Vagabond

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Some seinen manga, I believe, take the meaning too far. The gore and nudity found in them is simply disturbing, no longer artistic, just omnipresent and absolutely in-your-face.

Vagabond is not like those seinen manga.

From the beginning, Vagabond has this strange allure to it. Drawn to this manga by the promise of awesome fight scenes, [oh yes, I assure you, you will not be disappointed by the fight scenes], you find yourself hooked to this manga.

Absolutely, completely, utterly, hooked.

It starts off with a rather rude and yet beautiful jerk, depicting the scene of a battlefield in splendid watercolor. The manga just rides on from there, rising ... from peak to peak. The fights get better, and the character himself grows. He grows realistically, he stumbles, he falls, he falls so hard that he finds it difficult to get back onto his feet, he takes the wrong path, goes the wrong way, makes the wrong enemies, and kills the wrong people, but he gets back up, and the story continues.

It is just so completely believable, so persuasive and so artistic all at the same time that with this manga just feels so raw and yet so real.

The main character, who one will find it hard to identify with on the surface, has something deep within him that every single one of us can possibly understand and aspire towards.

His growth and development, in more ways than just of the sword, but yet at the same time never truly leaving the sword, are so simple and yet so spectacular at the same time. He manages to bring out the best in some people and the worst in others, brushing past some like a whirlwind and crashing headlong into others, leaving behind a trail of death, destruction, and new life. All this happens while he himself is still growing, and while he is nowhere near perfect, there is just something so addictive about getting to know more about him.

And getting to know more about the main character is exactly what this entire manga is about. It is about seeing Miyamoto Musashi through the eyes of the world, through the eyes of others, and through his own eyes.

With a brilliant blend of flashbacks, flashforwards and glimpses into the lives of others besides those who surround the main character, Vagabond paints a rich picture of the samurai scene in the time of Miyamoto Musashi, the main character.

If you have been hesitating about reading a seinen manga, hesitate no more.

Vagabond will open your eyes to a brilliant new genre.

Vagabond is perhaps the very epitome of a great manga. It has everything: action, suspense, excitment, drama and even a little romance - everything that is packed into Eiji Yoshikawa's amazing original story.

That's not to say it is to everyone's tastes. While I personally love Takehiko Inoue's drawings, the imagery at times is very graphic, bordering on grotesque at times. Limbs, guts, heads fly off in the heat of battle, the drawings are literally so good it's sickening. If blood is not really your thing, you might be better leaving this on the shelf.

For those who don't mind a bit of blood however, read ... on, because while Vagabond at first glance just seems to be yet another manga based on the era of the samurai, this manga has a great deal of depth that literally sucks the reader in.

For example, in countless manga involving fights (and in particular, American comic books as well) the reader is presented with a rather generic range of characters - the good guys... and the bad guys. This isn't the case with the characters that appear in Vagabond however. The characteristics of people inhabiting the world of Vagabond, their emotions, desires, despairs, fears etc. are all painstakingly realised that Vagabond on a whole seems to be a lavishly painted picture. All characters have their reasons for what they do, they all have both good and bad elements to their character which only further adds to the realism that the drawings provide.

In your stock-standard fighting story the death of the "bad guys" is inevitable, and one does not stop to ponder this into too much detail. However, in Vagabond when Musashi cuts someone down both Musashi and the reader are left to think and question the "correctness" of his actions. You really feel for the deaths of those that fall. As Takuan, the monk appearing in the story, says, all people killed by Musashi were just that, people. They are people with families, wives, children, pets, they are people who had hopes and dreams, or people who just somehow lived day to day.

However the real reason Vagabond is a favourite manga of mine is because of the main story thread, the growth of Musashi himself from a reckless 17 year old youth who plunges directly into the battle of Sekigahara seeking unparalled strength, to a well rounded young adult who learns how to pick his battles.

The contrast between Matahachi and Musashi is beautifully done. Matahachi and Musashi, two friends, start the manga off on the same footing and set off to be one thing -"Tenka Musou" 天下無双 ('the best in the land'). However Matahachi and Musashi soon walk down separate paths to acheive this goal. Matahachi chooses to pursue frivolous momentary pleasures, while Musashi instead chooses to devote himself to bettering himself.

Both make mistakes and suffer setbacks along the way, and both have their own ways of dealing with this - Matahachi digs himself into further into trouble while Musashi rises above the setbacks he faces and strengthens himself to unbelivable proportions.

After surviving numerous duels to the bitter end and overcoming many internal conflicts (the decision to leave his one true love, Otsu to pursue the life of the sword), only one swordsman still stands in Musashi's way...

Sasaki Kojiro - a deaf and dumb swordsman who literally lives for the sword...

While the story does drag at times (the Yoshioka arc), on a whole Vagabond is packed full of both emotion and gut-wrenching sword battles. It's relatively short on dialogue, but the images Inoue presents speak volumes. A picture is really worth a thousand words and this manga is a manga that attests to this. If only other manga could be this deep as well. Every single volume of the manga really leaves the reader pondering about what they've read for a long time after the manga has been put down.

Put simply, there is not a manga that I could recommend more.

disappointing manga
the end is not good , actually there are no end
the story was too simple and events are really few but he mange to write more than 300 chapter
maybe because of that scenes that take the whole page with few word , the repeating memories over and over , the art wasn't bad actually it is good but i am not the one who read 300 chapters with poor ideas for just "the art is good"
the story itself isn't bad if he present it in 50-100 chapter but all thing about money so let's waste much time for ... many pages that really don't matter
and another thing the story is really straight forward there are nothing u just get surprised and say "wtf!! how this happened?" or "i don't see that coming " maybe u could name it the Seinen edition of kenshin nothing more

[Spoiler Warning]

I read Vagabond to see what all the fuss is about. It's a very fast read. There are huge image panels and barely anything happening per chapter, which flows well if you're reading straight through but hellish if you're waiting chapter by chapter. The art is simply gorgeous - probably the best I've ever seen in a manga - but stands in stark contrast to the lack of actual story... sort of like special effects in a movie.

The "story" appears to be the warrior's drive to be the best, err, I mean "invincible under the sun." This results in such battles as the infamous ... "lets duel next year when our dojo isn't on fire" incident, the exhilarating stare down with Aang from Avatar, and the riveting stand off with the sleeping guy. It got a bit more interesting after Musashi killed enough people for their friends to start caring about it and gaining motives other than perfecting their skills, thus inspiring a semblance of sympathy and emotional investment in battle outcomes... but this didn't last long.

Over 50 chapters of spoon-fed philosophizing ensued. Triggered not by a sincere, voluntary revelation, mind you, but by circumstances that physically prevented the character from pursuing the goals he otherwise would continue chasing after. Over time the endless conversations and bouts of schizophrenia just glazed over in their repetitiveness for me.

