Takayuki Yamaguchi

Shigurui 1

Siya S

4.5 stars ★★★★ for the whole series!!!

 


  (*Note: I have read the complete 15 volumes but decided to record as 1 book in the Annual Reading Challenge*)
 

There are 15 volumes of this masterpiece but I'll write just one general review here (because I don't want to flood your walls with my reviews). This is by far one of the most graphic, violent, gore, and most of all best samurai mangas I've ever come across in years. My #1 is still Basilisk: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls, Vol. 1, but Shigurui (Death Frenzy) will hold a special place in my heart.

It's 16th century Japan: the Daimyo has ordered to hold a tournament where 20 of the best samurais in the country must fight each other to death to entertain the foul-mood tyrant. This is a story of the first match between Fujiki Gennosuke, the one-armed swordsman, and Irako Seigen, the blind samurai, following by a flashback of events that led them to the final showdown. 



It is a story of revenge, honor, corrupted souls of the samurais like no other. Well, I think you must be a veteran of the way of the samurais and Japanese culture a bit to understand the theme, which is a mixture of loyalty, duty, and honor. It's a criticism and a slap-in-the-face to feudalism in Japan, or perhaps basically power-corrupted human beings, in the finest form. 

God-tier storytelling technique, by the way. This is not just any manga, it's literature. 




  *warning: The ending would leave your soul numb for days*
 

However, there are some things I don't really like. First of all, I must say the illustration changes drastically around volume 7 and it's for the worse :( which is sad because it's the style that got me hooked from the beginning (oh how I wish I could start a petition to re-illustrate it! The change of style bothered me so much). Next is the introduction of subplots that are entirely irrelevant to the main story which cast a series of 1-800-what-the-fuck-did-I-just-read episodes to my mind as I tried to get through them. Not to mention thousands of characters with a mouthful of names I barely got a hold of (but that's my problem, I guess). Lastly, the last couple of volumes were dragging - I wish it was 2 volumes shorter. 

Still, it's worth the pain and experiences. Please read this manga, you can thank me later.

If you like something similar to this, I highly recommend Basilisk (of course), Peacemaker Kurogane, and Vagabond.

Shigurui 1

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