The over-all execution was really awesome, flawless, for me. The flow of the film from the black and white to the colored one was superb. I am not a big fan of bloody movies but I am glad I watched this. I am also very glad that they stuck to the manga as best as they can.
If there is one this I feel that is lacking, it is the musical scoring. I don't know if it was as intended but I felt like some scenes would have been more effective with a good background music.
Full review here: https://elijahmaliksmom.wordpress.com/2017/11/14/blade-of-the-immortal/
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I recommend this is you like action samurai movies.
Oh and the sound track at least the closing song I must find it!
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"You're not the only hero with a sad story"
Blade of the Immortal cut through 30 volumes of manga (none of which I’ve read) condensing them into a two-hour movie. Manji, “The Killer of 100,” who was tired of living found a spark of life in helping a young girl avenge the deaths of her parents. The cyclical nature of revenge and the price people pay for it was woven throughout the endless bloody fights.Manji is a wanted man after killing for his lord and then discovering the order was a murder to hide his boss’ illegal actions. Unable to live with that dishonor, he killed his boss and his boss’ bodyguards. After a key death drives him to the edge, he is ready to die after killing 100 men, or at least a lot of men. But death was not found so easily as an ancient crone puts a curse on him. He is destined to live forever with his guilt, assisted by creepy bloodworms that can heal his body, even reattach limbs, an ability that will be used often. After 50 years, a girl named Rin finds him and asks him to help her avenge her parents’ death. A cruel group of assassins led by Anotsu is eliminating traditional dojos in an attempt to become the preeminent martial power. Manji and Rin will face every bad guy, corrupt official, and nutjob in Japan on their path to revenge.
In the 50 years leading up to meeting Rin, Manji must not have touched his swords. Without his miracle worms, he would have died very early in the movie as he was often dominated by baddies with a sword, simply outlasting them. Every few minutes, a member of Anotsu’s crew or a bounty hunter from the Shogun’s Suicide Squad met him on the road or in an alleyway. Arms and legs flew everywhere, including Manji’s. This is not a movie for the squeamish. I had to look away when severed body parts were flung about or when the worms played Florence Nightengale.
The multitude of fights were well choreographed. Manji managed to hide numerous weapons in his clothes (seriously, how big were his pockets?) so that he could show off different skills. I liked Kimura Takuya’s turn at the world-weary warrior searching for a modicum of redemption in protecting Rin. Sugisaki Hana as Rin was stuck with the formulaic female part of running headlong into trouble and mistaking yelling as strength. Even though she’d studied the sword at her father’s dojo, Rin was completely inept with it. Fukushi Sota’s Anotsu was pretty though not nearly menacing enough. Anotsu and Rin’s interactions illustrated how revenge begets revenge which begets another cycle of revenge.
The continual parade of new bad guys to fight began to wear thin. At one point it became humorous when Manji was fighting an army, Anotsu, and then another villain showed up to confront him! Even as a fan of samurai movies, 140 minutes of nearly continuous hacking and blood spewing of random soldiers and villain cameos became monotonous. Despite these reservations, I did enjoy Blade of the Immortal. The movie was well shot and acted with only the severed bodies "disarming".
16 March 2025
Warning: So many body parts
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So, I liked the action scenes, as there were plenty. The blood bath was okay, but, after a while, watching the fiftieth hand in the movie drop on the ground, you get a bit bored. The story overall was good as well and I liked the relationship between the two leads. In addition, the sword fights were well managed, but the cinematography could have been better.
So, six and a half out of ten.
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This review may contain spoilers
Manji The Killer of 100 In The Flesh!
Takashi Miike's 100th film is based on a seinen manga by Hiroaki Samura about an immortal samurai who must kill 1000 evil men to gain redemption. I suppose it's understandable that those who are unfamiliar with the manga might compare it with Logan. There are certainly some similarities with Manji having lived long enough to become weary of killing and finding a new purpose to go on. Not to mention, his ability to heal wounds is very Wolverine-like. But the similarities end there. This is a story of revenge much like Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, but it's also about a man struggling to find a semblance of redemption before he finally succumbs to death. It's not as good as the manga, unfortunately, but it does well in bringing the characters to life and Miike is not shy about showing the brutalities the manga is known for. The movie lacks proper character development for the minor characters, including its main villain, but it's understandable considering this was based on a manga series consisting of hundreds of chapters that spanned years in the making. You can only do so much with a little over two hours of run time. I never would have imagined Takuya Kimura for the role but I had totally forgotten that I was seeing a former boy band member and thought only of Manji the Killer of 100. He was almost unrecognizable in the role. The fight scenes are well-choreographed and executed. There are no over-the-top wuxia-like flying or frantic sword fighting that made the Rurouni Kenshin movies so popular. But it does boast of nearly realistic sword play that you find in samurai films of old combined with Kill Bill-type of bloody fights, which make the film better in my opinion. Sorry Kenshin but Manji is the shit! Just try killing this dude, you can cut off his limbs, even his head and he can still re-attach them! Fans of Japanese cinema might find more than one familiar face in cameos and small roles. I just wish this was turned into a series instead of a movie so the characters can be fully fleshed out and Manji's immortality could be properly addressed. But on the bright side, there's room for a sequel or sequels. As samurai films go, I'd give this a 7.5. Highly enjoyable, great lead character and well-crafted fight sequences that make you cringe with all the blood and gore. It's certainly a win for Takashi Miike.Was this review helpful to you?