Many of the characters also clung to highly romanticized notions of "honor" which made their motives/actions unrelatable and at times unrealistic. Sometimes they even got confused over conflicting honor codes and nearly sabotaged what their goal was in the first place. Other times they switched gears from a genuine emotional reaction to some intellectualized bushido ideal so quickly that I wanted to slap them. There was much facepalming on my end over this.

The 70-man battle should've been exciting, but it instead served as a perfect example of action over substance. Chapter after chapter of countless sword swings and I didn't care about any of these people. I love action, I truly do, but action only has meaning for me when there's something more at stake than just fighting stronger guys later. That's why my favorite fight, and the highlight of the series, was the twig battle between Sasaki and Musashi. It's sad when a twig battle is more exciting than a 70 man bloodbath.

Vagabond is, in my opinion, one of the most important titles in recent manga history, and perhaps ever. It is, in many ways, one of the most ambitious manga ever created, and although it's impossible to measure individual effort, it wouldn't surprise me if Takehiko Inoue worked twice as hard as most mangaka.

Vagabond follows the exploits of Shinmen Takezo, who would eventually become the legendary sword-saint Miyamoto Musashi, and his childhood friend, Hon'iden Matahachi. The two start off as very different people to begin with, and their inherently different natures set them off on completely different life paths. Though based on a famous novel ... by Eiji Yoshikawa, it diverges from it in numerous ways to the point that it can stand on its own quite comfortably.

There isn't much of a "plot" to speak of; Vagabond's entire hook and storytelling style is based entirely on the characters and their growth and development over the course of many years. This is in no way a bad thing because the character development present in Vagabond is some of the absolute best in any manga. Musashi grows from an immature, amoral gloryhound into a spiritually enlightened philosopher, warrior, and artist and it's incredibly fascinating and engrossing to behold. The rest of the characters get a fairly good amount of fleshing out, more than enough to make them distinct and memorable in their own right.

Vagabond is one of the most genuinely japanese comics I have ever read, and not in the stereotypical anime/manga way either. There are many moments and actions in Vagabond that in any other manga would have been the subject of judgment; being a seinen, it does not shy away from graphic violence, nudity, and other similarly adult content. However, these events are presented much more matter-of-factly and through an entirely different lens than most stories. While this can potentially alienate some people, I found it very fascinating, as if I was looking through something that was made by a person who is very different from me.

Of course, I would be remiss in also mentioning the incredibly important part that Vagabond's art plays into its excellence. Simply put, Takehiko Inoue is arguably the most skilled manga artist in Japan today. He has achieved a level of draftsmanship that is far beyond most comic book artists in general, whether they be eastern or western. The character designs in Vagabond have a ridiculous amount of effort put into them; not only are they all completely distinct from one another, but they are very detailed and realistic, much moreso than 99% of other manga. Takehiko Inoue has such a strong grasp of proportion, form, shape, perspective, line weight, and every other artistic fundamental to a degree that I really don't see outside of the best art instructors in the world. A big point in Vagabond's favor is that unlike other similarly well-illustrated works such as Berserk, Vagabond's art *starts off* really strong to begin with and only becomes BETTER as time goes on.

This growing expertise is perhaps best represented by the challenge Inoue took up in using a brush to ink his work as opposed to traditional ink pens. Using a brush is ridiculously difficult and requires a lot of control, but the results are self-evident: Vagabond gradually develops extremely lush and beautiful illustrations that would only be possible with this tool. His masterful use of the brush is one of many testaments to Takehiko Inoue's expertise.

Any flaws Vagabond has are mostly nitpicks; a lot of the story is not based on action, but on spiritual and philosophical musings by Musashi and the rest of the cast. Generally these moments are insightful and even almost spiritual, but very occasionally they can be a little pretentious. While I like Kojiro's character, i'm not sure if his portrayal as a deaf person is very sensitive to the deaf community or how they would respond to it. As of this writing Vagabond has been 'almost over' for a few years, and it's not really clear when Inoue is going to come out of hiatus.

regardless, even if this manga is never finished, it is still a seminal masterpiece in the industry that everyone should read. the amount of artistry, research, and raw passion that went into it are undeniable. It is one of the only manga i'd ever give a 10/10 to.

Vagabond is one of the greatest manga ever written. The manga is totally different from the majority of seinen manga who focuses on gore and storylines without any depth to it. It is a gift to all those readers who enjoy philosophy and realistic stories.

Vagabond is a journey of a samurai named Miyamoto Musashi focusing on his life and the hardships & challenges he faces throughout his journey. The mangaka has done a brilliant job in portraying his life right from the first chapter.

The artwork is on a level of its own and the narration is exquisite. The story progresses at a ... good pace. Character development is great and each character is introduced in a nice and comprehensive way. The fights are just epic and so realistic that you will find yourself enjoying every single panel of it.

The story is portrayed in an elegant manner and you will see that each chapter teaches you something about life in some way. So for those of you who have been disinclined to start this manga, throw away your reluctance and just start reading this masterpiece.

A manga you can ignore if you're not into it for the art.

Neiru2012 pretty much brought up all of my distaste for this manga but I think it's unfair to over-simplify Vagabond using spoiler cases.

That is because Vagabond can simply be said to be Shamo set in a samurai period using a famous character like Mushashi.

***Skip to the last paragraph for summary***

This isn't so much saying one is a clone of the other or that one came before the other or that others came before these two.

It's simply my way of attempting to provide a low review without taking away what the manga is by ... focusing on the specific spoiler designs.

Yes, Vagabond has a plot. Yes, Vagabond has characters. Yes, Vagabond's art is on one end great and on the other end requiring a certain taste.

Yet beyond all of these, none of these is what makes or breaks Vagabond.

The plot while a modified romanticized version still is stuck with the predictability of who Musashi is as a historical character.

The characters whether you find them generic or not is still not about them but about their way of fighting clashing with another way of fighting. While you can say manga/anime generally does this with fight scenes including such things like Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X where it already borders on heavy handed, Vagabond goes beyond this. Not just subtlety. It only makes the scenes an actual fight scene so that you as a reader will still be excited to read it and it would satisfy those "awesome shiny fight scenes" reader but it is a true and true manga where the art invades everything and if it's not the art, it's the lack of a plot. It is almost Zen-like in that it portrays the conclusion of each plot as there being no plot.

In fact if this wasn't even about a Vagabond, the manga would not be seinen and believe it or not is more like Shojo with swords. If you focus too much on the female connotation of Shojo of course it's not. However if you consider Shojo to be more of a genre where the thousand mile stares and slice of life = tragedy and that all the characters are trapped in a mine of longing, I'm not exaggerating Vagabond is basically this.

This is both Vagabond's strength and weakness. More so than Shamo although Shamo equally has those unrealistic moments.

When Vagabond is dealing with a fight scene, an upcoming one, the combination wields an engaging plot that would make you curious as to what will happen next. In fact the later chapters pretty much spells this out with a major character retelling flashbacks more than the manga trying to be an adventure story anymore.

