Samurai Deeper Kyou
Samurai Deeper Kyo

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This is the worlds most underated manga ever made. Possible the most underated thing in this world.
This series is just as bleach but more serious and less humor.

As most series it starts out a little wierd but later it turs into a masterpiece.
The story follows a boy named Kyoshiro, a medecinman who only wants to help people but an bounty hunter yuya misstakes kyo for Demoneyes kyo and caputre him. Later on he Kyoshiro changes into Demoneyes kyo in a dangerous situation. And some chapters in the future he changes into him permanently.
Then story follows him trying to found his own body. It sounds ... simple but the story is very good.
This action manga is like bleach but better.
If you like shonenseries like naruto or bleach etc you will fall in love with this masterpiece.
Its a shame this series hasnt gotten as much attention as it should.

Dont be fooled by the anime. This series has 38 volumes and anime 24 episodes and the anime is not even the same story. Get my point?
When i say that this will be one of the greatest manga you will ever read, i aint lying.

First off - I may be a little bias towards this manga, as this is actually the first manga that I ever read. But regardless of that, I really wanted to write a review for this particular series as I tend to feel that this gets slightly overlooked. Samurai Deeper Kyo is Akimine Kamijyo's first published manga. Compared to the anime of the same title, this offers so much more to the general audience. And not only that, the anime does not accurately portray the manga. But despite the differences between the two, they both follow the story of Onime ... no Kyo - or Demon Eyes Kyo, the 'supposed' slayer of 1,000 men who's body was stolen and his soul locked within another's body.

The manga is during the era of Tokugawa Japan, maybe even offering a slight twist on the history of that period of Japan's history. Most of the characters that feature in the manga are actual people eg. Tokugawa Hidetada, Sanada Yukimura, Nobunaga Oda, and Izumo no Okuni to name a few. Sometime after the battle of Sekigahara Kyo's soul was taken from his body and locked within his best friend, Mibu Kyoshiro's, body. Kyoshiro then hid Kyo's body and lived the next four years as a medicine man. The underlying story of the manga is that Kyo, while trapped within Kyoshiro, is trying to find where Kyoshiro hid his body. However, Kyo doesn't make a full appearance in the manga until the 3rd volume where he takes over Kyoshiro's body and keeps his consciousness firmly locked away. That's when the search truly begins. He is joined by Shiina Yuya, a 16 year old bounty hunter who arrests Kyoshiro in the first volume for mistaking him for Demon Eyes Kyo, they come to an unlikely alliance when Yuya witnesses Kyo's emergence from Kyoshiro's body during a battle between some villagers and the ancient day equivalent of the mafia (although, they aren't really a match for Kyo who quickly beats them down). Kyo's initial intention was to kill Yuya, but she defied him and said that she needed to live so that she could find the man with the scar on his back - the man who killed her brother. In subsequent volumes they are joined by a complete cast of characters including Hotaru, Akari, Yukimura and Benitora.

As the volumes progress, so does the story - what begins as a relatively light-hearted and almost comedy story, quickly turns into one of love, betrayal and ultimately, revenge. Kyo was taken in and partly raised like a son by the Crimson King. A man known as the ruler of the Mibu, but Kyo was cast out from among them and was reviled as the 'demon child' as no child had been born to the Mibu since Kyo's appearance. Subsequently he was taken in my Muramasa, himself a Mibu. But one who had left his people and his homeland because he took Kyo in. Muramasa then went on to train Kyo in the Mumyou Jinpu school of fighting. Muramasa loves Kyo like a son, and calls him the Mibu clan's 'Hope'.

The plot line can get a little confusing every now and again, I have often found myself re-reading a few pages to try to make sense of what I am actually reading. But it is definitely worth persevering with. The art style is very well executed, each panel is extremely detailed, and the character development seems to get better with every passing volume. And for a graphic novel, there is plenty of action and the battles get pretty intense (the whole of volume 16 is devoted to 1 battle!) As of now, I am only up to the 26th volume - but I'm eagerly awaiting the next instalment in this saga.

~ I dislike long reviews so this will be short and concise ~

You disliked the anime? Frankly, who didn't? Don't be fooled, the manga is very different.


~ Giving it a try ~
Demon Eyes Kyo is the protagonist of this story so UNTIL YOU'VE READ AT LEAST ONE CHAPTER WHEN KYO'S IN CONTROL OF KYOSHIRO'S BODY (chapter 6 I think), YOU HAVEN'T TRIED THE SERIE.


~ Review ~
... You can all read the synopsis on the front page so I won't go there.
I'll add that each character has a quest of their own and they all seek to be the strongest man which often brings them to fight one another for their ideals. This is my favorite part; each their own quest, each their own desires and they all respect that.

