Shigurui: Death Frenzy (Season 1)

Shigurui: Death Frenzy (2007) is a Japanese anime series you can watch online on iFILM, adapted from the manga of the same name. Early Edo period: Lord Tokugawa Tadanaga decrees a sword tournament, but this time the fighters carry live blades. Sixteen of the twenty-two competitors will not leave alive.

The first bout sets Fujiki Gennosuke against Irako Seigen — both trained under Iwamoto Kogan, held to be Japan's greatest living swordsman. Fujiki has one arm. Seigen has no sight. Their histories are tangled in a way that makes the fight about far more than succession. Produced by Madhouse, the series moves at a near-ritual pace: less martial spectacle, more examination of what the samurai code actually costs. Stream Shigurui: Death Frenzy on iFILM.