Forum - View topicVagabond volumes 21 and beyond (Spoilers)
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milcor1
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While Vagabond 21 is still a while away, I couldn't hold back any longer and decided to read the Vagabond chapters that have not yet been released in North America.
I'm psyched, after reading about 2.5 volumes, I can safely say Vagabond is still some of the best manga out there today. Inoue really hasn't lost a step since the lengthy break and the art is still some of the best ever. Now that I've declared that you need to buy volume 21 when it comes out, I want to rant about some of the things going on in Vagabond so if you don't want to know, do not read the following below since I don't feel like having to turn my whole post into a bunch of black bars. Am I allowed to do this mods? WARNING SPOILERS BELOW I have to say Denishchiro is probably my favorite character now. It used to be Ito Ittosai because you know he's just the definition of the word badass, but you really gotta feel for Denischiro. He's probably the fourth most important character behind Musashi, Kojiro, and Matahachi. Now that I look back Denishichiro has always had to live under his brother's shadow, his father's acceptance, and the fact that he seems to be the most hardworking of all, despite his brother still being stronger. But now that Seijuro has died, he has to take on the sole responsibility of leading the Yoshioka school, a huge burden considering many found him inferior to his brother. The fact that his brother died only a few days before his duel with Musashi is just another huge shadow over his head. He's always trained so hard, more than anyone, and he knows himself how his brother was still a step ahead. But now that Musashi has defeated Seijuro, Denischiro's scared shitless when he's in private but you won't see any of that when he's in public. The fact that Seijuro died so suddenly is obviously surprising. But when I look back, maybe I should have expected it. Seijuro was always just the horny swordsman with no real character development. It was always Denischiro whom we got to explore and Seijuro's death will open us up to him even more. I loved the surprise encounter between Denischiro, Ueda, and Musashi on the street. There's a really effective use of an exclamation mark in one of the panels which I thought was unique but when I reread certain volumes of Vagabond I noticed that Inoue has always been using the exclamation stroke done with the black brush for a while now. I guess it jumps out in Volume 22 because of the stark white background and Denischiro's expression. The way Denischiro stops Ueda who instinctly lunges out with his sword shows how much composure he maintains. And when Musashi bluntly tells him that Seijuro's definitely stronger than he is, you can just tell by the expression on his face that he knows it, and deep down it hurts, BAD. The Gion Toji thing is also wrapped up pretty quickly since WAY back in volume 5. That's another thing, you really can't tell where Inoue is going to go with his plotlines in Vagabond. I thought Gion Toji would become another one of Musashi's opponents but he's ended up being bird feed. The way Denischiro yells at Toji to stop shows just how far Musashi has come since he wildly took on the Yoshioka school a year ago. I was midly surprised, and definitely pleased that now that Musashi has returned for his duel with Denischiro after their 1 year down time of training, it's Musashi who has just gone so far beyond what anyone would have expected. Since I've read far too many shonen titles, I expected Musashi to reappear for his duel being equally on par with the Yoshioka school in terms of skill, but after he defeats Seijuro, it's clear Musashi is already way beyond the challenge the Yoshioka school offers. He's only come back out of honor and respect for the pact he made with Denischiro a year ago. The whole thing brings a nice twist. This time the protagonist is the one whos got all the balls on his side of the court and it's the other side who's trembling in fear. Realizing how vulnerable the Yoshioka school is now, the path to how Musashi and Kojiro will encounter each other is clear, unless Inoue pulls another Musashi vs Seijuro surprise meeting thing. Ueda doesn't want Denischiro to die, he wants him to lead the Yoshioka school so he's asked his men to find Kojiro who they want him to fight Musashi instead. Also, the reason why Inoue made Kojiro deaf is definitely becoming alot clearer to me now. It just wasn't a gimmick to bring in a neat little touch of originality into his manga, but it serves as how Matahachi will finally be on the same platform as Musashi. A typical Shonen manga would have trained Matahachi to the point where he would be on par with Musashi, but I think I'm beginning to see how Matahachi's role will play in Vagabond. He's obviously going to be that spinny little bastard, but he's going to be the voice of Kojiro from now on, which again I should have expected considering the way his always falsely took on Kojiro's identity. If Musashi and Kojiro face each other soon, will Kojiro bite the dust? I hope not, as I really hope Inoue will write in a Kojiro vs Ittosai showdown. Man I've typed way too much and I need to get back to finishing my school paper. For anyone who's read Volume 21 and beyond (I'm only expecting a handful), what do you think? Is Vagabond still just as good as it ever was? |
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