Blade of the Immortal 1

Hiroaki Samura – Dark Horse – 1995 – 25+ volumes

Since I liked Berserk and Vagabond so much, two series I had spurned for the longest time for being too manly, I decided I should probably try Blade of the Immortal as well.  I mean, it’s a real classic among dudes who don’t really read manga, but read a few things they heard were good.  It must be good if those guys are going to swallow their pride and read it.

And… it is.  It took some getting used to.  I’ve read Hiroaki Samura’s volume of short stories Ohikkoshi, but that wasn’t very action-oriented.  The pencil art is detailed, unique, and almost a shock to the eyes in a series like this since you’re just not expecting it.  But he’s much better at it, and it surprises me that it comes across as well as it does since it seems like a lot of detail would be lost in the printing process.  I also had to get used to the weird flipping system they use (cutting up the page and re-composing it to read left-to-right rather than just mirroring the artwork), since sometimes the speech bubbles are in strange places and sometimes things aren’t where you’d expect, and sometimes the artwork is flipped so that Manji’s missing eye jumps around a little.  I’d seen it before in Studio Ironcat’s books (off the top of my head, Futaba-kun Change, but I don’t know if the Miyu books and others use it too), but it’s been a number of years since I’d read a book that used it, and it is strange.

The story’s kind of weird, too.  I didn’t like the plot after the first two or so chapters, and as of the end of the volume, I still don’t.  There are some things that don’t add up.  But the characters, action, and ideas and gimmicks at work are so amazing that I can ignore the strange revenge plot that’s going on.  In fact, the first two chapters are strange since they seem to set up the overarching plot of the series (Manji protecting his sister, or Rin finding her mother), and then are abruptly ended and the characters go on something far less concrete.  At this point, they are seeking revenge against the murderers of Rin’s parents, which is just as good a reason as any to go on a killing spree, I suppose.  There will probably be a lot of these guys.  Manji wants to kill some bad guys, so I guess that’s all in order.

But having a main character that’s literally immortal is a breath of fresh air.  Usually the characters in these series take any injury you can throw at them and still live, but aren’t really “immortal.”  Manji is, and by taking that extra step, it makes the fight scenes that much better, since he frequently receives a bullet through the brain, or a severed limb or torso.  He’s good in a fight, but not invincible since that stuff happens to him.  He lives though, and I love the vast array of weapons he uses along with his strange and well-translated anachronistic vernacular.  I also really like his simple character motivations and somewhat aimless nature, though again, I can’t figure out why he decided to help Rin after giving that speech, unless he figured he really would find some bad guys if he followed her.

I also love the coup de grace at the end of every chapter, the elaborate full-page illustration with the enemy flying to pieces depending on who is doing the execution (thirds for a villain who uses spinning stars, a manji symbol for Manji, or a cross for that painter).  They are confusing in the context of the sequential art, but as illustrations they are amazing, and it’s not like I don’t know what’s happening there.

I’ve got the second volume, but if the first was any indication, I’m going to go ahead and splurge on the rest of the series.  It’s great.  I’ve got nothing else to say about it, but I will be reading the second volume tonight.