Shigurui

Shigurui (Japanese: シグルイ, lit. "Death Frenzy") is a Japanese manga series by Takayuki Yamaguchi, based on the first chapter of the novel Suruga-jō Gozen Jiai by Norio Nanjō. The series is noted for its realistic graphic violence and nudity as well as its abrupt ending. An anime television adaptation, based on the first 32 chapters (or the initial six and a half volumes) of the manga, aired on WOWOW from July 19 to October 12, 2007. The series was directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki, written by Seishi Minakami, and produced by Madhouse Studios. The anime was licensed in North America by Funimation under the fully translated title Shigurui: Death Frenzy. The licensing was announced in May 2008 and the full series was released on March 31, 2009 on Blu-ray and DVD.

Plot

The story begins in 1629 Shizuoka during Tokugawa Tadanaga's rule. The daimyo staged a tournament where the participants fought with real steel Japanese swords rather than bokken ("wooden sword"), against his vassals' strong objection. The story revolves around the first match between the one-armed swordsman Fujiki Gennosuke and the blind samurai Irako Seigen and deals with the circumstances that led the two to participate in Tokugawa's tournament.