Fiction has shown us many different ways that someone can become immortal. You could get brought back to life by the heart of a TARDIS, the whole beheading thing from Highlander, or turning into a Fish-Man if you live in or around Innsmouth. But perhaps the least pleasant would have to be mystical bloodworms literally reconstituting your limbs following dismemberment. Alas, this is what you have to contend with when you’re Manji, the lead character in Takashi Miike‘s 100th film, Blade of the Immortal, based on the manga by Hiroaki Samura. And below is a very NSFW (because of gore) clip to prove it.
In the manga and film, Manji (played by Takuya Kimura in the movie) is a pretty nasty roving samurai whose criminal actions led to the death of 100 other samurai, including his sister’s husband. For recompense, he’s cursed by an 800-year-old nun named Yaobikuni, who makes him immortal; no wound can kill him and if he is decapitated or otherwise cut apart, the sacred bloodworms will mend him. His quest entails he kill 1,000 evil men before he will be allowed to die. Bloodworms are sticklers for honor codes, you know.
As I said above, Blade of the Immortal represents the 100th film by director Takashi Miike, whose career has spanned three decades. Amid the horror, gangster, and action movies he’s made, he’s also given us some of the best samurai movies of the past 20 years, including Zatoichi and Thirteen Assassins, which is a straight-up masterpiece. Given how awesome the manga is, we’re hoping Blade of the Immortal is just as bonkers and enjoyably bloody as any other movie Miike has ever made.
Let us know your thoughts on it in the comments below!
Image: Magnet Releasing
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!
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