Blade of the Immortal

Blade of the Immortal, or 無限の住人 (Mugen no Jūnin, literally "Inhabitant of Infinity"), is a Japanese manga series by Hiroaki Samura. The series won the Excellence Prize in the 1997 Japan Media Arts Festival.

Related Topics:
Manga - Hiroaki Samura

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The story is about Manji, a skilled warrior who has a decisive advantage: no wound can kill him. In the past his criminal actions led to the death of 100 other samurai (including his sister's husband). He becomes immortal at the hand of a seemingly ageless nun named Yaobikuni, and is compelled by the death of his sister to accept the quest that will end his agelessness. He has vowed to make amends by killing 1000 evil men, and until he does, he will be kept alive by "blood worms," remarkable creatures that allow him to survive nearly any injury and reattach severed limbs even after hours of separation.

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Manji crossed paths with a young girl named Asano Rin and has promised to help her avenge her family, who were killed by a cadre of master swordsmen led by Anotsu Kagehisa. Anotsu killed Rin's father and his entire dojo, making them a family of outcasts. Anotsu's quest is to gather other outcasts and form an extremely powerful new dojo, the Ittō-ryū (a school teaching any technique that wins, no matter how exotic or underhanded), and has started taking over/destroying other dojos.

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In addition, another group called itself the Mugai-ryū has materialized, in opposition to the Ittō-ryū. Its true leadership and motives are a mystery, but its methods (any tactics that leads to victory) resemble those of the Ittō-ryū.

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