Hiroaki Samura

Die Wergelder, Omnibus 1

January 29, 2016 by Ash Brown

Creator: Hiroaki Samura
U.S. publisher: Kodansha
ISBN: 9781632361950
Released: December 2015
Original release: 2013-2015

I was very excited when Kodansha Comics announced that it would be releasing Die Wergelder in English. At the time, I actually didn’t know much about the manga series beyond the fact that it was created by Hiroaki Samura, but that was more than enough to capture my attention—Samura’s long-running, award-winning series Blade of the Immortal was one of the first manga that I ever read and it remains a personal favorite. I’ve also throughly enjoyed Samura’s two short manga collections that have been translated, Ohikkoshi and Emerald and Other Stories. As Blade of the Immortal was drawing to a close in Japan, Die Wergelder was just beginning, the first volume being published in 2013. The second volume was released two years later in Japan in 2015. The first installment of Kodansha’s English-language edition of Die Wergelder, also published in 2015, collects both of those volumes.

Shinobu has made a mistake that may very well cost her life. After attempting to run way with a low-ranking yakuza member, along with a rather large sum of his syndicate’s money, the two of them are caught and Ro’s boss isn’t particularly happy with them. Normally Shinbou would likely have been killed without a second thought, but her background happens to make her uniquely qualified for a job that Ro’s boss needs done. She’s more or less forced into accepting and so suddenly finds herself embroiled in the schemes and rivalries of multiple groups. The world of organized crime is fraught with danger and made even more so with the appearance of Träne, an assassin hellbent on revenge against those who have done her tremendous wrong. And then there’s Jie Mao, an opposing bodyguard whose deadly combat skills make her a formidable foe. Shinobu does have the guts and brash attituded needed to survive, but that’s also a large part of why she’s in such trouble to being with.

Die Wergelder is heavily inspired by or at least influenced by 1970s Japanese pink films—theatrical releases steeped with eroticism, nudity, and sex. More specifically, Samura is taking cues from Toei’s Pinky Violence series of films. (Träne’s dark long coat, wide-brimmed hat, and tale of vengeance would appear to be a direct reference to the Female Convict Scorpion films in particular.) Likewise, Die Wergelder contains fairly extreme content, including gratuitous sex and explicit violence. Women and men, although to a somewhat lesser extent, are brutalized and degraded both sexually and physically throughout the story. Die Wergleder is true to its lurid and exploitative roots and the series seems to be self-aware of that. With an additional heavy dose of sadism, it’s certainly not a manga to be lightly recommended to just anyone, though what it does it does well.

By far the most interesting and compelling characters in Die Wergelder are the women. They are easily the most sexualized and objectified as well, but they’re also powerful and terrifying forces to be reckoned with. In comparison, the men of Die Wergelder aren’t particularly memorable, even when they are impressively powerful their own right. Träne and Jie Mao are stunning to watch as they fight. As I’ve come to expect, Samura’s action sequences are dramatic and dynamic. The martial skills shown may frequently be unbelievable, but they are devastatingly effective. With all its brutality and torture, Die Wergelder can be exceptionally violent and gruesome even while being beautifully drawn. It’s a deliberately uncomfortable series, Samura pushing the boundaries of acceptability. Rape, murder, abuse, and unethical medical experimentation are all regular occurrences, and that’s just scraping the surface of the despicable, thrilling, disturbing, titillating, and vicious world that Samura explores in Die Wergelder.

Blade of the Immortal, Vol. 31: Final Curtain

May 8, 2015 by Ash Brown

Creator: Hiroaki Samura
U.S. publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 9781616556266
Released: April 2015
Original release: 2013
Awards: Eisner Award, Japan Media Arts Award

So, this is it. The Final Curtain of Blade of the Immortal, both literally and figuratively. Released by Dark Horse Comics in 2015, the volume is the thirty-first and final installment in the English-language edition of Hiroaki Samura’s epic manga series. After nearly two decades of publication, the entirety Blade of the Immortal has now been translated. Due to slight differences between the early English trade collections and the Japanese releases, Final Curtain is actually equivalent to the thirtieth volume of the original Japanese edition of Blade of the Immortal published in 2013. The manga has been well-received by both critics and fans alike, winning Samura many awards and honors including a Japan Media Arts Award and an Eisner Award. Blade of the Immortal was one of the very first manga that I began reading and collecting and the series has remained a personal favorite of mine ever since I discovered it. Because of that, Blade of the Immortal and its ending hold particular meaning for me. I have been looking forward to reading its conclusion for a very long time.

