Blade of the Immortal

"His path is paved in blood."

2017 2h 20m JA

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 664

ActionFantasyAdventureDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Manji, a highly skilled samurai, becomes cursed with immortality after a legendary battle. Haunted by the brutal murder of his sister, Manji knows that only fighting evil will regain his soul. He promises to help a young girl named Rin avenge her parents, who were killed by a group of master swordsmen led by ruthless warrior Anotsu. The mission will change Manji in ways he could never imagine.

“His path is paved in blood.”

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Cast

Takuya Kimura
Manji
Hana Sugisaki
Machi / Rin Asano
Sota Fukushi
Anotsu Kagehisa
Hayato Ichihara
Shira
Erika Toda
Makie Otono-Tachibana
Kazuki Kitamura
Sabato Kuroi
Chiaki Kuriyama
Hyakurin
Shinnosuke Mitsushima
Taito Magatsu

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Takashi Miike
Writers: Tetsuya Oishi
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan, South Korea, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 9 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Japan, South Korea, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Takashi Miike, shot by Nobuyasu Kita. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Koji Endo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Kenji Yamashita shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Takuya Kimura and Hana Sugisaki and Sota Fukushi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "His path is paved in blood.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt5084170 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Takashi Miike directs. Nobuyasu Kita behind the camera. Koji Endo scores. Kenji Yamashita cuts. Produced in Japan, South Korea, United Kingdom. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 9 years ago.
2International production across 3 countries: Japan, South Korea, United Kingdom.
3Directed by Takashi Miike, shot by Nobuyasu Kita. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Koji Endo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Kenji Yamashita shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Takuya Kimura and Hana Sugisaki and Sota Fukushi carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "His path is paved in blood.".
8IMDB entry: tt5084170 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 12 themes, including "japan", "samurai", "revenge", "based on manga".
10Released under 13 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Nobuyasu Kita
Original score: Koji Endo
Editing: Kenji Yamashita
Production design: Toshiyuki Matsumiya
Costume design: Yûya Maeda
Runtime: 140 min · 2h 20m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $150,532
Original language: JA
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Blade of the Immortal (2017)

Also by

Takashi Miike

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-11-29
★ 7/10
When his young sister is brutally slaughtered, fearsome warrior “Manji” (Takuya Kimura) exacts his revenge on the killer and on his army of soldiers. What’s left of him at the end, though, isn’t going to survive for long - until a mysterious lady arrives and pours bloodworms into his wounds. Next thing his limbs are reattached and he is gifted with an immortality. In the next fifty years he acquires quite a reputation and it’s that that the young “Rin” (Hana Sugisaki) wants to tap into after her own father is brutally murdered and she wants her own pound of flesh. Initially, he isn’t really interested in getting involved but before long he is embroiled in a series of acrobatic combat scenarios that test not just the recuperative powers of his worms, but also bring into question his own attitude to his immortality as he encounters others “blessed” or ought that to be “cursed” by the same gift. What I did like about this is the crafted sword-fighting. Though doubtless perfectly choreographed for the camera, they come across as more spontaneous, bloody and less repetitious - especially impressive as there a great many of them as this obviously far more substantial story is rather tightly condensed into a two hours that does leave the principal characterisations a bit undersold at times. On that front, there are probably just too many characters for us to really embrace, and even when we do get a more solid villain in “Anotsu” (Sôta Fukushi) things all seem a bit rushed. Honestly, perhaps this could have been a trilogy, with more time spent developing the stories more thoroughly and taking more time to keep us from becoming solely subsumed in all the gore. Still, I enjoyed it and it does raise quite a few philosophical questions about humanity, humility and revenge.

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