Blade of the Immortal is a Japanese manga series by Hiroaki Samura. The series is set in Japan during the mid-Tokugawa Shogunate period and follows the cursed samurai Manji, who has to kill 1000 evil men in order to regain his mortality. The manga was originally published in Afternoon from June 25, 1993 – December 25, 2012. A 2008 anime adaption was produced Bee Train and Production I.G. Also in 2008, the novel Blade of the Immortal: Legend of the Sword Demon was released in the United States by Dark Horse Comics.