So, on top of Yuya's quest to find her brother's murderer...
=> Kyo is on a quest to find his body...
=> Benitora is in the group to spy on Kyo...
=> Bontenmaru wants to rule the world...
=> Hotaru... what does he want? ^^'
And MANY other characters you'll have the pleasure to meet.



In short, get past the first ... let's say 10 chapters and I DARE YOU to put this manga down. :3

I know in a lot of reviews, it tells you practically everything that happens. I will try my best to avoid that. You can read a series summary on this site for it. And any summary really doesn't due this manga justice. Instead, I'll tell you why I gave each category its rating.

Story=9
This story goes much more in depth than the anime makes people believe. There is action, adventure, sadness, humor, suspense, and all the good things that make a plot line great. But you might ask why I didn't give it a ten then.
Here we go; ... there is suggested romance, but it just isn't enough. I know this is a shonen, but I have a little pet peeve about it. There was just enough romance that you know there is something there. However, that little peek is more annoying than anything else. There should have been just a little more.
That wasn't my only reason though. It went from having this one bad guy, who was made to be evil incarnate, to a completely different bad guy. It wouldn't have been so bad if the transition was slower, but it happened pretty abruptly.
There are also a couple confusing occurences that happen. Only the most observant readers will notice them (me included). If you do,none of them affect the plot or really stand out, but it just makes you wonder. (You'll know what I'm taking about when it coems to the Hair thing with Kyo when he was a child) So I can't say the story is perfect.

Art=10
The drawing style was amazing, to me. It stayed the same throughout the whole series (which is a good thing), and the characters didn't suddenly wear something completely different or have a miraculous scar that wasn't there 2 chapters ago.
The drawing was also crisp and clean, without the haziness or jagged lines that sometimes make a manga hard to look at. The fight scenes were well planned out, with each one unique. It was easy to follow the path of the drawings, which I and any other manga fan greatly appreciates.

Character=9
Each character had their own personality and style about them. Yes, there was the obvious stereotypes: a guy who is mean on the outside, but is more trustoworthy than anyone: a girl who constantly worries about a guy, but then acts like she doesn't care: a comic relief who has a serious side etcetera etcetera. However, they still had some things about them to make them different from the norm.
Only reason I didn't give it a 10 is because I thought that some of the main characters should have had a little more background given to show why they were the way they are. So in all honesty, I would have given this category a 9.8, but you can't do that.

Enjoyment=10
I consider the level of enjoyment how well the plot turns out. Sort of like the story category. This particular manga was great.
There was just enough fighting to keep even the most violent person entertained, but there were still time for peace and quiet. Not meaning that there were tons of fillers. I can't even say there was a single one.
Each chapter had a reason behind it; either to add to the story developement or show something about a character you didnt know, or will need to know later. I don't remember a single chapter that didn't have reasons behind it, however small they were.

Overall=10
It is rare to find any form of entertainment that comes close to the other 4 categories' ratings. Even though I didn't give it a perfect score (which is impossible to me by the way), I still say this as the best manga I have ever read. Any fan of shonen manga, or manga in general, should add this to their list.

After I just finished reading this Manga I feel like I really have to write a review. With such a great story I can't understand that Samurai Deeper Kyo still has a rather small fan community.
I think a reason for that could be that stupid anime that's made of this. I first heard of SDK because of the anime ... and I didn't really like that - but there were so much questions left open in the end that I decided to take a look at the manga - what a great decision^^

I was totally surprised about the manga. The way the story is ... told is simply outstanding - a perfect mix of tension und fun (and especially the first chapters of SDK are really funny)
SDK provides interesting characters (and character developement), an awesome story that electrifies the reader, exciting fights, very funny and entertaining moments and some subtle romance.
You can find some philosophical aspects as well ... 'live your life with passion' - 'good and evil' - 'right and wrong'

But what get me captivated the most were the character developments. Until the end you'll be surprised about their decisions, thoughts and feelings. Someone who seems to be a traitor may come to help again, someone who seems to be cruel may only be protecting some he loves and someone who seems to be evil may try to save the world. And the past of the main characters is revealed pretty late in the story. All the reader gets are some hints and that turnes the story even more exciting.
You'll always learn something new about the characters while reading this great manga.

It got me totally obsessed (and I'm kinda sad it's over now)
You should definitely give it a try

my ideas may feel out of place but bear with me


I'll get to the point, the author tried to copy naruto(ninjas) with samurais, the only difference was that the mc was a little different as he didn't talk much, but the side characters did the talk for him such as he did this and that act for this reason ...

