Blade of the Immortal: the action and the violence in MIIKE Takashi’s film are relentless, yet somehow it never becomes repulsive. It follows a former samurai cursed with immortality as he helps a young woman to get revenge for her killed parents, and it never hides its manga origins. The opponents are varied and colourful, but not as much as the weaponry they (and the protagonist) use. The film gets, eventually, a bit bogged down by the excessive number of characters and sub-plots involving the Shogunate. The acting is what one would expect in an action romp: KIMURA Takuya, as the immortal but not immune to all kinds of pain anti-hero, is very engaging. SUGISAKI Hana, as his young client, is spunky and has good chemistry with the twisted big-brother figure. The various villains are all played with gusto, particularly the main one, FUKUSHI Soota, whose angelic face hides his ambition and penchant for violence. Costume designer MAEDA Yuuya’s colourful work is key in giving the characters identity. Cinematographer KITA Nobuyasu and editor YAMASHITA Kenji create bloody and gritty action sequences very elegantly.