Vagabond Vol. 27
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April 06, 2008
by: Eric Frederiksen
The bloodbath continues as Musashi and the Yoshioka school work through their own battles as well.
Manga Description:
The carnage continues! Musashi single-handedly takes on the entire Yoshioka Clan, 70 bloodthirsty men out for revenge. On the brink of death, will he be pushed over the edge or will this sublime battle experience take him one step closer to his ultimate goal?
Manga Review
Content: (This section may contain spoilers.)
The first thing that jumps off the page as you flip through Vagabond Volume 27 is the blood. Cover to cover, the book sports violence comparable to a Sam Peckinpah film. Despite the violence and fighting that fill the book, this latest volume in Takehiko Inoue’s series is not actually about the fighting or the violence. On both sides of this massive battle there are internal fights going on behind the scenes as well.
As Musashi cuts down one man after another in a fight that spilled over from the last volume , he struggles against his old self. As he reaches his limit, he has to work harder and harder to suppress the savage side of him he’s worked so hard to excise. Musashi receives mid-battle training from his past mentors as their spirits appear around him, espousing Yoda-like wisdom. However, the fatigue and mounting injuries begin to take precedence over his focus and we see a Musashi we're not used to, a more brutal and animalistic Musashi of old. His focus wanes and he begins to give up – but his body keeps fighting despite it as the spirits watch on with disappointment. This is a great reminder that Musashi isn't nearly done yet. Despite some of his past revelations and accomplishments, the legend of Miyamoto Musashi is only starting and the man has a lot more to learn before he can teach anyone else anything.
On the other side of the battle, the Yoshioka boys are starting to realize they were doomed from the start— not so much by Musashi, but by the march of time and change. As the men fall one-by-one, they begin to remark on the bygone age they were a part of. The most poignant is Ueda Ryohei, one of the top Yoshioka swordsmen and the second in command. Ueda barely survives an encounter with Musashi, and then after further thought realizes he must go back in for himself and for the school. We learn here how Ueda came to the school and his rise to the top of his class. The story is told quickly, but it helps us see how much things have changed for the members of the Yoshioka school. Musashi's journey on the other hand is so personal that it is actually universal, a completely different flavor of story than that of the Yoshioka school.
As a Miyamoto Musashi fan and having read the source material upon which the manga is based, one thing that struck me as odd (and a bit disappointing) is that Musashi never takes up two swords during the battle. Of course it'll happen later, but this was the fight that pushed Musashi to his limit and forced him to draw a second sword to handle the blades surrounding him.
This volume ends the incredible battle at the Ichijoji spreading pine and takes the time to reacquaint us with some characters we haven't seen in a while. Musashi's deaf-mute rival Sasaki Kojirou returns. If his interest in Musashi was ever in doubt before, his countless redrawing of the characters in Musashi's name confirms it. We see more of Kojirou's playful side here, though his fixation is suggestive of his true intention.
The women in Musashi's life also make an appearance. Akemi, a ghost of Musashi's past, shows up – if only briefly. She reveals that she was Yoshioka Seijurou's lover before skipping off into the distance. Musashi even appears to catch a glimpse of Otsu in the dark before the book ends.
This end to the book does a great job closing up Musashi's rivalry with the Yoshioka school and helps us get ready to move onto the next stage. It's not quite the cliffhanger that an exciting swordfight is, but it certainly leaves me waiting for the next book.
Art: As usual, the art is amazing. Inoue intersperses large, often empty pages between tightly packed panels that each have their own thing going on. Inoue’s clean art keeps this from ever being the least bit confusing.
Inoue does a couple interesting things with the art in this volume as well. Where the water color had been in color before, it is black and white in this volume. I had worried that this was a publishing decision, but a VIZ spokesperson reassured me:
"Although those four pages look like they're b/w, if you look closely (i.e. with a jeweler's loup or powerful magnifying glass) you can see that they were printed in full color. This is how they appeared in magazine serialization in Japan as well as when it was collected into tankobon format in Japan. I think Inoue did this because he wanted to these pages to have (or at least attempt to have) the full rich spectrum of depth that sumi ink has. From a practical standpoint, we (VIZ) might have gotten away with printing these 4 pages in b/w, but we didn't because we wouldn't want to compromise the integrity of Inoue's work."
This sumi ink-style has the added effect of matching the story and characters quite well – as they tire further, the painting appears to lose focus as well. This is some of my favorite artwork from Inoue yet.
The other thing he does that I can’t recall ever seeing before is occasionally breaking into a very thick-lined brush-based style. It gives the characters an angular look, a bit more stylized than usual. I’m not sure what it all means, but I’m curious to see if Inoue does more of this.
Translation: This volume has the same solid translations as past volumes, including easy reading and replacement of sound effects. However, something interesting changed this time around. Inoue took to the brush instead of the pen a few times and in those cases, the kanji was left intact and in those few cases it really leaves an impression. The Japanese characters themselves convey what the character is saying as much as the actual words.
Bottom Line: Another amazing book from Inoue. This fight could’ve been handled any number of other ways, but Inoue let the characters really come through. The violence may put some off from the book (the Explicit Content label is well deserved), but the violence never feels gratuitous, as graphic as it is.
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Content |
The end of the battle gets us ready for the next chapter of Musashi's life. |
9.0 |
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Art |
Inoue does some interesting things with the art this time, especially with the sumi-ink style watercolors. |
9.8 |
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Translation |
Slightly higher marks for some retained brushstroke kanji. |
8.5 |
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Verdict
The unique art makes this volume a bit of a surprise, but this is definitely the same Musashi we've enjoyed all along.
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9.6
[not an average]
+ Gorgeous art across the board
+ A few cases of retained kanji are very effective
+ More great sword action
- Extremely violent
- This is not the volume to jump into
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