Each fight was in the following loop
- mc or one of his friends meet a really tough opponent
- they got beaten up badly
- a flashback is brought in were our fighter need to protect the mc and his friends
- new power unlocked : ... power of friendship
- the villain is beaten up
- the villain needs to protect as well, a fight follows up
- then the fight end, and the mc or someone
doesn't kill the villain because of some weird reason

No one of the mc and his friends dies, even tough they are full of injuries they keep fighting and never once they got killed, they always come out as winners

The fmc was useless, never fought but kept being a burden, and screaming the name of the mc when he's losing or that she believes he will come and save her

The story was messed up,too many plotholes and contradictions for many of the secrets revealed later on the story

I'll give some examples (spoilers)
After hearing the name "sakuya", the mc wake up completely and take over the body, but in the end we know that there's barely any relationship between the two, nothing major and crucial to give him the urgency to wake up

The second mc and some of the mc friends kept telling yuya(fmc) that the mc made every girl he knew unhappy, but never once we saw why, neither it seems likely

We never know how the second mc took the mc body, nor how the latter soul ended up in the same body as the former, and what make it even funny is that after regaining his body, the mc is forced out by the second mc from his body, while the mc can't do the same even though he is the main host

At first , the narrative  was that the mc was always in jail when he way young by his clan, but later for some reason he end up in a remote place killing one of the villains and  foiling the villain and his clan ambitions ...

I can keep going on and on with the contradictions and loopholes,  that it makes me regrets having read this manga

Best manga I have read so far. Characters are strong, and all have an interesting story behind them. Story isn't annoyingly simple, it will make you want to finish the series. Lots of action, comedy, drama and romance. It is good for everybody (some explicit pictures, so maybe not everybody). Some parts may leave you to think "what the hell just happened?" and some parts may be a little slow sometimes, but other than that, I think this manga deserves a 100%.

so this is mostly just my opinion, up to you whether you agree or not :)
I came across this on one of my manga apps on iphone and thought it sounded really good so i gave it a try. turns out, its been one of the best mangas i've read so far! I have to agree with others that this probably belongs up there with bleach and naruto; it has all the epic battle scenes and internal struggles provided by more well known shounen manga. There is also a basic underlying theme (which i wont reveal) which is very universal and relatable. Personally, I loved ... all the dynamics the different characters brought into the manga, they all had an intertwined piece to the puzzle they were trying to solve; each with their own reason to fight. Usually I get overwhelmed with so many stories, but the mangaka brought it together really well. it was nice that there were really strong female characters as well as your typical female characters who needed saving; it covered the spectrum.

The story was great, it had a lot of twists and turns, keeping you glued to the page wanting to find out what happened next. My only criticism was that I felt there wasnt enough romance; i almost felt dissatisfied after reading it. however, if you love romance like me, there is JUST enough to keep you going so dont not read it just because of that :)
overall, I would definitely suggest it to anyone looking for a good read filled with action and adventure ^.^

Hi, I just finnished reading it like a minute ago and I just wanted to say this is one of the best mangas I've ever read, and I've read a lot hehe. It's just so incredibly good. It's pretty long but it just gets better and better all the way through.
The way the story unfolds keeps you on the edge of your seat, itching to read the next page. It's truly wonderful.
It's one of those mangas where you can't help but route for the "bad guy".
I really recomend it :)

First of all, I think it is a shame to see how many people look at Samurai Deeper Kyo and refer to the anime first hand. The anime adaptation only follows a mere shell of the manga's story and a lot of the original characters from the manga are absent. The animation quality is below average in most scenes and to be honest, could arguably be one of the reasons why Samurai Deeper Kyo is so underrated because most people prefer to watch the anime instead of reading the manga. If I had watched the anime first, I probably wouldn't even have given the manga ... a chance, because while anime usually doesn't exceed their respective manga, it is very rare that the anime takes such a different path from the manga like in Samurai Deeper Kyo. I know some people like the anime, but the only reason I'm bashing on it so much is because of how it pales in comparison to the manga and how it truly fails to live up to expectations, especially from people like myself who finished the manga first and was excited to watch its animated adaptation, only to be left disappointed as the anime kind of went way off track already during the first episode.

Now that was a handful, the only point of this was only because I want people to look at Samurai Deeper Kyo and see its true narrative, which is the manga.

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Now that I have got the more subjective views out the way, let's dive into the manga itself. I will keep this as spoiler free as possible.

