Comments for 無限

I don't know if anyone can help me with this doubt but I found aout that the name of the anime character of Samurai Champloo "Mugen" is written with the kanjis: 無幻.

The first one 無 means "nothing" and it forms part of this word meaning infinite, but the second one (幻 ilusion, dream) forms part of the word "mugen" 夢幻 that means dream, fantasy or visions. 

I wondered if anyone knows what do they mean together and why are they still pronouced "mugen" or if it's just a way of forming a name without any particular meaning. I don't really understand the way kanjis are used in peoples names so I don't know :/ 

If the name of the anime character you are saying is written as 無幻, it might be a representation of the character or its abilities or just a cool name that is invented by the makers of the anime since this word is not a standard word. 無限 means infinity or limitless, (particularly limitless) while 夢幻 means visions or fantasies, illusions that happens in the mind or as its source or any source of any illusion manifestations.

The reason why is it pronounced mugen is simple. Both of the kanji are read with its "ON reading", mu and gen.

Another example of invented words that are pronounced with their ON reading is the subtitle of Naruto: Shippuden. The word Shippuden has three kanji and read as their equivalent ON readings, this word is not a standard word too.

Hope this helps. ^^