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BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL VOL. 19: BADGER HOLE |
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Reviews
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Sunday, 17 August 2008 |
 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | DARK HORSE | | | ▪ | AUTHOR / ART: | | HIROAKI SAMURA | | | ▪ | FORMAT: | | WESTERN / B&W | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 168 | | | ▪ | RATING: | | 18+ | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 06/11/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 08/17/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD |
Doa and Rin embark on a daring rescue to save the people close to them. Rin’s long search for Manji may come to an end, but not the one she wants. Traps, vindictive guards, and horrifying secrets await the young women in their escapade. As they descend down into the hole, infiltrating the lord’s compound, they risk more than their lives, they risk their sanity. This riveting arc focuses on Rin. The nightmarish immortality experiments continue and Rin is just learning about them. When they land in the hands of sadistic guards, Rin undergoes shocking trauma after an even more shocking decision on her part. Choices are what life often comes down to, and Rin is shown prepared to make the tough choices in order to save Manji. These chapters show just how far Rin has come from that hell-bent and wide-eyed teen that first hooked up with Manji so long ago. Even Doa, despite her greater fighting skills, is put to shame at the display of Rin’s strategic thinking and ability to look ahead and see the larger picture. That is not the same impulsive girl always getting into trouble for no good reason. She has a reason for what she does now, and she has the resolve to see it through. Readers should prepare themselves for brutality this round. And expect to be impressed with the well written and visualized evolution of her character. Hyakurin also makes an appearance in this trade paperback. More is discovered about her past, her present, and possibly her future in a gut-wrenching and revealing set of interactions between her and her fellow swordsman. It continues in the vein of this collection serving as just as hard-hitting a counterpoint as Rin’s dilemma. Collects issues 127 to 131 of the series.
IN SUMMARY:
Rin’s attempt to rescue Manji meets nightmarish brutality in Badger Hole. |