At its height, the Ittō-ryū was poised to become the official sword school of the shogunate, bringing the goal of the group’s leader Anotsu Kagehisa—the restoration of the way of the sword to Japan—tantalizingly close. But in the end they were betrayed and massacred by the very people who invited them to join the banshū. Since then the Ittō-ryū’s numbers have continued to dwindle as the survivors of that initial attack have been hunted down by the Mugai-ryū and Rokki-dan, forces largely made up of death row criminals commanded by Habaki Kagimura. The fighting has been fierce and casualties have been immense on both sides. Now only a few members of each group remain and they are locked in their final battles against one another. Though it appears as though Anotsu may have the upper hand, the outcome of the conflict is far from certain, especially as there are others interested in controlling the fate of the Ittō-ryū, including the young woman Rin and her near-immortal bodyguard Manji.

Final Curtain serves two main purposes: providing a resolution to the intense and bloody confrontations begun in the previous volume, Vigilance, and granting a conclusion to Blade of the Immortal as a whole. I feel the final volume is successful on both counts. Even though they aren’t as over-the-top or as brutal as some of the other fight sequences in the series, there are still plenty of surprises to be had in the final battles of Blade of the Immortal. They require incredible physical, mental, and even emotional fortitude from those involved, making the scenes very engaging to read. It’s not just fighting for fighting’s sake; there is deliberate purpose and reason behind the struggles. Lately, the series seems to have turned its attention to the dramatic demise of the Ittō-ryū and its leader, but Final Curtain manages to bring the manga full circle again by allowing Rin and Manji to once again become directly involved in how events unfold.

Blade of the Immortal has always had a large cast of characters as well as several intertwining plot threads. All of the survivors and the families and friends of those who have died have at least one moment in Final Curtain, even if it’s only a few panels, in which they become the focus of the manga, creating something akin to an epilogue. Loose ends are tied up and, while some ambiguity remains, the aftermath of the long struggle is revealed. Blade of the Immortal covered a lot of ground in its thirty-one volumes, the story twisting and turning and the characters and their relationships continually growing and evolving. The series can be read and enjoyed simply for its impressive action and fight sequences, but the manga also explores deeper, thought-provoking ideas. The characters are morally complex—very few can be said to be entirely in the right or in the wrong—and Blade of the Immortal questions what their or any person’s ultimate legacy will be. As for the last volume itself, I found Final Curtain to be a very satisfying conclusion to the series.

Blade of the Immortal, Vol. 30: Vigilance

January 2, 2015 by Ash Brown

Creator: Hiroaki Samura
U.S. publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 9781616554842
Released: October 2014
Original release: 2012
Awards: Eisner Award, Japan Media Arts Award

Vigilance is the thirtieth and penultimate volume in the English-language edition of Blade of the Immortal, the long-running and award-winning manga series by Hiroaki Samura. In Japan, the series was only thirty volumes long, but due to slight differences in how the manga was released early on in its English-language run, Dark Horse’s edition of consists of thirty-one volumes. Vigilance, published in 2014, is equivalent to the twenty-ninth volume of the series’ Japanese edition originally released in 2012. Blade of the Immortal is a series that has particular significance for me. It was one of the very first manga that I ever read and it was one of the first series that I decided to collect in its entirety. I have been reading and collecting Blade of the Immortal for years now. The previous volume, Beyond Good and Evil, marked the beginning of the series’ end and Vigilance brings it that much closer. I was very curious to see how Samura would continue to advance the series.

The final confrontation between the remnants of Anotsu Kagehisa’s Ittō-ryū and Habaki Kagimura’s Rokki-dan has begun. Numerous casualties have been incurred by each side and countless innocent lives have been caught in the fray as the two groups try to destroy each other. At one point they were fighting for their ideals–Anotsu striving to restore martial glory and the way of the sword to Japan while Habaki worked to prevent that from happening in order to maintain the dominance of the shogunate–but now they are fighting simply to survive long enough to crush the other. Even if they are successful in killing their foes they may not live to see the fruits of their victory. Habaki is challenging Anotsu head on while the Ittō-ryū’s strongest fighter, Makie, is left to face multiple opponents under Habaki’s direct command despite her failing health. And on the periphery of this all, Manji and Rin stand against one of Habaki’s most imposing men even though they, too, seek Anotsu’s demise.

At this point in Blade of the Immortal the series’ story is drawing very close to its ultimate conclusion. There is very little plot development in Vigilance, and there doesn’t need to be; the series has been building up to these final volumes. Instead, the focus of Vigilance is on the deadly battles currently in progress. Samura’s artwork has always been dynamic in Blade of the Immortal, conveying a tremendous sense of movement and drama, but the action sequences and fight choreography in Vigilance may very well be some of the series’ best. Makie’s fight against an entire team of adversaries is particularly impressive and breathtaking. Her talent is astounding and on full display. She is constantly in motion, with an acute awareness of her surroundings, using both her weapon and her body in tangent to strike and defend. While she may not have the brute strength that so many of the other fighters in Blade of the Immortal possess, her agility and martial skill far surpass any of them.

