BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL (2019 Anime)

Review by Dennis D. McDonald

I will update this review as I work my way through the series.

Watched episodes 1 and 2 of BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL last night on Amazon Prime. I'll probably be continuing. The story: a girl hires a cursed swordsman to get revenge against bandits who killed her parents. The animation is gorgeous and at times stunning, the action is bloody and violent, and the editing at times unsettling. Occasionally I was reminded of some of the old Japanese yakuza films that emphasized chaotic violence against a backdrop of misplaced loyalties. Not for the faint of heart.

November 22, 2019:

Watched episode 3 last night. I did not understand it. Motivations of the attacker were difficult to understand. This may have partly been because the English subtitles are not capturing everything. Or perhaps I am not immediately recognizing flashbacks.

December 1, 2019:

I have now watched episodes 1-9. Nine is by far the best of the series and also among the most adult and bloody.

Overall, however, I have not been able to completely understand each of the episodes in terms of character motivation. The series’ overall revenge motif is clear but the interactions between secondary and primary characters is not always understandable.

Animation is consistently excellent throughout with character design stylistically being quite realistic especially in terms of facial expression. Also realistic is the time devoted to walking from location to location. No attempt is made to hide the slow communication of these ancient times and that contributes to the series’ overall realism.

Review copyright (c) 2019 by Dennis D. McDonald