However when you remove the fight scenes, this is where both the Shojo and Seinen elements fail. Even though one reviewer said they liked that there's not much gratuitous violence compared to other Seinen, the thing is Vagabond's gore and nudity can be more disturbing than traditional gory manga.

Not because there's too much but rather because there's too much stupidity for almost the few times violence and death and nudity is shown. In it's attempt to be philosophic, Vagabond ends up making it's characters mere caricatures. Ones where the art and the panel storyline takes precedence over the overall storyline.

Don't get me wrong. In many ways this is why it's a good read. If you've ever wanted a semi-realistic portrayal of a goody imposter, a mute samurai, a horrible old lady that gets her just deserts, a woman who sees a flying chibi ghost, a monk who doesn't know what in the world he is doing and just tries to torture people he randomly comes again - Vagabond is almost comedy gold in that in a subtle manner.

The problem is: that's pretty much the entire manga. Even the violence and nudity falls under that same pattern where one panel is for an action scene that would please many fans who are into manga for the art or the eye candy and then the next panel, same situation, it would be text heavy and then the next panel there are guys that come off like they get cut down because they think too much. As in literally they get sliced up while they are thinking.

This doesn't mean the manga or the manga's fans just sweep over these flaws. The whole thing is supposed to represent a lightning fast event happening over an introspective event. It's like an event where someone shots a bullet at you and your mind flashes through everything and it's both a blur and yet after the fight, there's lots of rationalizing and events pouring through your brain.

Unfortunately, again, this is why the manga is both a good read but something you can skip. In many ways a philosophical text book has a limited audience and the philosophy has to stand the test of time. Atlas Shrugged for example is famous but unless you buy into this idea that Ayn Rand's themes are worth reading, then instead of being an enlightening read, it's just a classic. The same can be said for the Bible. Unless you're curious or got hooked by the flashy effects, a Biblical movie at the end of the day is just a flashy fantasy movie that tries to be philosophical but just ends up not being deep at all except for those people who they themselves are shallow but pretends to be philosophical in nature. The type of people that would re-interpret a realistic portrayal as a violently shocking one and be glued to the screen as if they watched a train wreck but then go on and complain about how a realistic scene is too gory or made too shocking because they themselves put on rosy tinted glasses that got shattered as opposed to the scenes being actually overtly violent.

Nonetheless I'm not saying Vagabond is a bad manga. Again, it's just a skippable one. If you like the first few chapters, go ahead and continue reading it. But if you start disliking the manga or if you start hoping for more or if you want to read another manga or if you're tired of the artwork, it's skippable. I'm not saying this for the benefit of those who have actually read the manga. Of course the choice is always there for all manga. I'm merely stating this case for those who haven't read the manga. Some mangas have a big pay off in arcs. Not just in terms of entertainment and philosophy and depth. Vagabond is just not one of those. The only reason it's a 7 because it understands what it is and that's a unique take on familiar characters and it tries to string along that characterization. However characterization alone is not enough if most of the additional scenes all ultimately fail for feeling like filler rather than philosophy.

To summarize: Philosophically, this does not even match up to Slam Dunk and Slam Dunk is not that deep of a manga to begin with. It's inspirational but it's not that deep. So imagine Vagabond being this way but trying to shove you more philosophy and less action and ultimately you get a 4 (decent) manga wrapped up in great artwork and historical fiction so it becomes a 7 but the hype for this manga is centered around entirely on the sizzle of Takehiko Inoue improving his artwork to do a samurai manga based on famous characters and not disappointing even though he doesn't break much new ground either.

(A spoiler free review of Vagabond)

Vagabond is the representation of a "Peak experience" As I believe no other piece of media shall offer a better experience then Vagabond... A one of a kind catharsis that offers millions.

Story 10/10

A story based on the novel "Musashi (1939)" by Eiji Yoshikawa, Vagabond is about a samurai called Takezo who goes around from place to place to fight well known samurai to become "Invisible under the sun" or "Unrivaled under the heavens"

While the plot isn't really complicated nor is it experimental, the story is still a 10, due to the sheer amount of emotion and depth that ... the characters feel towards the events that happen in the story, and those said events, are thought provoking enough to make you change your perspective towards certain things in life. Hell, due to the circumstances of the story, even the first 3 volumes are enough to give you an emotional attachment towards our main character. This is a fully character driven story, as the story itself is about characters who grow up and become mature and wise as the years go by.. The importance of human life, Deafness, Regret, True strength, the human condition are some of the many heavy themes that this manga has... And are one of the many reasons on why this manga feels so "real"

A rather simple plot done beautifully with its characters and themes... And of course, the art.

Art 10/10

The most notable part of Vagabond is the jaw-dropping art and art style it has.. Inoue's art is easily the best out of any manga from what I've seen, the realistic action, backgrounds, facial expressions, symbolisms, are what make Vagabond an art piece.

The realistic art style that Vagabond has is also a big reason on why it feels "real", it's like your reading a part of history. The art imitates the things in real things in real life, like forests, sword fights, sceneries, but Vagabond makes it better, every sheer detail that Inoue put in his manga, is just fascinating. The sceneries, the shadings are greatly used on certain scenes, to further express on what the characters are feeling, the symbolism and the facial expression are also amazingly used for characterization. The fights were amazing and brutal, the way Inoue painted them was very, very intricate, those fights also had great characterization. You can even see development through the way they fought.

Everything about the art of Vagabond is just... Peak.


Characters - 10/10

Vagabond's highest peak, the characters

Takezo/Musashi has one of the best, if not the best characterization I have ever seen in fiction. The masterfully written development he goes through made me cry when I looked back on Vagabond after finishing it.

As many know, Takezo or Musashi was a real person who lived back in the 1600's, from a man who only knew how to fight to a philosopher who wrote books. This manga shows on how he changed, on how he progressed from a near monster to a man full of wisdom. This philosophical intropsective journey of Musashi can make you grow, like Musashi himself, as he went with his journey, he began to question everything he believed in, be it mindset, his goal, what he actually wants. The philosophy of Vagabond... Is truly beautiful. The story of Vagabond, like I said earlier is about the progression of the characters, and how they grew up as the years went by.. Musashi isn't the only protagonist in Vagabond, in fact there are three, though the narrative is mostly directed on Musashi.

The second one is Honiden Matahachi, Musashi's childhood friend, and probably the most relatable character in Vagabond. Whom at first was a compulsive liar and a man driven by greed, he went on a path way different to his childhood friend, Musashi.

The last one is Sasaki Kojiro, Musashi's rival. Kojiro is a very unique character, as he is deaf, we don't get to see any real dialogue from him, so we can only interpret his mindset through his actions and his expressions. Due to him being deaf, his other senses are heightened making him an exceptional swordsman.

The side characters are also impeccable, due to the impact they did upon the characters and the story. Every, and I mean every character in Vagabond who's driven by the sword, had a different goal, and a different path on why they chose the sword. And that's what make this manga special amongst many others. Vagabond is a manga that is full of soul and emotion, every character felt real, heck even realer than real.