The other two battles being simultaneously waged in Vigilance are also well-developed and each has a different feel than Makie’s. Manji’s style of fighting has come to rely very heavily on his near-immortality, leading him to attempt feats that would otherwise be unthinkable. He is also able to put to good use in some rather curious ways the bizarre regenerative powers of his body. The manga’s horror elements are readily apparent in his fight. There’s even a hearkening back to the death mandalas of the early series, which is a particularly nice touch. The confrontation between Anotsu and Habaki is different still. Like all of the other fighters who have managed to survive this long they are both exceptionally skilled swordsmen, however tactics and strategy play a much more prominent role in their death match. The way they fight is both intelligent and refined. Manji, Rin, Makie, Anotsu, and Habaki are now locked into their final battles. It will be very interesting to see exactly how things will turn out in the series’ conclusion, Final Curtain.

Blade of the Immortal, Vol. 29: Beyond Good and Evil

June 8, 2014 by Ash Brown

Creator: Hiroaki Samura
U.S. publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 9781616553371
Released: May 2014
Original release: 2011
Awards: Eisner Award, Japan Media Arts Award

Beyond Good and Evil is the twenty-ninth volume in the English-language release of Hiroaki Samura’s award-winning manga Blade of the Immortal. Published by Dark Horse in 2014, Beyond Good and Evil is equivalent to the twenty-eighth volume of the Japanese edition of Blade of the Immortal released in 2011. Blade of the Immortal is a long-running series. The collected volumes of the manga first began to be released in Japan in 1994 while the first collection in English was published in 1997. Personally, I discovered Blade of the Immortal in 2007 and have been reading it ever since. The series is now in its final volumes and is drawing closer and closer to its conclusion. Since I’m fond of Blade of the Immortal, I’m both excited and saddened to see it end. Beyond Good and Evil is the beginning of the series’ last battle as all of the surviving characters are brought together to face one another and to confront their destinies.

The members of the Ittō-ryū who were escaping Edō by way of the Mito road have been annihilated. They put up a magnificent fight against Habaki Kagimura’s Rokki-dan and there were casualties on both sides, but in the end it was the Ittō-ryū that was brought closest to its demise. A very small group of the Ittō-ryū’s most elite warriors, including its leader Anotsu Kagehisa, still remain and are on the run. They stayed behind in Edō long enough to wreak havoc at the city’s castle before fleeing, hoping to reunite with the rest of the Ittō-ryū at the port of Hitachi before sailing for Satsuma. But with their companions dead, a few unexpected allies, and no small number of enemies, Anotsu’s carefully laid plans will have to change. As for Habaki, who has very little left to lose, he is willing to do anything that it takes and to commit any atrocity necessary in order to ensure that Anotsu and the remaining Ittō-ryū members, as well as anyone who might lend them their aid, are completely wiped out.

One of the things that has always impressed me about Blade of the Immortal is its complex, morally grey characters. The protagonists and antagonists of the series are constantly shifting, making it difficult to strictly categorize them as being good or bad guys; they are simply extremely flawed people. The confrontation between Habaki and Anotsu and the rest of the survivors has been building over the last few volumes. They all finally meet again, likely for the last time, in Beyond Good and Evil. It’s an aptly named volume. None of the characters are entirely in the right and they are all guilty of countless deaths. There is no turning back for them and they must see their chosen paths through to the end, even knowing that there is a strong possibility that they will fail or have failed already. Anotsu, Habaki, and the others may or may not survive, but even if they do, survival does not necessarily mean victory.

With the final battle of Blade of the Immortal approaching, one might expect it to be a heroic showdown of epic proportions, except for the fact that there aren’t really any heroes in the manga. Instead, the atmosphere surrounding the characters and their confrontation is one of inevitability and futility. There will be a battle and because those who have managed to survive for this long are the most skilled fighters it will be intense. However, very little will be accomplished by the skirmish except for perhaps mutual destruction. The Ittō-ryū barely exists anymore and it is very unlikely that Anotsu’s hopes and dreams of restoring the way of the sword to Japan will come to fruition. For Habaki, destroying the Ittō-ryū won’t allow him to regain his lost honor or to erase his heinous deeds. At one point both men were fighting to change Japan and to right the wrongs that they saw in their society, but their ideals and ambitions may come to nothing in the end.

Blade of the Immortal, Vol. 28: Raining Chaos

March 7, 2014 by Ash Brown

Creator: Hiroaki Samura
U.S. publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 9781616553210
Released: January 2014
Original release: 2011
Awards: Eisner Award, Japan Media Arts Award

Raining Chaos is the twenty-eighth volume in the English-language edition of Hiroaki Samura’s manga series Blade of the Immortal. Because of slight differences between the Japanese and English publications of the series, Raining Chaos is actually equivalent to the twenty-seventh volume of Blade of the Immortal released in Japan in 2011. The English edition was released by Dark Horse in 2014. Blade of the Immortal is a multi-award-winning series, having earned Samura honors both in Japan and in other countries. The series was one of the first manga that I made a point of following, so I am glad that Dark Horse is seeing Blade of the Immortal through to its end. Raining Chaos is part of the fifth and last major story arc in Blade of the Immortal. With only a few volumes left in the series, Blade of the Immortal is quickly approaching its final climax and Raining Chaos is part of that approach.

