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Deserves more recognition


I came across this manga because of its Madhouse adaptation. I didn't finish the anime (I thought it was a bit too slow), but a couple years later I had the sudden itch to read the manga

Anyways, here are my thoughts (I won't go super specific into characters/character arcs cuz I feel like that sorta thing goes into spoiler territory. My philosophy is that characters (usually) are the most engaging parts of a story. Talking about character arcs/transformations kinda ruins the readers' sense of discovery).


Art:

Really good at commanding action and tone. IMO at least, this has the best portrayal of movement (swordplay, combat, ... etc...) I've ever seen in a manga. Takayuki is masterful with his use of precise detail + negative space


The art isn't perfect though. The style works really well most of the time but looks a little too cluttered on rare occasions. Also, sometimes the ground looks kinda wack (as petty as it sounds). Stuff like that doesn't take away from the enjoyment though : P

Plot:

So like, the premise is good, the first couple of acts are amazing, but the final act is severely undeveloped. I was kinda disappointed at the end cuz most plot points weren't concluded in a satisfying way.

Another criticism is its over-reliance on nudity + that jazz. Well... there's a purpose to most of it. I just feel like it was too explicit, unnecessarily explicit. The story obviously wouldn't be the same without it, but I thought it was a little too excessive + unnatural/forced. Sometimes, it felt like I was reading a really stylish hentai

Characters:

Really good... for the most part. Seigen's arc is absolutely enlightening to watch.

Mei and Fujiki are mostly characterized by their actions (by this, I mean, you aren't really given too much detail of their inner thoughts/opinions), but it works for their respective portrayals.

My problem mostly lies in the manga's ending; the character threads aren't woven properly.

On a numerical scale, I would give it a 9

Enjoyment:

I enjoyed it a lot. Sometimes I felt uncomfortable, but like, that was intentional by the mangaka


Reasons to read it:

-If you're a seinen fan

-If you're a gore fan

-If you liked historical manga like Vagabond (it shares a lot of themes/similarities)

Reasons to avoid it:

-If excessive nudity makes you uncomfortable (Keep in mind that Takayuki uses sex/allthatjazz in an intelligent way)

-If you don't like extreme violence

-If you have the attention span of a goldfish. Sometimes the pace gets a little slow (it works well for the manga)