Blade of the Immortal: Anime Review

I can't tell you how happy I am to have found an anime that really pleases me. It's been a long time since I've come across one that's more than diverting. The only real problem with Blade of the Immortal is that it's one of these non-ending anime and is, in general, too short. It makes me want to read the manga, though my apprehension of investing great money and shelf space endless book series with few words/book makes me balk.

But to the anime: It's a samurai (or let us say swordsmen/women) anime, apparently set in the pre-Meiji 19th century (?) [1], which concerns a girl's quest for revenge against the band that killed her parents. To expedite her revenge, she engages the services of a warrior whose body is infected by supernatural worms that repair him when he's injured; hence, he can't be killed. What makes this anime work, in a nutshell, is terrific characters, all around.

( spoilers follow )