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Manji is a crass, violent samurai with a special ability: he cannot die. Cursed with immortality by the nun Yobikuni as punishment for his ruthless deeds, he has grown weary of his ageless life. The only way to lift the curse is to slay 1,000 evil men. So Manji wanders Japan, shedding the blood of the wicked on his quest to finally die.
I feel same about this as I did at the end of Amatsuki. This show was good enough to make me wish it was 50 episodes and not a far too short and clipped off 12. I guess I'm going to have to read the Manga to get the full story.
Nah. Amatsuki stands on it's own 13 episode series. I know for a fact that the ending was open-ended and that the manga continued to jump waaay ahead of the anime but the anime series itself acted like a primer for the manga. The "heaven's net" storyline was confusing for a couple of people but at least they simplified his impact on the historical perspective.
Apr 3 2009 01:10 PM I felt like it only closed the things it needed to close. For one, the show was not about the girl getting revenge, but about the girl finding the resolve to get revenge. Of course, they could always use it as a convenient cliffhanger, and make another season about Manji's "being lost". I really liked the old hag's monologue BTW.
Was the girl actually the guy's sister? I forget. In any case, it's beyond the point. One of the main statements, I thought, was that the "result" of revenge is not important. Of course the guy will go get revenge. It's just that it's beyond the point.
Also, the leader of Itto-Ryuu will be assasinated, despite his being a mildly positive character.
In general, I enjoyed how they set all the things in motion, and positioned all the players, and let you figure out the obvious. Felt very samurai-movie-like.
Apr 2 2009 10:22 PM How was the last episode really good?
It left so many things unresolved, like that guy's sister dying. I thought since it started with that it would at least show the guy getting revenge for his sister, but nothing ever happened.
The ending was fail. It was basically Rin saying, "Ok, I'm going to try harder!" and the credits rolling.
Apr 2 2009 09:39 PM I'd give it an 8/10, just cause I'm weak to samurai stuff =)
The last episode was really good, I do hope that there's a continuation. I'll be looking for the manga if not.
I think the reason why the series had a worse impression than it should've is that the episodes were too far in between - by the time the next one is out I forget what the last one was.
Mar 29 2009 01:47 PM Advice to those who felt confused and wanted a satisfactory ending: Read the manga. Honestly, it's just too large a scope, even just the Anotsu portion, to attempt to convey in just 13 episodes.
That said, the anime had some interesting moments and wasn't a complete failure, so it gets a generous 7/10 from me.
Mar 29 2009 08:16 AM So... it's over now? Damn, last episode left SO many questions unanswered and that's without mentioning all the NEW plot hooks it generated as well. I have to admit, I got kinda lost in the whole series (considering there was like... a month without new subbed episode) so I'll probably have to re-watch it sometimes in the near future, but this is also one of those animes I really hope we'll get to see a 2nd season, considering this was all basically introduction to characters and their motivations (now Rin wants to be as badass as Manji and all).
actually the more he uses his blood worms the more his skills deteriorate. thats what it said in the manga. he used to be super good with swords/weapons, remember he was able to kill 100 guys before he became immortal... that is one of the disadvantages/side effects of the kessen-chu. he sometimes say it (in the manga ), that his skills is not as what it used to be before he became immortal.
also i think the author did that on purpose so that he wont be so powerful. he is already strong being immortal and all.
and to compensate for his deteriorating skills, he uses his immortal body to win in a fight. you will see this the most in the makie vs manji battle in the manga.
i kinda stop watching this anime, but after reading the manga last night, the "prison arc" (i have an idea who that mask guy is), i wanna continue watching this again...
Heh, ok so that will lead to an everlasting downward spiral then. As he has to use the blood worms as you call them ( I haven't read the manga) his skill using the blade deteriorates forcing him to rely on his near immortality more which in turn decreases his skill. I wonder if someone will put him out of his misery before he forgets which end is used to cut with.
Feb 4 2009 03:10 PM actually the more he uses his blood worms the more his skills deteriorate. thats what it said in the manga. he used to be super good with swords/weapons, remember he was able to kill 100 guys before he became immortal... that is one of the disadvantages/side effects of the kessen-chu. he sometimes say it (in the manga ), that his skills is not as what it used to be before he became immortal.
also i think the author did that on purpose so that he wont be so powerful. he is already strong being immortal and all.
and to compensate for his deteriorating skills, he uses his immortal body to win in a fight. you will see this the most in the makie vs manji battle in the manga.
i kinda stop watching this anime, but after reading the manga last night, the "prison arc" (i have an idea who that mask guy is), i wanna continue watching this again...
Feb 3 2009 01:20 PM Yeah, I've pondered on that for a short time in my last post. After this last episode I really can't think anything else but that Manji simply isn't all that good of a swordsman and basically, in most cases, he wins only because of his immortality thing (as we often see he just uses brute force and that's usually enough... can't wait to see how he fares in the final battle).
Feb 3 2009 11:56 AM Still can't get over two things in this show. How surprisingly bad he is at fighting with with the weapons he uses. Having had so long to learn, going through so many fights he's still pretty bad at it. Don't get me wrong, so far he's been the best fighter there. After all, he walks away from every fight when most of his opponents don't but he's not very good using the steel. Without his near immortality he would've died a looooong time ago. The second thing that strikes me is how cowardly she behaves when it comes to the journey of vengeance she claims to have started. She says she want revenge but she's totally scared of the consequences it will have. She's basically portrayed as a victim who most of the time can't do anything BUT be a victim. Trying to convince herself she wants revenge but almost completely relying on someone else for it to happen So she stabs her opponent in the arm then after she gets knocked down she lies there while he paints that full body mask. Oh, and that obstacle course they set up before starting to fight ? Did I miss something ? How extremely far fetched does that seem ? Yeah I know it's not meant to be a realistic show but come on ! Ok, so lets fight but before we do that, lets put these large dressers in the middle of the room so we have pieces of furniture that can get in the way. This way it will be much more exciting