The majority of the remaining Ittō-ryū members have steadily been making their way to Hitachi, but it was only a matter of time before those in pursuit would catch up with them. After encountering the Rokki-dan en route, the Ittō-ryū has once again split its members into smaller groups so that some of them may have a better chance of survival. Most stay behind to face the Rokki-dan warriors, hoping to at least delay them if not destroy them, while a smaller force forges ahead attempting to keep the Ittō-ryū’s current second-in-command, Abayama Sōsuke, alive and safe. What they hadn’t counted on was the involvement of the Mugai-ryū, the predecessor of the Rokki-dan. Only two members of that group are still alive, and neither of them are the fighters that they once were, but they are both still extremely skilled and dangerous. With the Ittō-ryū occupied with both the Rokki-dan warriors and the Mugai-ryū assassins, the continued existence of the radical sword school looks increasingly grim.

The Ittō-ryū isn’t so much a specific style of fighting as it is a philosophy. The only agreed upon “rule” is that battles are nominally to be fought one-on-one. Other than that, almost anything goes. In part because of this, the school has attracted a diverse group of fighters with different backgrounds, martial abilities, and motivations. Some, like the Ittō-ryū’s leader Anotsu Kagehisa and several of the other high-ranking members, have very honorable intentions; they fight against what they see as corruption, though their methods may be questionable. Abayama, for example, is very concerned about the welfare of the men who train and serve under him. Others, however, are more interested in their own personal vendettas and selfish desires. They don’t care about others as long as they get what they want. The differences between these two types of people–those with noble and lofty ideals and those who are completely without morals–can be clearly seen in Raining Chaos. Even so, they are all still Ittō-ryū.

In addition to having different goals and reasons for joining the Ittō-ryū, the individual members also have different styles of fighting, which is put to good use in Raining Chaos. There isn’t much plot development in this particular volume of Blade of the Immortal, but there is plenty of action as the confrontation between the remnants of the Ittō-ryū and the Rokki-dan and the Mugai-ryū is largely brought to a conclusion. Happily, the battles in Raining Chaos are quite good; they’re well-choreographed and interesting to watch play out. Samura has a tendency to introduce unusual weapons and techniques in Blade of the Immortal, but even the most fantastic and strange have some basis in reality; legitimate tactics and fighting techniques are still applied to the battles in the series. In Raining Chaos, the importance of range and distancing is particularly emphasized. With excellent fights and compelling characters, Blade of the Immortal continues to be a series that I enjoy. I’m looking forward to the next volume, Beyond Good and Evil, a great deal.

Random Musings: Wrapping Up the Blade of the Immortal Monthly Review Project

November 16, 2013 by Ash Brown

Hiroaki Samura’s Blade of the Immortal was one of the first manga that I ever read and it was the first series that I made a point of collecting. Even before I started writing at Experiments in Manga, I was reading and reviewing Blade of the Immortal. However, I wasn’t very consistent or timely with those reviews. And so, early in 2012, I began a monthly review project in which, beginning with the seventh volume, I would read and review one volume of Blade of the Immortal every month.

Nearly two years later, I have reached the twenty-seventh volume and my reviews have finally caught up with the English release of the series. I also plan on reviewing the new volumes of Blade of the Immortal as they are published. Assuming Dark Horse continues releasing Blade of the Immortal as it has been, there should be a total of thirty-one volumes in the English-language edition and we’ll see the end of the series in 2015.

Deliberately focusing on a single series month after month was an interesting experience and one that I enjoyed. I believe that it allowed me to see overarching plots and themes more clearly; it forced me to really look at what was going on and I noticed details that I might not have otherwise. Overall, I found it to be a valuable exercise in reviewing. So much so that I’ll soon be taking up a new monthly review project. I’m putting it up to a vote, too, so be on the lookout!

The links to all of my Blade of the Immortal reviews have been conveniently collected below, including the links to my reviews of Samura’s Blade of the Immortal artbook and the novel based on the manga written by Junichi Ohsako. (Some of the older reviews were written before I had read much manga and before I really knew what I was doing; I find them rather embarrassing, so please be forgiving.)

The Art of Blade of the Immortal
Blade of the Immortal: Legend of the Sword Demon

Blade of the Immortal, Vol. 27: Mist on the Spider’s Web

November 15, 2013 by Ash Brown

Creator: Hiroaki Samura
U.S. publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 9781616552152
Released: September 2013
Original release: 2010
Awards: Eisner Award, Japan Media Arts Award

Mist on the Spider’s Web is the twenty-seventh volume in the English-language edition of Hiroaki Samura’s Blade of the Immortal manga series. Released by Dark Horse in 2013, Mist on the Spider’s Web is more or less equivalent to the twenty-sixth volume of Blade of the Immortal published in Japan in 2010. Blade of the Immortal is an award-winning series. Over the course of its long publication history the manga has earned Samura a Japan Media Arts Award and an Eisner Award among other honors. Blade of the Immortal is also a series of which I am particularly fond, so I am glad to see Dark Horse sticking with the manga through to its end. Mist on the Spider’s Web takes place during the fifth and final major story arc of Blade of the Immortal. The previous volume, Blizzard, was particularly good and so I was very interested to see where Samura would take things next with Mist on the Spider’s Web.

