Striving for enlightenment by way of the sword, Miyamoto Musashi is prepared to cut down anyone who stands in his way. Vagabond is an action-packed portrayal of the life and times of the quintessential warrior-philosopher—one of the most celebrated samurai of all time!
Vagabond portrays a fictionalized account of Miyamoto Musashi's life, a loose adaptation of Eiji Yoshikawa's novel "Musashi".
By the Mangaka of Slam Dunk
New chapters come out in Japan on the third Thursday of the month.
Oh my, I'm glad you've decided to discuss this manga. I think Vagabond is one of my my favorite mangas period. I've never seen artwork that seems so raw and expressive. The sheer amount of detail in every panel and creative use of light and perspective are so fun to see. The watercolors are also a treat, since they show off Takehiko-san's style and skill. It's sooo good. I feel like this is the kind of work that can transcend the genre of "manga" or "comic" and really appeal to all sorts of audiences... or maybe not.
I'm a big fan of the mangaka, Takehiko Inoue... even if he kinda borrowed some pictures for his "Slam Dunk." I hope he can stay healthy and happy enough to keep up the amazing work.
I'm not on my computer right now, so I can't look up my favorite scenes.. but I'll be back with that later. I'm glad to see another fan of this wonderful manga. (as a side question, what are the other samurai mangas you had in mind? what are your other favorite mangas? and do you think there are any similar mangas out there?)
Ok, looking forward to talking about all this fun stuff.
This defently one of my favorites what I like about it the most is that it does not have exageration of power like Kenshin this one is more down to earth.
Bull's eye! Yeah... I think that the drawing style gives the whole story a great support. Both story and drawing go so well together.
I've got a vagabond poster in my room because it looks so kickass!
I'm a big fan of the mangaka, Takehiko Inoue... even if he kinda borrowed some pictures for his "Slam Dunk." I hope he can stay healthy and happy enough to keep up the amazing work.
SlamDunk is also one of my favs although it's an entirely different genre...
(as a side question, what are the other samurai mangas you had in mind? what are your other favorite mangas? and do you think there are any similar mangas out there?)
I only know Blade of the Immortal, Basilisk, Samurai Champloo and Rurouni Kenshin = samurai mangas
But they are all different in kind and style than Vagabond.
The most similar might be Blade of the Immortal but still it has more fantasy/mystery included like the main character's ability to have swords coming out of his body as well as being cursed to be immortal because of some worms living inside him.
Vagabond is more realistic in this way.
For Basilisk you can get more info here.
And Samurai Champloo as well as Rurouni Kenshin are by far not so serious and intense as Vagabond. (RK has also its own thread here.)
Well, you see: Vagabond is my fav samurai manga so this is not objective, of course.
Yeah, I've seen or read most of those other samurai manga and they are way different... good though.
I agree that BoTI is the most similar to Vagabond, but the art style in Vagabond is very much superior. It's much more polished.
(oh wow, Miso.. you're azzzrael? that's awesome. I'm definitely a fan and have looked at your deviations before. Coolness.) Thanks for your recommendations. Where do you dl your manga? I usually use IRC, but my school recently shut it down. Any recommendations?
Ok, on to my favorite scenes...
The two battles between Musashi and Inshun were amazing. The second battle was interesting because you started to appreciate the mentality of a warrior as depicted by Takehiko. It's almost become cliche... but the idea that you can learn about your opponent through battle is very well represented.
There's a chapter in volume 12 that shows Musashi climbing a mountain with his bare hands. That was beautiful.
One of my favorites so far are the fights in volumes 19 and 20. Kojiro's battle with Koun and the other guys... spectacular.
Anways.. I've honestly loved every page of this work. It's fantastic.
And the fights during the the latest volumes are of course enjoyable. Though the one in Volume 13 remains to be my fave so far. Though the fight in Volume 20 remains a close second.
Well, having heard that this manga draws similar praise as Blade of the Immortal, I'll definitely check into this one as soon as possible.
Miyamoto Musashi - yeah, he's been mentioned a couple of times in other kenshi manga. Heh. So this is a fictionial story about him - well, that's cool.
One of my favourite mangas. I love it. Mostly because of the change of two different Characters the wild beast Miyamoto Musashi and the cold hearted killer Sasaki Kojiro. Also i recommend you the book Musashi of Eiji Yoshikawa. It is also about Musashi and it is really recommendable.
(oh wow, Miso.. you're azzzrael? that's awesome. I'm definitely a fan and have looked at your deviations before. Coolness.) Thanks for your recommendations. Where do you dl your manga? I usually use IRC, but my school recently shut it down. Any recommendations?
Yeah. I'm AzzzRAEL. Such a stupid nickname. I don't know why I choose that...
I also use irc because #lurk has the most series scanlated out there plus fine download speeds.
