Blade of the Immortal Episode 4: Rin at Odds

While the show has been moving at a quick pace, this time this episode went by much more slowly. While I appreciate it, I still found the episode to be…okay? Not too interesting if I had to be honest. Also, I have no idea what it is but for some reason I have trouble following what’s happening? I mentioned last week that there was confusion with the lack of transition, and there was a bit of that again. But it’s something else and it’s bothering me.

But I think I got what was being talked about. Rin encounters Anotsu while Manji is asleep and, very stupidly, attacks him in a pathetic attempt to kill him. I thought her failure of a training session with Manji would prove to her that she still has a long way to go before she can face the Itto-ryu, but her extreme stubborness and overconfidence is a problem. She’s easily beaten by Anotsu and he restrains her. Surprisingly to her, he doesn’t kill her.

I’m not sure if I’m supposed to feel respect or something towards Anotsu? The simplistic version of his backstory and his feud with the Muten Ichi-ryu is their difference in styles. While Anotsu’s grandfather was the more skilled one, Rin’s grandfather was the one given the honor of his style certified with mastery. The only reason was because his style was more traditional, and the Itto-ryu style was considered taboo. The type of weapon doesn’t necessarily matter to them but it’s not traditional. And the only reason why Anotsu killed Rin’s father was in revenge for his grandfather, so his soul could be “in peace”. And that’s pretty much it. I personally think it’s petty, but I’ve never wrapped my head around the whole revenge concept, but of course this was widely common long ago. It’s as simple as that, I think.

It’s interesting that Anotsu let Rin live, but his words to her stung. While she sees herself as part of the Muten Ichi-ryu, Anotsu doesn’t. The way she fights with her own style doesn’t match her family’s style at all. He’s not wrong in saying that she’s kind of like them. It’s not like we’ve seen what the Muten Ichi-ryu style is anyway since Rin doesn’t use the style or a traditional sword. This stings her, and now she seems to be conflicted and confused.

My problem with this show is that I’m not particularly attached to any of the characters. Rin is the main and this story is about her, but I don’t have much of an opinion of her. Manji is also another main but we’ve hardly gotten any time to get to know him at all. The show hasn’t allowed us to get to know either of them (like Manji’s curse, we haven’t gotten to that) and watch their bond grow, so all of it seems a little forced and just…boring. Honestly, Anotsu does interest me a lot though, but even then I’m still not sure what to make of him. I’m not invested enough in the characters, and I’m not exactly invested in the story either. It’s hard to enjoy the show when I’m kind of slogging through it. It’s not giving me a reason to be excited.

Also, I’m pretty sure that little girl in the beginning was Makie, only because of the weapon. I guess that was how Anotsu found out about her “talent”, and I guess found her years later. I sure wish we could have seen how in the hell she was able to kill 52 wolves. I can’t believe there were that many wolves all in one area. Then again, I don’t know the pack sizes of wolves.

So with that, I think I’m going to drop my coverage of the show. I don’t really have it in me to keep writing on it, and I don’t want to send out halfhearted reviews. Which is a huge shame because this was one of the shows I had my eyes on the most this season. I was really excited for it, only to be disappointed at how lackluster it is. I’m hoping it can at least improve later on, and maybe it’ll turn so good I can leave a random review? But I don’t want to get my hopes up too high.

Dropped