Mugen no Juunin

Description

"To end his eternal suffering, he must slay one thousand enemies!" Manji, a ronin warrior of feudal Japan, has been cursed with immortality. To rid himself of this curse and end his life of misery, he must slay one thousand evil men! His quest begins when a young girl seeks his help in taking revenge on her parents' killers... and his quest won't end until the blood of a thousand has spilled.

Note: Won an Excellence Prize at the 1997 Japan Media Arts Festival. Won the Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material in 2000.

Type

Manga

Mugen no Juunin - Bakumatsu no Shou (Sequel)

Associated Names

A halhatatlan pengéje

Blade - A Lâmina do Imortal (Brazilian Portuguese)

Blade of the Immortal

Hoja Del Inmortal

Klinge des Unsterblichen

L'Habitant de l'infini (French)

L'Immortale

Lame de l'immortel

Lưỡi Kiếm Bất Tử

Miecz Nieśmiertelnego (Polish)

Oštrica Besmrtnika - Samuraj Dvanaest Sječiva (Croatian)

Η Λεπίδα του Αθανάτου

Клинок Бессмертного

Անմահության բերան

شفرة الخالد

むげんのじゅにん

无限之住人

無限の住人

無限之住人

불멸의 검

Groups Scanlating

Latest Release(s)

v.30 c.206 (end) by HappyScans! 12 years ago

v.30 c.198-205 (v2) by HappyScans! 12 years ago

v.30 c.205 by HappyScans! 12 years ago

Search for all releases of this series

Status in Country of Origin

30 Volumes (Complete)
15 Volumes (Shinsouban, Complete)

Completely Scanlated?

Yes

Anime Start/End Chapter

Starts at Vol 1, Chap 1 (2008 / Immortal)

Ends at Vol 6, Chap 24 (2008) / Vol 30, Chap 206 (Immortal) Highly abbreviated

User Reviews

Blade of the Immortal by mrsatan

Forum

11 topics, 55 posts

Click here to view the forum

User Rating

Average: 8.6 / 10.0 (970 votes)

Bayesian Average: 8.53 / 10.0

33%

27%

22%

10%

Last Updated

February 16th, 2025 3:33pm PST - 2 months ago

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Genre

Action Adventure Drama Historical Martial Arts Mature Seinen Supernatural Tragedy
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Categories

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Category Recommendations

Usagi Yojimbo

Kamui-Den Dai-2-bu

Berserk

Mugen no Juunin - Bakumatsu no Shou

Recommendations

Author(s)

Artist(s)

Year

Original Publisher

Kodansha (1993; 2016)

Serialized In (magazine)

Afternoon (Kodansha)

Licensed (in English)

Yes

English Publisher

Dark Horse (31 Vols - Complete | 10 3/4-in-1 Omnibus - Complete; Print | 7 3-in-1 Deluxe Omnibus - Ongoing; Print)

Activity Stats (vs. other series)

Weekly Pos #548

(-200)

Monthly Pos #1481

(-130)

3 Month Pos #2359

(+20)

6 Month Pos #2748

(+215)

Year Pos #2690

(+385)

List Stats

On 2490 reading lists

On 2000 wish lists

On 1197 completed lists

On 184 unfinished lists

On 626 custom lists

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Forum Posts Click to view the forum

Question about the end (In the Forgotten, Fluttering Snow)

4 years ago

Afternoon Lists New Anime for Blade of the Immortal

6 years ago

Blade of the Immortal Slices Back with Sequel Manga

6 years ago

Kimutaku Stars in Takashi Miike's Blade of the Immortal Film

10 years ago

Blade of the Immortal to End After 19 Years

12 years ago

User Comments [ Order by time added ]

Samurai story with worms

by You Say
12 years ago

Rating: 8.5 / 10.0

Mugen no Juunin came to its end. Samura Hiroaki managed to create great piece of art, so it’s not such a bad idea to recall this long and magnificent journey. I re-read whole thing (again) and decided to write some thoughts about different story arcs (possibly with no actual spoilers) because Samura changes not only "mood" and "feel" from arc to arc but even "storytelling" to some point and to be completely honest, even quality of arc differs. Still, I wouldn't dare to forget that it's overall "result" what matters and I can tell you right away that Mugen no Juunin is great read.

Introduction Arc - As expected, here Samura introduces basic storyline, characters, their motivations, pasts and relationships. It's not surprising that this is the weakest part of whole story. Oneshot stories where only point is to kill whoever is the villain at the moment. It works fine as introduction but I remember asking myself years ago if this is really that "great and mature manga" which my friend recommended to me. Luckily enough the last part of this arc improves exponentially and sets up fluent pass to the next part.

Mugai-ryuu Arc - Here things finally starts to be good. Here comes the true genius of Samura Hiroaki's storytelling. While first arc served for introduction of characters, their beliefs, motivations and desires, this one starts moving plot forward. New characters are fleshed out quite finely. As I was reading this arc I could finally tell that this is that great manga I was expecting. In first arc action wasn't anything special. You just got one nice conclusive picture but in this part Samura demonstrates how good action he can draw. And he gets even better with time.

Aftermath Arc - This serves as a little breather before things start to get complicated again. Samura portrays several characters and path which everyone takes. It's actually really good part of the story and it definitely isn't unnecessary. It's not really that different from previous arc.

Prison Arc - Here we go. Some say that this arc is perfection in its pure form and some say that this arc is incredibly boring and slow as hell. To be honest, I like this arc but I have to admit reading it chapter after chapter while waiting whole month(s) for another is really pain. But once you can read it as a whole it’s great. Samura shifts his storytelling into diary-like story flow. Nothing is rushed, author is taking his time to fully flesh out characters, plot, goal, point and meaning. Also a lot of set up for last arc is being done here.