Rare things you still can find with fserv.
If you go for direct download try: www.mangatraders.com
Snake1786 said:
One of my favourite mangas. I love it. Mostly because of the change of two different Characters the wild beast Miyamoto Musashi and the cold hearted killer Sasaki Kojiro. Also i recommend you the book Musashi of Eiji Yoshikawa. It is also about Musashi and it is really recommendable.
Yes - that contrast is quite appealing.
And I acutally have that book written by Yoshikawa in my book shelve. It's really good and totally interesting. I think Miyamoto Musashi is a great character for a story.
PS: @MQAvatar2k: I added spoiler tags to your post.
And I acutally have that book written by Yoshikawa in my book shelve. It's really good and totally interesting. I think Miyamoto Musashi is a great character for a story.
I read the first volume of Vagabond. Not bad, but I don't get the same sense of wonder I did from Blade of the Immortal. But I'll read on. It's nice to have a realistic samurai story anyway and I love it when the story is built around some real history, too.
I'll probably never forget what the Battle of Sekigahara was all about now at least - I already knew a little bit about the Tokugawa reign but this is the first time I've been able to fully understand how it got started.
Shinmen Takezō has a definite presence about him all right, I like how the artist gave him beastial eyes that gave his opponents pause almost all the time. For a man destined to become a legendary swordsmaster, he does seem like he'd be intimidating enough. Wonder how Miyamoto Musashi really looked like, though. Anyway, Takezō certainly does seem resourceful... heh, if the Toyotomi clan had five more men like him, the West probably would have won that battle...
Didn't care for Hon'iden Matahachi at all and I wasn't too surprised when he turned out to be pretty much a lame excuse for a warrior and ran away with Okō.
Will comment more as I read on. The art's very well done but it almost seems like the artist is trying to stretch the story out by having so many large panels that just show the characters' emotion (especially Takezō.)
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EDIT: Okay, I just finished the fourth volume and it's gotten much better. The first two volumes were kind of "eh" but when Takezō was renamed Miyamoto Musashi was when the story really got rolling.
I'll start using spoiler tags...
First off, the character development of Musashi in this manga is pretty incredible. He was sort of a blank slate in the first two volumes, but then in the next two... you can definitely feel him changing due to the answers he's getting from people about his life, his mission, and human nature. First Takuan, then trial and error with the skilled swordsmen he's meeting at Yoshioka, then that old monk he met on the Hōzōin temple grounds... and already he has a young discipline, Jōtarō.
So all in all, I've been impressed with the writing in the last two volumes and that's what is keeping me reading. I like that Musashi's becoming more human as the story goes by ( I did sort of expect it to happen eventually, but it happened quicker than I thought. The writing was sort of slow in the first two volumes. )
Takuan Sōhō is definitely a cool character. I've always kind of wanted to see a story with a monk who actually has a strong personality, and he fits the bill... the way he captured and hung up Takezō and sort of changed his path from a cold killer seeking death to a swordsman on a mission who's at least not as reckless with his own life and the lives of others was genius. And I really liked that scene where Takuan"scared off" Tsujikaze Kōhei with the strength of his mind. Well, I could go on... Takuan turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
I'm getting used to Matahachi as a sort of comedy relief character, along with his mother and family. It was amusing how he turned out to be the one who burned down the Yoshioka dojo.
The Yoshiokas are quite interesting too. Seijurō and Denshichirō, Ueda Ryōhei and Gion Tōji.
And Inshun, whoa. When he was introduced, he definitely looked like an interesting character. Guess I'll find out more about him soon.
So, Volume 4 really got me hooked. The art is flowing a lot more smoothly, there's more comedy, and the drama's becoming more intoxicating.
So yeah, good manga so far. ^^
* * * * *
That fight between Inshun and Musashi rocked. Anxious to see the rematch.
I've read it several times, and kinda have to admit I wasn't so thrilled about the last few volumes where we got introduced to somone I'd call the second main character ?? since so many volumes focused on him...
Anyway I haven't grown as fond of Blade of the immortal as I have of Vagabond, and I guess it's mainly because the main character is way better. Also I had kinda expected the main character in BoTI to be better, but he seems to have gotten duller with skills and stuff.
As for Musashi vs. Manji, it seems Musashi would probably win based on pure skill and instinct. But I still think Manji is a fun character to follow in Blade of the Immortal, but it's obvious his character isn't as well developed as Musashi's. Rin on the other hand...
Anyway, I've read volumes 7-8:
Volume 7 was hilarious when Musashi was training to try to beat Inshun. When that log hit his head while he was standing in the waterfall, that was pure comedy.
