Blade of the Immortal Vol. 8: The Gathering Part 1

[pmpknface]

I don't have much time, but since I finished this volume during my lunch break today I thought I'd start the thread.

So... who wants to continue reading with the next volume right now? :D

This volume gets very Lone Wolf & Cub on us as our main two characters split up. And just as the action reaches a boilint point the book runs out of pages! D'oh! :eek:

I'm gonna post more on this tomorrow, but if you haven't gotten around to reading this week's volume yet I PROMISE you won't regret it! :D

[pmpknface]

I have a few minutes so I thought I'd add a few more extended thoughts to this thread.

One of the reasons The Gathering is waaaay up there in my favorite arcs is because, like the name implies, nearly every major character gets some face time. Although Rin and Manji are only togather for the first few parts of this volume, we still get both of their stories instead of dropping their thread an picking it up later. I think this makes for great storytelling.

Although the swordfight between Manji and the 3 Itto-ryu guys has barely started it's already gotten pretty nasty. Samaura really puts him in a bind and we knew he'd get out of it, but there are no cheap outs here! He takes all 3 guys on while tied to a tree! Great action! The first time I saw Manji slice off his own hand I almost lost it! :eek:

Again, Rin begins to come into her own a little more in each chapter and that happens here too. Haykurin has some great scenes here too.

And I love the backup: SAMAURA'S WEAPON SHOP! That's a fun little extra that was way overdue. All this, and there's still another part to this chapter.

So, how are you guys doing with this? Liking it so far? Losing steam?

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Ack, sorry I'm a little behind. I'm about halfway through the volume. Should be able to finish it tomorrow and post on it. . . I haven't forgotten you.

On the bright side, this will mean I can get to Part Two almost instantly after it in time for next week's thread. No delay between volumes for me! heh

-Augie

[pmpknface]

That's cool! I hope I didn't ruin anything for you!

[De Carabas]

A slightly quieter volume this go around. Rin striking out on her own and Manji trying to find her like an anxious parent is an interesting twist. Whether Rin is old enough to leave the nest is going to be big question.

The thing I noticed about this volume is that there isn't a defined antagonist to root against. This volume's main obstacle isn't a member of the Itto-ryu or the ever-elusive Anotsu. It's the anxiety of trying to cross the border. The near-certain death (for Rin, at least) that trying to cross the border unprepared presents. I don't know if this was done deliberately, but it was very wise of Samura to give us one of the most drawn out and complex fight scenes yet, in this volume, because I know I needed something to break the tension. :p

Oh, who am I kidding? I just love fight scenes and that fight scene rocks! Woo!

EM, the Action Junkie

[pmpknface]

I'm with you man! The fight scenes are awesome, but the tension of Rin trying t oget through the bansho without a tegata is thicker than pea soup! And it only gets better! :eek:

(I hope I got my Japanese terms correct!)

Also, I love the POV on this cover.

[Madame Manga]

I like the brush-painted wanted posters--they remind me of the ones that blew all over the country in Lone Wolf and Cub. Rin's tendency towards large, dramatic adolescent gestures comes out in this volume. She has to do everything in the most difficult way possible, doesn't she? But she ends up doing it with style.

As Hyakurin said, the only way Rin was ever going to toughen up was to go it alone for a while. Everyone seems to see the necessity of that but Manji; he doesn't even pick up on the reason why Rin looks so hard for an opportunity to say something nice to him the day before she skips out. She knows she's going to leave him, but she also hopes he won't be too angry with her for doing so. Of course, he's absolutely frantic, though he wonders at one point just why he's letting a little girl push him around like this! That's not something he can easily tease out of his own brain.

Giichi is such a sweetie. First he freaks Rin out with his trophy head, and then he tells her straight what she wants to know and wishes her well. He's quiet, but an interesting quantity.

Manji's being very rude indeed to Hyakurin. He starts pouring his own drinks while arguing with her over the botched operation, and comes straight into the bathhouse without leaving either sword at the door. But she has discovered that flirting with him is a good way to get his back up, and she holds her own. At this point, that's probably the main reason she's doing it. That seems to change a little later, especially in the aftermath of the fight with the three Itto-ryu guys and their weird-ass weapons.

