Vagabond
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Vagabond

Alternative Titles

Japanese: バガボンド
English: Vagabond
More titles

Information

Type: Manga
Volumes: 37
Chapters: 327
Status: On Hiatus
Published: Sep 3, 1998 to May 21, 2015
Genres: Action Action, Adventure Adventure, Award Winning Award Winning
Themes: Historical Historical, Samurai Samurai
Demographic: Seinen Seinen
Serialization: Morning
Authors: Inoue, Takehiko (Story & Art), Yoshikawa, Eiji (Story)

Statistics

Score: 9.261 (scored by 156023156,023 users)
1 indicates a weighted score.
Ranked: #32
2 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity: #13
Members: 409,406
Favorites: 44,583

Available At


Resources

9.26
Ranked #3Popularity #13Members 409,406
Add to My List
Volumes: /37
Chapters: /327

Synopsis

In 16th-century Japan, Shinmen Takezou is a wild, rough young man in both his appearance and his actions. His aggressive nature has won him the collective reproach and fear of his village, leading him and his best friend, Matahachi Honiden, to run away in search of something grander than provincial life. The pair enlist in the Toyotomi army, yearning for glory—but when the Toyotomi suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of the Tokugawa Clan at the Battle of Sekigahara, the friends barely make it out alive.

After the two are separated, Shinmen returns home on a self-appointed mission to notify the Hon'iden family of Matahachi's survival. He instead finds himself a wanted criminal, framed for his friend's supposed murder based on his history of violence. Upon being captured, he is strung up on a tree and left to die. An itinerant monk, the distinguished Takuan Soho, takes pity on the "devil child," secretly freeing Shinmen and christening him with a new name to avoid pursuit by the authorities: Musashi Miyamoto.

Vagabond is the fictitious retelling of the life of one of Japan's most renowned swordsmen, the "Sword Saint" Musashi Miyamoto—his rise from a swordsman with no desire other than to become "Invincible Under the Heavens" to an enlightened warrior who slowly learns of the importance of close friends, self-reflection, and life itself.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Background

Vagabond won the Japan Media Arts Festival Manga Grand Prize and the 24th Kodansha Manga Award in the General category in 2000. The series won the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2002 and has had over 82 million copies sold worldwide.

Vagabond was published in English by VIZ Media under the VIZ Signature imprint from April 5, 2002, to April 21, 2015, and in large 3-in-1 omnibuses under the VIZBIG imprint from September 16, 2008, to April 21, 2015. The English release got Takehiko Inoue a nomination for the Eisner Award in the Best Writer/Artist category in 2003. It was also published in Brazilian Portuguese by Panini Comics from February 2016 to February 2019.

Characters


Reviews

May 3, 2009
Preliminary (269/327 eps)
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 ...
Jun 17, 2011
Mixed Feelings
Preliminary (300/327 eps)
[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 ...
Jun 26, 2024
FunnyFunny
Preliminary (6/327 eps)
Spoiler
I read 6 chapters of this garbage. In those 6 chapters, 2 rape attempts happened. Seinen truly is something.

The art is great, nothing to complain about that. Matahachi is a garbage deuteragonist who does not gain any sympathy from me in the few chapters I've read, though Takezo is a pretty cool character. The plot involving the two ladies being thieves was pretty cool, but it was cut off so some guy who killed the 15yo that Matahachi tries to rape's dad could threaten to rape who I believe is her mom.

Honestly, I expected much more from such a respected manga. Though you can ...

Interest Stacks

11 Entries · 2 Restacks
50 Entries · 66 Restacks
31 Entries · 5 Restacks

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Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Vagabond Chapter 21 Discussion
Madara22 - Nov 29, 2015
20 repliesby bastard444 »»
Dec 23, 4:33 PM
Why is this manga not getting an anime/anime adaptation ?
Ben10ison - Nov 30
33 repliesby wildhood »»
Dec 19, 5:08 PM
Poll: Vagabond Chapter 223 Discussion
Ranxomare - Mar 17, 2018
6 repliesby w3dnesd4y »»
Dec 16, 7:20 PM
Poll: Vagabond Chapter 222 Discussion
Ranxomare - Mar 17, 2018
10 repliesby w3dnesd4y »»
Dec 16, 7:16 PM
Poll: Vagabond Chapter 11 Discussion
_HeroKenzan_ - May 13, 2015
11 repliesby KcmcPro »»
Dec 12, 6:10 PM

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