Well, Mugen no Juunin: Immortal went right where I expected it to this week.  And while I can see the legitimacy of this turn from a story standpoint, I’d be lying if I said I was thrilled about it.  I’ve never been a fan of torture porn in the larger sense, even less so when it involves a generally sympathetic character (as I think Manji is for the most part).  It’s too early to say whether that’s what this story arc boils down to, but I can honestly say I hope it doesn’t go on for too long.

Unfortunately for Manji (and me) Habaki Kagimura is exactly the sort of fellow you’d expect to be forward-thinking enough to see the possibilities in someone like Manji.  But he’s no scientist, so he brings in one Burando Ayame to head up his investigation into what makes the immortal man tick.  Burando seems to have spent some time studying Western medicine (like anaesthesia), and comes off as borderline psychotic if not necessarily a sadist.  Caught up in this mess is a petty thief named Dewanosuke, who was sentenced to die and given the option to be a part of the Manji experiment in exchange for a temporary reprieve.

Meanwhile, Rin’s situation has likewise gotten very complicated, if a lot less disgusting.  Her family’s old dojo has been invaded by a pair of Ittou-ryuu named Doa and Isaku, planning to use it as a hideout until it’s time for their winter counterattack.  She has no idea the comically mismatched pair are Ittou-ryuu, and in fact is spending her time consorting with Hyakurin of the Mugai-ryuu (now officially disbanded, their usefulness to Habaki at an end) to help her search for Manji-san.  The fiery Doa and timid Isaku are hardly ideal houseguests, but now that he’s learned the truth of what happened to her parents things could degrade even further pretty quickly.

Habaki’s plan: to figure out Manji’s immortality and see if it can be passed on to Dewanosuke.  Seemingly an amiable and fairly simple fellow, Dewanosuke quickly endears himself to Manji enough so that the latter dispenses with the idea of escaping and leaving him behind.  But Kagimura has already proved himself to be a resourceful and formidable foe, and escaping from his clutches promises to be very difficult (though if it just a matter of Burando I suspect rather easy).  Kagimura easily foils the pair’s initial escape attempt, and quickly seizes on it as an opportunity to see whether the two men can swap severed hands and have them re-attach (they can).

As I noted, I can see where Samura Hiraoki is going with this, but that doesn’t mean I find it enjoyable.  This is one of those cases where you have to put your trust in the author (or at the very least for the director) and hope for the best, because how Immortal chooses to handle this arc is going to make all the difference.  Clearly Samura is not a guy who pulls his punches and Immortal not a series for the faint of heart, but as long as whatever happens is in service of the story and not reduced to the level of pure gratuitousness I’ll have no grounds for complaint.