Blade of the Immortal

2017 [JAPANESE]

Action / Drama / Fantasy

129
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 71% · 98 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 71% · 1K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.7/10 10 20441 20.4K

japan samurai revenge based on manga ronin rape and revenge

Plot summary

Manji, a highly skilled samurai, becomes cursed with immortality after a legendary battle. Haunted by the brutal murder of his sister, Manji knows that only fighting evil will regain his soul. He promises to help a young girl named Rin avenge her parents, who were killed by a group of master swordsmen led by ruthless warrior Anotsu. The mission will change Manji in ways he could never imagine.

Director

Takashi Miike Photo
Takashi Miike

Top cast

Sôta Fukushi Photo
Sôta Fukushi as Anotsu Kagehisa
Takuya Kimura Photo
Takuya Kimura as Manji
Shinnosuke Mitsushima Photo
Shinnosuke Mitsushima as Taito Magatsu
Sei Matobu Photo
Sei Matobu
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
1.02 GB
1280*534
Japanese 2.0
NR
Subtitles jp  
23.976 fps
2 hr 20 min
Seeds 3
2.15 GB
1920*800
Japanese 2.0
NR
Subtitles jp  
23.976 fps
2 hr 20 min
Seeds 16

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by dvo_on 7 / 10

Remarkable effort. Compressing 30 volumes into film.

Having read the manga for close to 20 years. The live adaptation of the film is a fulfillment to witness. As a fan of the original, I have preconceived notions as to how the characters behaved and voiced in between panels.Therefore the performances for bringing Manji, Rin, Anotsu and all the other casts to life were satisfactory. Compressing 30 volumes into film, means that there were major trimmings made in order to fit this medium. Most notably are the back stories and developments for all characters depicted. Some characters in film are relegated to cameos, while others lack the motivational complexity of their respective arc that were spanned across the years. And yet, I still found myself intrigued by the story presented to me here on film.The actions are brutal. Not as gory as how I would like it to be though. The original format was way more gorier in certain aspects. But I can understand why it was needed to be toned down for live adaptation.If one is into cinematography, feudal Edo era, a story of revenge, filled with action sequences of samurai swordplay - this is a film that I would recommend. It fulfills on all those aspects. It had heartfelt moments and dashes of fun sprinkled perfectly into its pacing.However if one is into enriching character developments, motivations for all their arcs and more; I would suggest to visit the original manga instead.Overall, it is still a very remarkable effort from everyone involved.
Reviewed by AlsExGal 7 / 10

Japanese samurai fantasy, based on a manga series

In Japan during the feudal era, disgraced samurai Manji (Takuya Kimura) agrees to help young girl Rin (Hana Sugisaki) seek revenge against Anotsu Kagehisa (Sota Fukushi) and his Itto-ryu, a band of master fighters and killers. One samurai and a little girl may not seem like much against a veritable army of warriors, except that Manji has one distinct advantage: 50 years ago he was infected by "bloodworms" thanks to a mysterious priestess, and now he's seemingly immortal.Ultra violent and with streaks of dark comedy running through it, this is an excellent samurai action film for those with a strong stomach for such mayhem. The performances are good, and I was very impressed with Hana Sugisaki as the vengeance seeking young Rin. There are lots of interesting costumes and characters, and although the movie runs nearly 2 and a half hours, that seems necessary to make room for all of the plot points. While most of the story is resolved by the end, some things are left unexplained, such as who or what the priestess is who wanders in and out of the story. That may be left for potential future installments, although as this proved to be a disappointment at the Japanese box office, any sequels look unlikely.One of the major selling points of this movie is that it is the "100th film from director Takashi Miike." He's had an interesting, and obviously very prolific career, that in many ways matches the Japanese film industry of the last 25 years, with its many highs and lows. Due to the often shocking, offensive, and absurdist material in many of his films, critics both in Japan and elsewhere have been slow to warm to him. This latest movie has many of the classy touches of 13 Assassins, but with the added manga-inspired videogame qualities of many Japanese action films. I recommend it to fans of the samurai genre, but I don't know if it would win any new fans to the genre.
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