Director Takashi Miike’s upcoming film Mugen no jûnin, or “Blade of the Immortal”, features oodles of violence and an extremely badass samurai protagonist. The 57-year-old director is celebrating his 100th film by re-visiting feudal Japan and having vengeance-driven samurai warrior Manji, played by Japanese actor Takuya Kimura, take on a ridiculous wave of enemies hell-bent on tearing him to pieces.
Fortunately for the samurai hero, he has the ability to regenerate any limb that gets chopped off. But even with his immortality, Manji still deems people who are capable of dying as “lucky.”
The ironic twist is that the immortal samurai actually hopes to attain mortality for himself, according to
io9.
Subscribe to
NextShark's Newsletter
A daily dose of Asian America's essential stories, in under 5 minutes.
Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories to your inbox daily for free.
Unsure? Check out our Newsletter Archive.
However, a girl named Rin Asano (Hana Sugisaki), who is also seeking revenge, turns to the immortal warrior for help, which means that a path filled with bloodlust is necessary before goals are met. Miike is known for producing overly violent and extremely graphic films, and the trailer for “Blade of the Immortal” is no exception.
The film’s red band trailer is a masterful display of beautiful swordplay and non-stop action coupled with scenes of guts, blood and numerous body parts strewn across the battlefield. While Miike is being regarded as a controversial director due to his disturbing films like “Ichi the Killer” and “Imprint”, he has also directed some drama and family-friendly shows.
According to
The Japan News, the prolific Japanese director is currently involved in a live-action drama aimed towards the general audience dubbed “Idol x Senshi: Miracle Tunes!” In contrast to the violence-ladened “Blade of the Immortal”, the upcoming TV show features young heroines who fight evil by using “the power of dance and music” instead of swords.
Miike even takes pride in his versatility in tackling drama shows saying, “We can show that we have many options and can do many things.”
Of course, fans can always check the Japanese director’s wicked trailer for “Blade of the Immortal” below before the adrenaline wears off.