Blade of the Immortal (Japanese: 無限の住人, Hepburn: Mugen no jūnin) is a 2017 samurai action film starring Takuya Kimura and Hana Sugisaki and directed by Takashi Miike. It is based on the successful manga series by Hiroaki Samura. The narrative focuses on the immortal samurai Manji (Kimura) who becomes the bodyguard of an orphan teenager named Rin Asano (Sugisaki) as they go on a journey of vengeance against the members of the Ittō-ryū samurai who killed the child's parents.
Miike explored different themes in the story, such as revenge, but in a more complex manner, as he saw Manji as a "dark hero", while the production team found it difficult to write multiple fight scenes to fit the film's duration. The director chose Kimura for the role of Manji due to the actor's popularity, something which he felt was similar to that of the manga. Sugisaki, on the other hand, was chosen for her energetic role in a commercial. The film premiered out of competition at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, and was released theatrically in Japan by Warner Bros. Pictures on 29 April 2017.
Grossing $8.4 million at the box office, the film failed to meet expectations; however, the film received generally positive reviews from critics for the handling of the fight scenes and the relationship between the two protagonists. It also achieved good sales in Japan and abroad with its home media release. Samura expressed satisfaction when watching the final product.