Enjoyment - 10/10

I enjoyed this manga very goddamn much, I felt a lot of emotions during my read, I cried, I laughed, I learned, and I felt amazing. My love for this manga can't be expressed by mere words, as it is my favorite manga, and my second favorite piece of fiction. This unfinished masterpiece shall remain in my heart until I die.

As said by my friend, "Vagabond is a way of life"

If you want to read a manga that can teach and personally impact you, then please, read Vagabond

Thank you if you read my review all the way.

I've been enjoying reading manga most of my life, but in the last few years, I've been trying to get a little more out of it than used to, trying to understand what makes great storytelling.

So, I bought volume one quite a while ago, after seeing Takehiko Inoue's art featured on pinterest and after researching him and seeing what many of you had to say about Vagabond, I had little to none doubt that it would be great. 20 volumes later, I must say that I was quite disappointed. It is a good book and I understand what people see in it but... Was this ... all it has to offer?

The art is pretty great, at least from a technical standpoint. So it troubles me to say that it seems to fail to understand how moment to moment action works, the world surrounding the characters doesn't have the effect it should portraying a battle in a tridimensional environment therefore the hits don't connect as they probably should. Obviously the author is really talented, and pulls off great stills, and his skill with the sumi brush is impressive.

It doesn't help that every single action has to be explained, this is somewhat a trope in shonen manga, but here you do not have an excuse, you are talking with adults (Show don't tell). I understand you need some reaction shots sometimes, but one per swing seems quite excessive.

It also, doesn't excel on its pacing and character progression, I would have said something more about it, but I don't think this was ever the focus.

The book is good, and there's great content to be found within its pages, but I would aim anyone akin to my tastes interested in the story of Miyamoto Musashi, towards the book "Musashi" by Eiji Yoshikawa. Also if you want to know where I come from in this particular review, read "Blade of the Immortal" a book that might have some questionable content, but might be my favorite representation of action in sequential art.

Thank you for reading, and I hope I didn't trigger any negative feelings through my opinion.

This is my first review and possibly the only review i will ever write.

Vagabond it's only the second manga i've read and the reason why i'm writing this review, it's because while reading this manga i started to notice how good this manga became to me. It's truly a masterpiece and to be honest, i don't think i can find another one like this. I enjoy reading this manga so much, i started to feel a certain empathy to Musashi's feelings because whenever he questions his ability and his strength or feels clueless about the true meaning of being invicible, i start to question ... myself too. Whatever he feels, i shall feel too. Creepy. Anyway, Vagabond or should i say Inoue Takehiko, brings us closer to the dimension he created and brings us the best and worst of mankind and/or life. The rise and fall of great men. The circle of life and death. The gore, sex and the casual order of life. The thing that i like the most is the complexity and simplicity of all the characters in Vagabond. Mushashi is at first, a demon-like child, an outcast by society, a warrior that fights to be invincible under the sun. It's amazing to see how he grows to not only be invincible but also to question what to be invincible means. But he can only reach that answer through Inei, old man Yagyu and Takuan. For me, Vagabond and all these characters taught me how important it is to love and to be loved, how love can erase such thoughts of invinciblity. It also taught me the simple values of life and by choosing to live by that philosophy, you can be truly happy. Musashi is slowly learning them or maybe he already know that but the desire of being truly invincible and chasing the meaning of being it, makes him choose whats really the best for him. From one of the best, we go to one of the worst men in the Vagabond universe and that man is Matahachi. He's a Musashi wannabe that tries his best to be like him but fails and taints his soul with the deviant ways of the perverted ronin that he is. I like him anyways. He lost all, love, home and a mother to become something he isn't. Musashi was already born with that mighty warrior spirit of his, but Matahachi lacks that. Kojiro on the other hand, is the most simple character i laid my eyes on. He does not have the desire to be invincible or to be the best , altough Ittosai tries to put that aura on Kojiro. I see Kojiro as a man that never totally grew up, he still has that face of a child that plays outside on the sunny days. He is happy. I never saw him sad. I think we all can learn from Kojiro and Musashi.

I'm sorry if i didn't mention the story above. Overall, Vagabond is a manga worth reading and worth waiting a month for the next volume and worth waitng a whole lifetime to see its development. i hope it never ends but that is a stupid thing to say. I questioned why Vagabond isn't an anime already. It's such a good manga it doesn't need to be an anime. Why possibly ruin a perfect thing? If you read my review, thank you and sorry if you didn't like it but i thought this was the best way to expresss my happiness in reading Vagabond and i wanted to share it with other people. Thank you.
Here's a hint: listen to Nujabes while reading Vagabond. It's something out of this world.

Vagabond - GOD LEVEL DRAWING !!

Inoue Takehiko is known for being a legend, thanks to works like Slam Dunk - which is one of the best-selling manga series in history - or Vagabond - an adaptation from Eiji Yoshikawa book "Musashi".

Synopsis: In 1600 AD, Japan undergoes one of the most turbulent periods of its history. The young Takezo, with his friend Matahachi, leaves the Miyamoto village to fight in the Battle of Sekigahara. Although they dream of fame and glory, they only find defeat and a path full of uncertainties. Follow the journey of bloody fighting and spiritual challenges of this fearless swordsman, who was ... known to posterity as the great samurai Miyamoto Musashi!

Based on the epic novel of Eiji Yoshikawa with the breath-taking art of Takehiko Inoue, this comic book classic is one of the most awarded works of Japan's greatest hero!

Before Takezo becomes Musashi, the reader sees the character as a boy from the Miyamoto village, Mimasaka province, who can attract the fear of anyone and who lives almost exclusively from his intelligence, therefore an isolated boy of the world. At age 17, he and Matahachi went to war and this is where the story of Vagabond begins, with the end of the Battle of Sekigahara. It is from here that two personalities appear, Shinmen Takezo and Honiden Matahachi.
Takezo quickly gains reputation as someone who kills without mercy or pity, anyone who crosses his path and this leads to Takezo becoming a problem, since the hunters in his own village want him dead. Eventually and later in the story, monk Takuan and his childhood friend, Otsu, plan to help capture Takezo who is later held in a tree for several days without water or food. During this time, Tsukizake Kohei, the younger brother of a thug whom Takezo killed (and who gave him a reputation), comes claim his revenge against Takezo (although he himself wanted to kill only his brother), however Takuan scares him and the character disappears.

At the end of this arc, Takuan takes Takezo to a remote area around the village and talks to him about what he should do and that his soul is not as evil as the rest of the people thinks he is. The monk portrays to him that those who do not know the darkness, will never be able to know the true light and that Takezo must carry with itself the darkness itself. And this is how Miyamoto ends arc - chapters 1-21 (volumes 1-2)

The change from volume 2 to volume 3 is incredibly well done, and the character Shinmen Takezo completely transforms and changes name to Miyamoto Mushashi (the true legend that existed in real life in Japan).

