helpng girl avenge father, head of sword school

This volume makes things more interesting by putting some shades of grey in the *motivations* of the villains, while still making their acts incredibly monstrous. ( )

Better than the initial volume. Less backstory, and the introduction of a silver bullet for blood worm immortality. ( )

This second volume collects issues seven trough eleven of the Blade of the Immortal manga series being reprinted by Dark Horse. Manji has been infected by the kessen-chū, sacred bloodworms which give him both the blessing, and the curse, of immortality. Rin, whose family was brutally murdered, wants revenge and has hired him as a bodyguard for his exceptional swordsmanship.

Together they have been searching all over Edo for the whereabouts of the members of the Ittō-ryū, the maverick school of fighting that is responsible for the death of Rin's parents. In particular, they hope to find Anotsu, the leader of the brutal faction. Instead, they find that Manji is not as unique, nor as invincible, as they believed. A talented and vicious swordsman, he is interested in only one thing--power.

While I enjoyed the introductory volume, Blood of a Thousand, I think that Cry of the Worm is even better. There's a little less fighting (and not nearly as many of the gorgeous death mandalas) but certainly more plot and consistent story arc. And Rin still manages to get her self into some, interesting, situations. She and Manji are starting to develop more of a relationship than that of boss and hired-hand. I'm growing quite fond the both of them and look forward to the next installment in the series.

Experiments in Reading ( )

The first volume got me intrigued, the second volume got me hooked. I am really loving this story. Manji is worn and jaded in a way that a warrior who can't die must be; Rin is as tough and broken as a young girl who has lost everything but her need for revenge should be. Together, they give each other purpose and need and the pain of being alive. I'm glad I found this series, and have already ordered the next volume from the library (although I may begin collecting it soon, if it remains as gripping as this volume was). ( )