Blade of the Immortal OST

RELEASED: 07.16.2008
LABEL: Phantom Sound & Vision
DL: uploading
TRACKLIST:
1. Shogyou Aritsune (Nothing Changes, Everything Remains)
2. Akai Usagi (Red Rabbit)
3. Zainin Makari Tooru (The Criminal Goes By)
4. Rin
5. Tabiji (Journey)
6. Hada E (Tattoo)
7. Rengoku (Purgatory)
8. Happyaku Yachou (The Big City of Edo)
9. Haritsuu (Needle Pain)
10. Doku to Zoufu (Poison and Entrails)
11. Kuruwa Aishuu (Sorrow of the Walls)
12. Shin Teki Gaishou - Bigaku (Trauma - Esthetics)
13. Taigi (A Great Ceremony)
14. Kuruizaki Yuukaku Road (The Crazy Road to Pleasure)
15. Kimi wa Pankey Monkey BABY! (You're a Punky Monkey BABY!)
16. Kyuuten (Sudden Change)
17. Sanzu no Kaze (Wind of the Dead)
18. Chi Sen Mushi (Kessenchou)
19. Taiji (Confrontation)
20. Kamisori Snake (Razor Snake)
21. Haisou (Escape)
22. Zansatsu Delete (Slaughter Delete)
23. Me to Kuchibashi (Eyes and A Beak)
24. Mugen Shitou (Infinite Struggle)
25. Yoake (Daybreak)

Blade of the Immortal (Mugen no Juunin) is a manga series by Hiroaki Samura. Set in Japan during the mid-Tokugawa period, it follows the life of Manji, a former samurai who becomes ronin after he kills his lord and gained the nickname "Killer of 100" when he slays several of his deceased lord's subordinates and authorities. He gains immortality through the kessenchou ("sacred blood worms") put inside his body by the 800-year-old nun, Yaobikuni. Later on, he encounters Asano Rin, a young noble girl whose family was brutally slain by the Itto-ryu, a group of uncouth fighters led by the ambitious Anotsu Kagehisa.

Rin contracts Manji's help as a bodyguard and together the two of them travel to Edo in order to find Anotsu and put an end to his Itto-ryu. But the path to vengeance is a hard one as the Itto-ryu men try to stop them and a shady group working for the Shogun begins to take unusual interest in Manji...

BUY:

Blade of the Immortal OST @ Amazon
Blade of the Immortal OST @ CD Universe
Mugen no Junin OST @ Play-Asia
More Mugen no Junin products @ Play-Asia
Mugen no Junin products list @ Yes Asia

The anime series is done by BeeTrain of Madlax and Noir fame. The studio is not unknown for producing excellent soundtracks. Blade of the Immortal OST is no exception. True, it's composed by Kow Otani (and not by Yuki Kajiura who did an excellent job with Noir and Madlax), but all the tracks are solid, strangely haunting and intense. Real intense.

At certain points, like Akai Usagi and Hada E, the tracks employ vocals that sound eerily like someone wailing in the dead of the night. It will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand. When used during fight scenes in the anime series, it makes the action that much more violent and furious.

Not that, Blade of the Immortal OST is all about violent music. Take a breather with the 8th track, a string composition that usually plays when Manji and Rin are traveling through a crowd of people in the big city. The song Rin also echoes the youth of the character and her somewhat lighter outlook. Yoake, though still haunting, holds fragile hope and because of that is lighter on the ears.

Hate it or love it, this soundtrack fits the series nicely. I can't imagine watching the series without the particular musical element this soundtrack provides. The experience just won't be the same. Believe me, I've read the manga, and while the art of the anime does not come even remotely close to the beauty of the manga, the visual and auditory experience that the anime provides does put the two on an even level.

MORE INFO:

OFFICIAL Anime Website (JPN)
OFFICIAL Anime Blog (JPN)
Series Info (Wikipedia)
Series Info (Anime News Network)