Publishing Information: VIZ Media, paperback, 200 pages, $9.95 (US), $11.50 CAN
Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4215-3148-9 (ISBN-13); 1-4215-3148-8 (ISBN-10)
In the manga series, Vagabond, Takehiko Inoue (Slam Dunk) presents a fictionalized account of the life of Miyamoto Musashi. Vagabond also loosely adapts Eiji Yoshikawa’s 1935 novel, Musashi, another fictionalized account of the Japanese swordsman, duelist, and author (The Book of Five Rings) who lived from the late 16th century until the mid 17th century.
Vagabond, Vol. 29 finds Musashi imprisoned at Nijō Castle. He survived a battle in which he single-handedly killed 70 men of the Yoshioka Clan, but is left with an injury to his right leg that may end his sword-fighting days. Takuan Sōhō, the monk who is trying to bring enlightenment to Musashi, takes up that mantle again. Meanwhile, Kōetsu receives two visitors. One of them is an accomplished swordsman named Ogawa Ienao, who promptly challenges the twig-wielding Sasaki Kojiro.
Anyone who has read Takehiko Inoue’s wheelchair basketball drama, Real, knows that Inoue’s ability at character drama can be described, at the very least, as brilliant. Vagabond is also a robust character drama, in which Inoue not only plumbs the depths of Musashi’s soul, but also investigates the lives of the supporting characters. It seems as if Inoue doesn’t leave one intricate thread connecting one character to another unexamined. Vagabond is also a philosophical samurai drama; using Takuan Sōhō as a medium, the narrative contemplates the meaning of existence, seeing it through the prism of Musashi’s violent nature and activities.
But I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Vagabond is a kick-ass, comic book version of the chambara – the post World War II samurai movies that were more action-oriented than earlier samurai films. Like these “sword fighting movies,” Vagabond offers the startling, immediate, visceral violence of sword cleaving into flesh. Great violence plus great drama equals a fantastic read.
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Buy Vagabond, Vol. 29 (Vagabond (Graphic Novels))
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