Act Thirteen – Twilight

After episode 12, I wasn’t sure what direction Blade of the Immortal was going to head in. But with episode 13 it’s becoming clear. Most of the series so far had to do with Manji and Rin in their battle against the Itto-Ryu, but now the Mugai-Ryu have officially entered into the fray.

Yes, the Mugai-Ryu have been around and have been opposing the Itto-Ryu, but with this episode the focus of the series really seems to shift to the struggle between these two organizations. We’ve learned a little more about the Itto-Ryu, and before now the Mugai-Ryu was almost entirely unknown to us.

So today I’ll be going through all the new information we received about both the Itto-Ryu and Mugai-Ryu, as well as Manji. That’s right, we also got some new information about Manji, and it actually seems to be pretty important information.

Not only can we get a rough estimate for his skill level compared to the other swordsmen in the series, but we can also begin to build a real timeline surrounding his immortality. All we knew about his age up until now is that he wasn’t nearly as old as the other immortal we previously met who was a couple hundred years in age.

Itto-Ryu in Hiding

The big thing that happened with the Itto-Ryu is that their forces were decimated by a mere two members of the Mugai-Ryu. Everyone except the old man and one other person who happened to go to the bathroom was slaughtered.

In his meeting with the remaining members of the organization, Kagehisa mentions that this is a much larger loss than it at first seems. Nine of those who were killed were the leaders of various dojo spread across the land. So with them gone, the Itto-Ryu’s hold on power has been severely weakened.

While the older man whose name I don’t remember was definitely in the meeting, it’s not clear if the younger man who was also shown to be there was. It sounded like he arrived afterwards and wasn’t initially a part of the meeting despite still being a member of the Itto-Ryu.

But what’s interesting is that the older man already knew who the attackers were even though he was out of the room at the time. He assumed there were only two attackers, and that one of them was Kagimura Habaki — someone we had previously seen, but who was never named.

We later learn Kagimura is the leader of the Mugai-Ryu, and that just leads to further questions. If the Itto-Ryu already knew about him, then why did they think someone by the name of Akagi was the leader? I’m starting to think the older man is manipulating both the Itto-Ryu and Mugai-Ryu into fighting one another.

Also, Kagehisa’s meeting doesn’t seem to include all of the remaining Itto-Ryu members. Makie isn’t present, but we know she’s still one of his followers.

Origins of the Mugai-Ryu

The origins of the Mugai-Ryu have been mentioned and hinted at a few times since their introduction into the series. However, exactly what the organization was hadn’t been explicitly explained until this point. They’re a group of former criminals who are controlled by the shogunate as a pseudo police force.

So for example, we know that Hyakurin killed her husband and was then sentenced to death. However, she was spared execution and instead became a member of the Mugai-Ryu. It’s now clear exactly how the organization was able to give her a stay of execution — they’re run by the shogunate.

The shogunate itself can’t really deal with all the various criminals around Japan, which is why they have this organization. The Mugai-Ryu is basically slave labor which the shogunate uses for the most dangerous covert missions. And while they aren’t really slaves, they might as well be considering the alternative to joining is death.

In a previous episode there was also talk of being able to buy your way out of the Mugai-Ryo, but it seemed like Kagimura dispelled that idea as a mere rumor in this episode. He says something along the lines of, even if you were to buy your freedom, there’s no place for a criminal in society.

The best outcome as far as the shogunate is concerned is for the members of both organizations to take each other out. That way the Itto-Ryu will be gone, and the criminals of the Mugai-Ryu will have their executions while also helping out the government.

Manji vs. 100

And as much as I enjoyed learning about the background of the Mugai-Ryu, Manji’s background is much more interesting. Kagimura himself wants to meet Manji and sends Giichi to bring him in. There’s not much to say about the following fight other than that Manji won against Giichi by technicality.

The interesting stuff comes when Manji and Kagimura actually meet. Kagimura wanted to confirm Manji’s immortality, but apparently not so that he could recruit him. It seems like Kagimura instead plans to learn the secret of Manji’s immortality so that he can wield it on behalf of the shogunate.

