If you are a true anime aficionado, then you have probably heard of the series Blade of the Immortal. For those who are faint of heart, we warn you right now that this is quite a gory and violent series. And if that sounds good and you enjoy the samurai genre, then this is right up your alley. So step right up!
A new series is now up on Amazon Prime, with the first two episodes available to watch. Right off the bat, we have to say that this is a visually beautiful looking anime, which isn’t surprising, as it’s from Linden Films, who also made the 2016 adaptation of Berserk. So, we give a big thumbs up right there. In fact, check out the trailer below for a sneak peek of the series to get a feel for it.
The story follows a samurai known as Manji who has been cursed with immortality due to his criminal actions that led to the death of 100 other samurai, including his sister’s husband. To lift the curse, he must kill 1,000 evil men. It’s during his travels that he ends up meeting a young woman by the name of Rin, who he ends up agreeing to aid in avenging the death of her parents.
The original manga series is by Hiroaki Samura and it’s known for amazing fight scenes that are artfully illustrated. The way the violence is depicted in its pages is just beautifully brutal and the anime adaptation does it justice.
This isn’t the first time Blade of the Immortal was adapted since the release of the manga in 1993. The first anime series came about from Bee Train Production and Production I.G. and there was also a live-action film from director Takashi Miike in 2017 (which was super gory). Dark Horse Comics also licensed the manga, which has been quite popular.
From what we have heard, this new series will be based much more like its original manga series. It’s directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki, with Makoto Fukami on series composition, Shingo Ogiso on character design, and Eiko Ishibashi composing the music. The Japanese musician and singer-songwriter Kiyoharu Mori performed the opening theme entitled Survive of Vision.
After watching these two episodes, we can sure tell you that we are excited to watch the rest of it. This is definitely on the list of our must-watch anime series of the fall/winter 2019 season. Let us know what you think of it!
Blade of the Immortal is available for viewing on the Netflix streaming platform.