While Rin, Manji, and the others are recovering from their final confrontation with Shira, the hunt for the remaining Ittō-ryū swordsmen continues. The main group is well on its way to Hitachi under the guidance of senior members Abayama Sosuke and Kashin Koji. Before making their escape they hope to reunite with their leader Anotsu Kagehisa who has been delayed after his attack on Edō Castle. The three other Ittō-ryū fighters who also took part in the strike are either dead, missing, or severely wounded. Habaki Kagimura is in pursuit, chasing down the Ittō-ryū and its allies. He and his Rokki-dan warriors–death row convicts with little choice but to aid Habaki in his quest–are charged with annihilating the rogue sword school. The pressure on the Ittō-ryū continues to mount as more and more of Anotsu’s enemies draw ever closer.

If it wasn’t already apparent, Mist on the Spider’s Web makes it very clear how far the Ittō-ryū has fallen since its glory days. The most talented swordsmen are slowly being killed off, the new members are few and inexperienced, and the group has had to abandon some of its core ideals and principles just for the chance of survival. It is becoming increasingly likely that the Ittō-ryū may simply cease to exist in its entirety. The sword school is a mere shadow of what it once was. The Ittō-ryū, which destroyed so many other martial groups and caused so much chaos, is now faced with its own demise. However, its members are prepared to fight to the very end and by any means necessary. Despite the questionable methods that the Ittō-ryū has employed to reach its goals, Anotsu wasn’t entirely wrong in his ambitions. It is a little disheartening to see the Ittō-ryū’s idealism fading away.

Mist on the Spider’s Web has some fantastic action sequences, but there’s also quite a bit of standing around and talking, too. It can be somewhat tedious at times, but it does make sense within the context of what is going on. In general the focus of Blade of the Immortal on the Ittō-ryū has been directed towards its fighters, but the group also has members that rely more on their mental capacities rather than on their martial capabilities. Anotsu has always been shown to be a particularly impressive strategist in addition to being a skilled swordsman, but in Mist on the Spider’s Web it is old man Kashin who demonstrates his worth through his devious intelligence. He doesn’t need physical strength to overcome his enemies, only careful thought, thorough planning, and little bit of time. Of course, time is one of the things that the Ittō-ryū has less and less of these days.

Blade of the Immortal: Legend of the Sword Demon

November 13, 2013 by Ash Brown

Author: Junichi Ohsako
Illustrator: Hiroaki Samura
U.S. publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 9781595823380
Released: January 2010
Original release: 2008

Hiroaki Samura’s Blade of the Immortal was one of the first manga series that I began reading and it remains one of my personal favorites. When I learned that a novel based on the manga had been written I immediately picked it up. However, it did take me quite some time to actually get around to reading it. Blade of the Immortal: Legend of the Sword Demon, written by Junichi Ohsako with illustrations by Samura, was originally published in Japan in July 2008–the same month the anime adaptation of Blade of the Immortal began airing. I don’t know much about the author (Legend of the Sword Demon is the only novel by Ohsako to have been released in English), but I do know that Ohsako is a fellow fan of Blade of the Immortal. The English-language edition of Legend of the Sword Demon was translated by Camellia Nieh and released in 2010 by Dark Horse. Unsurprisingly, Dark Horse is also the publisher responsible for releasing the Blade of the Immortal manga and artbook in English.

Rin was the only daughter of Asano Takayoshi, the head of the respected Mutenichi-ryū sword school. A few years past he was brutally murdered before her very eyes, her mother was raped and abducted, and Rin was abandoned and left alone to fend for herself. Her family was destroyed at the hands of a group of renegade swordsmen known as the Ittō-ryū and their leader Anotsu Kagehisa. Now Rin is seeking her revenge, hiring an outlaw known only as Manji as her bodyguard. Rumored to be immortal, Manji has vowed to kill one thousand evil men to atone for hist past misdeeds. But is the Ittō-ryū truly evil? Whether it is or isn’t, Manji and Rin aren’t the only ones seeking the group’s demise. This complicates matters a great deal and it becomes difficult for Rin and Manji to determine who are friends and who are foes. Any alliances made in the fight against the Ittō-ryū can only be assumed to be temporary.

