen, only to be disappointed or outright enraged at just how average they were. I had the first two BOTI deluxe books on my shelf before reading this, so needless to say, if this was a pile of garbage, I would have been officially done with manga. Thankfully, BOTI is a breathe of fresh air, and ticks pretty much every box of mine when it comes to the medium that had up to this point, going seriously unticked.
Gorgeous art, strong storytelling, a continuous narrative, well fleshed out, likeable characters, unique situations and use of plot devices, this book does it all and more. Some of the plot lines and characters Samura has given us here are surprisingly deep and meaningful. On more than one occasion, I stopped and reflected on the very deep and meaningful narratives. Appreciating just how rare it was for mature themes to be tackled in such a competent way. Sadly, these themes are sorely lacking in the graphic novel medium.
One of the greatest thing a storyteller can do, is to put their characters in situations where the reader thinks that something significant and impactful will happen, regardless of the outcome. Issue after issue in your average superhero comic, you know that the heroes will inevitably escape unharmed, and all will be as it was before at the end of the book. While these stories have their merits, the fact that you know the main protagonists are in no real danger steals so much of the narrative impetus away, and never invests you as much as it would if you were reading about a world where seemingly anything can happen. The best moments you may have as a reader are when you truly don't know what will happen next. BOTI did that too me on many occasions, and whilst I think I preferred the first collection a tad more than this one, it was still an amazing read, and one that I am desperate to read more of. This makes Berserk look amateurish by comparison.
4.5/5
OmniBen.
If you happened to have read my review of BOTI Deluxe 1, then you would know how much I adore this series. I have a very tenuous relationship with manga, with the quality of the writing and frequent lackadaisical artistic storytelling being a particular sticking point to me. I had bought a few manga series sight unseen, only to be disappointed or outright enraged at just how average they were. I had the first two BOTI deluxe books on my shelf before reading this, so needless to say, if this was a pile of garbage, I would have been officially done with manga. Thankfully, BOTI is a breathe of fresh air, and ticks pretty much every box of mine when it comes to the medium that had up to this point, going seriously unticked.
Gorgeous art, strong storytelling, a continuous narrative, well fleshed out, likeable characters, unique situations and use of plot devices, this book does it all and more. Some of the plot lines and characters Samura has given us here are surprisingly deep and meaningful. On more than one occasion, I stopped and reflected on the very deep and meaningful narratives. Appreciating just how rare it was for mature themes to be tackled in such a competent way. Sadly, these themes are sorely lacking in the graphic novel medium.
One of the greatest thing a storyteller can do, is to put their characters in situations where the reader thinks that something significant and impactful will happen, regardless of the outcome. Issue after issue in your average superhero comic, you know that the heroes will inevitably escape unharmed, and all will be as it was before at the end of the book. While these stories have their merits, the fact that you know the main protagonists are in no real danger steals so much of the narrative impetus away, and never invests you as much as it would if you were reading about a world where seemingly anything can happen. The best moments you may have as a reader are when you truly don't know what will happen next. BOTI did that too me on many occasions, and whilst I think I preferred the first collection a tad more than this one, it was still an amazing read, and one that I am desperate to read more of. This makes Berserk look amateurish by comparison.
4.5/5
OmniBen.
February 22, 2023
Amazing drawings. The sword work is good. Some very cruel people in this series.
April 28, 2022
Well this went a more somber, slower paced direction, yet mostly worked in its favor.
This volume largely revolves around Rin. The very first part she actually comes face to face with Anotsu, the leader of the group who murdered her father and raped her mother before killing her. It's a interesting showdown and showcased there might be more to Anotsu than we originally thought.
Then we get to possibly the best arc in the series or high up there focusing on Araya Kawakami, one of the violators of the night on Rin's poor mother. Coming off as a charming, mask creator, who is a father he seems like a decent person. But behind all that we learn he loves to watch women suffer, scream and beg, while abusing them and eventually killing them. This calm and nice man on the outside being a vicious monster inside is both frightening and makes for a great character to really hate.
