Japan Anime

Blade of the Immortal follows the deeds of Manji, a skilled samurai who has a decisive advantage: no wound can kill him, except for a rare poison. 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 an 800-year-old 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 Manji will be kept alive by "sacred bloodworms" (血仙蟲 kessen-chū^?), remarkable creatures that allow him to survive nearly any injury and reattach severed limbs even after hours of separation. They work by sacrificing themselves to seal the wound - they're worms that were bred to be as close in their chemical and physical make-up to humans as you can get without being human. They cannot handle regrowth on a large scale, but, for example, can reattach a severed limb or seal a hole in the brain.

Manji crosses paths with a young girl named Asano Rin and promises to help her avenge her parents, who were killed by a cadre of master swordsmen led by Anotsu Kagehisa. Anotsu killed Rin's father and his entire dōjō, 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 and destroying other dojos.

In addition, another group calling itself the Mugai-ryū has emerged, in opposition to the Ittō-ryū. Its true leadership and motives are initially a mystery, but its methods (any tactics that leads to victory) resemble those of the Ittō-ryū. They try to enlist Manji's help as they seem to want the same thing. Eventually Manji joins but quickly pulls out after he finds out a member, Shira, is way too sadistic for his tastes. After a while Manji finally discovers that the Mugai-ryū work for the government. They are all death row inmates who are allowed to live only if they serve the shogunate. While Manji and Shira quickly grow to hate each other, after Shira runs off, Manji remains on friendly terms with the other members of the group.

In a broader context, the series covers the effects of death and the consequences of not being able to die, as well as the meanings behind living. Most of the principal characters have some sort of purpose which they inexplicably discover through the events that transpire.

残酷的故事讲述了日本还在江户时代时的1792年，杀死了做恶的贪官上司，并在逃亡途中无意间杀死了前来追捕自己的 妹夫，虽然万次想放下屠刀却不断被人追杀，还毁掉了妹妹的一生。却由于被八百比丘尼埋进了血仙虫而拥有不死之身的剑士万次，为了解开血仙虫造成的不死之咒 语，发誓杀一千个恶人来赎百人斩的罪。遇到身负血仇的孤女凛后，他决定帮助其报仇。一路遭遇凛的仇人「逸刀流」、旨在剿灭逸刀流的幕府密探「无骸流」以及 其他种种势力或个人。在无法界定对错的凛的复仇之旅中，万次打败了一个个强悍的对手——也许对他来说，千人斩的实现仅仅是时间的问题。可是，剑客都是双手 沾满鲜血的人，谁为善心，谁又为恶人，万次有鉴定的资格和能力吗？杀人，就是一种罪，杀恶人也是杀人，这世上真的有可以籍着杀人赎清的罪孽吗？每个人都只 是为着自己的理由挥剑而已。对于万次，在过去无可挽回的悔恨中许下了杀千人的悲愿，也许却只不过是继续挥刀活下去的理由，继续杀人的理由……