Monk Takuan states that Shinmen Takezo officially died in Miyamoto village and now, who is there is Miyamoto Musashi and all this happens to avoid problems with the village itself, the Honi'den clan and the maturation of the samurai. Musashi is now 21 years old and travels to Kyoto with the goal of looking for strong swordsmen to challenge. He heads to the Yoshioka sword fighting school, where his father's name was extremely well known, but before he gets there, he unknowingly sees the current Yoshioka Seijuro schoolboy surrounded by geishas in the city. After exchanging a few words, Seijuro remits to him that he will kill him and Musashi without realizing it, feels the horror when the sword of Seijuro was in his neck. Fearless, Musashi heads for the school and challenges the owner, but first he is forced to face many of those who train there, after some of the lower class members insult him. Musashi kills five members of a higher class, until finally Yoshioka Denshichirō, the more serious of the two sons of Yoshioka Kempo, decides to kill Musashi himself. In a very dramatic battle, one that Seijurō intervenes in once to give Musashi the scar on his forehead, Musashi also manages to dislocate Denshichirō's shoulder, but the fight does not end until Hon'iden Matahachi accidentally sets the school building on fire, after drinking much of the sake stored in the basement, bemoaning the "inevitable" death of his newfound hero (Musashi, to which he called him a pilgrim samurai) who stood up to the Yoshioka. Denshichirō then tells Musashi to come back stronger within a year for a rematch.

Musashi escapes with his life and once Matahachi realized that Takezo was in fact Musashi, Matahachi decides to return to his old life. This becomes the beginning of an inferiority complex and a rivalry that will influence him for the rest of his life. Then begins Hōzōin arc- chapters 33-76 (volumes 4-8)

Takuan encourages Musashi to be a more serious person with regard to his training ethic and who should not jeopardize his life so easily but Musashi still has a lot to learn. He then goes on his way and separates himself from Takuan, for the purpose of visiting the temple of Hozoin because of his famous spear technique. Gion Toji, the Yoshioka school killer who aims to kill Musashi, first arrives at the temple. He cuts off the hands of a monk who challenges him and proclaims that he will do the same again every day, before finding Musashi, throwing the temple into turmoil and malaise. Musashi appears in the temple the next day and fights with Agon, one of the top-level monks. Musashi actually looked for In'ei, the legendary old schoolmaster who, unknowingly, retired from office. Agon recognizes that this must be Musashi and seeking both to end the turmoil that Toji caused and defend the name of Hozoin, then fight with Musashi. At some point in the fight, Musashi finds himself without a sword but manages to end the fight, breaking Agon's nose. Gion Toji then defies Musashi, but before they can start the fight, Inshun, the new schoolmaster and son prodigy in the spear, stops the fight, wanting to fight with Musashi himself. Toji backs off and Musashi has a head-to-head with Inshun. Musashi gets tired and disturbed and so he retreats a little to catch his breath. The elderly In'ei feels that while Inshun, his greatest student, brilliantly mastered the physical art of the spear, he was unable to control himself or his soul, for he believes Inshun needs a rival good enough to Perfect his abilities and for this, he believes that Musashi could become this rival. In the end, Musashi has a second battle with Inshun, with only In'ei and Agon as witnesses. Having learned a lot from his training on the rival and his demons, Musashi rules the spirit of Ishun. He can dodge an opponent's attack, knocking him down with his own (handmade) sword. After that, he goes back to his wild self (personality disorder) and starts beating Inshun repeatedly while he lies stretched out on the floor. Both are quickly treated of their wounds and depart in the hope of trying not to kill themselves the next time they meet.

So far, Vagabond has been an abysmal experience, making other seinen works look like mere toys for children. Master Takehiko Inoue has reformulated the seinen genre to a whole new level, unlike anything and everyone, including the reader, must value it. Vagabond is perhaps the most complex story of the author, due to his historical experience and the adaptation of one of the greatest samurai ever. The author also shows and portrays the contrast that exists with Musashi, who wants to be the "best under the sun" and Matahachi, where his goal was to be a family man. Matahachi chooses pleasurable but momentary moments, while Musashi chooses to dedicate himself and improve himself. Both make mistakes and both have their ways of solving certain problems. Matahachi is filled with problems while Musashi rises above his countertops and strengthens himself to unbelievable proportions. After surviving numerous battles until a bitter end and overcoming many personal struggles (the decision to leave his only love, Otsu, to pursue the life of the sword), only a swordsman is still in the path of Musashi.

There are also flashbacks from Shinmen Takezo's father, Shinmen Munisai, who was one of the most famous samurai from across the country. When Takezo was young, his father divorced his mother and forced Takezo to learn martial arts. Takezo wanted very much to see his mother again and shows him how much he grew up but his mother rejected him, telling him to return to his father's feet. And this caused that there was no affection for his parents, with which Takezo passed and that grew with him. And with this lack of affection, also appeared the fear towards his father. On several occasions, young Musashi tried to assassinate his father but he never succeeded, which made him always suffer physically. It was until one day, that Takezo began to know the mountains, through the forest, and began to calm with the nature beauty. And with this calm, came the will to train and develop an approach with the mother-nature. There was a time, when Takezo found the corpse of a swordsman in a cave and was impressed, hoping to be like him. As a child, Takezo became an intimate friend of Hon'iden Matahachi and Otsū.

While the story drags a little, in the Yoshioka Arc, in Vagabond, the story and its contextualization is full of emotions and battles of realistic and painful swords. This adaptation is relatively short in dialogue but the images that the author presents, speak for themselves. A picture is worth a thousand words and this work lives up to the saying. It is only a pity that other authors do not adopt this style and do not make their history so profound to the point of Vagabond. All manga volumes really let the reader think about what they actually read from their own production.

In Vagabond, there are no enemies, but opponents. There is no quantity, but quality. There is no fantasy, it is an adaptation. There is no imagination, but reality. There is no egocentrism, it's all life lessons.

Story: 10 | Art: 10 | Character: 10 | Enjoyment: 10
Score: 11/10

Personal Note: Currently finish reading the Hōzōin arc – chapters 33–76 (volumes 4–8). Favorite manga when talking about art, plot, adaptation, characters, personality, charisma, plot points and fights. Yes, Inoue is a legend and here is the proof.

What constitutes a man? What constitutes a warrior? What is the 'Spiral of death and killing'?

The answers to these questions lie beyond the the surface level things that bring people to 'Vagabond'. Samurai and amazing art is what you are told when people recommend this manga, I was no different when I first heard of it - "The art is amazing and it is an amazing historical fantasy story." - but I kept reading and I found these deep seeded questions that every character seems to answer. Musashi is on a never ending quest to not only become 'Unrivaled under Heaven' but to also ... understand what it truly means to be unrivaled. There is more to a man than the sound his sword makes when it is swung, more than strength of his grip on the sword, but what is it? Where do you find it? There is an important turning point in Musashi's life where he goes from 'I will kill anyone and prove there is no one above me' to 'There is always someone above me, no matter what, but how do I surpass that?'. It is that character arc that I find to be exceedingly fascinating.