Story: 8
The story of Samurai Deeper Kyo starts out simple but becomes rather complex later on. Every character has his or her own goals, and it takes a while for all of them to be explained, some even change throughout the series which may keep things complicated. I found myself backtracking a few times when I had forgotten a few details or felt confused. Besides from that, the story itself is rather enjoyable and becomes surprisingly convincing once you get into it. There also tends to be a lot of hints at certain things that remains unexplained for some time, or not even explained at all when you realize that they do not make much sense.

Art: 10
The quality of the manga is truly outstanding and stayed consistent throughout the whole series, which is a good thing because it was a 10 from start to finish. There is so much attention to details which is baffling considering the low amount of time and deadlines that the likes of Kamijyo has.

Characters: 10
There are a lot of characters in Samurai Deeper Kyo, and many of them are very fleshed out with their own backstories which explains why they act like they do and how they ended up where they are. Even smaller side characters had their own past that explained their relations with other characters and whatnot. It really made you care about the characters, even the villains when you understood the context of their behavior which showed that no character was 100% evil nor 100% good.

The characters's backstories is not the only thing that makes them feel unique. While some characters and personalities may fall under stereotypes, such as the constantly worrying girl who acts tough outside the dangerous situations. It is forgivable however, since there are not two characters who share the exact same traits. For example, there are two smaller side characters who look and act identically to one another, but underneath their "masks" they have very different appearances, one being really cute and the other one looking very manly. Another character acts like an animal while unconscious, and it is the small charms like that that help create such a diverse cast of characters.

They also look very different and the age between them varies a lot too whether they are middle aged men or small boys.

Enjoyment: 9
The overall enjoyment of reading Samurai Deeper Kyo was high. It had humor, action, tension, sadness and a lot of suspense which made you want to read more. The fact that it looked amazing while doing all that, helps a lot. Again, small tidbits may cause confusion for some readers who like to look into details. While they don't really affect the plot at all, they can still leave you wondering why someone said a certain thing only to say something completely different later on, such as when they talk about Kyo's "full power" during battles for example.

While some fights may seem dragged on for quite a while, they are often really filled with action during the entirety of the fight, and since many characters fight differently, much variance is provided.

As a whole, I had a blast reading Samurai Deeper Kyo and it is truly one of the best yet underrated mangas I have ever read. That I am sure of after the emptiness I felt when finishing the series. The bonus chapter that plays out after the whole thing just adds to the feels.




Now, if only Studio Madhouse would just make a reboot of the anime...

Why is this Manga so unknown? It is so great!

When I first read SDK, I thought that it was funny and exciting. The characters where interesting and so was the plot. The plot takes some twists and turns, but it all concludes in one thing, and I think Kamijo did a very good job.

There is no parts in this manga that shouldn't be there, or could have been deleted from the series. All the events takes a huge part in the plot, and the plot is.. to make it short... AWESOME. I am so happy I bought the whole series on Amazon... even if ... it was expensive, it was so totally worth it! Every single page was worth it! I am so happy with this manga, and I enjoyed every hour reading it!

samurai deeper kyo is the first manga that i ever read. it's made me a fan of manga and has encouraged me to start reading them. this manga is good but not what you would call a classic. nonetheless it's definitely worth a one time read. btw don't watch the anime. the anime is crap and bs compared to the manga.

i will try to evaluate in my review three aspects, which i think should be the touchstone of any manga. first of all the art which for me is the first thing that attracts. the art and illustration is absolutely fantastic. the drawings of facial ... expression, character attires, introductions and fight scenes range from out of this world to absolutely fantastic. the illustration leaves nothing to be desired.

secondly- the storyline. the story begins brilliantly with lots of mysteries and cliffhangers. most of which get revealed at the very end of the manga. apart from that there aren't many shocking twists and turns during the course of the series. yes the main mystery is very entertaining and intriguing but if you're a fan of revelations and twists and turns you won't find any till the very last chapters which essentially reveal the mysteries that were set in motion in the first few. some of the explanations are quite confusing.

thirdly- character development. the manga has some great characters and some very annoying ones. the greatest character in this manga is demon eyes kyo who's the antihero. i am a big fan of antiheroes and if you are one then kyo will live up to your every expectation. on the surface arrogant, brutal and merciless he is the exact opposite of say- icihigo or kenshin. but is he really? that's something the mangaka has done so well. gradually developing kyo's character and letting us know bit by bit the complexity of his character. one of the most amusing things about his character is that he never ever explains his actions and is very private about his emotions. as the series progresses he turns out to be a completely different guy than expected. i haven't read many mangas. but of those that i have read i can safely say demon eyes kyo is my favorite character. other characters such as kyoshiro, akira, hotaru, chinmei, the former aka no ou, yukimura get ample development and i found those characters to be very entertaining. on the flip side some characters are cliche, pretty dull and frankly borderline annoying.

the biggest question this manga puts forth is- what do u strive for if u live forever and have everything? ultimately there must be trouble in paradise. it also tries to uphold the value of resolve. the fine line between wanting peace and imposing peace is also underlined. all in all a must one time read but it hardly has any repeat value.

