Blade of the Immortal

Hiroaki Samura crafted a sprawling saga in Blade of the Immortal, a manga that ran for nearly two decades from June 1993 to December 2012. Serialized in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon, the story spans 30 volumes and places readers in mid-Tokugawa Shogunate Japan. The narrative centers on Manji, a samurai cursed with eternal life who must slay one thousand wicked men to break his immortality curse. This dark journey blends historical setting with intense action, exploring themes of redemption and violence through Samura's distinct art style. The work earned an Excellence Award at the first Japan Media Arts Festival in 1997 and eventually sold over 7.5 million copies by May 2019. The franchise expanded well beyond the original pages. A live-action film arrived in April 2017, while anime adaptations appeared in 2008 via Bee Train and again in 2019 with Liden Films. North American fans found the series through Dark Horse Comics, while streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video brought the latest animated chapters to audiences. In 2019, a sequel titled Blade of the Immortal: Bakumatsu Arc began serialization under Kenji Takigawa and Ryū Suenobu, concluding in 2024 with ten new volumes.[edit]