Up until this point, Manji was allowed to roam free because the shogunate saw his fighting against the Itto-Ryu as helpful. But it’s come to a point where they’d like to cut out the middle man, so to speak, and have immortality themselves.

However, even if Manji knows exactly how he received his immortality, he’s not saying. What he does say is that his killing of 100 men happened before he was immortal, which shows that he does have exceptional sword skills despite how we typically see him fight.

And Kagimura mentions that nine of his own men were among those 100 killed by Manji. This gives us a rough estimate for Manji’s age. Kagimura isn’t that old, maybe 60 at the latest, so we can assume Manji killed his men within the past 10 or 20 years. And Manji wasn’t immortal at that point.

So with that in mind, Manji has probably been immortal for about 5 to 10 years, and while we still don’t really know his age, I’ll say he’s between 40 and 50. Based on his appearance I’d say his pre-immortality age was like 35 to 45.

Conclusion

What do you think of Blade of the Immortal episode 13? Do you think the old man of the Itto-Ryu is actually a traitor? Do you think Giichi will make it out of the Mugai-Ryu alive? I don’t. And how old do you think Manji is based on this new information? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And, come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN and CaptainRainbowPizza for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika and Sensei tiers respectively this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the series as a whole is available here.

Act Twelve – Blood of Finality

Now that we’re officially halfway through Blade of the Immortal, it doesn’t really feel like this is a two cour series. Obviously the series didn’t end with this episode, but at the same time I have no idea where it’s going to go from here.

Sure, there’s going to be a lot more stuff with the Itto-Ryu, and Kagehisa, Taito, and Makie are all back together, but I would have been fine with a one cour series. I know it wouldn’t have told the entire story, and that fans of the manga would probably be upset, but still.

Or, maybe this is one of those few series which would actually benefit from being broken into multiple seasons. Rather than a single, two cour season, would you prefer if this anime was broken into two, one cour seasons? I think a break in the middle of the series might actually do a lot of good here.

Maybe it isn’t feeling this way to you, but for me, this series is starting to stretch on. I felt the same way about Dororo, but I’m glad I stuck with that series until the end. It’s not like I’m going to drop Blade of the Immortal, but I do think a break would help freshen the series up — and I don’t mean the one week break we’re probably about to get.

Rin and Kagehisa’s Adventure

Just as Manji and Taito had their little adventure, this time around we get an adventure with Rin and Kagehisa — not exactly a pair you would picture together. What I gather from this whole adventure is that Rin isn’t a very emotionally strong person.

She puts on a brave face most of the time, but as we even see at the end of the episode when she begs Manji to save her, that’s not who she really is. However, even before that point there were signs of this throughout the episode, most notably her following Kagehisa on his travel.

Once she realizes that Kagehisa is sick with tetanus, she uses that as an excuse not to kill him. She claims that when she kills him, she wants it to be when he’s healthy. This is her way of attempting to seem like she’s an honorable swordswoman, but that’s not actually the case.

What about before she noticed that Kagehisa was sick? She didn’t exactly try to kill him. And why didn’t she try? Because she’s afraid of what would happen if she succeeded. What would she have left in life if Kagehisa was dead? She would have nowhere to turn her anger other than towards herself.

Also, after traveling on her own for a while, it seems like she desperately wants a man, or anyone I guess, as a companion. Without Manji she realizes how alone she is, and she’s willing to cling to anyone, even Kagehisa, if it means not being alone. It’s almost like a form of Stockholm syndrome.

Finally, Rin allows Kagehisa to walk away at the end of the episode. Again, she makes some speech about defeating him with her own hands once he’s back at full strength. But, this really sounds like another empty promise/threat.

Itto-Ryu Meeting

Although it was a short scene, I feel like I need to discuss the Itto-Ryu meeting we saw. There appeared to be a lot of Itto-Ryu members, there, but the only one I really recognized was the older man. I’m pretty sure this is the same guy who killed Kagehisa’s father and then swore allegiance to Kagehisa.