I just finished this and it was just...wow. This is one that really deserves to have more recognition. The story line is pretty complex and suspenseful at every step of the way. I, personally, love the style of the artist and the way he pulls all the strings together in the end. It can be a bit corny at times, but I absolutely fell in love with these characters and this story. I would recommend it to anyone who likes mangas with a great mix of action, drama and suspense.

This is my first review and English isn't my first language, so I hope you all understand what I write..

Samurai Deeper Kyo (SDK) is a typical mainstream battle shonen manga and one of my favorite. I was still a middle schooler when I first read this manga, but until know i'm still influenced by it. Reading manga it's been my hobby until know so I know great Samurai mangas like Rurouni Kenshin, Gintama, and Vagabond that have different strong point one of another. But I think SDK is one epic manga too. While Kenshin is best in their story, gintama in enjoyment, and Vagabond in ... art, then SDK is best in their Character.

Story (7) :
SDK plot is historical fiction 4 years after war of Sekigahara. Story is not the strong point from SDK, like the other mainstream battle manga, SDK storyline is always fighting. I think many people give low rating to this manga it's because their look only in the story in the beginning and dropped it. And yes I think the early story when the main characters is still few maybe i'ts not good enough. But later on the story when SDK's Characters introduced one by one it became more and more entertaining.

Art (9) :
No complain for the art, each panel draws cleanly. To be honest, I be hooked by the art the first time I saw it in volume 16 when Kyo fighting Hotaru, it's really great.

Character (10) :
Now, it's the strong point of this manga, The Character. SDK have many main character. Some of them like Yukimura Sanada and Masamune Date named from Japanese history. Some other like clan mibu's are fictional character. The character have their own unique characteristic, Kyo himself is typical badass main character but also childlish when he gets angry, the other character like 'Shisheiten' is really good expecially Hotaru because he's my best character. Not only the main protagonist, the supporting character even the antagonist are really likeable. I can't explain it all because every one of them indroduced later in the series, so it's maybe contain spoiler. I suggest you to read it yourself and you see how great the character is.

Enjoyment (9) :
The Battle scene in SDK is something memorable. I really enjoy every character whose fight and show their skill. Every time kyo is fighting I'm really thrilled because he can always defeat his enemy in cool style. Not only Kyo, the other character have their own thrilling battle too.

Overall (8.75)
If you look for mainstream battle manga and that have ended beautifully, you should read SDK. Maybe other battle manga like Naruto and Bleach are good too, but maybe they can't keep their goodness forever like recent chapter of naruto. SDK is become better and better every chapter, every volume you read, and the ending is really good. I hope my review can give you a little explanation about this manga. So from now, try to read it.

One of the best manga i ever read. the story is very great and cool. the art is not that great but acceptable. there is so many great and cool character here. but there is some annoying thing in this manga that like:
(1) yuyaa girl commenting every battle like a mother watch his son crossing the road.
(2) many unimportant battle between main character and weaklings.
(3) the battle scene is very boring. im not gonna lie. its very very very boring.
(4) Most of the cool character are friend. so you cant see many awesome villains until halfway of the story.
But if you like a good ... story with great ending and some cool character, this manga is worth a read

I'll start by saying that this may be one of the most underappreciated mangas of all time. A big factor in this is the bad anime adaption, but the manga itself is truly great. If it ever gets a new anime adaption this series could blow up.

So, first, the story. It starts with a simple but intriguing premise. The master swordsman and samurai Demon Eyes Kyo, said to have killed a thousand men at the battle of Sekighara five years earlier, has had his body stolen from him, and is now seeking to regain his former power. This starts a bloodstained journey filled with ... fearsome foes, monstrous allies and many old mysteries. The story reaches to unforseen heights but is always at its core the way of the samurai.

Accompanying Kyo is a big cast made up of colorful characters. There's the vengeful bounty hunter seeking retribution for the murder of her brother, the son of the Shogun seeking to make his own way in life and become his own person, and a famous general who oppsed the rule of Tokugawa, now seeking to overthrow the current establishment and restore his clan's former glory.

The art is one of the most outstanding parts about the manga, and goes hand in hand with the great fights. It's crisp and detailed, with no unnecessary scribbles. The different attack moves are gorgeously drawn and eye catching.

Definitely a 10/10 masterpiece for me