It was a manga series by Hiroaki Samura. And last summer their was a news that a anime adaptation will be made by same series and on July 13 it was first aired in japan.
Blade of the Immortal follows the deeds of Manji, a skilled samurai who has a decisive advantage: no wound can kill him, except for a rare poison. In the past, his criminal actions led to the death of 100 other samurai (including his sister's husband). He becomes immortal at the hand of a 800-year-old nun named Yaobikuni, and is compelled by the death of his sister to accept the quest that will end his agelessness. He has vowed to make amends by killing 1000 evil men, and until he does Manji will be kept alive by "sacred bloodworms" (血仙蟲 kessen-chū), remarkable creatures that allow him to survive nearly any injury and reattach severed limbs even after hours of separation. They work by sacrificing themselves to seal the wound - they're worms that were bred to be as close in their chemical and physical make-up to humans as you can get without being human. They cannot handle regrowth on a large scale, but, for example, can reattach a severed limb or seal a hole in the brain.
Manji crosses paths with a young girl named Asano Rin and promises to help her avenge her parents, who were killed by a cadre of master swordsmen led by 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.
In addition, another group calling itself the Mugai-ryū has emerged, in opposition to the Ittō-ryū. Its true leadership and motives are initially a mystery, but its methods (any tactics that leads to victory) resemble those of the Ittō-ryū. They try to enlist Manji's help as they seem to want the same thing. Eventually Manji joins but quickly pulls out after he finds out a member, Shira, is way too sadistic for his tastes. After a while Manji finally discovers that the Mugai-ryū work for the government. They are all death row inmates who are allowed to live only if they serve the shogunate . While Manji and Shira quickly grow to hate each other, after Shira runs off, Manji remains on friendly terms with the other members of the group.
In a broader context, the series covers the effects of death and the consequences of not being able to die, as well as the meanings behind living. Most of the principal characters have some sort of purpose which they inexplicably discover through the events that transpire.
Main Characters
Manji
Rin Asano
Maki
ManjiManji (卍 Manji): The immortal referred to in the title. While not lazy, he is very laid-back, often seen sleeping. Manji also has a strange sense of "honour" that is in many ways similar to the fighting-ethic of the Itto-Ryu. The fallen samurai Manji served the Hatamoto Horii Shigenobu, a local daimyō, enforcing his brutal rule (unknowingly) on the local populace until he found out his lord was corrupt and killed him. For that he was considered an outlaw and hunted down by the same daimyō clan, achieving the nicknam e "Killer of 100" after the body count. He planned to flee to his sister's house even though she had married an officer of the law, Saitō Tat sumasa. Manji ended up killing his sister's husband out of self-defense when he attacked Manji. His sister witnessed her husband's death at the hands of her brother and went insane, reverting to a child-like mindset. Manji settled down to take care of her. At some point during this time, he met Yaobikuni (her name literally means "n un of eight hundred years"), a mysterious nun, who gave him the kessen-chu, or sacred bloodworms that make him immortal. Despite the obvious advantages of being nearly invincible, Manji dislikes being immortal.
He tries to get Yaobikuni to remove the kessen-chu, finally making a deal with her. He has to kill 1000 bad men, to make up for the 100 good men he killed, if he does this Yaobikuni will rid him of his immortality. It's worth noting, one reason he doesn't like being immortal is he feels it is making his swordsmanship rusty, because he d oesn't have to be as good to win. After his sister is killed (due to a revenge for his actions) he met Rin, whom he accepted to help since he felt she was very much alike to his deceased sister. Manji is constantly trying to make amends for his past actions: he kills his lord to atone for those he killed on the Damiyo's orders; looked after his sister to atone for the deaths of the one hundred cops he killed; and makes the deal to kill one thousand bad men and to look after Rin to make amends for the death of his sister; he takes his role as he r protector/surrogate older-brother seriously. However each time Manji tries to do something "good", he tends to only make the situation worse (the death of his lord leading to the deaths of one hundred cops, for example). He uses many weapons, a good number of which came from defeated opponents. His two short, hooked swords are named Shidō (four paths). His two standard swords are named Imo-no-Kami Tatsumasa (Sister D efender Tatsumasa). His two chained scythes have no name. His double bladed sword-breaker is named Kotengu (Little devil). He first appears in Criminal.
He tries to get Yaobikuni to remove the kessen-chu, finally making a deal with her. He has to kill 1000 bad men, to make up for the 100 good men he killed, if he does this Yaobikuni will rid him of his immortality. It's worth noting, one reason he doesn't like being immortal is he feels it is making his swordsmanship rusty, because he d oesn't have to be as good to win. After his sister is killed (due to a revenge for his actions) he met Rin, whom he accepted to help since he felt she was very much alike to his deceased sister. Manji is constantly trying to make amends for his past actions: he kills his lord to atone for those he killed on the Damiyo's orders; looked after his sister to atone for the deaths of the one hundred cops he killed; and makes the deal to kill one thousand bad men and to look after Rin to make amends for the death of his sister; he takes his role as he r protector/surrogate older-brother seriously. However each time Manji tries to do something "good", he tends to only make the situation worse (the death of his lord leading to the deaths of one hundred cops, for example). He uses many weapons, a good number of which came from defeated opponents. His two short, hooked swords are named Shidō (four paths). His two standard swords are named Imo-no-Kami Tatsumasa (Sister D efender Tatsumasa). His two chained scythes have no name. His double bladed sword-breaker is named Kotengu (Little devil). He first appears in Criminal.
