This manga really does have amazing artwork, and the story and characters are pretty strong. Shocking things happen one after another, and when violence comes in, be ready to actually watch the scenes.

Sometimes though, the violence and sexual battering in here makes me want to retch, but it still adds to the story. Sometimes the attitudes and beliefs of the main characters can be frustrating; they can't tolerate weakness in anyone. And Rin's revenge slowly becomes more of an "oh yeah, I forgot about Anotsu", kind of thing. Still, I really recommend this to anyone looking for a good violent samurai seinen.

the art is one that you rarely see in the manga medium. realistic and rough, it made the constant decapitation enjoyable. the characters have depth and we will hate/love/sympathised/demonize them as how the authors (presumably) wishes. the plot is easy to follow though took quite a while to state its point.

i find the official translation enjoyable, and the scantalation is also good though the transition may be a bit jarring. very recommended based on the art alone and the story is additional plus.

edit
just finished the manga. the ending is a bit of a let down, but i do understand this manga is not that kind of manga. oh well, i would love the new adventure with the kid.

... Last updated on June 11th, 2014, 12:41pm

This is a fantastic book right here; it is definitely in my top 10. The artwork is some of the best you will ever see in the manga medium, to the point of transcending the comic genre altogether. Berzerk, Bastard!! (new style volumes), Kurozuka: these are the sort of series that are of comparable caliber, artwork-wise. I have in my library only one mangaka's artbook: The Art of Blade of the Immortal by Hiroaki Samura.
The world of Mugen no Juunin is dirty, it is gritty, it is bloody, it is punctuated by fleeting moments of excrutiating beauty. It is a world torn by the death throes of one era and the rise of a new one.
If you have not picked up this series yet, then I am pretty g.d. stoked for you my friend, because you are in for a treat.

Edit2: Apparently I am wrong, and the characters are all meant to be sounding like modern street punks. They do still sound like outcasts from 80s American cop movies, but I guess that's more justified.

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So I've only read one volume so far, but ... fuck this translation. It's terrible. They're in Japan of a few hundred years ago. Why do they all sound like they're from some 80s American cop movie? 'Darling', 'pal', 'buddy' ... these are not the words that samurai use! So yeah - if there's some other translation other than the Dark Horse one, you might want to try that. I'm having a lot of trouble getting my brain around the ridiculous anachronistic speech.

Other than that, so far it shows no promise, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt - the guy wrote Bradherley's Coach, after all.

Edit:
Alright, well, that was an enjoyable way to spend an evening. The translation remains stupid throughout, but it bothered me less as it went. I'm not sure if it's meant to be as light a story as it is or whether that's also the translation's fault, but it is fairly upbeat reading. Even the rape and torture stuff didn't make any strong impact on that.

Well, anyway, I wouldn't strongly recommend it, but if you feel like samurai-wandering-around-killing-people it's probably a good choice.

... Last updated on November 2nd, 2010, 1:14am

its a lovely manga, great points to the art, very creative and unique, the storyline is rather compelling even if you think its a bit cliche.
i got hooked on the series, however as it goes on the main plot seems to have become skewed, the female lead is meant to be looking for justice from her parents killer and she hires manji to kill the leader of the itto ryu. maji the immortal warrior who is trying to remove his immortality by killing a thousand warriors. a simple storyline it would seem but its become rather convoluted, numerous sub plots have been included and now the girl no longer seems to seek revenge on her father's killer and is just pursuing him all over the country.
its getting rather stupid and i'm beginning to loose interest to

I have mixed feelings about this manga. I picked it up, not knowing what to expect, but I found the story interesting and addicting. For some reason, it really reminded me of Samurai Deeper Kyo, so I continued reading. I continued reading even when I questioned some of the content in the story; some of it is just so violent and nasty that I found myself revolted, but intrigued.

The art isn't bad. I actually like it, except that some of the scenes are a little shocking to me. But reading this manga practically prepared me for every other mature seinen I've read since. I mean, there are plenty of other gory mangas out there and the few that I've delved in are nothing compared to this one.

This manga isn't bad. It's actually quite good. But the maturity level of this manga is a lot higher than your average shounen. That's why it's seinen. I did enjoy reading through parts of this series, but I'll probably never be able to pick up this manga-ka's other works, especially Bradherley no Basha.

Somebody else said it perfectly when they were talking about this manga: "This work to me is somewhere in-between a proper manga and an artbook." As someone who mostly read manga based on art work, this manga is the most satisfying. I truly appreciate being able to stop reading for a moment and just be able to absorb the level of detail in the pencil work for clothing. Samura is truly an artist based on how he carefully drew clothing, its texture and its patterns & prints. In fact, I don't really remember too much of those distracting screentones that I would have seen in almost every other manga.

One of the best "historical" manga I've ever read (besides Vagabond). From something as simple as being able to fix your own damn flip-flops to fighting with the other senses while blind. Samura goes into details of the traditional ways that needed to be cut down, and gives these missions to several characters. Examples: Anotsu seeks to demolish sword schools that value form over function, Makie is a sword prodigy who often fell back into the confines of being a woman, Kagimura defied the orders of Seppuku to chase his final goal of killing Anotsu, Manji is an immortal ronin who serves a girl with a vengeance... and etc, so forth.

The best part of the characters is that their actions are not absolute black and white. Each character had reasons which drove them, these actions make their character relatable in some ways, if not entirely. Samura manages to create a very natural way for these characters to come to life by having them question each other's justifications for their actions. I mean, seriously, hearing Anotsu monologues each time is like music to my ears but from Rin's viewpoint, he's killing senselessly and almost shamelessly.

Character development is phenomenal. While the first few arcs focuses on Manji and Rin's sometimes-symbiotic-sometimes-chaotic relationship, it was refreshing to see the Immortality Arc which really allows Rin to shine through. Maybe her technique never improved but her strategic thinking definitely did. It was also interesting to learn that while Anotsu is so ambitious to build an empire that values function over form in swordsmanship, there was a strong disconnection between him and his men. You rarely see him around new recruits and trying to make a stand, instead, he has a very small council to help guide him through new transitions. A good example is when Manji and Rin encounters mask-maker Araya who admits that Itto-ryu swordsmen normally just try to survive because they don't meet together often.

I can go on naming examples forever to make my point for each category, but overall, I truly recommend this manga. This is one of those timeless manga that never seems to age because the artwork is so gorgeous, the plot is extraordinary, and the characters are truly unforgettable. I still find myself coming back to read this manga, beginning to end, when I cannot find a good manga to read.

... Last updated on November 17th, 2020, 2:32am

Truly an interesting manga to read, I had to marathon it since the pace was just right and I couldnt find a place to leave off! But the only thing I didnt enjoy is how the main char only wins fights by getting stabbed, sliced, and chopped up. They need to show off his abilities more instead of showing off his immortality.

Amazing Art, Plot, Characters and Execution. The mangaka is truly a genious, I'd even go as far as say that I liked this betted than Vagabond, though vagabond is another one of my favourites.

Must read!!!!! totally!!!!

A definite must-read. The art is AMAZING, really beautiful in a unique, realistic way... and it's just got this authentic, deep rich feel to it. The plot is so fascinating and full of twists and turns, and complete with battles, gore (but not like disgusting gore)... I think the characters are so well-drawn and written too. I usually don't like seinen stuff but this one just drew me in from the minute I read the first chapter.