I need to get this out first. The art is magnificent. Painting with a traditional inkbrush and watercolors, Inoue has well and truly outdone any of his other works. This is his peak as an artist, and in terms of art, a work he is unlikely to eclipse.
The saying goes that a picture is a thousand words, and often Inoue is content to deliver us a two page spread of blood and iron, detailed down to the last droplet. And those details, ah the details- that delivers me to the story itself. I don't think Vagabond is a perfect work. There is undoubtedly some details both minor and major that will not sit well with all of us. There are probably little plot holes or details that I have missed. But barring a purely academic reading of the work, Vagabond is a manga with an effortless story. Miyamoto Musashi starts off thirsting for power, a young man looking to test himself against the world.
Slowly then, we watch as he fights, kills, grows stronger, and matures. All this held against the equally enthralling story of Matahachi Honiden, Musashi's childhood friend. Where Musashi dedicates himself to the passion of his craft, Matahachi indulges himself in hedonistic pleasure. And though there are certain implicit judgements about both characters, the story ultimately treats them as what they are- people. We watch as Musashi seeks greater heights of success, all while Matahachi falls deeper into despair. Then about halfway through, we meet the last of our protagonists- the deaf swordsman Sasaki Kojirou. Through trials and tribulations, we follow the three- well, we are still following the three.
It is unlikely Vagabond will ever be truly completed. Sometime in 2015 Inoue put the work on Hiatus. I do not believe he will return to it again. But in many ways, that only increases how much I love this story. Vagabond may well be a flawed work, for its lack of exposition, or breeziness in content- but say what you will, it is not a work that can be ignored. I see Vagabond as a cumulation of the things it made me feel, that deeply atmospheric art that threatens to drown you in its beauty- the inscrutable characters and their relationships that you can admire without fully understanding. All that and more make Vagabond what it is, and perhaps even more than just the sum of its parts. And Vagabond in many ways makes me take a step further and say- this may well be the greatest manga of all time.
