"I’ll never be easily loved
Am I just too clumsy?
That girl who looks good in pink
Is that who you want?
Is red not good enough?
The rabbit with red eyes runs away
Even though I loved you so much …
If I’m sad, I’m going to die.
The rabbit that you like … … isn’t on the moon. It’s just a rabbit .." 

Those are the words to the opening theme in English. When I saw them at the start of the first episode, I thought I'd misread it. But no, they came up again in the subsequent ones. Maybe it sounds better in Japanese? Maybe it doesn't sound like a Monty Python sketch? I've got my doubts.

The main character, Manji, is complicated, to say the least. An experienced samurai with more flesh wounds than Jesus, he is cursed with immortality due to his earlier sins. So, Manji must sort out his priorities and seek atonement before he can finally lay his battered and bruised body to rest.

This theme of atonement for past sins is a powerful one in Japanese society, and one which has helped create some of the anime which I really like. The Hakkenden and Rurouni Kenshin are two series which spring to mind as ones which I liked, partly for this reason.

Manji is neither your idiot superhero Chuck Norris-type superman, nor a moronic slapstick parody. He has some real issues to sort out, which are handled sympathetically and intelligently.

Having an immortal main character might make you think that it would be hard to take his plight seriously, but I found myself caring about his ongoing journey. There is heaps of gory action, enough for most people. I'll watch the following volumes.