This concept of someone always being above you is also what feeds the 'Spital of death and killing'. To be the best you must always prove it, and becoming the best, in my opinion, means escaping that spiral. That spiral is the final hurdle that Musashi needs to overcome to become unrivaled. Once he escapes the need to kill everyone who shows up in front of him, he can become 'Unrivaled under Heaven'. We see this through Sekishusai Yagyu, as he is someone who 'defeated' Musashi without so much as lifting a finger, he is someone who holds the title of 'Unrivaled under Heaven' and he is also someone who seems to have escaped the spiral.

Matahachi is also a fascinating character. He is much more relatable than Musashi to the average reader. While one is this almost unrivaled warrior the other had longed for it his entire life but just isn't fit to be one. It's the struggle and failure of your 'average Joe'. Matahachi is just another average man that happens to be friends with a god amongst men and there is nothing he can do about it. We all know a person that exceeds in one task more than everybody else and there is always a sense of jealousy towards them. However It makes me happy to see Matahachi overcome that feeling and move on, while still being happy for Takezo, his childhood friend. Matahachi is the one who answers the question 'What constitutes a man?'. Our flaws and our weaknesses make as big of a part of us as our strengths. While Musashi also is showcase for this I feel like Matahachi is a more relatable example.

Is there even any point in talking about the art of this manga? So many people spoke of it, so many praised it and I just agree with it all. Watercolor is my favorite medium of art and seeing Inoue's watercolored pages is a treat among an already masterfully drawn work.

I'm a sucker for samurai and vagabond-like journeys (I say vagabond here as the actual meaning of the word, not the manga name). It gives me a special sense of freedom to know that in those times you could just drop your life and walk away, just travel and do things. I wish I could do something like that. This comes from a very romanticized point of view, I'm aware, but I would love to be able to that.

Overall, Vagabond is a must-read for any manga lover, but if you go in expecting a shonen level of action you probably will be disappointed as it is very realistic in it's portrayal of fights, but it still should NOT be skipped by anyone who actively reads manga.

"Vagabond" weaves a gripping and unique samurai tale that occasionally embraces familiar themes while adding unexpected twists to keep readers on their toes. Takeo Inoue's art style, especially in the samurai fights, is visually striking and enhances the overall storytelling experience. The characters, notably Miyamoto Musashi, are well-rounded with a mix of strengths and flaws, contributing to the narrative's authenticity. Their realistic reactions to situations deepen the immersion into the historical setting. While the series may not appeal to everyone, its universal storytelling, character depth, and stunning visuals make it a compelling recommendation even for those outside the typical samurai genre fanbase. "Vagabond" strikes a ... balance between familiarity and unpredictability, offering an engaging read that transcends genre preferences.

Vagabond

In the beginning, one thing has to be made clear, if you want to read this manga, you shouldn't have great expectations when it comes to the story. This manga shows a partially modified story of the samurai "Musashi" and his everyday life and his rise and development. There is no war, no villain, no enemies, only experiences that he makes on his journey.

If you don't find a story about samurai, pride, humanity, and life interesting, you will probably not find it in this work. Forcing yourself to like this work is the wrong approach. You have to get into the perspective of the author ... and understand what kind of thoughts he put on paper and why this philosophical story of the old era had such an influence on development.

I found out about this before reading the manga. My reaction to that was as follows: "I'm curious if he's any good, looks like another overrated nostalgia manga" - and there was already my mistake, I completely underestimated Inoue Takehiko's abilities. He actually managed to create an unprecedented storyline that primarily had no Climax and was built into the pure unknown. And yet this was felt with quite a few characters, developments, motivations, and full of philosophy. What made it so special was the atmosphere, how realistic it felt, and how creatively the conversations and scenes were written.
The drawing style and the beautiful art only made the whole thing sweeter, but for me it was secondary. My fascination was captured by the author's understanding of human weaknesses and how remarkable he made them a topic. Of course, it's disappointing that the manga was paused at Chapter 327, but there is still hope.

Story [4]

As mentioned, the actual story of Vagabond is only based on the experiences of the protagonist and the motives of many supporting characters. You can see how the character always reaches another point of his journey, develops, and grasps the approach of life more and more. And this is no clichéd way like "killing is wrong" and whoosh, it is a multi-layered journey of many perspectives and thoughts, which in the end reveal the true result.

Later it developed into a story of not only 2 different characters, but 3, which gave the whole topic all the more flavor. Because the stories of all characters met in the middle.

Side Note, the Farming Arc was unexpected my Favorite in this Show, thanks to all the development and life philosophy.


Characters [8]

Since the manga is still ongoing, the overall picture of development for some characters like Matahatchi and Kojiro is still unfinished. As I see it, the development of the protagonist is completely complete and it was fascinating. He often turned in circles, which is only human. Understanding does not come by itself and often one thinks "I have the solution" but again this is just a wrong path that one took. His development found its culmination in the "Farming Arc". This makes me say that Musashi is one of the best-written protagonists you can find in anime and manga.

Matahachi is by far one of the most hateful characters you can find, but that hateful and pathetic trait of him also made him interesting. "What is he going to do next?" "Why is he doing this?" "Will it ever evolve?" you asked yourself this over and over again as soon as you saw this man. He symbolized practically all human sins that could be found. But even if you can't admit it, in the end, he was just "human", just like everyone tries not to end.

Kojiro is quite a questionable and interesting character by the approach. Incidentally, it reminds me of Stark of "Pickle" from the Baki Manga. Its development is still unclear, but it had an enormous number of chapters that were dedicated to its development.

Most of the supporting characters were interesting too, from the normal human perspective. Even some of the protagonist's opponents had their own personalities and motivations that crossed enormously with that of the protagonist. You couldn't say who was ultimately right. Another nice illustration is how much some characters had to undermine their pride just to get a result, no matter how pathetic that was.

Otsu, with Jotaro, was one of the most boring characters. They were mostly just a wandering duo with a small side story but had the greatest relationship with the protagonist. Not much was made of them in the course of the manga, the author may have planned something, but only in the future.


Drawing style / art [10]

Something that had probably convinced everyone from the start. The detail of the environment, the movements, fights, faces, proportions, everything was sheer perfection. In fact, few mangas are on such an artful level, this one is one of them. While it isn't even necessary, so much emphasis is placed on the environment. This again shows how deeply the author immersed himself in his own work.

Especially in the "Farming Arc", you could enjoy this again in great form.

Drawing style / art [10]

Something that had probably convinced everyone from the start. The detail of the environment, the movements, fights, faces, proportions, everything was sheer perfection. In fact, few mangas are on such an artful level, this one is one of them. While it isn't even necessary, so much emphasis is placed on the environment. This again shows how deeply the author immersed himself in his own work.

Especially in the "Farming Arc", you could enjoy this again in great form.