Legend of the Sword Demon is a very quick read. The story is a re-imagining of the early part of the Blade of the Immortal manga series. While the novel has some unique content of its own, including a dangerous enemy not found anywhere else, many of the scenes will be familiar to those who have read the original. All of the most popular characters make an appearance in the novel as well. (This was actually one of the conditions set by the publisher when the novel was initially commissioned.) Legend of the Sword Demon mostly focuses on the action of the story. Very little descriptive detail is given and the characters aren’t particularly fleshed out, either. It is interesting to see a slightly different take on Blade of the Immortal, but Legend of the Sword Demon almost requires that readers have a fairly firm grounding in the original series to really appreciate what Ohsako is doing with the story and characters. There might be enough in the novel to entice new readers to pick up the manga, but I am not at all confident of that.

In the end, I was actually rather disappointed with Legend of the Sword Demon. I can’t really recommend the novel to anyone but those who are Blade of the Immortal completists (a group of people to which I admittedly belong). Ultimately, Legend of the Sword Demon is a very insubstantial work and somewhat shallow, lacking the depth present in the manga series. It feels as though the novel is nothing more than tie-in promotional material. Ohsako may be a devoted fan of Blade of the Immortal but Legend of the Sword Demon isn’t long enough nor complex enough to really establish itself as noteworthy. It’s fun in places, but Legend of the Sword Demon is largely forgettable. The real highlight of the volume is Samura’s cover art and the handful of full-page illustrations that he created specifically for the novel. Otherwise, Legend of the Sword Demon is something that most people probably won’t regret passing over.

Blade of the Immortal, Vol. 26: Blizzard

October 16, 2013 by Ash Brown

Creator: Hiroaki Samura
U.S. publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 9781616550981
Released: March 2013
Original release: 2009
Awards: Eisner Award, Japan Media Arts Award

Blizzard is the twenty-sixth volume in the English-language edition of Hiroaki Samura’s long-running, award-winning manga series Blade of the Immortal. Dark Horse originally released Blade of the Immortal by story arc rather than by number of chapters, so the volumes in the English-language release are slightly different from those in the original Japanese edition. Blizzard was published by Dark Horse in 2013 and is equivalent to the twenty-fifth volume of the Japanese series which was released in 2009. Blizzard takes place during the final major story arc of Blade of the Immortal and includes one of the series’ most important climaxes. I consider Blizzard to be a companion volume to the previous collection Snowfall at Dawn which leaves off partway through the battle between Shira and Manji. By the end of Snowfall at Dawn things aren’t looking at all good for Rin and Manji, so I was anxious to read Blizzard.

With Manji and Rin sunk beneath the pond’s freezing surface, Shira returns to the roadside where he left Magatsu incapacitated. Shira is not yet through with Manji, but he wants revenge against the young Ittō-ryū fighter as well and intends on making the most of their chance meeting. Magatsu is surprised to see Shira, too, having previously sent the sadistic killer plummeting from the top of a cliff during their last encounter. Shira once again finds himself interrupted when he is challenged by Meguro, one of Habaki’s shinobi. She has little hope of defeating Shira, especially now that he is semi-immortal, but her attack serves as a distraction. Shira isn’t aware of it, but back at the pond Meguro’s companion Tanpopo is doing all that she can to rescue and revive both Rin and Manji. At this point Manji is the only person who has even a slight chance of stopping Shira, but as Manji’s condition continues to deteriorate his success seems increasingly unlikely.

The beginning of Manji and Shira’s confrontation in Snowfall at Dawn was relatively subdued, focusing more on the psychological aspects of Shira’s attack and less on the physical combat. The conclusion of their battle in Blizzard is what I was really expecting and waiting for from their showdown. With two near immortals battling it out the damage that they inflict on each other is tremendous. Others can only look on astounded at the viciousness and brutality of the bloodbath occurring in front of them. Describing Manji and Shira’s final fight as intense would be putting it very mildly. At times it is difficult to see through all of the blood and guts as the two opponents literally rip each other apart. Samura’s artwork is unflinching and captures the entirety of their exceptionally violent battle as well as its bloody aftermath. Blizzard is extreme and gruesome and even those who make it through to the end of the volume barely survive.

While the duel between Shira and Manji is certainly the focus of Blizzard it isn’t the only important development in Blade of the Immortal to occur in the volume. I was happy to see Tanpopo and Meguro take on a more active role in the series. Up until this point in the manga they have generally been part of the series’ comedic relief–Meguro in particular frequently comes across as rather ditsy–but the women are shown to be quite capable martially in Blizzard. Another important development in the volume has to do with Renzō. His father, a member of the Ittō-ryū, was killed fairly early on by Manji in Blade of the Immortal. Since then Renzō has led a very difficult life, eventually becoming a broken and damaged young man partly due to the abuse he suffered at Shira’s hands and partly because he can’t forgive what happened to his father. His struggle isn’t over, but his story does begin to find a satisfying resolution in Blizzard.

