Miike Takashi hasn't gotten much attention from the overseas market in a odd number of years. A fact that has changed because of the release of the live action adaption of Blade of the Immortal. I was surprised that Blade got a released in theaters outside of Japan(considering the ticket sales in Japan.). Miike's name being attached to this film might have been the main reason for the release in North America. You might know but if you don't, Miike has gained an occult following over the years for his films that range from bizarre to comiedic. Blade was originally a manga created by Samura Hiroaki who created the series from 1993 until 2012. The live action film has an all star cast of Kimura Takuya(Ex member of disbanded boyband SMAP), Sugisaki Hana, Toda Erika, Fukushi Sota, Kitamura Kazuki, and Kuriyama Chiaki. Japan's reaction to the film was not particularly good because the film was released around the time that long time beloved idol boyband SMAP decided to disband.
Blade of the Immortal looks just like every other Japanese samurai film expect for the immortality part. Japanese cinema lovers won't find anything new looking at the distant past of feudal Japan through the lens of this new storyline. My biggest driving force for watching Blade in live action formate was very simple: I had picked up the manga about a year ago on a whim and haven't put it down since then. Miike creates good films. I've watched a bunch of his films without even knowing that he was the one who was the mastermind behind the camera. However, I wouldn't have watched this film had it not been for my love for the manga itself. That caused my experience watching Blade to be different from other who watched this film and only saw a samurai film. Walking on pins and needles while watching made me feel emotional because I was waiting for there to be a slip up that would mess up the original story. Realization then sets in that liberty can be taken when making live action movies based the source material. Which is fine as long as the film still does the source material justice. The film covers only two arks of the manga. Not surprising considering the manga goes on for thirty one volumes. Events in the film don't stray away from the source work for a lot of the movie. Certain events that were edited or taken out completely had more to do with other characters's storylines. There wasn't enough time to add everything that happened in the original source work. Even without all the details added in, Blade is an easy breezy kind of film interns of pacing. Watching the two main characters go from one sword fight to the next made me realize that the two were never truly safe in the manga. The film moves at a constant fast pace most of the time. My only problem with the film is that there were two characters that I wish had been left out. Their appearance made the film seem incomplete somewhat especially when they have bigger background stories in the manga. These characters were there then suddenly vanished off the screen. Unless there's a plan to make more films. Blade of the Immortal the manga has more than enough material to make that happen.
Takuya and Hana's chemistry as the two leads lights up the screen. They both dig deep into their characters to find a romantic chemistry that the film isn't even calling for. Manji is a character that lives hell everyday. You would think that not being able to die would be a blessing but it's really not all that fun when you think of the consequences. Plus the blood worms put inside his body to keep him alive hurt him like hell when they heal him up. Add that on top of losing a loved one and you have our main character. Rin(Hana) hires Manji as her bodyguard to revenge the death of her parents. They end up being a team as they face enemies from different Dojos around Japan. It was a bit weird seeing Fukushi Sota as the villain but he seemed to understands the character well. I agreed with all the actors and actresses choices for the most part. Some of the actors looked so good in their roles, it was like they leaped off the page of the manga.
Blade is shot in a fashion that makes the action look real. Miike is a guy that loves for his films to be extremely bloody if you didn't know. This film isn't too over the top. Mike has really gone crazy with the red substance in the past but this film has a few very violent parts then that's it. In my opinion anyways….I might have become dull to the extent of violence... The samurai sword fights are decent looking with a select few parts of the action really making your eyes go wide. This film is no Rurouni Kenshin or Azumi in terms of sword action sequences though.
Overall, Blade of the Immortal is a film that I didn't feel like I wasted my hard earned money to see. I would watch this film again. I would also recommend it to a friend that enjoys Japanese samurai films. Fans of Japanese cinema won't want to miss out on this film either. I'm more satisfied than disappointed as a fan of the manga.
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