Blade of the Immortal, Volume 4: On Silent Wings

Creator: Hiroaki Samura
U.S. publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 9781569714126
Released: February 1999
Original run: 1994-ongoing (Afternoon)
Awards: Eisner Award, Japan Media Arts Award

I have been reading (though unfortunately not reviewing) a lot of manga recently and can easily say that Blade of the Immortal remains one of my absolute favorite series. I like the story, love the characters, and continue to be impressed by Hiroaki Samura’s artwork. On Silent Wings is the fourth trade collection in the series. The story picks up shortly after where the previous volume, Dreamsong, left it—containing the short arc “Rin’s Bane” and the beginning of the “On Silent Wings” arc.

Rin’s quest to avenge the death of her parents and her search for Anotsu, the man responsible, continues. While waiting for the opportunity to waylay him as he travels from one city to the next, Manji has agreed to help train Rin to better defend herself and to improve her offensive skills. Rin must learn that battle in real life is vastly different than practice in a dōjō, something that Manji is exceptionally aware of. She must be both physically and mentally prepared to not only face Anotsu but his devoted and often fanatical followers of Ittō-ryū as well.

This collection definitely moves at a slower pace than the previous books. Most of the development occurs internally as characters, particularly Rin, are forced to examine their actions and motivations. There is significantly less action—swordplay taking the backseat to exposition—but the confrontations between characters are still intense, if a bit strange. Where Dreamsong was primarily about Maki, the incredibly skilled swordswoman of the Ittō-ryū, On Silent Wings returns the story’s focus to Rin and, to a lesser extent, Manji. Rin must make difficult decisions about what she is doing and why—decisions that are made even more difficult as she begins to understand Anotsu’s point of view, what he is trying to accomplish, and how the society she lives in has only exacerbated the problems he is trying to correct. The path she has chosen to follow is not an easy one, and she is beginning to seriously doubt herself.

As I’ve come to expect from Blade of the Immortal, I absolutely adore the artwork in all its beautiful and bloody detail. Amazingly enough, I think that Samura’s skill has in some ways even improved in On Silent Wings. Particularly, panels with action maintain their intensity while showing more clarity and less confusion. Somewhat unfortunately, this volume does not grace us with any of Samura’s gorgeous death mandalas, but I suspect that we will certainly be seeing more in the future.

While there may not be much action and fighting to further the plot, there is certainly a fair amount of character development going on in On Silent Wings. Rin and Manji’s journey did seem a bit aimless to me at this point. Even having recently reread Dreamsong I wasn’t quite sure exactly what they were doing or where they were going. Because of that, the almost chance encounter between Rin and Anotsu felt like it came out of nowhere. The book also seemed to be missing, though not entirely, the humor that is scattered throughout the earlier volumes, making this installment particularly heavy going. I still very much enjoyed On Silent Wings and looking forward to continuing Blade of the Immortal with On Silent Wings II.

Blade of the Immortal, Volume 3: Dreamsong

Creator: Hiroaki Samura
U.S. publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 9781569713570
Released: February 1999
Original run: 1994-ongoing (Afternoon)
Awards: Eisner Award, Japan Media Arts Award

After being recommended to me by my favorite comic shop, the manga Blade of the Immortal quickly became one of my favorite series. Despite this fact, I’ve been reading through it at a rather slow pace (we’ll just say that I’m savoring the story and art, not to mention my continuous re-reading). Dreamsong is the third trade paperback issued by Dark Horse, collecting issues twelve through eighteen. While Dreamsong continues Manji’s search for redemption and Rin’s quest for vengeance, the story arc primarily focuses on Makie Otono-Tachibana and, in the process, reveals more of Kagehisa Anotsu’s background.

Maki is as deadly as she is beautiful, rivaling even Anotsu, leader of the renegade Ittō-ryū school, in her extraordinary skill. Having first met when they were children, their paths have brought them together once again. A disgrace to her family, Makie has little left but a life as a pleasure woman and her blade. Taking her place next to Anotsu as a swordswoman of the Ittō-ryū, he asks her to kill Manji before Manji can kill him. He is keenly aware of Rin’s vow to avenge her parents’ deaths and Manji’s besting of many of his followers as they search for the man ultimately responsible. But, with Makie, Manji may have finally met his match.

