I heard about this randomly from one of my crazy anime friends (whom I’ve trained since the delicate delicate newbie levels into a monster that rivals myself) and was utterly dismayed as I’d heard not a single word about it. Probably because it’s rather recent and I’ve been out of touch ever since my computer died. (It’s fixed now though thanks to pawnshops and five dollar bills) I’ve been a fan of the manga for frikking ever it’s one of those things you never include in a favourites list because no-one ever knows what it is. Like BLAME or NOISE; Both of which are a sort of cyberpunk post apocalyptic dystopian resident evil done anime style… But yeah, then all of a sudden there’s an anime version out, two whole episodes and this crazy little person who hardly knows what it is starts telling me about how someone on IRC told her about it.
Anyway, Blade of the Immortal is well the titles self explanatory, it’s about a guy with swords (twelve of them, well twelve various bladed pieces of weaponry) and he’s immortal. To expand on that he’s known as Manji and then something that loosely translated is hundred man murderer. He’s just so frikking good at what he does he’s wracked up a kill total of a hundred. Although really that hundred only accounts for the ‘good guys’ he’s killed.
So this crazy witch curses him… with immortality. The only way out of this ‘curse’? kill another hundred people, except this time one hundred bad guys. About the only thing I could compare this to is to take a little Berserk and then roll in a helping of Rurouni Kenshin. I’ve never come across anything with the same feel and setting. Though Samurai Deeper Kyo is kind of close… just this guy doesn’t have an insane guy living in his brain he just *is* insane. Though not totally, he actually wants out of the whole senseless violence thing. Even then, I don’t advise doing something to piss him off… like shooting him in the head… or kidnapping his insane ’sister’.
I will now stop to criticize the fansub I have of it. The version I have is by KSN-AEN (Kesenai and I’m not sure who AEN is >.>)
They did a nice job all things considered. It looks good it’s timed well and I didn’t see any major typos or anything.
What I did notice, was well it’s set back in the day so they speak a whole lot of old school moonspeak. Sometimes fansub groups like to translate that into King James english style. Lot’s of thee and thou. These guys did a little bit of that, Thankfully only once, so far. Good job there as it annoys me when people do that because it’s pretty obvious they’re talking something other than “regular” japanese. The only people who wouldn’t know are the newbs, and they’d learn really quick unless they’re of the casual variety, in which case they really don’t care. Now I’ve said the good and the sort of good… now the bad.
They keep translating harakiri and they’ve been translating things like ‘onii-sama’ though in Manji’s case oni-sama fits better) and it annoys me so much. You should go slit your stomach like a true warrior. The reason I didn’t slit my stomach slit my stomach slit my stomach. GAGH! It’s a rather standard practice to take words that are considered well known and leave them untranslated. The first two or three times the translator may make a note and then they leave it alone. That’s probably half of my problem with dubs right there. they translate stuff and leave it in and it just sounds ridiculous in english. No-one here walks around referring to their sibling as ‘big brother’ or something. It might happen in an introduction ‘oh this is my little brother so and so.’ Perhaps a bit when you mention a person in passing, my little brother/sister blah blah. But you never address them as that, unless you’re trying to be annoying… or you’re calling your little brother your little sister… But yeah needlessly translating words we all knew already. Again unless we were total newbs or casual watchers. But if you’re watching Blade of the Immortal you’re not casual unless you’re just curious. But odds are if you’re watching it it’s because you remember the manga… which right there disqualifies you from the casual ranking. Watching an anime because you remember reading the manga back in the day?
Seriously though guys, stop translating words we know, or ones that have no real business being in english. It’s annoying and it sounds wrong. I understand you had nice complete english sentences but it sounds horrible. And if you wanted to translate it… translate it as something a little more … anything other than slit your stomach… and certainly don’t give an translators not about how slitting your stomach is a japanese custom of slitting your stomach to regain lost honour. I ad-libbed it a bit but that’s basically what the TN said. All in all it’s a good tl though, I only had the one mean thing to say after all. There’s been much worse, much much worse.
The subs for Advent Children I have, the subs for Azumi 2, the subs for the first half of the live action Death Note movie … So take heart you’re only possibly the fourth or fifth most annoying… no wait fifth or sixth. I forgot the Gunslinger Girl 2 (which like Tsukihime the anime doesn’t exist) subs. The group I had it by did this crazy whitish half transparent subs and it really didn’t work out on a light background. Looked pretty sweet on a dark one though.
And now in closing: The OP Theme
I don’t like the ED enough to post it, so go find it yourself nubcaeks.
Edit: Episode two seems to be better for all that. And unless my ears decieve me we have Toyoguchi Megumi (Revy from Black Lagoon) doing the voice of this new character Hyakurin. On second thought they’re translating oba-cha/san to grandmother where it should just be old lady. Because somehow I doubt crazy witch lady is related to both Manji *and* Rin. I didn’t pick up on it in the first episode, just now in the second when Rin talks about how her grandmother told her about him [Manji].
Posted by uthek 
