Oct 4, 2021
I was very curious to discover this work released in the country where I live in the early 2000s. Known only to people who started to be interested in manga very early, Akkanbee Ikkyu is considered as one of the titles that should be reissued to be discovered by a new generation of readers. From my own experience I also think that it is a title that deserves to be discovered.
It is a really interesting story that takes place over 4 volumes. In each volume we will discover a part of the life of the protagonist in his religious path that must lead him
...
to Buddha.
There are very sympathetic aspects. The drawing style and the cutting are classic and efficient. On the level of chara-design, we can feel the influence of Katsuhiro Otomo. The scenery is also very good. It's a good point because it allows to retranscribe well the period in which the story takes place.
The manga also manages to be very dense on 4 volumes. In the French version of the work, there is a lot of additional information to help us understand the historical context. It's interesting to see how religion and politics, monks and shogunate, managed to cohabit during long years, and see the influence of both institutions on each other. On this point I think that Akkanbee Ikkyu is a pretty good manga.
Another point I liked is the development of the main character. Hisashi Sakaguchi took the time to build his way of life, this construction being in accordance with the cutting of the story. The trials and tribulations of a monk's life are well explained, and the feelings when reading are in symbiosis with the emotions of the MC. One can go from laughter to tears very easily for the most sensitive people. However, if the development of the main character is successful, those of the secondary characters is much less. Most of them are very weak. It is for me the only negative point of this manga.
For my sake, I would recommend Akkanbee Ikkyu to all those who want to discover manga that are a little bit different from the standard ones because there are a number of elements that can be interesting to know.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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