▪	RELEASED BY:		DARK HORSE
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		HIROAKI SAMURA
		▪	FORMAT:		WESTERN / BW
		▪	PAGES:		184
		▪	RATING:		MA
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		11/27/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		06/06/2007
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		HOLLY ELLINGWOOD

This volume collects issues 112 to 117 of the Blade of Immortal comic books released by Dark Horse. Right from where the book left off with the gruesome fate suffered by Manji, his ghastly tortures continue at the hands of the maniacal surgeon Ayame Burando.  Kagimura’s orders for him to discover the secret of immortality has led to the most inhumane of experiments by Burando. But it is his sentence to find the secret or be executed. He has very few days to prove success and will go to diabolical, monstrous lengths to save his own life and further his insane scientific ambitions. Will he discover the secret and help create an army of immortal soldiers? And just how much extreme gutting, hacking, and severing, can even the immortal Manji take?

Continuing the most grisly story arc in Blade of the Immortal so far, this tale of Manji in Kagimura’s dungeon being set upon by one horrific experiment after another can turn even the strongest of stomachs. The involvement of mere mortals in this makes the sessions that much more awful. During the course of these chapters, we see into the hearts and minds of Burando and the extent of his hubris, as well as seeing inside the heart of a criminal condemned to death who suffers through these excruciating experiments for a more noble purpose. All of it enrages Manji who remains bound, helpless, and constantly in a physical torment no mere human could encompass let alone survive. His only chance is if Rin can find him, but so far she has had little luck and has been joined by the unexpected company of Hyakurin.

This volume also holds a historical figure. It provides its fictional representation of the actual person from history named Yamada Asaemon Yoshiro, the man who history will come to refer to as The Executioner. What his presence will mean for Manji in the long run has yet to be fully revealed.

IN SUMMARY:
This is one of the most grisly story arcs yet to be found in Blade of the Immortal. It is a cautionary tale of inhumanity, the monstrous lengths of men and their ambition, and the shocking greed for the power of immortality juxtaposed by its curse.