Damn, I love this fight. There are some sorta-contrived bits, especially in the second half of the arc, but for sheer cleverness, visceral shock and energy, I don't think Samura has surpassed it yet. Manji's method of getting unhooked from the tree shows creative resourcefulness; he gets his two lesser opponents way off balance, and they never quite recover. When he deliberately milks the effect of slowly standing up and looking around with a freakin' spike through his skull, I cannot help but love the guy. Hilarious, gross, and a perfect illustration of his attitude. You'd think nothing could possibly top that bit, and then Manji goes and whacks off his own hand. :eek: Damn, I LOVE this fight!

Nice visual joke: the sequence by the road where all we see is the feet of various travelers. At first, it seems like typical Samura framing, then it goes on a little longer than usual, and you wonder what's up. Manji wakes up, and there's a shot of his feet too, right in the same spot in the layout as a shot of Hanada's on the previous page. You've got all the clues right in your face, but it doesn't click into place until Higa mentions he was suspicious because Manji wasn't wearing traveling sandals. Very cute indeed.

MM

[pmpknface]

Everyone seems to see the necessity of that but Manji; he doesn't even pick up on the reason why Rin looks so hard for an opportunity to say something nice to him the day before she skips out. She knows she's going to leave him, but she also hopes he won't be too angry with her for doing so. Of course, he's absolutely frantic, though he wonders at one point just why he's letting a little girl push him around like this! That's not something he can easily tease out of his own brain.

Yeah, it's funny to see him frustrated that she's bolted on him. And he goes looking because he's worried about her. BUT... remember Manji and Rin had a deal. How's he supposed to be able to die unless he kills his 1,000? And she was supposed to help him with that!

Her leaving him may have been necessary for her perosnal growth, but it was also selfish in a way. Not surprising, as she is still quite young and she does have a mission to accomplish, but it was still wrong.

But now we get 2 stories instead of just 1! :D

[Madame Manga]

BUT... remember Manji and Rin had a deal. How's he supposed to be able to die unless he kills his 1,000? And she was supposed to help him with that!

Her leaving him may have been necessary for her perosnal growth, but it was also selfish in a way. Not surprising, as she is still quite young and she does have a mission to accomplish, but it was still wrong.

OK, I'm going to debate that point! :D There hasn't been a mention of the "one thousand evil men" in a long time. I'm starting to wonder if it's ever going to emerge again. At his current rate, Manji isn't going to accomplish that goal very quickly. And I don't know that there's any formal agreement between him and Rin. He joked about selling her to a brothel in a few years, but obviously he's not going to do that! So she's not violating any contract that I can see, explicit or implied.

Rin gives him plenty of warning before she leaves. She tells him flat out she's going to go to Kaga alone, and it's Manji's own fault that he can't take her seriously. Neither does he pay any attention to her assessment of Anotsu's sense of honor, even though she's survived a recent encounter with the guy and Manji hasn't even met him.

There's a major power struggle going on between the two of them, with high stakes for Rin's self-respect and personal independence. Her hired bodyguard is trying to take complete charge of HER revenge. Manji believes that the only way for Rin to accomplish anything is for him to do it for her. If HE can't get past the checkpoint, then that's it--game over. All his little girl is ever going to be allowed to do, by his reckoning, is wait for him to have another chance at Anotsu and then sit on the sidelines while the big boys do their manly battle thing.

I'd be outta there like a shot, personally. ;)

MM

[pmpknface]

OK, I'm going to debate that point! :D There hasn't been a mention of the "one thousand evil men" in a long time. I'm starting to wonder if it's ever going to emerge again. At his current rate, Manji isn't going to accomplish that goal very quickly. And I don't know that there's any formal agreement between him and Rin. He joked about selling her to a brothel in a few years, but obviously he's not going to do that! So she's not violating any contract that I can see, explicit or implied.

Rin gives him plenty of warning before she leaves. She tells him flat out she's going to go to Kaga alone, and it's Manji's own fault that he can't take her seriously. Neither does he pay any attention to her assessment of Anotsu's sense of honor, even though she's survived a recent encounter with the guy and Manji hasn't even met him.

