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I'll be doing my first review in honor of this more than awesome manga. I think it's high time it gets the 10 it deserves. I'll be using the Japanese names as the anime is in Japanese and the manga currently translated with Japanese names and it get's too confusing using the Chinese names.


Story
The story is not in itself original. I know what you're thinking, a young boy wants to be a hero, how would that be different from most other popular fighting manga? Well, although it doesn't differ that much, it tells the story in a fantastic way that it really doesn't matter that ... it's not the most original story.

The story revolves around the young boy named Shin who is a slave and aims to become the greatest general under the heavens and although he is the main character, you get plenty of time to see other characters and their struggles and they develop in ways you didn't expect which can drastically change Shin's life.

The story is based in real events with real people although there most likely are a few changes here and there to fit the manga.

Characters
The characters are really well made. There is only a few main characters and although they might be "main" characters, they are not always around but can be missing (due to various cirumstances necessary for character development) for volumes and you just get to see them in a short bonus or in a "at the same time in another place" type of extra.

The manga introduces character after character (although keep in mind this has been running for quite a while) so there is plenty to keep in check but they also kill off a lot of characters, some of more import than others, to make it easier.

The characters that you get to enjoy are all unique and there isn't a single character that doesn't have a personality and the girls doesn't all have giant plots.


Art
I really enjoy the art style of the manga. In the beginning it was on the verge of being plain to look at but you can clearly see the changes as you read and it's turned into a fantastic thing to look at. As this is a manga about war you will see huge detailed scenarios with plenty of details. Although it cannot quite compare to the awesome style of Boichi's work Sun-Ken Rock, it comes really close.

Enjoyment
This is currently my favourite manga (that is currently still publishing) meaning that One Piece / Fairy Tail is being pushed back even further on my list.

Overall
This is definitely a must read for people interested in China's (or Japan's) warring states period.