Kaze Hikaru

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Before I picked up Kaze Hikaru, the only japanese history I knew was post WWII, so my first introduction to the Shinsegumi was Kaze Hikura. Only after I read every published chapter did I go on Wikipedia and investigate the historical accounts. My suspicions were confirmed when they lined up perfectly. Kaze Hakaru isn’t romance with a historical setting, its Historical fiction that has some romance.

Most of the characters in Kaze Hikaru are based off accounts of historical figures. She does a good job with making the characters assessable but Watanabe Sensei never lets her characters diverge from facts. This ... can mean that characters you like can die in unsatisfying, but historical accurate, ways.

Kaze Hikaru artwork is ascetically pleasing without being distracting

While the story overall is about the Shinsegumi, Sei, as the main character and POV, has her own personal struggles inside the larger events. They are handled realistically, and occasionally hilariously, but they are at the mercy of history, so they never rule the story.

As you can see from what I’ve already written, Kaze Hikaru is about taking the reader back in time to the Tokugawa era. Characterization and plot are forced to line up with history, and in my opinion, it was worth it. Watanabe sensei is able to show us both the glory and the harsh realities of the movement, and she makes us care.

Overall, I give Kaze Hikaru and 8. It tone is half way between a normal Shoujo Manga and the Coen brother’s “True Grit”. Read it if you’re a history buff, avoid it if you’re looking for a sweat romance

One other note. I’m not sure if the story was ever completed. There are 30 volumes released in Japan and 19 released in English by VIZ Media but no completely translated version on the internet. Believe me, I’ve looked.

I normally don't write reviews but I'm hoping that Kaze Hikaru will have more recognition.

This shojo manga is not so typical where it centers (and sometimes just) on romance. The main female protagonist is very strong willed, likable, well rounded, and bright character. The character and story development is well thought out and the mangaka goes to a good length to make the setting historically accurate (not in a boring fashion).

The reason I like this manga is because of the depth in the characters and the story. The romance aspect takes time to progress in this story but I find it very cute and ... funny. There seems to be endless supplies of shallow love stories with similar plots so it is always a relief to see a shojo manga that transcends that.

One thing that might deter people from reading it is probably the art. The characters are not glamorized as we might be used to in other shojo manga but nonetheless it is well drawn and beautiful in its own way.

I do hope you'll give it a go!

What is this exactly?

I've read 80 chapters and this is what I'm currently wondering.

It's not action.
There are barely any fighting/war scenes and even when they do appear they end within a few panels. For the most part, the fighting, the war etc are being TALKED about by our characters, but we don't actually *see* anything happening more than their everyday lives at the HQ.

Drama?
Well, yeah there is drama. However, to be honest I'd classified it as slice of life and not drama. The reason is that it's all infuriatingly episodic, with everything kinda rubber banding to its default state after the mini-arc ends. And I ... say MINI, because, despite the number of volumes, there's no real 'arcs' or larger plot points (other that the most obvious ones, like that they are the shinsengumi, what they strive for.. etc). For me real drama has to have impact on the characters.

Gender-bender?
Yes. This one I can easily agree with. Kamiya does seriously try to live as a bushi. However, that doesn't change the fact that her femininity is CONSTANTLY underscored, highlighted, talked about, EVERY freaking character and their grandma is secretly in love with her. And she just. Won't. Stop. CRYING! ARGH!

Historical?
Indeed. In the sense that it's akin to attending a history class where someone talks about all these historic events but you don't actually get to SEE any of that. And in the rare cased you do - it'll be a panel here and there and then it'll quickly pan away from all that and let you admire the SKY while TALKING about what happened and the result.

Romance?
Haha...hah...ha... *sigh*
There are touching scenes, I'll give it that. However. There's NO development, no progress. At the beginning you think it's just slow paced and get all excited for what will happen. But then, as you read and read and read... it starts to slowly dawn on you that no. Nothing's happening. And when something finally MIGHT happen and you see a faint glimmer of hope that their relationship will finally start to evolve... it's turned into a bloody PUNCHLINE. A gag. And so you laugh. Because what? You'll cry? Nah, you're not the heroine.

Slice of life?
YES. This is it I think. It's a slice of life about the everyday life of the Shinsengumi. With the emphasis in DAILY life. You see them eat, bathe, shit, fight, laugh, cry, fart, sometimes die or go to the red light district. They talk about important matters, but you don't really care because you won't see any of that anyway. They are an interesting bunch and it's quite entertaining to see them carry on with their lives, but don't expect character growth. It's like there's this default state for all of them, and after every mini-arc, they just kinda return to that default state. Rinse and repeat. Over and over...and over again. Fun!

6.5/10 because it did keep me for 80 chapters before I lost my patience.