Blade of the Immortal, Volume 25: Snowfall at Dawn

September 13, 2013 by Ash Brown

Creator: Hiroaki Samura
U.S. publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 9781595828835
Released: August 2012
Original release: 2009
Awards: Eisner Award, Japan Media Arts Award

Snowfall at Dawn is the twenty-fifth volume in the English-language release of Hiroaki Samura’s award-winning manga series Blade of the Immortal. Published by Dark Horse in 2012, Snowfall at Dawn collects the same chapters as the twenty-fourth volume of the original Japanese edition of Blade of the Immortal released in 2009. Blade of the Immortal first began serialization in 1993 and has covered a lot of ground since then. Starting as a story of revenge with a touch of the supernatural, the series mixes historical reality with the fantastic and later on even a healthy dose of horror. Snowfall at Dawn is part of the fifth and final major story arc of the series. With morally complex characters, dynamic artwork, and an engaging story, Blade of the Immortal continues to be one of my favorite manga series.

After their daring assault on Edō Castle, Baro Sukezane provides the diversion needed to allow his comrades Magatsu Taito and Anotsu Kagehisa, the leader of the Ittō-ryū sword school, to escape. They aim to rejoin the rest of the Ittō-ryū as quickly as possible while avoiding their pursuers. Among those trying to locate Anotsu are Asano Rin and Manji, her bodyguard and companion. Little do the pair know, but they are also being pursued. Shira, a sadistic murderer who holds a particularly intense grudge against Manji, is steadily getting closer to exacting his revenge. Accompanying Shira is Kawakami Renzō, a broken young man with his own reason for hating Manji. It’s only a matter of time before the four of them meet once again. The encounter is one that Shira has been preparing for and fantasizing about, taking great pleasure in anticipating and contemplating the pain and torment his plans will bring Manji and Rin.

The last few volumes have been building up to the confrontation between Shira and Manji. Unsurprisingly, their battle is the focus of Snowfall at Dawn. What did surprise me, however, is how comparatively tame it is physically when considering the perverse and barbaric nature of Shira’s past exploits and misdeeds. The potential for extreme physical violence between Shira and Manji is great. Shira is an unapologetic and twisted sadist while Manji is a man who is extraordinarily difficult to kill, making him an ideal victim and target. But Shira isn’t only interested in Manji’s physical suffering, he also takes great joy in causing mental anguish. Although there is still plenty of bodily harm and pain inflicted during the battle in Snowfall at Dawn, the psychological impact and agony caused by Shira’s attack on Rin and Manji is just as crucial to the fight. Out of all of the characters in Blade of the Immortal, Shira is easily the most unquestionably villanous and terrifying.

In addition to the showdown between Shira and Manji, Snowfall at Dawn also reveals Shira’s whereabouts during the long prison story arc as well as his involvement in the immortality experiments. Shira may be an utter bastard, but he’s had some unspeakable things done to him as well. As part of this, there is also a lengthy discourse in Snowfall at Dawn about the nature and limitations of Manji’s bizarre regenerative abilities. While vaguely interesting, it is largely unnecessary. Anyone who has been reading Blade of the Immortal should be well aware by this point that Manji’s immortality is imperfect; ample evidence can be found throughout the series. However, Samura hasn’t previously gone into such specific detail about it as he does in Snowfall at Dawn. Unfortunately, he has to interrupt the flow of the story in order to do so. Still, Samura soon returns to what really matters in Snowfall at Dawn–Manji and Shira’s battle, which will reach its conclusion in the next volume, Blizzard.

Blade of the Immortal, Volume 24: Massacre

August 14, 2013 by Ash Brown

Creator: Hiroaki Samura
U.S. publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 9781595827517
Released: October 2011
Original release: 2008
Awards: Eisner Award, Japan Media Arts Award

Massacre is the twenty-fourth volume in the English-language release of Blade of the Immortal, Hiroaki Samura’s long-running manga series. Earlier on in the series’ release, Dark Horse divided the volumes by storyline rather than by number of chapters. Because of this, many of the individual volumes are slightly different in the English-language edition compared to the original Japanese release of Blade of the Immortal. Massacre, published by Dark Horse in 2011, collects the same chapters as the twenty-third volume of the Japanese edition of the series which was released in 2008. At this point, the manga has entered its final major story arc. The previous two volumes, Footsteps and Scarlet Swords, provided the necessary set up which allows Samura to really let loose in Massacre. As can be assumed from the title, it’s a rather bloody volume.

As agreed, the Ittō-ryū is leaving Edō after being banished from the city. However, the rogue sword school is still being chased by Habaki Kagimura and his Rokki-dan warriors as well as by Rin Asano and her bodyguard Manji. But what the pursuers don’t yet realize is that there are key members missing from the group of Ittō-ryū said to be making its way to the port in Hitachi: the sword school’s leader Anotsu Kagehisa and three of its elite fighters–Magatsu Taito, Ozuhan, and Baro Sukezane. The four highly skilled swordsmen have their own task to complete, a bold raid on Edō Castle through one of its most heavily guarded entrances. It’s a brash move that, if successful, will leave quite an impression in its wake, not to mention a high body count. The Ittō-ryū has already been identified as a threat, but they are prepared to show just how dangerous they can be.