I was a bit disappointed in the rematch though, it wasn't as exciting as the first fight between Inshun and Musashi. Most of the time they just stood there! I can understand the battle of wills, but I expected something a little more than that, I guess. Still, it's nice to see Inshun and Misashi part on good terms.
My interest in the manga hasn't fallen at all, it's still pretty cool watching how Musashi learns more about swordfighting and himself throughout this series.
Matahachi - man, he's the perfect example of what I would consider a "phoney." It's disgusting how he's hiding behind another man's name and reputation - I feel sorry for Sasaki Kojirō.
GK, it's nice to hear that Vagabond pleases you, too.
I also liked the Inshun/Masashi fights. The first one was really thrilling when it came to fighting skills. I actually also liked the second. GK, you seemed to be disappointed from the battle of wills but I can say that I'm not. I really liked how the fight was settled. Not much action or pwning stuff - just two enemies facing each other.
Actually I liked the 4th manga of vagabond where Musashi wanna kill himself and hit his head at the rock and then Takuan catches his head and says him to Live ( or something like that) and then he starts to cry It was one of the greatest moments for me.
EDIT: That was actually the end of volume 2, and yeah that was cool. Had to include spoiler tags - GK
I still feel like Blade of the Immortal is better than Vagabond, it's just that Manji's character was already developed, it's more or less the story around him that intrigues me a lot and I feel like it's more intriguing than yes even the story in Vagabond.
The biggest thing Vagabond has going for it is character development of Musashi and the incredible, mindblowing art.
But whoa... a deaf kid? I didn't expect that at all. ( I'm deaf myself... )
Miso said:
GK, it's nice to hear that Vagabond pleases you, too.
I also liked the Inshun/Masashi fights. The first one was really thrilling when it came to fighting skills. I actually also liked the second. GK, you seemed to be disappointed from the battle of wills but I can say that I'm not. I really liked how the fight was settled. Not much action or pwning stuff - just two enemies facing each other.
I understand the reasoning behind it but I still enjoyed the first battle a heckuva lot more. Got my blood running.
Awesome stuff. The Yagyu were formidable, and it was fun to see Sekishusai "defeat" Musashi even though he was feeble and sick and lying on his back!
Didn't expect Tsujikaze Kohei to come back in such a fashion. That was a fun battle too. And I love the way the artist drew Rindo. The art is really breathtaking. I find myself gasping at all the amazing background detail almost every page.
I'm totally disgusted with Matahachi, but at the same time I'm starting to understand why he's included as a secondary character. It's to show the contrast between a man "doing it" and a man who "dreams of doing it but actually never doing it." Definitely a marked difference.
The deaf kid... Kojiro... never expected this new story to come around, and a DEAF character! It's awesome - for a deaf guy like me this is a bonus to see how this artist tackles the challenge of writing and drawing about a deaf character, something I've always wanted to do myself for my own comic. Very good job too. Eagerly waiting to see what happens next ( I guess Tenki was actually the one who was killed back there whose money and contract Matahachi stole.
* * * * *
Got to volume 20.
Well, this is one manga I'll definitely be talking about to my deaf friends, for obvious reasons.
At the same time I have to say that the story in Vagabond moves way too slow - though - at the same time I sure don't mind seeing all the amazing artwork that comes along with such a slow plot.
^ Can't agree at all. I feel that the story moves decently fast, Takezo goes from being an unknown brat to a decently respected swordsman within 10-15 or so volumes. We got to see Kojiro grow up pretty fast and we are beginning to understand how the final confrontation will be. It was long time sicne I last read it but fuck, it is one of the best mangas I have ever read, especially the Kojiro arc. Inoue got a unique skil, to make emotions become very clear when you read his mangas, like when you watch a sad movie and the sad music comes on and you can't hold your tears back. I loved Slam Dunk!, currently enjoying REAL and I am a huge fan of Vagabond.
^ Can't agree at all. I feel that the story moves decently fast, Takezo goes from being an unknown brat to a decently respected swordsman within 10-15 or so volumes. We got to see Kojiro grow up pretty fast and we are beginning to understand how the final confrontation will be. It was long time sicne I last read it but fuck, it is one of the best mangas I have ever read, especially the Kojiro arc. Inoue got a unique skil, to make emotions become very clear when you read his mangas, like when you watch a sad movie and the sad music comes on and you can't hold your tears back. I loved Slam Dunk!, currently enjoying REAL and I am a huge fan of Vagabond.
I'm not complaining, really. I meant that basically they are taking a long time to get back to Masashi's story.
I don't mind at all as I'm enjoying Kojiro's story for obvious reasons... however, if I wasn't deaf I'm not sure I would have been thrilled with the introduction of a secondary character whose life story will likely take around 6 more volumes before it catches up to Masashi's current life in the series. It took 13 volumes for Musashi's story, and at this point I think we're only halfway through Kojiro's.
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