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Blade of the Immortal is an awesome comic (ok, there, I've admitted it...
Chris, Cil, you guys can stop cheering now).
Seriously, despite my protests and attempts to avoid reading it, I am
utterly and thoroughly hooked on Blade. It is pretty much the only
monthly comic that I buy and enjoy month after month. While other
comics are getting disappointing or downright stupid, Hiroaki Samura's
impressive art and story telling entertain on a regular basis.
Allow me to try to sum up a 64-issues-so-far series in just a few
paragraphs. BOTI (I hate calling it Blade, lest it be confused with that
vampire slayer guy) was originally and is still being published in Japan.
The Japanese version is, I hear, a couple years ahead of the American
translation, done by Studio Proteus for Dark Horse. The translation
process is explained in each and every issue, so Im not going to go into
it in this review.
Instead, Ill attempt to do an entertaining overview that will suck you in.
If I had to be converted to BOTI fandom, so do you!
BWUHAHAHAHA!!!! (Sorry, not enough sleep lately)
The story mainly focuses on two characters. One of them is Rin, a 16
year old girl, and daughter of the head of a dojo (sword school). One of
the best things about this comic is that Rin looks like a teenager! Her
figure is realistic, and she has the not-quite-adult facial features. On
Rins 14th birthday, her parents were murdered by members of the Itto-ryu
sword school (more on them later)
and their leader Anotsu Kagehisa. Anotsu dislikes (thats a nice way of
putting it) traditional sword schools and goes
around conquering them one way or another.
This sends Rin down the path of revenge. She has little luck tracking down
and killing her parents killers. Eventually
she enlists the help of Manji, a scarred, immortal swordfighter. Manjis a
story in and of his own, and the comic tells it
better than I can. I will tell you, however, that being immortal makes sword
fighters lose their edge. And their limbs.
And lots of blood. Manji routinely gets his butt kicked, winning only
because he cant die and he wears his opponents
out.
There are many, many secondary characters . . . All with their merits and flaws
(to use World of Darkness
terminology!) and quirks. One of the great things about this comic is that
it doesnt only focus on Manji and Rin.
Occasionally it goes off on a tangent, and updates you on what Anotsu is up
to, or how things are doing for the whole
Itto-ryu. While it can be frustrating waiting for the story to return to the
main characters, it helps to fill the plot out.
It also makes the "villains" of the story more human. I use quotations
around villains, for though the Itto-ryu and
Anotsu are Rins enemies, and while they do some awful stuff, the men that
make up the sword school have their
redeeming qualities. Some of them dont seem to be evil at all, but are part
of the Itto-ryu because they believe in
what it stands for. The fact that the "villains" have good qualities, and
the "heroes" can have bad qualities and stains
on their past makes for a much more believable story.
The art is also very believable. While BOTI is classified as a Manga, it
doesnt have the typical anime/manga style of art . . . No Bambi eyes, no
girls with legs 5 times the length of their torso . . . The people in this comic look like real
people you would meet in the street. Girls have realistic figures, and every
guy you see isnt well-muscled.
BOTI is not a comic for children. It has lots and lots and lots of graphic
violence. When Hiroaki Samura isnt
developing the characters and letting us get to know them, people are
chopping each other up with a variety of
weapons, some based on historic weapons, some entirely fictitious. In fact,
one complaint I have with this comic is
that some of the fights are unrealistic. While I can believe that Manji, as
an immortal, can take a lot of damage and is
used to having his arms sliced off, I have a hard time believing that a
normal human, even a hardened sword fighter,
could take the abuse some of these guys take and still fight.
In addition to fighting, theres some language (though in appropriate
places) and some suggestive themes. It doesnt
have a "mature readers" label, but I wouldnt recommend it for anyone
younger than teen or so.
All in all, I would suggest BOTI to any mature reader with an interest in
Japanese culture, graphic sword fights, or just
a thoughtful comic with violence to keep things interesting. Though the
story was so sprawling that I couldnt detail it
much in this review, I will tell you that Manji and Rin meet many
interesting people, face a lot of dilemmas, and get
into fights with people along the way. The story is at once exciting and
thought provoking.
One word of advice -- Back issues can be pricey and hard to find. If you are
interested in reading BOTI, youll
probably want to get the whole story. Trade paperbacks will be the way to
go. Take it from someone who did it the
individual back issues way: That road will only lead to pain!
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