Blade of the Immortal Episode 10

Act Ten – Animal

Today’s Blade of the Immortal review is going to focus on side characters. We don’t really see much of Manji in this episode, and the only shots we get of Rin involve her fishing for crayfish or something. But, there are two things regarding the two of them I do want to mention before getting into everything else.

Last week we saw just how far Rin was willing to go in order to cross the border into Kaga in pursuit of Kagehisa. However, this week we learned that she didn’t actually have to do that, and that Manji could have gone with her. A man, who I believe was Rin’s instructor, reveals that he can actually get border passes relatively easily. Whoops.

The other thing I want to mention is that apparently, while the Mugai-Ryu knew Kagehisa was traveling to Kaga for something, they didn’t yet know where he was traveling to in Kaga. So basically they sent Rin into Kaga without any idea of where to find Kagehisa. Yeah, that doesn’t sound like a very good plan to me either.

Taito Magatsu

I mentioned this in a previous episode review, though I’m not sure which one and I’m not going to go back and check, but it seems that Taito and Manji are going to team up. Is Blade of the Immortal about to become Samurai Champloo? Rin is Fuu, Manji is Jin (I guess), and Taito is Mugen.

I’m honestly extremely okay with that development because I think Taito is an interesting character. However, I also would have liked to see the series follow him separately from Manji and Rin. Sort of like how Naruto Shippūden follows Sasuke separately from Naruto & the gang for most of the series.

Sure, both Rin and Manji are also seeking revenge just like Taito is, but Taito’s story so far is a bit different from theirs. He was initially one of the bad guys, and still is to an extent. He’s more like a rogue now, who’s willing to side with whoever will help him accomplish his short term goal of killing Shira.

But now that Taito has join Manji, it made me think about how we might see their dynamic play out. Both of them seem to be pretty hard-headed, but laid back at the same time. They clearly aren’t two people who could ever really get along even though they probably understand exactly how the other feels.

There’s also the fact that Manji is “immortal,” while Taito is not. Is this difference between the two of them going to come into play at some point considering how similar they are otherwise? I was thinking that Taito might actually sacrifice himself for Manji, despite the fact that Manji is immortal.

That could be an interesting way to show that Taito has come to respect Manji after their travels together, but who knows.

Hyakurin and Shinriji

The main focus of this episode is on the Mugai-Ryu pair of Hyakurin and Shinriji. We already knew these two were partners in the organization, but aside from that we didn’t really know all that much about them. Well, except that Hyakurin used to have a family, but I’ll get to that shortly.

Let’s first go over Shinriji, because (spoilers) he’s the one of the two who dies in this episode. Shinriji has a crush on Hyakurin, which is obvious by the fact that he asked her to settle down and start a household with him — after they’re no longer wanted criminals, of course.

We also learn that his crush initially stemmed from the fact that Hyakurin reminded Shinriji of his mother — specifically her hair color. This makes the fact that he has a crush on her a bit weirder, but whatever, you do you, Shinriji.

It’s also implied that at some point the pair had a choice: they could either join the Mugai-Ryu as criminals, or they could perform assassinations for the government to pay off their crimes. They both chose the Mugai-Ryu for whatever reason.

Now, as for Hyakurin, we don’t know exactly why she was given this choice at all, but it originated from her killing of her husband. She stabbed him through the head after witnessing him cut their eight-year-old son down for being weak.

I guess that proves she’s a good enough swordswoman to be invited into the Mugai-Ryu.

Giichi

Finally, we have Giichi, who I’m not sure was named until now. He’s the Mugai-Ryu member who uses the circular weapon (I have no idea what it’s called) that decapitates people. He’s interesting for two reasons, the first being the simple fact that he appears to be much stronger than I previously thought.

The other reason he’s interesting is that he may be the person previously referred to as “Akagi.” At least, it’s hinted that his alias is Akagi, because the episode cuts to him right after Hyakurin reveals that the Akagi the Itto-Ryu is looking for is someone they’ve already run into before.

However, I also considered the fact that Akagi could be the alias of Shira, in which case Hyakurin was implying that the Itto-Ryu had been dealing with Akagi without even realizing it.

But back to Giichi, another reason I’m not entirely sure if he’s the Akagi mentioned is because he’s not the leader of the Mugai-Ryu. The same could be argued about Shira as well. Whoever Akagi is, they seem to be the one in charge, and Giichi mentioned his “superiors.”

Could Akagi be the man we see with Giichi when Hyakurin was first taken in by the Mugai-Ryu? Or is it someone we’ve already met?

Conclusion

What did you think of Blade of the Immortal episode 10? Are you excited to see Manji and Taito become bros to the close? Do you think Rin will manage to find Kagehisa on her own? And who do you think Akagi is? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of the next episode is available here.