There's a major power struggle going on between the two of them, with high stakes for Rin's self-respect and personal independence. Her hired bodyguard is trying to take complete charge of HER revenge. Manji believes that the only way for Rin to accomplish anything is for him to do it for her. If HE can't get past the checkpoint, then that's it--game over. All his little girl is ever going to be allowed to do, by his reckoning, is wait for him to have another chance at Anotsu and then sit on the sidelines while the big boys do their manly battle thing.

I'd be outta there like a shot, personally. ;)

MM

Ok, I was hoping I'd spark something with my last post! This is fun...

Right around this point it the series you begin to wonder if Samura has even forgotten about the 1000 because we don't hear about it much, if at all, anymore. We could be in retirement before Manji gets that far - if he makes it that long! :rolleyes: And no, you're right there was no "formal agreement" signed in blood, sealed by a notary or anything but I thought they had a deal (I'll go home and take a look at vol 1 to see exactly how it went down).

I don't think Manji WANTS to take control of her, or kill Anotsu for her - necessairly. But I do think he is looking after her like a little sister. Only a year ago she came to him all wide-eyed and optimistic about being able to kill 1 guy and now even though she realized the enormity and difficulty of her situation she still presses on alone - that is to be admired.

But what Manji realizes and sees above all else is that she has next to NO fighting skills! It's 1 thing to say she could get through the bansho, to actually get to Edo, or to actually find Anotsu. But it's another thing entirely to just think she could walk up to Anotsu, challenge him to a fight and win. I think that's why Manji doesn't take her seriously.

Plus, for every moment of "personal growth" Rin has, there's another to show just how young, impatient, and inexperienced she is. I don't think Manji thought she could seriously make it without him, because she may not have made it this far without him. That's not a put-down, that's just fact. And if Rin wasn't is such a hurry and waited for another option, one would have presesented itself.

I think she endangered BOTH of their personal missions because of her disire for revenge. She's only seeing her goal and not fully thinking about the BEST way to go about it, instead just trudging head on into the unknown. It makes for a great story and adds a lot of tension and possibilities, so it's fun (especailly because I know what happens it the next volume :D ) but since we're talking about these characters like they are real, I do think it was the wrong decision.

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

I finally finished reading this volume last night. Not sure I have a whole lot to add, storywise, to what you guys are discussing. But I do thank you for it, because it's definitely added dimensions to the story that I didn't think about too much. (And I have to admit the foot pages threw me. Had to go back a couple of times and still didn't really get it.)

What I was happy about in this volume is that they found a way to include a little recap in some of the dialogue. Names were mentioned again, situations restated. It helped for those of us with sieve brains who can't keep names and storylines straight. Having Rin explain herself once or twice helped refresh my memory of previous volumes as we went along.

So I guess I'm the only one who expected Manji to cut his arm off to get off the tree? And it is nice to see some action in the book again. Give me more blood! Severed limbs! Hatchet jobs! Oddball weaponry! I want it all!

I need to get to the second volume soon, though. Jamie is right on that one. =)

-Augie

[pmpknface]

And no, you're right there was no "formal agreement" signed in blood, sealed by a notary or anything but I thought they had a deal (I'll go home and take a look at vol 1 to see exactly how it went down).

Ok, I checked this out last night. Basicly, Rin goes to Manji and BEGS him to help her. She says she knows his story about the bloodworms and how she can give him people to kill and she REALLY needs his help. When Manji asks what's in it for him, she says "Do whatever you want with me..." and begins to take her robe off - at which point he slaps her.

Then just when you think he's going ot let her go, he kind of apoligizes for hitting her that hard and he sticks with her.

So I guess there wasn't any kind of agreement the shook on, but she did BEG and PLEAD for Manji to help her, and now she bolts at the first sign of trouble.

And it is nice to see some action in the book again. Give me more blood! Severed limbs! Hatchet jobs! Oddball weaponry! I want it all!

Oh yeah... there's plenty more where THAT came from! :D

[De Carabas]

But I do thank you for it, because it's definitely added dimensions to the story that I didn't think about too much.
Ditto. As I read Madame Manga's post I started to get more and more angry with Manji. "Yeah! That jerk! Who does he think he is!" I understood why Rin was taking Hyakurin's advice, but more from a story perspective, rather than from the character's perspective. I guess Manji's actions & behavior are easier for me to relate to since I'm, well, a guy.