Conclusion

Vagabond has been an enormously unique work that I hope to see the end of. Even so, the open end isn't a disappointment. I read through the entire manga in just under 4 weeks and I am impressed by how captivating a plot can be without great results.

Whether this work is a "masterpiece" or not can only be determined after the true ending, but so far a very close 10/10 is appropriate. Even if I swayed terribly, I'll leave it that way until I find something comparably better in the manga area. Or if we can read the end, then we will eventually learn more about whether it is worthy of the title of a masterpiece or not.


Story - 4
Art - 10
Character - 8-9
Enjoyment - 10
Overall - 9-10

[MINOR SPOILER WARNING]


I don’t like to use too often the word “perfection”, since in my belief, from the common use of it, the word itself might tend to lose it's valor, and of course, very few manga can correlate with that word in particular.

However, “perfection” is a word that absolutely fits this manga, Vagabond is beyond great, from every aspect you may look at it, it is usually regarded as a Martial Arts/Combat Seinen, but the story goes much more deep than that.

Duels and battles, even though are astonishing, are just one aspect of this fantastic work by Inoue sensei, that one aspect ... leds you to a variety of profound thoughts involving philosophical themes, it makes you to seriously reflect on yourself as a person as you get deeper in the story, you get attach in the characters mind throughout their own journey.

The development of the main character through the series is amazingly well written by the author, and as he gets closer on his goal of becoming “Invincible under the Heavens” through the way of the sword, makes him wonder on every step he takes as if questioning if that’s what he really wants, “What is true strength?".

A key point on his development in which he gets to another level of maturity is after the Battle of Ichijoji-Sagarimatsu, where he slaughters the remaining members of the Yoshioka clan, that battle, is the best one that I’ve read in any manga, no unnecessary dialogs, no forced power ups by the protagonist, no flashbacks to interrupt the pace of the battle, just a guy swinging his sword to the best of his skill, cutting down foe after foe while on a "mushin" state of mind. What Inoue draw on this was taken out of perfection, it makes the reader mind get completely immerse in the battle scenes where you almost feel you're "in the zone" just like Musashi.

Regarding the Art of the manga, it feels like is drawn by angels, Takehiko Inoue might be the greatest mangaka ever when it comes to the art, as he has already demonstrated in his different works; the art is definitely one of Vagabond’s most impressive aspects, you might get goosebumps just by looking at some of the panels, I personally even just stared at some of the panels for minutes just to appreciate how beautiful they are in it’s entirety.

I could expand myself much more on what this makes this work fascinating but I think I’d never end, so you should discover by yourself once you embark on this journey.

To end this, I just would like to let you know that even thought it’s currently on hiatus, Vagabond is an absolute masterpiece among great manga and a top contender (if not the champion) for the title of the “best manga of all time”.

Vagabond is the story of Musashi Miyamoto, the most famous samurai, inspired by the novel "Musashi".

STORY:
This is one of the best and most simple natured stories I've ever read.
The story follows Musashi on his way to becoming the strongest, Invincible Under The Heavens. How he grows, from a wild ruffian, to a respectable man by slowly realising the importance of close friends, self-reflection and life itself. The story also follows our secondary protagonist, Sasaki Kojiro who also aims to be Invincible Under The Heavens, with a child-like personality and amazing skills with the sword, he is destined to fight Musashi one day. The premise ... is quite simple, but the story and characters can get so deep.

CHARACTERS:
These are the deepest and most humane characters I have seen in any manga. Each character has his goals, the way he approaches them and his personality. Some of the best side characters in any manga, each one dealing with his own problems. Musashi who grows to be a respectable man, Sasaki who seeks to fight stronger opponents, Matahachi whom only falls lower and lower into the life of a scum. Many great characters which would take too long to list. When a character is meant to be dislikeable, oh boy do you hate him, when a character is meant to be likeable, probably going to be your favourite character ever.

ART:
Unlike many other manga with their bland and uninspired art, Vagabond chooses a more proportionate and realistic way to express itself. This is probably the best art in any manga, being just as good as the story and characters, with great landscapes, beautifully drawn characters and tons of detail. The art is clean and conveys every emotion right, there are no times where the panels will confuse you like certain other manga

OVERALL:
Vagabond is both a visual and a literary masterpiece with zero to no flaws besides the fact that it's on hiatus. On top of all that it has some of the best fight scenes in existence.

10/10

"Preoccupied with a single leaf, you won't see the tree, Preoccupied with a single tree, you'll miss the entire forest." -Takuan Soho

In just 327 Chapters, a story following 2 men that live by the sword birthed and brought up in different social circumstances learning their way to pursue the craft of swordsmanship, Vagabond is a masterpiece of a manga about the retelling of the journey between Sasaki Kojiro and Musashi Miyamoto.

Story: 10/10
Musashi Miyamoto (formerly Shinmen Takezo) from Miyamoto Village was determined to be strong and in order to convince himself he had reached his goal, he set out to fight distinguished swordsmen to ... become invincible under the heavens. However, due to his vulgar anger and violent tendencies towards others he wasn't in the best shape to set out on his journey. With the aid of Monk Takuan Soho, Musashi Miyamoto was able to refine himself sufficiently and reposition his mindset on the correct path of the sword. ~ Throughout his journey, Miyamoto encountered formidable opponents with killing aura powerful enough to fight without the need of a sword. Once Miyamoto learned that he'd need to cultivate his mentality as well as his physique he had spent an entire year training the path of the sword. After defeating the head of a renowned swordsman school and his brother in a duel, he had to face the wrath of seventy disciples. All this occurred while his best friend, Matachi Honiden was enjoying fine sake and women with his short term success with Oko (Chapter 10ish*) and eventually living a life of solitude as his Uncle Gon and Mother deteriorate from keeping up with him. Musashi Miyamoto's first love Otsu and his first disciple Jotaro follow their own path as they await the arrival of their Master...

On the other side of the spectrum, a child born during the great war that consumed his Father and Mother, Kojirou Sasaki a deaf-mute Swordsman who'd lived by the sword since he was taken in by his grandfather by the beach side. Kojiro Sasaki was a natural swordsman who'd gotten his first taste of combat when pursuing an old Ronin that demands 14 Year Old girls and Food & Sake after saving the village from stragglers. Kojiro Sasaki lived a life of swords, women and Sake as he journeyed around Japan to hone his swordsmanship.

The retelling of Musashi Miyamoto and Sasaki Kojiro was amazing, the attention to the story line which doesn't flow forward for 300 chapters but instead flows forward and takes a step back 4 years to introduce our 2nd Main character and his rise to fame. The story isn't just killing, the premise of Musashi Miyamoto refining his disposition by learning how to farm and following famous masters maintained the quality and detail of his life style. Although many characters are short lived in the story, their backgrounds and tendencies are high lighted; the sheer detail in the story line is difficult to comprehend. All while Takuan Soho helps the morale of the characters with his unique style of managing their convictions. Only through Takuan Soho was Musashi Miyamoto able to refine his disposition and maintain a pure mindset while following the sword.