Samura’s artwork in Blade of the Immortal has always been something that has particularly appealed to me about the series, but his kinetic style works especially well in Massacre. A large part of the volume is devoted to the daring attack on Edō Castle; the sequence is one of the most effectively choreographed and visually executed battles in Blade of the Immortal thus far. The Ittō-ryū is a group of swordsmen sharing the same ideals and martial philosophy more than it is a strictly enforced style. This can especially be seen in Massacre simply by watching how the Ittō-ryū’s elite fight. They all use different weapons and techniques and each has his own aura. Anotsu’s elegance, Magatsu’s cruder dynamism, Ozuhan’s speed and uninhibited wildness, and Baro’s strength and power are all readily apparent. They fight well as individuals, but also work well together as a team.

Although the focus of Massacre is on the raid of Edō Castle–a quickly paced, action packed, violent, and rather impressive escapade–several other important things happen in the volume as well. For the last few volumes of Blade of the Immortal Shira has been on the fringe of the story, but his prominence is quickly growing. He may have lost a limb or two over the course of Blade of the Immortal but his extreme sadistic streak and penchant for sexual violence remain. Shira is as terrifying as ever. Also making his return to the series was Ayame Burando, which I was surprised but happy to see. He and Manji even end up having a heart-to-heart about atonement and the meaning of evil. These are themes that play a major role in Blade of the Immortal, one of the reasons that I like the series so well. As always, I’m looking forward to reading the next volume, Snowfall at Dawn.

Blade of the Immortal, Volume 8: The Gathering

April 20, 2012 by Ash Brown

Creator: Hiroaki Samura
U.S. publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 9781569715468
Released: August 2001
Original release: 1997-1998
Awards: Eisner Award, Japan Media Arts Award

The Gathering is the eighth volume of the English edition of Hiroaki Samura’s award-winning manga series Blade of the Immortal. Published in 2001 by Dark Horse Comics, The Gathering is most closely equivalent to the seventh volume of the Japanese edition of the series, published in 1997, although it also includes a chapter from the eighth volume which was first released in 1998. Blade of the Immortal has been the recipient of both an Eisner Award and a Japan Media Arts Award. Critically acclaimed in both the East and the West, the series is also one of my personal favorites. The Gathering marks the approach of the end of the second major story arc in Blade of the Immortal. The volume picks up almost immediately after the events in the previous volume, Heart of Darkness. Since there were some pretty major developments in that volume, I was particularly looking forward to reading The Gathering.

After their violent falling out with Shira, Manji and Rin’s tenuous alliance with the Mugai-ryū assassins dissolves. Anotsu has successfully left Edo without being caught and is now well on his way to Kaga and out of the Mugai-ryū’s reach. They do, however, have an idea where Anotsu is heading. But they’re not about to tell Manji without getting something in return. Rin, still determined to pursue Anotsu, realizes that she is the only one who even has a chance of passing through one of Edo’s checkpoints and leaves Manji behind without telling him where she is going. It doesn’t take much for him to figure it out and Manji is ready to do anything it takes to follow her. But to complicate matters further, both Rin and Manji are now wanted for murder. It will be extremely difficult for either of them to leave Edo, let alone find Anotsu.

Rin is no longer as naive as she once was, although this doesn’t stop her from making decisions she knows are foolish. She has seen some terrible things on her path of revenge against Anotsu and it has changed her. The journey has changed Manji as well. He has become more open in showing his concern for Rin. While he has become quite attached to the younger girl and is very protective of her, he is not overprotective. But as soon as she disappears Manji doesn’t hesitate for a moment to try to find her again. It’s been a while since Manji has really let loose in a fight (it’s also been quite some time since he’s really needed to) but he is given ample opportunity to in The Gathering. He is at a distinct advantage because of his near immortality, but this also means he has a lot more pain and suffering in store for him. Still, Manji is able to employ in very dramatic and effective ways techniques and strategies that other swordsmen would only resort to out of desperation (if at all).

While Rin and Manji are attempting to leave Edo, the members of the Mugai-ryū are trying to make the best out of the situation. Manji and the Mugai-ryū may no longer be allies but they are all ready to use one another for their own benefit. Although the assassains’ backgrounds are still mostly a mystery, The Gathering reveals a few more hints about their employers. The assassins may be ruthless and violent, but at least for the moment it’s in their interest that Manji and Rin are alive. On the other hand the Ittō-ryū—Anotsu’s sword school—is itching to take down the man who has single-handedly killed so many of their own. Anotsu has already proven himself to be a formidable opponent, but many of the other members of the Ittō-ryū are crafty and skilled fighters, too. Even if they don’t particularly get along, Manji has given them a common goal for the time being. The Ittō-ryū is most definitely made up of the individuals with their own ways of doing things. The Gathering leaves off in the middle of an intense fight and I’m looking forward to seeing how it concludes in The Gathering, Part II.