Line #3 YMMV/BladeOfTheImmortal


1	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Shira's last words are to tell Renzo to give up on his revenge, then telling him never to listen to men like him. While the most popular (Not to mention most in-character) interpretation of that is that it's one last KickTheDog moment to talk Renzo back into his revenge quest, it's ambiguous enough that he could be genuine in his desire to keep Renzo from traveling the same path he did.
2	* ArcFatigue: Like most long-running manga, it varies depending on who you ask. The most popular choice seems to be the six-volume Prison Arc.
3	* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: Easily some of the greatest art in the industry, with dynamic panels, unique designs for every character (mostly), and great storytelling.
4	* CompleteMonster: [[AxCrazy Shira]] is a sadistic, misogynistic SerialKiller and the most depraved member of the Mugai-Ryu. When hunting the Itto-Ryu, Shira rapes, tortures and mutilates a [[HookerWithAHeartOfGold kind prostitute]] named O-Ren, leaving her to die after he's done. When he initially teams up with Manji and Rin, Shira puts on a [[WolfInSheepsClothing facade of acting like a human being]], only to torture and attempt to rape another prostitute serving a decoy for the Itto-Ryu leader, trying to murder Rin when she attempts to stop him. Losing a hand to Manji as a result, Shira grows more and more unhinged with dreams of vengeance to the point he willingly submits to twisted immortality experiments to combat Manji. Raping a woman to death and keeping a boy with a grudge against Manji named Renzo as a helper and SexSlave, whom he violently abuses on a regular basis, Shira proceeds to massacre the Shogunate's forces sent after him and kidnaps Rin. Tying her to a dock, half submerged with a boulder tied to her feet in the dead of winter, Shira attempts to force Manji to choose to [[SadisticChoice drown saving her or leave her to die to face Shira himself]]. Shira proceeds to attempt to murder his other nemesis, O-Ren's beloved Magatsu, while trying to cripple and rape a Shogunate kunoichi assisting him. When finally defeated, Shira uses his last words to implore Renzo to abandon his revenge, only to [[KickTheDog crush his spirit even further]] by spitefully telling him to never listen to men like him.
5	* CreepyAwesome: Despite everything wrong with Shira (see CompleteMonster above), his various psychological problems only serve to make him an even better villain. Plus, since he's the only character in the series with truly [[BlackAndGrayMorality black morality]] in an [[GrayAndGrayMorality otherwise gray cast]], his appearances do a ''lot'' to spice things up.
6	* DesignatedHero: Manji. He's almost always played sympathetically despite being known throughout Japan as "the guy who ''murdered 100 people''". Even by the end of the series, he still hasn't become any more of a good guy. This fact is lampshaded by Renzo [[spoiler: when he attempts to assassinate Manji after Shira's death.]]
7	---> '''Renzo:''' "[[spoiler: Shira]] is dead. He died all alone. And he was eaten by wild dogs...Torn to pieces! A really terrible death. That's probably the way it should be. A man like him wouldn't [deserve to] die like a human. But what's with ''this'' guy? How many people has ''he'' killed?! He's a big criminal too! Why do you all care so much about him?"
8	* DracoInLeatherPants: Anotsu Kagehisa has this in spades. There was continuous hinting at a relationship between him and Rin for a while, although [[spoiler: in the end it didn't amount to anything because Rin kills him, completing her journey.]]
9	* EvilIsCool: Shira is easily the most villainous character in the entire series. Unsurprisingly, he's also one of the cast's top badasses.
10	* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: Manji and Rin are reunited, a bunch of guys hot on Rin's heels. She commands Manji to kill them, but he retorts that he will not kill just anyone simply because she tells him to: He has promised that he will kill 100 evil men to make up for the 100 good men he killed in the past. So, first and foremost, she has to answer him: Are they evil men? Rin near on has a breakdown, tearfully confessing that she does not know if they are evil, she does not know if they really deserve to die, all she knows is that if Manji does not kill them, then they will kill her... This, as it happens, was all Manji needed to hear.
11	* MagnificentBastard:
12	** Anotsu Kagehisa desires a world where "[[BloodKnight the sword excuses all]]". Creating the Itto-Ryu, Anotsu begins to hunt down dojos to eliminate them in order to [[TheSocialDarwinist abolish the stifling sword styles]] from the world in favor of a world of pure determination. Cleverly eluding his pursuers via having prostitutes disguise themselves as him and lead his hunters into ambushes, Anotsu's utter tenacity sees him through other attempts on his life and rallying the itto-Ryu against the shogunate, culminating in a dynamic assault on Edo castle itself. Even to the end, Anotsu remains a complex figure, stopping at nothing to achieve his dreams despite all the wrongs he has committed on his path.
13	** Habaki Kagimura, secret master of the Mugai-Ryu and the shinbangashira--a major figure in the Shogunate--forms the Mugai-Ryu to secretly destroy the Itto-Ryu before luring the organization's strongest members into a trap and destroying them. Capturing series protagonist, the immortal man Manji, Habaki subjects him to experiments to perfect immortality for the sake of the Shogun. When ordered to commit seppuku, Habaki uses his time to try to destroy the Itto-Ryu, dealing a series of decisive blows before engaging Anotsu himself with surprising good humor and [[WorthyOpponent mutual respect]], with his only regrets at the end being the [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes loss of the two loves of his life and his dead children]].
14	* MoralEventHorizon: After dancing around it for several volumes, Kagimura makes a flying leap across when he orders a shipyard to be made inaccessible to the Itto-Ryu...by ''murdering everyone who works there.''
15	* {{Narm}}
16	** The TearJerker of [[spoiler:Shima's suicide]] is somewhat lessened by the most gratuitous use of HighPressureBlood in the series; one stab in the throat results in a ''twenty foot blood fountain.''
17	** Manji's use of [[spoiler: Arashino's own arm]] to defeat him is pretty cool, but he ''keeps using it for the rest of the scene,'' which is pretty distracting since it's the FinalBattle.
18	* NightmareFuel: Lots and lots, but a special mention goes to the entire latter half of the Prison Arc.
19	* RootingForTheEmpire: As the series goes on, it gets really easy to start rooting for the Itto-Ryu.
20	* TearJerker: Dewanosuke's sub-plot is one of the most ''saddening'' moments in the entire series.
21	* TheWoobie:
22	** Makie, who is an unbelievably tragic figure whose life has been nothing but suffering, pain and isolation. The man she loves values her more for her skill than for her as a person, her relationship with her family was dysfunctional at best and she has no purpose in life that she can name. All she can do is resign herself to her own lonely corner of the world and live quietly, troubling and being troubled by none.
23	** Also, as mentioned above, Dewanosuke.

Context YMMV / BladeOfTheImmortal