The artwork, though extremely graphic and violent, is exceptional in its beauty. The gorgeously penciled illustrations not only serve to further the story, but many are also works of art in their own right. A few oddities do pop up, due mainly to how the layout was adapted from the original Japanese publication for English speaking audiences, but these usually aren’t too bothersome. Occasionally it is difficult to discern exactly what is going on in a particular panel, but it actually makes sense stylistically as this only tends to happen during battles when there’s quite a bit of action going on. Blade of the Immortal begs not only to be read, but to be looked at. I’m definitely a fan of the series and Samura’s visual style and artistic prowess plays a large part of that.

Dreamsong is my favorite collection so far (granted, I’ve only read three of them up to this point). Maki was wonderful and I do hope she returns in future story-arcs. With exceptional artwork and fantastic characters, Blade of the Immortal is easily one of the best manga series I’ve read, though it did take me a few volumes to really get into it. But now, I can hardly wait to read the next trade paperback, the first part of On Silent Wings.

Blade of the Immortal, Volume 2: Cry of the Worm

Creator: Hiroaki Samura
U.S. publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 9781569713006
Released: March 1998
Original run: 1994-ongoing (Afternoon)
Awards: Eisner Award, Japan Media Arts Award

This second volume collects issues seven trough eleven of the Blade of the Immortal manga series being reprinted by Dark Horse. Manji has been infected by the kessen-chū, sacred bloodworms which give him both the blessing, and the curse, of immortality. Rin, whose family was brutally murdered, wants and revenge has hired him as a bodyguard for his exceptional swordsmanship.

Together they have been searching all over Edo for the whereabouts of the members of the Ittō-ryū, the maverick school of fighting that is responsible for the death of Rin’s parents. In particular, they hope to find Anotsu, the leader of the brutal faction. Instead, they find that Manji is not as unique, nor as invincible, as they believed. A talented and vicious swordsman, he is interested in only one thing—power.

While I enjoyed the introductory volume, Blood of a Thousand, I think that Cry of the Worm is even better. There’s a little less fighting (and not nearly as many of the gorgeous death mandalas) but certainly more plot and consistent story arc. And Rin still manages to get her self into some, interesting, situations. She and Manji are starting to develop more of a relationship than that of boss and hired-hand. I’m growing quite fond the both of them and look forward to the next installment in the series.

Blade of the Immortal, Volume 1: Blood of a Thousand

Creator: Hiroaki Samura
U.S. publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 9781569712399
Released: March 1997
Original run: 1994-ongoing (Afternoon)
Awards: Eisner Award, Japan Media Arts Award

Blade of the Immortal is one the very first manga that I’ve read. I picked it up upon the recommendation of one of my very favorite people at one of my very favorite comic stores. This first collection compiled by Dark Horse consists of the first six issues of the comic series.

Manji is a rather bad-ass samurai who has been cursed with immortality after killing a hundred innocent people at the orders of his boss. He still feels pain, and, given the types of wounds he manages to procure, this can be quite excruciating. In order to repent for his past misdeeds, he makes a deal with the eight-hundred year old nun who infected him with kessen-chū, the sacred bloodworms that keep him alive and heal his wounds: He will kill one thousand evil men, and only then will he be allowed to die.

A young girl named Rin is alerted to Manji’s existence, and newly formed vow, by the nun. She is the sole survivor of her family’s massacre. Her father, a skilled swordsman and leader of a respected dōjō, is slain by a newly instituted rebel school. Seeking revenge, Rin convinces Manji to serve as her bodyguard in her quest.

The art is absolutely fantastic. It is exceptionally violent, extraordinarily graphic, but intensely beautiful and gorgeously penciled. Unfortunately, because of the way comic was adapted for English readers, some of the art is inconsistent (For example, Manji has a bad eye which is sometimes shown on his left side, and sometimes on his right.) The story is at times rather disturbing, but it is not without humor. This first volume makes for a strong introduction and includes a glossary and an interview with the creator. While I’m not quite hooked on the series yet, I’m pretty sure I will be very soon.