Rin AsanoRin Asano (浅野 凛 Asano Rin): The sole survivor of an Ittō-ryū massacre at Anotsu's hand and heir to her father's sword school, the "Mutenichi-ryū". She has mediocre swordsmanship skills but an intense desire to avenge the brutal death of her family. At the beginning of the series is she portrayed as somebody who is trying to act mature, but is still very childish - as the series progresses she steadily "grows up" and los es much of her naivety. She hires Manji as her bodyguard in this quest. However, it's not as simple as that - Rin is constantly torn by doubt over the righteousness and validity of her mission and fears becoming a hypocrite as Anotsu claims she is m ore like the Ittō-ryū, especially when he remarks she chooses to use throwing knives instead of a sword like the "Mutenichi-ryū" teaches. She comes into contact with Anotsu at one point, but his claim that she is becoming more and more like the Ittō-ryū as she progresses down the path of revenge causes her even more doubt. When she finally encounters Anotsu in Kaga, she realizes she cannot defeat him and winds up travelling with him in hopes of catching his guard down. Anotsu is no fool and is fully aware of what she is doing, despite this he allows her presence. She has since left his company, vowing that she will eventually kill him; yet she will stand back for the time being and watch how the events unfold. It is also worth noting that she kisses a sleeping Manji in the fourteenth volume, Last Blood, and has shown on numerous occasions her developing feelings towards him. They are as of now largely unreciprocated. She has three weapons, a Chinese sword named Kutoneshirika which she carries in a Toju (purse-like scabbard of sorts), a Tantō type dagger and a set of small throwing daggers named Ogunchu (Golden Wasps). Even though she is o nly mediocre in terms of fighting ability, Rin is still more skilled with weapons than most women of that time period and the fact that she carries a small arsenal of weapons with her makes her somewhat unique. She first appears in Conquest part 1.
Anotsu
Ittō-ryū
AnotsuKagehisa Anotsu (天津 影久 Anotsu Kagehisa) : Leader of the Ittō-ryū and equal of Manji. This emotionally cold young man has prodigious skill with the sword, and leads the Ittō-ryū in order to form a dōjō dedicated not to form and rules, but to th e simple test of superior lethality. Brought up by an abusive grandfather (a swordsman disgraced by the Asano dōjō), Anotsu is as pragmatic and shrewd as he is deadly. He isn't as inhuman as originally believed, as he even allows Rin to live after she attacks him; even letting her follow him everywhere. While painted as the "villain" of the series at the start, he has had many scenes devoted to making the reader sympathetic to his views and goals. Is currently at "war" with Habaki Kagimura, the leader of the Banshu. He has two weapons. The first, his main weapon, is a Nepalese-based axe named Kabutsuchi (Head Hammer). The other is his rarely used sword of the same name. It is not much of a backup weapon, as even Rin referred to it as "pathetic" in Last Blood part 4. First appears in Conquest part 1.
Taito Magatsu (凶 戴斗 Magatsu Taito) : Among t he Ittō-ryū's finest swordsmen. Of peasant origin, he became a swordsman to avenge his sister, who was killed as a child by a samurai. Taito is one of the few swordsmen who has fought Manji and survived. He has also fought by Manji's side as well. He can be considered a kenshi, a swordsman who is not from the samurai class. His lover of sorts, a prostitute named O-ren was killed by Shira. He quit the Ittō-ryū, although he is still friends with Anotsu. He ends up following Manji around due to the fact he knows Shira is after Manji. Although they argue a lot, Manji and Taito have a relatively friendly relationship. In the end Manji allows Taito to find Shira, and despite how much Shira wants to kill Manji, he lets Taito tak e him. Eventually Shira loses the one hand he had left to Taito and presumably falls to his death. Later concerned by something Shira said, Taito goes to meet up with Anotsu and eventually rejoins the Ittō-ryū. Taito's weapon is a gladius-like triple-sectioned sword named Grand Turk. The main blade is a gladius, the second is a smaller, s horter sword hidden in the handle, the last is a spear-head like dagger hidden within the second blade. The sword is curiously missing a sword guard. First appears in Conquest part 1, first named in Fanatic part 1.
