Vagabond: Invincible Under The Sun
The opportunity to experience a great story along with great artwork is not something very common in the manga industry. But that sounds weird, doesn't it? I mean, tons of mangas are created every year and this random guy in a blog is saying that there are only a few good mangas, how is that even possible? Well, consistently good mangas are quite scarce, even big names like 'Bleach' had a fall from grace at a certain point. The relentless schedules of mangakas often lead them to make mistakes or to repeat the formulas that made them successful in the first place. However, there are a few legendary mangakas who take the time to delve into the stories they create, develop emotions and characters at their full potential, and create vast as well as unique worlds within their stories. Among some of those big names, Inoue Takehiko holds a special place. Inoue is best known for being the author of Slam Dunk, one of the most successful sports manga of all time, selling an outstanding number of 121 million copies in Japan alone. Nevertheless, Inoue is more than just Slam Dunk, he is also the author of Vagabond, a feast for our eyes and minds.
Vagabond relives the story of Shinmen Takezō a.k.a Miyamoto Musashi and takes Eiji Yoshikawa's novel "Musashi" as its foundations. The manga narrates the story of a young, self-taught samurai on his quest to become invincible under the sun, following his path of self-discovery, growth, and learning. Our journey begins almost at the end of Sekigahara's war when a young Musashi and his childhood friend, Matahachi Hon'iden, walk their way through a sea of corpses. After a series of events, Musashi parts ways with Matahachi, starting his path to find the strongest warriors of them all in an effort to defeat the weakness that resides inside him and be able to declare himself as invincible. Although that path might be steep, Musashi is not the only one following the way of the sword because, on the other side of it, a tiger is waiting. Sasaki 'Ganryū' Kojirō is an indissociable part of Musashi, he feels the sword as an extension of his own body and lives to fight the most powerful warriors.
Vagabond is an interesting story that should be shared among manga readers since it breaks with plenty of formulas that are usually present in mangas. For instance, stories tend to follow structures quite easy to identify, which in some way or another can make the outcome of battles or arcs predictable. The comeback device in sports manga is the biggest example of this. On the other side, characters lack deep motivations, something that results in characters that are inherently good or bad, but we all know that's not how the real world works. To sum up, little details like the ones mentioned before end up affecting the suspension of disbelief (something critical in some mangas) or make the sense of adventure/journey be lost quite easily. Vagabond breaks this mold and presents things that should be repeated more often. Characters are not good or bad, they are just people with their own lives and their own points of view. If their desires lead them to make mistakes or things that in our reality would be wrong, it depends on the reader to judge. This noble concept allows characters to feel and react in ways that are truthful to their personalities and each 'enemy' in Musashi's path is like that, they respond to how they chose to live. But that doesn't end there, arcs flow smoothly and the story doesn't feel as if it has a determined outcome settled by Inoue. The story really feels like a learning process, we grow with Musashi and the story takes different routes, giving depth to Musashi and the world around him. Vagabond is not just a lonely samurai dwelling on the concepts of life and death, it is the story of Kojirō, Matahachi, Ittōsai, Iori and more.
Inoue has been able to create an amazing story in a genre in which Berserk seemed to be the lonely king. Now, we can even talk about the possibility that Berserk and Vagabond are two of the greatest seinen mangas there is and this is not a coincidence. Inoue's professionalism when it comes to Vagabond is uncanny since he lives and breathes through his characters. This is something nobody can even argue about, you just have to look at the beauty of the manga and you will realize how passionate he is about it. The manga possesses an incredible pace, amazing panel distribution, and dialogues that truly make you think and question things. At the end of the day, you even wonder if Musashi's fights are the right answer to his quest or not.
Vagabond relives the story of Shinmen Takezō a.k.a Miyamoto Musashi and takes Eiji Yoshikawa's novel "Musashi" as its foundations. The manga narrates the story of a young, self-taught samurai on his quest to become invincible under the sun, following his path of self-discovery, growth, and learning. Our journey begins almost at the end of Sekigahara's war when a young Musashi and his childhood friend, Matahachi Hon'iden, walk their way through a sea of corpses. After a series of events, Musashi parts ways with Matahachi, starting his path to find the strongest warriors of them all in an effort to defeat the weakness that resides inside him and be able to declare himself as invincible. Although that path might be steep, Musashi is not the only one following the way of the sword because, on the other side of it, a tiger is waiting. Sasaki 'Ganryū' Kojirō is an indissociable part of Musashi, he feels the sword as an extension of his own body and lives to fight the most powerful warriors.
Vagabond is an interesting story that should be shared among manga readers since it breaks with plenty of formulas that are usually present in mangas. For instance, stories tend to follow structures quite easy to identify, which in some way or another can make the outcome of battles or arcs predictable. The comeback device in sports manga is the biggest example of this. On the other side, characters lack deep motivations, something that results in characters that are inherently good or bad, but we all know that's not how the real world works. To sum up, little details like the ones mentioned before end up affecting the suspension of disbelief (something critical in some mangas) or make the sense of adventure/journey be lost quite easily. Vagabond breaks this mold and presents things that should be repeated more often. Characters are not good or bad, they are just people with their own lives and their own points of view. If their desires lead them to make mistakes or things that in our reality would be wrong, it depends on the reader to judge. This noble concept allows characters to feel and react in ways that are truthful to their personalities and each 'enemy' in Musashi's path is like that, they respond to how they chose to live. But that doesn't end there, arcs flow smoothly and the story doesn't feel as if it has a determined outcome settled by Inoue. The story really feels like a learning process, we grow with Musashi and the story takes different routes, giving depth to Musashi and the world around him. Vagabond is not just a lonely samurai dwelling on the concepts of life and death, it is the story of Kojirō, Matahachi, Ittōsai, Iori and more.
Inoue has been able to create an amazing story in a genre in which Berserk seemed to be the lonely king. Now, we can even talk about the possibility that Berserk and Vagabond are two of the greatest seinen mangas there is and this is not a coincidence. Inoue's professionalism when it comes to Vagabond is uncanny since he lives and breathes through his characters. This is something nobody can even argue about, you just have to look at the beauty of the manga and you will realize how passionate he is about it. The manga possesses an incredible pace, amazing panel distribution, and dialogues that truly make you think and question things. At the end of the day, you even wonder if Musashi's fights are the right answer to his quest or not.
Sadly, not everything can be amazing, the only downfall of this manga is that it hasn't been completed yet. Takehiko Inoue is currently on a hiatus and hasn't published a new volume of the manga for quite some time. I guess that writing a story about a man who slashes and murders people can have its toll on the author. Inoue put himself into a really dark place when he decided to start working on Vagabond and that is not something I just came up with, he said it himself. Now, we can only hope that there is an end for Musashi's journey and the spiral of killing.
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