I do like how Samura has crafted an argument where both sides are right and both sides are wrong. Manji needs to let Rin come into her own. Rin needs to realize that Anotsu can kill her in the space of an eyeblink. Manji needs to stop giving Rin so many orders, and treat her like an equal partner. Rin needs to remember that the last time she thought her opponent would behave honorably she was almost killed in a very horrific manner.

So I guess I'm the only one who expected Manji to cut his arm off to get off the tree?
Nope. I was getting impatient for it actually. :D I mean this is a guy who let Makie hack his limbs off so he could keep up with her speed. :eek: I can understand wanting to save the hand that early in the match, but I knew it was only a matter of time. I'm crossing my fingers taht the second part of this fight is just as good as the first.

EM

[pmpknface]

I guess Manji's actions & behavior are easier for me to relate to since I'm, well, a guy.

HA! I was thinking the same thing! :p

[Madame Manga]

Yeah, I wanted to put it good and strong from Rin's point of view. :D One of the things I like about Samura is that he takes some pains to see things from the side of the female characters, not just that of the men. In this historical period, being a woman often meant you were regarded as a chattel, and certainly as an inferior and a source of corruption (for men). Makie comes in for plenty of this attitude in the course of the plot, and she's depicted sympathetically and reasonably realistically; she is by no means a stereotypical temptress or fallen woman.

To be clear, I think Manji is an honorable guy to the bone; he's not a pig or an oppressor. He's just himself. He's got a forceful personality, he knows what he's about with a sword in his hand, and so he tends to enforce his own way by default. He's doing what he honestly believes is the right thing. He's not deliberately holding Rin back; after all, he offered to train her in swordsmanship. He wants her to be able to stand on her own a little better, though what actually spurred him to do something about that was his near-death at Makie's hands. If he's no longer around to protect her, his thinking goes, an unskilled Rin is going to be toast.

But in order to do what she must at this point, Rin CANNOT take Manji with her. Bear with me here!

What does Rin say when telling Manji she'll go alone to find Anotsu? "I HAVE to meet that man again." Not "I have to pummel him to death with my little bare hands," but MEET him. What has the story been saying, over and over? Violence breeds only violence. Rin still has a burning desire to see Anotsu dead--that will probably never go away. But she has also gained a tremendous amount of perspective on her quest for revenge that she cannot dismiss. She has had a very disturbing encounter with Anotsu that she hasn't completely processed. For her own peace of mind, simply killing him will no longer do. She has to understand him first: pick his mind and his motivations completely apart and lay them out in perfect order. When she's satisfied in that, and only then, he can die like a dog.

So imagine she takes her valiant bodyguard along on this quest for better understanding. How would Manji react if they caught up with Anotsu on the road? Would he listen to Rin when she asked him to stand back and let her TALK to the guy? Yeah, exactly.

Rin knows very well that Manji thinks all such concerns are utter bull and that her gut feelings don't count for anything; that was the substance of their whole conversation over the rice balls. Every time she expresses doubts about revenge, he tells her she's being an idiot and that she has to stick to her original purpose. What did Manji do when Rin begged him not to kill Araya (On Silent Wings) because she didn't want to inflict the same loss she had suffered? He took the knife out of her hand and offed him without a word, that's what. Nothing else made sense to him; this was one of the enemy. When your only tool is a sharp blade, every problem looks like a throat that needs cutting.

So unless the only outcome to Rin's life quest and deep philosophical yearnings she ever wants to see is a monumental dogfight when Anotsu heaves in view, her well-intentioned but somewhat blinkered big brother is going to have to cool his heels in Edo. ;)

MM

[pmpknface]

The Gathering Part 2 is due today, I just haven't had time to start the thread. If you've read it and got the time, fire away! :D

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Join the club. I had to put it off to get a couple of other things read for the next couple of Pipelines. I'll be contributing mid-cycle to this one again.

-Augie

[dancj]

So I guess I'm the only one who expected Manji to cut his arm off to get off the tree?

I was half expecting that too. TBH, I didn't follow the action that well and I'm not too sure how he did get down.