The last part starts building towards the next major arc. Setting up character motivations and moving them into the main spotlight of where we are heading next. Most interesting is Rin's development of her learning to deal with her loss and grief and wondering if revenge is really the only answer.
A darker and more calm volume with spurts of brutal action really help move this series into a direction I didn't expect. I'm excited to read on.
This volume largely revolves around Rin. The very first part she actually comes face to face with Anotsu, the leader of the group who murdered her father and raped her mother before killing her. It's a interesting showdown and showcased there might be more to Anotsu than we originally thought.
Then we get to possibly the best arc in the series or high up there focusing on Araya Kawakami, one of the violators of the night on Rin's poor mother. Coming off as a charming, mask creator, who is a father he seems like a decent person. But behind all that we learn he loves to watch women suffer, scream and beg, while abusing them and eventually killing them. This calm and nice man on the outside being a vicious monster inside is both frightening and makes for a great character to really hate.
The last part starts building towards the next major arc. Setting up character motivations and moving them into the main spotlight of where we are heading next. Most interesting is Rin's development of her learning to deal with her loss and grief and wondering if revenge is really the only answer.
A darker and more calm volume with spurts of brutal action really help move this series into a direction I didn't expect. I'm excited to read on.
April 3, 2023
This expands well on the first one, addressing some of the negative details people had with the first (such as the swastikas on Manji and explaining why it was format like it was). It keeps the good aspects also such as the nice looking spine and test on the cover/spine and the feel of the book itself.
The story starts to pick up and progresses well, I think the characters you meet are more interesting then in the first and the arcs feel more fluid overall. You get to see the characters as more then just people cutting each other down. The art still makes it hard to follow what is happening at times but that is mostly preference on my part.
Over all the jump from the first to the second is solid, I'd say this is a 4.25 overall, where the first was just a 4. I'm excited to move to the third and continue the story.
The story starts to pick up and progresses well, I think the characters you meet are more interesting then in the first and the arcs feel more fluid overall. You get to see the characters as more then just people cutting each other down. The art still makes it hard to follow what is happening at times but that is mostly preference on my part.
Over all the jump from the first to the second is solid, I'd say this is a 4.25 overall, where the first was just a 4. I'm excited to move to the third and continue the story.
November 4, 2021
Blade of the Immortal continues to impress me.
As we learn more about the Itto-ryu, we see that the members have a variety of motivations for joining the school and the line between them and Manji starts to blur for me.
We are also introduced to the Mugai-ryu here, who try to recuit Manji to fight the Itto-ryu and Anotsu while the shogun is attempting to recruit the Itto-ryu school to toughen up the "soft" samurai class.
As we learn more about the Itto-ryu, we see that the members have a variety of motivations for joining the school and the line between them and Manji starts to blur for me.
We are also introduced to the Mugai-ryu here, who try to recuit Manji to fight the Itto-ryu and Anotsu while the shogun is attempting to recruit the Itto-ryu school to toughen up the "soft" samurai class.
February 15, 2022
The series continues to gain momentum in this volume. It gets more into the backstory of the various players in the series and takes an introspective look at honor, revenge, class and the endless cycles it creates.
May 22, 2023
This was as boring as volume 1. Absolutely zero build up, no hangers, no intrigue, who cares? The art sucks and every character looks the same.
I’ll keep reading because I bought all of the deluxe editions and I have no choice.
I’ll keep reading because I bought all of the deluxe editions and I have no choice.
January 3, 2022
4.5 stars
This series is getting so much better! I am into it. The more I read the more Manji reminds me of Clint Eastwood though. There is definitely a resemblance there. 😅
This series is getting so much better! I am into it. The more I read the more Manji reminds me of Clint Eastwood though. There is definitely a resemblance there. 😅
May 31, 2024
The second volume is better than the first one and I hope the story will keep getting better.
June 10, 2024
The story is improving overall but still has a way to go before I would recommend it. Very slow burn with a lot of the world building being more interesting than our main characters.
July 7, 2024
Such suspense and tension! Enthralling for sure!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews