Blade is an Action packed Samurai Manga with gorgeous Art & cool ideas relative to its setting.
So read it ONLY if you find that appealing.
Let's talk in detail now:
An impressive & also one of best things about it, which made it feel like a rich Samurai tale taking place in Edo Period of Japan, is how the story goes to so many different locations & explores quite good amount of concepts relative to that kind of setting. You can very easily notice that this manga has plenty of these little things & ideas which are a bit advanced & smart for just an Action Samurai manga. I also like how you see all 4 seasons throughout the Manga. My fav being Autumn & Winter during 3rd & 4th Act(Last). Last Act being the best one & also taking place during a heavy Snowfall was a joy to watch - something I would like to see in other Manga.
Plot : Story is simple, but it has a pretty good Plotting because of the conflict between multiple characters & factions, all of which have their own very good reasons to go against each other.
Rin & Manji are our 2 Protagonists going after Anotsu Kagehisa, our main Antagonist.
Anotsu's faction itself is being hunted by a special secret faction lead by a man who's antagonist to both Anotsu & our 2 Protagonists & bunch of more characters getting involved in this conflict, good drama etc.
Characters : This is the strongest aspect of the Manga besides the Artwork. Blade has great cast of characters with their own very good reasons & stories for getting involved in this big conflict. And Samura did a great job in characterizing / developing them.
So when they fight among each other you don't want them to be killed & I found myself rooting for a whole lot of them. Also, this manga has Great Female cast. None them are useless or damsels in distress. In fact most skilled fighter is a woman called Makie.
Anotsu Kagehisa is a great antagonist. Take him as "end justifies means" kind of guy. The whole manga was full of his great moments from beginning till end & I was rooting for him to succeed because he had a good ambition & good reasons for achieving it. What made him even more likable is his Love Interest, Makie. Their relationship is quite romantic but it's not emphasized. And it adds another layer to Anotsu's character.
Artwork : It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Blade has probably my top 5 fav Art in all manga that I've seen. It's very good from the beginning but evolves into something stunning in the later half, with some of the best panel flow I've seen, with crazy good choreographed Action Sequences, & one of the best Perspectives shots (probably the best).
Enjoyment : It has a slow start, takes around 30 chapters to get interesting once all the side characters are introduced. But starting from then each Act is better than previous one.
For people who like Samurai setting manga you'll like it a lot once you get past the weak beginning.