I'm not sure why they felt the need to chop end this book in the middle of a story. The story is short enough that they could easily have made this a slightly shorter book and the next one slightly longer

[Madame Manga]

I was half expecting that too. TBH, I didn't follow the action that well and I'm not too sure how he did get down.


I don't think I ever quite get the details of the action on the first read--I just plow on through and enjoy the kinetics. Then I go back and analyze things frame by frame and go "Oh, NOW I see! Cool!" In one sense that's what makes this a re-readable book; you are always going to pick up more on subsequent trips.

Without the book in front of me, this is how Manji escapes from his tree hang-up: His right hand is spiked through with a pair of barbs attached to a jointed pole weapon. This pole weapon has been clipped to a hooked chain which was thrown over a sturdy horizontal branch about ten feet off the ground. Then the chain hooks were driven into the trunk of the tree to secure the whole arrangement. Manji's right arm is held straight up in the air and has almost no play.

After some screwing around that leaves Manji with two spikes through his torso, the guy with the large cleaver weapon takes his turn. Manji blocks the cleaver with the double-bladed knife he has attached to the hilt of his katana. Since he's fighting a two-arm attack with only one arm, he's not holding up too well. So he chomps on his attacker's wrist. Attempting to dislodge Manji's teeth from his arm, the cleaver guy grabs his hair, thus leaving only one hand on his weapon. After some chewing, he's in enough pain to lose hold of the cleaver. Manji has been waiting for this; he drops his katana to stick in the ground and grabs the cleaver out of the air.

This thing is tailor-made for wood-chopping, and that's just what he does. After a few overhead swings, he cuts part way through the branch. His other opponent, the fellow who put the spikes through his torso, takes exception to this. He jumps on Manji's back in an attempt to stop him. Manji says "Hold on tight!", drops the cleaver, grabs the barbed pole weapon above the point where it is attached to his hand, and puts his full weight plus his opponent's weight on the damaged branch. Crack! Down the slope they tumble. Naturally Manji manages to retrieve his katana on the way and stick it between his teeth; this man has reflexes to burn. ;-)

[dancj]

Phew and IIRC all of that happens in a couple of pages!

[Sabrina_Fried]

Well, I’m moving in two weeks, so I thought I would clean out my pile of late writing assignments before I have to pack up my computer:

Ok you know you are dealing with a hardcore fight comic, when the main character is willing to cut his own hand off in order to get the upper hand (I meant that pun…really I did!). Sure it’ll get reattached, but still, you have to wonder what’s going through Manji’s mind at this point. Almost makes me wonder if the kessen-chu don’t eventually drive their host insane. The Gathering is really the point in BOI so far where I really feel that Manji started to get really lazy about his fighting because he knew no matter what happened, the kessen-chu would just heal him up. Paradoxically, I also feel it’s the point in the story thus far, where Samura-sama started to ignore the kessen-chu a little bit. The first time I read through this arc, it really ticked me off. The second time, I wasn’t so bad with it, mainly because I started looking at the other parts of the story that he was focusing on at the expense of Manji’s quest to kill a thousand evil men: namely Rin’s quest to kill Anotsu. At the same time though, it’s almost like Samura-san lost his notes at this point when he has Manji and Rin split up (well, ok, Rin ditches Manji, not quite the same thing). I mean let’s not forget that Rin originally hired Manji to help her get vengeance against Anotsu, now she is leaving her bodyguard behind in order to continue her quest? She either thinks her skills have progressed a lot father than they have, or is hoping that Manji will catch up to her somehow, I have to admit, I actually don’t remember what happens next at this point.

I also found it very intriguing that a warrior such as Anotsu, head of what he would like to think of as one of the strongest sword schools in Japan, has become so utterly paranoid about his own safety (despite his fighting skills) that he uses decoys, false plans and other such things to protect him not only from Manji and Rin, but from other enemies that may or may not exist. On the one hand, I can see him being a realist. As a guy who is trying to gather around him all the best fighters in Japan, he knows that inevitably he will run into one that is his match. On the other hand, for a guy capable of laying such plans, you’d think Makoto would have been outed by now.

Ok, I hope to read and review vol 9 before I have to pack it for the move…but no promises


Sabrina

[pmpknface]

FYI - I just started the thread to Volume #13! :)