Also, of significant note is that Kagehisa himself wasn’t present — he’s off in Kaga with Rin. But we are told that he was originally supposed to be at this meeting, so I don’t think there’s a coup happening among the Itto-Ryu. It’s not like these members are having a secret meeting without Kagehisa.

Another thing to point out is that it’s not solely an Itto-Ryu meeting. They’re meeting with another group, but it’s unclear exactly what group this is. Are they with the shogunate? I think the one younger guy we see returning to the meeting room is the Mugai-Ryu mole, so are they who’s meeting with the Itto-Ryu?

Regardless of who the Itto-Ryu are meeting with, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to end well for them. There appears to be some sort of plan to catch them off guard 30 minutes after we last see them. Whether this is to arrest them or straight up kill them is unclear.

However, my prediction is that this ambush isn’t going to go quite as planned. I’m guessing most of these random Itto-Ryu are going to be killed, but the older man, whatever his name is, isn’t going to be one of them. This is probably where we’ll get to see just how strong he is as a true introduction of his character into the story.

The Gang’s All Here

The ending of the episode was exciting just because we got to see a couple of the major characters all reunited. Of course, Kagehisa and Rin were already present, but then Manji shows up and the party really begins. Then Taito shows up, and after him comes Makie.

I really wasn’t expecting to see Makie make a comeback in the story since she had given up fighting. But it seems old habits die hard. Also, I still think she’s probably the strongest character we’ve seen so far — and that includes Kagehisa when he doesn’t have tetanus.

It was interesting to see Rin, Manji, Taito, Makie, and Kagehisa all fighting on the same side. The lines are continuing to blur between good and evil. We previously learned that Makie and Taito aren’t bad people, but what does this mean about Kagehisa considering they’re so devoted to him?

And the fact that Rin and Manji also fight alongside them is significant. Despite Kagehisa being their ultimate enemy, they’re able to put aside their differences. So where exactly is this series going?

I don’t see Taito and Makie being killed by Manji and Rin, but I also don’t see them allowing Kagehisa to be killed. So will the series end with Kagehisa still alive? Will Rin forgive him? Now that they’ve become — albeit temporary — allies, what direction is the story going to take?

Conclusion

What did you think of Blade of the Immortal episode 12? Do you think this series should be split into two seasons instead of two cours? Do you think Rin is ever actually going to kill Kagehisa? And, what do you think is going to come of the Itto-Ryu meeting? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And, come join us on Discord if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN and CaptainRainbowPizza for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika and Sensei tiers respectively this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.

Act Eleven – Fall Frost

If you’re a fan of action in your action anime, then episode 11 of Blade of the Immortal may be what you’ve been waiting for. I won’t say this episode included the best action I’ve ever seen, but the fight between Taito and Shira was probably the best one of the series so far.

Though, I did also like that fight between Manji and the swordswoman of the Itto-Ryu from earlier in the series. I think her name was Makie. That fight was good because it showed just how far someone like Manji still has to go despite being immortal. If he can’t even defeat Makie, then how could he possibly defeat Kagehisa?

And while I will be discussing the fight between Taito and Shira later in this review, I just want to take a look at Shira for now. Last time we saw him he had white hair like he does now, but that wasn’t the case before then. Originally he had black hair. So what happened over the past month to change it?

Well, it’s revealed that no, his hair didn’t turn white simply because his arm was cut off by Manji. And no, he didn’t dye it white either to symbolize his need for vengeance. Instead, his hair turned white due to what’s essentially a self-inflicted wound.

Rather than bandaging up where Manji severed his forearm, Shira apparently made it worse by cutting away the flesh leading up to the injury. He then sharpened the bones protruding from his arm into two points and reinforced them with a brace. Why did he do this? Because he’s officially gone insane.

Manji and Taito

Unfortunately, this episode appears to mark the end of Manji and Taito’s grand adventure together. During his fight with Shira, Taito learns that Kagehisa is in Kaga and may get attacked. Though it’s not entirely clear if Taito knows that it’s Manji and Rin doing the attacking.

He does mention that if the two of them ever cross paths again, they’ll probably be on opposite sides. And this is what I find strange.