Art: 9/10
The art is very detailed yet not overwhelmingly detailed, the balance between both is recognizable. The amount of panels can be overwhelming sometimes but luckily few chapters are dense with panels which make it hard to read. Dialogue is kept minimal and even when something is described, it is done within at least 50 words per speech box making information consumption and interpretation effortless. It is a pity that it wasn't fully dedicated to color and drawn digitally but with the compromise of shading and crosshatching, there wasn't much missing with the art of Vagabond.

Character: 10/10
Development in character is Vagabond's strongest point, managing 20+ characters and their backgrounds, living environment and relation to the main characters can be wild. Each arc is completely unique and refreshes the style of character development we see meaning there aren't as much filler content or unnecessary filler information. The strict flow of information during each arc of Vagabond (i.e Keeping the introduction and background of Sasaki Kojiro within 30 Chapters spanning over 5-9 years is difficult to manage) (i.e 2 Managing the farming arc within 32 Chapters est. over a span of 1.2 years would have also been difficult to manage) By containing this information and delivering a consistent flow of character development, Vagabond easily passes with flying colors.

One thing that also worked flawlessly, The character design of Honiden Matachi who lived a life of lies. He was desperate to leave Miyamoto Village to experience life in the Capital of Kyoto and on his journey he slept with many women, even ditching the bro Takezo to sleep with Oko. What also disturbed me was when it was revealed that the travelling samurai who had Sasaki Kojiro's swordsmanship certificate was Kojiro's childhood friend ~ The fact that Matachi got him killed and looted his corpse was amazing development in his convictions as a character but also terrible to know. Eventually, as Musashi had progressed and become famous throughout Japan, Matachi had fooled around with women, Stolen, Extorted many businesses under a fabricated name etc. However, in the end Matachi was reliable to his friend, saving him more than three times when Musashi was near death, Matachi never hesitated to save him despite being conflicted and feeling guilt toward him.

Enjoyment: 10/10
Loved it. Emotional. Dramatic. Comedic.
It is a different style of a story representing a lone swordsman in his conquest to becoming invincible under the heavens.

It’s an old story. The hero is Musashi Miyamoto; the greatest samurai who ever lived, author of that esoteric sword-fighting guide that I couldn’t get past the first page of. His legend was brought to a more international audience with the film series starring Toshiro Mifune. While it would be impossible for another actor to outperform Mifune as the samurai master, the realm of manga can achieve the impossible. I was never a huge manga geek, but I’ve read a decent amount of the most highly-acclaimed. Vagabond is without a doubt the most incredibly drawn manga I’ve ever read.

The way of the sword in Japan ... has always reminded me of Hinduism’s yogic paths. The samurai strives for utter mastery of the self much like a yogi in the wilderness. The biggest difference is the amount of bloodshed. Eastern religion and philosophy has often centered on perfectibility. According to belief, through many life-times the Hindu or Buddhist can reach a divine state through practicing austerities and mastering the body and mind. There are various yogic paths ranging from study to sex. But what of the soldier? The creation of bushido in Japan was very convenient for emperors and shoguns of all sorts. To become a master in the art of slaughter… was a spiritual matter!

Mushashi, born Shinmen Takezo, wants to be the strongest samurai of all time. It’s not an uncommon hero motivation. Ash Ketchum is still trying to be the very best pokemon trainer there ever was. Unlike the many seasons of Pokemon however, Vagabond shows the consequences of this “heroic” desire. Takezo slaughters man after man; some are horrible bandits, some are honorable samurai, some are confused boys with swords. All this is done for Takezo’s quest for perfection. An interesting character, almost a comic relief, is the Buddhist monk Takuan. He serves as Takezo’s Jiminy Cricket throughout the manga; his irritating conscience. If the dialogue between characters were a debate, Takuan demolishes Takezo in every single one. He exposes Takezo’s masquerade: savage bloodlust in the guise of honor. Although Takezo doesn’t heed much of this advice in the beginning, his staunch mindset is gradually assaulted by the monk’s reason.

As Takezo’s story progresses, we slowly come to understand the “way of the sword” that he is striving for. To be the very best there ever was… was a bastardization of his true goal that he didn’t even know he had. Zen Buddhism took hold in Japan as a synthesis of the Buddha’s teachings and Lao Tsu’s “Taoism.” The Tao is the Way; a romantic belief in natural spontaneity, or being in tune with the natural way of things. An obvious reason why this took hold in Japan is because of the Shinto tradition which also taught union with nature. In Vagabond, Takezo meets various masters of the sword who teach him about this path. He no longer fights for egotistical pride, but for union with… the natural order of things. It’s all very romantic, but very Eastern. The hero of the philosophical West might fight for deep moral principles ordained by God so he might be forgiven for his life full of sin, but the philosophically Eastern hero fights in an eternal search for divine union with the universe.

Vagabond is, aside from being an incredible character-driven story of Zen Buddhism and the ronin lifestyle, a beautiful manga. To the most philosophically ignorant—or apathetic—individual, Vagabond will be an engaging action packed ride to be lost in for hours on end. The VIZ Big editions of the manga are quite expensive in total, but it’s worth the investment to own this story for the rest of one’s life. Vagabond will probably never actually conclude as a manga, but I’m not sure Miyamoto Musashi’s quest ever concluded either.

once you start to read this manga you're going to be hooked.

Vagabond is one of a kind manga , comedy , romance,action,blood,a little bit of drama.

the most thing i like about it are the art and the outstanding fighting scenes, i really enjoyed reading it whileI'm reading it i feel like i'm with them the story is very nice , there's no telling whats going to happen next .
i must say it has many blood , nude scenes .

if you like Samurai,bloody manga/anime ,
this one is for .

What is amazing about this manga is how well the action scenes are drawn. Normally I have a hard time following manga action scenes that are too crowded or just a character in a pose with lots of "action lines" all over the place. With Vagabond you really get a sense of how the characters move--the speed, the timing, just how close the near misses are--you can see it all.

In addition the characters' eyes jump off the page. You really feel like they are looking you right in the eyes. The faces are so unique in how they are ... wrinkled or have blemishes and scars which make the characters distinct.

The artist really is a great director. The "camera," if you will, is well placed to capture the action and drama--often with cutaways where you feel like you can still hear the swords ringing but the camera is facing a peaceful scene nearby. The scenery always adds to the mood whether it's a cloudy day in a dense forest, a bright morning in a small village, or the deep night at the beach under a bright moon.

The story is excellent and now with 166 chapters read all the various characters are becoming interconnected in the larger story. The characters are seeking to be strong and they live their lives by the sword, but they often ask themselves what exactly does it mean to be strong, and they sometimes question whether living by the sword is a good idea.

Again, the artwork really does it for me. I wouldn't say it's particularly beautiful, but it's so effective. It really feels like I'm watching more than reading. I can almost hear what's going on and see the action taking place. Definitely worth reading.