Manji, also known as The Immortal, is a fictional character from the manga series Blade of the Immortal by Hiroaki Samura. A swordsman who was cursed by worms that give him immortality, Manji goes on a journey to get rid of his immortality and bodyguards the orphan Rin due to how similar he finds her to his late sister. In addition to appearing in the manga, Manji has appeared in the two series' animated adaptation where he is voiced by Tomokazu Seki and Kenjiro Tsuda in Japanese. Keith Silverstein and Andrew Love have been Manji's English voice actor. Samura created Manji as an ideal hero who would show always his strong form rather than a weakness. Takuya Kimura and Takashi Miike expressed difficulties in portraying Manji in the live-action film. Critical reception to the character has been generally positive, aimed towards his fight scenes and relationship with Rin. He has also been compared with Marvel Comics' character Wolverine based on their similar traits like their faster regeneration. Creation The protagonist Manji, the author was drawn a totally straight, unvarnished version of his Samura's ideal hero: "a person who never reveals his or her own weaknesses to others, but who at the same time is not as unassailable powerful as he or she may seem". The character's immortality curse is meant to give a contrast to escapist heroes. This was influenced by 1960s's manga protagonists "possessing supernatural power as well as and "the loss and sorrow of having to live with that power" as an element of two sides of the same coin. As a result, Samura conceived the idea an immortal protagonist whom the readers would not like to become. In "flipping" the English version is Manji's clothing, which features a manji symbol, that if the pages were "flipped" would resemble specifically the Nazi swastika, instead of the ancient Eurasian swastika (that can be of any orientation), which for many cultures represents concepts such as peace and harmony. Tomokazu Seki has voiced and portrayed Manji in the first anime and play based on the manga. Kenjiro Tsuda replaced him for the 2019 anime. Keith Silverstein did the English voice. For the live-action film, Takuya Kimura portrayed him. Director Takashi Miike cast Kimura for the role as he found him fitting due to Kimura's personal life and the differences he has with the other members of the music group SMAP. Additionally,