new dojo, the Ittō-ryū (a school teaching any technique that wins, no matter how exotic or underhanded), and has started taking over and destroying other dojos. In addition, another group calling itself the Mugai-ryū has emerged, in opposition to the Ittō-ryū. Its true leadership and motives are initially a mystery, but its methods (any tactics that lead to victory) resemble those of the Ittō-ryū. They try to enlist Manji's help as they seem to want the same thing. Eventually, Manji joins but quickly pulls out after he finds out a member, Shira, is way too sadistic for his tastes. After a while, Manji finally discovers that the Mugai-ryū work for the government. They are all death row inmates who are allowed to live only if they serve the shogunate. While Manji and Shira quickly grow to hate each other, after Shira runs off, Manji remains on friendly terms with the other members of the group. Creation and conception Samura stated that Tange Sazen was the largest influence on his characters and narrative style. In regards to the overall work he stated that he wanted to create a new style of manga, with his intended style being "Don't obsess about the details--just look at the story." Media Manga Blade of the Immortal, written and illustrated by Hiroaki Samura, began in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon on June 25, 1993, and finished on December 25, 2012. Kodansha collected its 219 chapters into thirty tankōbon volumes, released from September 19, 1994, to February 22, 2013. A sequel titled , written by Kenji Takigawa and illustrated by Ryū Suenobu, with Samura's collaboration, started in Monthly Afternoon on May 25, 2019. Kodansha released the first tankōbon volume on October 23, 2019. As of April 21, 2022, six volumes have been released. Dark Horse Comics release The English language version of the manga was published by Dark Horse Comics. The manga began its publication in individual monthly issues, with the first issue being published on June 1, 1996. These issues were later collected into individual volumes, and the first one was published on March 1, 1997. On October 11, 2007, Dark Horse Comics announced that they would drop the monthly issues publishing, with issue #131, released on November 14, 2007, being the last one. The series continued publishing through trade paperback volumes only, starting with the 18th volume, released on February 6, 2008. The 31st