War in wintertime - The last part. Every set up which was done is used here to its fullest. This story arc is gruesome, brutal, action-packed and fast yet pretty moving at times. Characters beliefs have their final clash here as they take weapons. The death is omnipresent. Great end for a great story.

To be honest, Mugen no Juunin isn’t perfect series. It has its flaws. Yeah, I never really liked Rin as a character. At start I disliked her, later on I just started to ignore her. Manji on the other hand is pretty fine character. The art is rough and simply great.

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Takes time but... This is Epic

by kaidiego
13 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

Its really worth it. Its a really good story, but its long and can take some time to get in to.
There is some hints of romance. The main character is a one hell of a bad ass and you will enjoy the fights. The art is superb. I usaly dont care about the art as long as the story is good, but in this manga the art is really something.

... Last updated 13 years ago

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really good

by cobalt_rain
13 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

characters- 100% i love all the characters, especially the leads. male and females are both incredibly strong. not so much Rin at first but she gets really good and she is a really likeable girl. I love Manji as well he is a perfect male lead in my opinion. I love to hate some of the bad guys, and just plain love the others.

Plot- Very action packed, samurai honor based stuff, but it is really good. Actually one of the arks in this manga is the best ark I have ever read in any manga ever. And the climax of it had me totally bouncing in my seat. It's very interesting and not to hard to follow if you don't pay attention to some needless details. But it is very mature, there are a lot of dark, twisted, and cruel scenes.

Action-Absolutely Killer! in a lot of the action scenes it was so fluid i just clicked through the pages really fast without reading the dialog (such as "i'm going to kill you"). it was like watching an anime. But it can be really gruesome not for the faint of heart.

Romance-

it really is there, it isn't something some fan girls made up.But it really develops later in the story. Their relationship is that of two people who care about each other more than anything else in the world. Like, if Rin gets attacked Manji goes berserk. And Rin is so blatantly in love with Manji it's adorable she goes through a lot to protect him even though he is immortal. There isn't anything really physical between them yet (except for a kiss while Manji was sleeping), but they don't have time to be perusing romantic interests because of all the violent, scary, life threatening things they have to deal with. basically their relationship transcends that of bodyguard and employer, friends or even lovers. They are this incredible pair, with bonds so strong and destinies so interwoven that normal shoujo-ish relationships seem petty and bland. Basically the romance is off the charts when it come to how much they love one another, but you only get to see glimpses. It is very subtle and not the main point of the story at all. However every hint and wink is real and is fully appreciated. people who really understand what love and romance is would think this is enough.

... Last updated 13 years ago

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beautiful destruction

by whitespade
14 years ago

Rating: 9.7 / 10.0

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 11 years ago

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Blade of the Awesome

by ThePoneRanger
14 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

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.

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Interesting

by reina q
14 years ago

Rating: N/A

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.

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Good Read

by klamz
16 years ago

Rating: N/A

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.

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10 points

by SyeSye
18 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

Totally different.
Hiroaki Samuras drawing style is just awesome, artistic, best I`ve seen so far.
Really great, though bloody story!

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<3 Anotsu

by selvaggiah
11 years ago

Rating: N/A

I adore this manga. It is the first one I ever read and to this day it has remained one of my favorites.

Of course, some may not appreciate the chaotic (and genuinely unfulfilled) script where slapstick and/or bloody sexiness is used as a pretext for introducing situations, characters and whatnot. I however think that not only does the art compensate for that but also, and more importantly, does the overarching goal of the artist with the story compensate for that: the point is that in life there is no point to revenge (or for that matter, to almost anything, including infatuations, disease, science and so on). I think the anti-sentimental "cruelty" of the very last chapter was kind of refreshing. There are romantic comedies around, for any one who are looking for that kind of plot; there are furthermore plots perfectly rounded off and motifs operative on a global scale in a smarter way than here. But that is just the point! There are no such stories in real life. Hence it is a romantic comedy when regarded sub specie aeternitatis: from an "omniscient" and eternal viewpoint, the moments of "intense" emotion (or anything as close to that as the mangaka gets) are but comical - because they do not last even 90 years.

I think Anotsu kind of compensates for the idiocy of some other characters (including of course the lead). Anotsu is a hopeless dreamer, nourished by this weird fantasy of something he does not really believe in. I really liked him and it pained me that he was crippled in the end. Btw, judging from some pictures in Love of the brute where an Anotsu-like creature reappears, I wonder if he in the imagination of the mangaka was not some kind of hermaphrodite irrelevant

... Last updated 11 years ago

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In my top 5

by willmcgowan85
12 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

Such a unique story. The aspect of Manji being immortal is only a small aspect of the overall concept. With some modifications where the immortality didn't exist in this world, it would still be a great story. It is amazing how the concept of good and evil just does not exist. There are many people/groups that are clearly evil, but as for the good guys, there were no major characters that were truly pure and innocent, which is the best aspect of the manga.

I highly recommend this series to anyone that can handle the maturity (lot of good gore, sexual assault) with a little bit of tragedy.

Category Ratings:

Plot/Story: 9 - Most of it was excellent with some small sections that just seemed like they did not fit
Characters: 11 - So many different characters each with their own unique personality. Even the extreme type characters felt real.
Ending: 9.5 - The ending was good and well balanced emotion wise. Not super happy but not super tragic either, and definitely not rushed.
Target Genres: 10 - Loved the fight scenes, well balanced drama, deserves the mature tag without feeling like it was forced or deeply disturbing.
Lasting impression: 11 - The art was amazing from start to finish, I loved all the different weapons and the explanations at the end of some volumes was an added bonus. There will be some characters that I will remember for a very long time.

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