Nowadays, we can easily say that manga of the "tournament" type are widely in fashion with works like Kengan Ashura or Record of Ragnarok as spearhead. However, these mangas already existed long before and we can say that Gamaran is one of these works. It's a pity that we tend to forget it, because it's a manga with a lot of quality.
Gamaran is a really enjoyable manga to read with a pretty gripping story from start to finish. As in most tournament manga, the stakes are defined from the beginning and it's up to the reader to have the feeling to get hooked directly. With Gamaran, we go from surprise to surprise, so it's easy to get caught up in the game. I really enjoyed watching them evolve and progress through the battles in this very aggressive period setting.
It's a good story of samurai and martial arts, which can be interesting to read to complete one's knowledge or to open to this style. There are many different things to explore and check out.
Nevertheless ... it is not a faultless book. There are still a few glaring black spots in the reading. The story is a bit too linear and the narrative pattern repeats itself quite often when the author finds himself in a dead end. This generally works well, but it can be seen as a weakness and one can quickly find it boring. Also events move too fast because of the linear story pace, which makes things unsurprising. I would have liked to see the characters struggle a bit more during the fights, the development was sometimes too fast.
Finally a minor but certainly notable weakness: too many anecdotal characters, especially on the antagonist side. This is unfortunately a flaw in tournament manga, but in Gamaran it is too noticeable.
But the best ones are really up to the main characters, and that's really good.
I think that Gamaran is a catchy story, but not without flaws, in which you will spend a pleasant time reading if you manage to immerse yourself in it. We are lucky, there is a sequel to the story that develops quietly with another main character.
