Brutal Beginnings of a Legend

Vagabond Opinion Piece

Vagabond Vol.1 Cover English Edition Published by Viz Comics

The Battle of Sekigahara, a dangerous battlefield that took place in Japan in the year 1600. The two opposing sides of warlords of Japan vying for the very battle that would hopefully unify the country, one side led by the Toyotomi Clan, the side of the successor of the now deceased Nobunaga Oda (the infamous warlord who controlled 1/3 of Japan) and then there’s the Tokugawa clan that challenged the Toyotomi clan’s leadership. Both sides would meet in battle in Mino(what is now known as Gifu Prefecture), over the course of the battle two young foot soldiers would fight for their very lives to bring honor to their family names, though they were on the losing side of the battle. Honiden Matahachi and Shinmen Takezo, two lifelong friends wake up after the Battle of Sekigahara has ended, to find that not only did they survive, but were much to their dismay they could not bring honor to their family in the case of Matahachi or in the case of Takezo, he wanted to fight against strong swordsmen.

Panel illustrating the aftermath of The Battle of Sekigahara

This manga written and illustrated by renowned mangaka Takehiko Inoue is an ongoing work that most readers and reviewers of the manga scene would call his magnum opus. The sheer emotions that one can see in his panel work is something to not look over. 

Survivors of the Battle of Sekigahara

Able to mix comedic breaks with heart wrenching scenes of heartbreak only to be accompanied by the brutality of combat in this period of time in Japan’s history. In this first volume of the manga, we are introduced to the first ten chapters in the life of Shinmen Takezo, the young man who would eventually grow to be the legendary Miyamoto Musashi the sword saint, this title being granted to the strongest and best swordsmen in all of Japan. Mixing history with bits of fiction, the author is able to entrance the reader with every beat of his story to the point that one believes they are right next to his characters going through the very ordeals they go through.

Example of how to perfectly illustrate the raw emotions of his characters.

If you’re looking for a quick light read, this is not the manga for you. This is the type of manga that once you open the first page it wraps itself around your mind and pulls you in to read all the way to present chapter. Sadly at the current moment the manga has been on hiatus for about one to two years, but nevertheless it is a title that any manga, comic or even story buff will enjoy.