MakiMakie Otono-Tachibana (乙橘 槙絵 Otono-Tachibana Makie) : Master swordswoman and in love with Anotsu. Said to be Anotsu's match and saved his li fe with her deadly abilities when they were children. Born into a samurai family, Makie and her mother were disowned and cast away from the family by her father, Harukawa, when Makie's older brother committed seppuku after Makie was revealed to have inherited the family's famed talent and he was unable to defeat her in combat. She initially chose the path of the sword to avenge her mother's disgrace, but ended up becoming a geisha when Anotsu bought her freedom because she neither had the nerve to become a prostitute like her mother nor commit herself completely to becoming a swordfighter because she does not have the nerve to kill when her concentration in battle is broken. Defeats but does not kill Manji, apparently turning her back on Anotsu. Later found living alone, having bound her hand in an attempt to de stroy her own skill in combat after her father's humiliating death. She reappears in Last Blood, having followed Anotsu since he left Shirakawa when she realized his body was weakening, and destroys the men under Iriya who were pursuing Anotsu. After Iriya's death, she leaves with Anotsu and Magatsu. As said by Anotsu, she is the only one that can beat him other than Manji. Her weapon, a double bladed three-section-staff, is named Haru-no-Okina (Old Man of Spring). She conceals her weapon in a hollowed-out shamisen, a mandolin-like instrument. She first appears in Dreamsong Part 1.
Mugai-ryū
Hyakurin
Shira
Shira (尸良 Shira?): A cold-blooded killer in the Mugai-ryū. He's responsible for the death of Magatsu Taito's close friend, O-Ren. Shira's a sadistic psychopath who derives sexual pleasure in the torture and murder of his victims, particularly young women. After an attempt to ambush Anotsu goes horribly wrong and he tries to take it out on his attackers. He uses the saw-blade side of his sword to hack of some of their limbs, and then tries to rape a prostitute that was with them while cutting her up at the same time. Rin tries to stop him but is slapped away, Manji arrives and manages to take off Shira's hand before he runs off. Following this incident he cuts some flesh from his injured arm, and sharpens the bones into spikes. His hair turns stark white due to the trauma he caused himself. He develops an obsession with revenge on Manji which leads to him betraying his Mugai-ryū comrades, causing the death of Shinriji. Later, his quest for revenge against Manji leads to a battle with Magatsu Taito, who was traveling with Manji specifically so he could find Shira. This battle further cripples him with in the loss of his remaining hand. Recently he's been shown to be imprisoned in the same prison Manji is currently being held in, and has been set parameters/lists as to whom he shall face before being allowed to fight Manji (this list includes Magatsu). He also states that he has since lost one eye, and has a new "weapon" of sorts. This new weapon is actually Manji's lost arm. He now has the bloodworms as well. He uses a ninja-to sword, with a saw edge on one side of the blade. He usually uses the regular side to immobilize opponents by cutting off their legs, and then uses the saw-blade to cut off other parts of the body and cause maximum pain. This sword is named "Hotosogi" or woman shadow eraser. However, there is a second meaning for "Hotosogi" which also fits Shira's sadistic nature; when the kanji for woman and shadow are used together they become vagina. He first appears in Dark Shadows part 2 and is first named in Dark Shadows part 3.
i will say that the characters here are much alike in the manga but i like the manga version of the characters than the anime. :D
well that is all for now, i will research more about this anime and put more info in this series in the future.
Source:wikipedia.org , http://mugen.kc.kodansha.co.jp/
Hyakurin (百淋 Hyakurin): A female assassin and a lieutenant in the Mugai-ryū. Hyakurin was the wife of an abusive samurai, Hayakawa Kakōsai Genkei, who was obsessed with trying to gain fame by training Matsuhiko, their sickly son, to become a strong swordsman. She later kills her husband to avenge the death of her son by his father's hand and is then arrested and sentenced to death. Her case came to the attention of Kagimura who subsequently recruited her into Mugai-ryū. Hyakurin's most unusual physical trait is her blonde hair (concealed frequently under a wig), which she maintains by bleaching it with a strong chemical as a compulsive desire to remove bloodstains from it. While her skills with a sword are unremarkable, she has an extensive knowledge of poisons. This knowledge carries over into her choice of weaponry, a collapsible wrist mounted crossbow with poisoned bolts named Burafuma (Little Steps). The crossbow also possesses two blades such that when the weapon is collapsed, Hyakurin can use it to stab her opponents. After volume 11, Beasts, her skills are impeded after having her arm broken. She later becomes pregnant and ends up "retired" from the Mugai-ryū because a deal between Habaki and Giichi when Giichi earns his freedom. She has no desire to keep the child because she believes she will be reminded of Shinriji's death and the faces of the Ittō-ryū men who raped her. She first appears in Dark Shadows part 1.
Shirai will say that the characters here are much alike in the manga but i like the manga version of the characters than the anime. :D
well that is all for now, i will research more about this anime and put more info in this series in the future.
Source:wikipedia.org , http://mugen.kc.kodansha.co.jp/