Taito clearly knows that Manji and Rin are anti Itto-Ryu, and he knows that the two of them are traveling to Kaga. So did he not know why they were traveling to Kaga? It seems like that’s something which would have come up, but Taito genuinely didn’t appear to know that Kagehisa was there.

But I am sad to see Manji and Taito part ways. I enjoyed their dynamic considering they’re both basically the same person. I pointed that out last week, and Manji even commented on it this week. He said something along the lines of talking to Taito is like talking to a mirror.

They even support each other despite being on opposite sides of the whole Itto-Ryo thing. Manji sets up the perfect situation for Taito to get his revenge on Shira and then leaves him to his business. And after Taito learns about the danger Kagehisa is in, he doesn’t attempt to stop Manji.

Their respect for each other is pretty obvious, and I think it extends beyond the respect between swordsmen. They’ve become friends.

Taito vs. Shira

Now that I think about this fight more, I don’t really have much to say about the fight itself. We got some neat scenes, like Taito and Shira stabbing each other through the wooden wall, and when Taito kills Shira in the end. But aside from that, the draw of this fight for me was what it was about.

Taito is fighting for the honor of his slain girlfriend, and Shira is essentially fighting for his own honor.

Through the fight, and the conversations between these two, we also get a bit of insight into their minds, which is always interesting. For Taito, we see that he didn’t really understand his relationship with his girlfriend (I forget her name) until she was gone. In fact, she was never actually his girlfriend, though I’m sure he sees her that way now.

But as much as I like Taito as a character, Shira’s motivations are much more interesting. We actually learn that he’s not necessarily just some bloodthirsty killer — he’s a psychopathic serial killer.

Yes, he kills a lot of random people, but so do a lot of others in this series. That’s not really what makes him a serial killer, that’s almost like his profession. What makes him a serial killer is that there are certain people he kills in a very specific way which he gets off on. And these aren’t people he felt he needed to kill for his work.

Taito’s girlfriend was one of five victims who Shira killed in this way. So what Shira is really fighting for is to preserve his way of life. He needs to kill Taito in order to tie up the loose end left by his latest victim.

Manji’s Immortality

The final thing I want to mention regarding this episode is Manji’s immortality. I’ll be brief because we’ve already discussed this in previous episode reviews, but there’s some new-ish information this time around.

We know that Manji can’t be killed by having his limbs severed. We also know that he can be killed if his head is severed, or if all of his limbs are severed with no way of reattaching them. This time around we find that he can also survive being shot in the head with an arrow.

Perhaps you thought about this possibility before, but I actually hadn’t. I figured that it was possible for him to die of blood loss if his limbs or head were unable to be attached. But I hadn’t considered that perhaps direct damage to his brain could kill him as well.

I mean, we now know it can’t but I just found it interesting because it would make sense if that was one of his weaknesses. If decapitation is a valid way to kill him, it stands to reason that a direct puncture of the brain could do it too.

But I think the reason that this doesn’t work on Manji is because it’s the blood loss that kills him, not the fact that his brain gets disconnected from his body if he’s decapitated. As long as a third party reattaches his head, I don’t think decapitation would kill him either.

It’s the special worms in his blood which keep him alive, so if he loses too many of them, that’s what kills him.

Conclusion

So what do you think about Blade of the Immortal episode 11? Did you like the fight between Taito and Shira? Do you think Taito and Manji will ever travel together again? Or will they only meet in combat? And, are there any other ways you think Manji can be killed? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join us on Discord if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN and CaptainRainbowPizza for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika and Sensei tiers respectively. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.

Act Ten – Animal

Today’s Blade of the Immortal review is going to focus on side characters. We don’t really see much of Manji in this episode, and the only shots we get of Rin involve her fishing for crayfish or something. But, there are two things regarding the two of them I do want to mention before getting into everything else.

Last week we saw just how far Rin was willing to go in order to cross the border into Kaga in pursuit of Kagehisa. However, this week we learned that she didn’t actually have to do that, and that Manji could have gone with her. A man, who I believe was Rin’s instructor, reveals that he can actually get border passes relatively easily. Whoops.

The other thing I want to mention is that apparently, while the Mugai-Ryu knew Kagehisa was traveling to Kaga for something, they didn’t yet know where he was traveling to in Kaga. So basically they sent Rin into Kaga without any idea of where to find Kagehisa. Yeah, that doesn’t sound like a very good plan to me either.

Taito Magatsu

I mentioned this in a previous episode review, though I’m not sure which one and I’m not going to go back and check, but it seems that Taito and Manji are going to team up. Is Blade of the Immortal about to become Samurai Champloo? Rin is Fuu, Manji is Jin (I guess), and Taito is Mugen.

I’m honestly extremely okay with that development because I think Taito is an interesting character. However, I also would have liked to see the series follow him separately from Manji and Rin. Sort of like how Naruto Shippūden follows Sasuke separately from Naruto & the gang for most of the series.

Sure, both Rin and Manji are also seeking revenge just like Taito is, but Taito’s story so far is a bit different from theirs. He was initially one of the bad guys, and still is to an extent. He’s more like a rogue now, who’s willing to side with whoever will help him accomplish his short term goal of killing Shira.

But now that Taito has join Manji, it made me think about how we might see their dynamic play out. Both of them seem to be pretty hard-headed, but laid back at the same time. They clearly aren’t two people who could ever really get along even though they probably understand exactly how the other feels.

There’s also the fact that Manji is “immortal,” while Taito is not. Is this difference between the two of them going to come into play at some point considering how similar they are otherwise? I was thinking that Taito might actually sacrifice himself for Manji, despite the fact that Manji is immortal.

That could be an interesting way to show that Taito has come to respect Manji after their travels together, but who knows.

Hyakurin and Shinriji

The main focus of this episode is on the Mugai-Ryu pair of Hyakurin and Shinriji. We already knew these two were partners in the organization, but aside from that we didn’t really know all that much about them. Well, except that Hyakurin used to have a family, but I’ll get to that shortly.

Let’s first go over Shinriji, because (spoilers) he’s the one of the two who dies in this episode. Shinriji has a crush on Hyakurin, which is obvious by the fact that he asked her to settle down and start a household with him — after they’re no longer wanted criminals, of course.

We also learn that his crush initially stemmed from the fact that Hyakurin reminded Shinriji of his mother — specifically her hair color. This makes the fact that he has a crush on her a bit weirder, but whatever, you do you, Shinriji.

It’s also implied that at some point the pair had a choice: they could either join the Mugai-Ryu as criminals, or they could perform assassinations for the government to pay off their crimes. They both chose the Mugai-Ryu for whatever reason.

Now, as for Hyakurin, we don’t know exactly why she was given this choice at all, but it originated from her killing of her husband. She stabbed him through the head after witnessing him cut their eight-year-old son down for being weak.

I guess that proves she’s a good enough swordswoman to be invited into the Mugai-Ryu.

Giichi

Finally, we have Giichi, who I’m not sure was named until now. He’s the Mugai-Ryu member who uses the circular weapon (I have no idea what it’s called) that decapitates people. He’s interesting for two reasons, the first being the simple fact that he appears to be much stronger than I previously thought.

The other reason he’s interesting is that he may be the person previously referred to as “Akagi.” At least, it’s hinted that his alias is Akagi, because the episode cuts to him right after Hyakurin reveals that the Akagi the Itto-Ryu is looking for is someone they’ve already run into before.

However, I also considered the fact that Akagi could be the alias of Shira, in which case Hyakurin was implying that the Itto-Ryu had been dealing with Akagi without even realizing it.

But back to Giichi, another reason I’m not entirely sure if he’s the Akagi mentioned is because he’s not the leader of the Mugai-Ryu. The same could be argued about Shira as well. Whoever Akagi is, they seem to be the one in charge, and Giichi mentioned his “superiors.”

Could Akagi be the man we see with Giichi when Hyakurin was first taken in by the Mugai-Ryu? Or is it someone we’ve already met?

Conclusion

What did you think of Blade of the Immortal episode 10? Are you excited to see Manji and Taito become bros to the close? Do you think Rin will manage to find Kagehisa on her own? And who do you think Akagi is? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And, come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.