VAGABOND VIZBIG ED GN VOL 02 (MR) (C: 1-0-0): Enlightenment VIZBIG Edition: Volume 2 (Vagabond (VIZBIG Edition))

Product Information

Volume 6, The first half way great, I didn't love the end as much as I did the first half only because I despise Matahachi as a character but I believe that is the authors incentive. So I appreciate what Inoue has done to create conflict and drama in the plot. Nevertheless I loved it ! It's difficult to rate these incredible anthologies as individual volumes when they so clearly function in tandem with the other installments. It's one huge, epic story and to rate one over the other is like favoring a chapter of a novel over the others. They all work together evenly and effectively to create a stunning piece of art. Matahatchi's journey is less noble, it seems no matter how hard he tries he always ends up screwing things up, although he gets points for rescuing Musashi early on. The successor to the Hōzōin spear style, Inshun, has his own issues. He’s a natural combat genius who has never known “fear”, or had a truly serious challenge to his skills until now. Thus his growth has stalled; Inshun must learn how to deal with defeat to become stronger. His multi-chapter duel with Musashi is the centerpiece of this volume.

That'd all be frustrating enough, but the very foundation of vagabond is flawed. When I heard it's a fantastical take on a real life master samurai, i was immediately hooked. I was looking forward to the historical, grounded setting, and maybe a political plot Mushashi gets swept up in. But nah. It's just Mushashi going from enemy to enemy trying to get "stronger." That's his sole goal. If I have to be honest, despite the cool action sequences and the fact that Inoue tries to make it historically accurate, it has started to become rather repetitive. Miyamoto Musashi is a marvellous character and reminds me of both Goku from Dragon Ball and Naruto from the Naruto series. In these volumes, the demon within him isn't as evident as in the first omnibus but this is because he is distracted romantically, Otsu can't seem to steer clear of the corridors of his mind. This impacts his fighting and his general awareness of his surroundings, his instinct itself, has, in fact, a different vibe to it. I do appreciate seeing where Matahachi is going, his journey and his growth I think will be great. However, I...was kind of spoiled by the author admiting that he was a historical figure and the archenemy of Miyamoto. Which like, fair. This is a historical figure, and this is based on a popular Japanese movie. Soooooo, I'm thinking this is less of a spoiler and more a part of history. After unsuccessfully defeating the swordmasters of the Yoshioka School – which afterwards went on fire, due to the drunken mishaps of Musashi's former friend Matahachi – Musashi wakes up to be reunited with the "damn monk" Takuan, as well as meeting for the first time Jōtarō, a young orphaned boy who wishes to be Musashi's apprentice after hearing about his battle in the Yoshioka School. It is a delight seeing the return of Takuan whose brutally acute and honest attitude remains humorous, whilst he asks Musashi to give him a long overdue haircut. I enjoy Miyamoto, and for his age, he is very believable. I just find him to be overwhelmingly dull at times. He is so self absorbed with strength. That isn't enough to bring his character down to dull, but he has a childhood love interest that compels him to be 'distracted.' I'm guessing it was made to make his character more relatable, but I feel as if the cliche love interest doesn't do anything for me. It's just another thing Miyamoto has to go through. I was much more into the abusive relationship with his father but that has again been held absent and shrouded in intrigue.All in all I can now say I'm completely hooked, I love this series wholeheartedly and I'm super excited to see where it's heading ! The centerpiece of this second omnibus of Takehiko Inoue's critically acclaimed series is the duel between the young, brutish Miyamoto Musashi and the second generation master of the Hozoin Temple, the perpetually smiling Inshun.

That's about it. There's a ton of drawn out fighting, banter about the philosophy of battle, and internal reflection, as well as a small side story with Mushashis friend whose name I forget. This massive tome doesn't even conclude the arc it sets up. It ends on a cliffhanger. Chapters not yet in volume format [ ] These chapters have yet to be published in a tankōbon volume. Matahachi’s on the run because of the arson thing, and a chance encounter allows him to also reinvent himself as the respected warrior Sasaki Kojirō. His sections of the story are tragicomedy, as he keeps having good intentions, but the flaws in his character prevent him from following through in a crisis, and we watch him make excuse after excuse for doing less than he ought.At seventeen years of age, Miyamoto Musashi—still known by his childhood name, Shinmen Takezō—was a wild young brute just setting out along the way of the sword. I will admit that it initially took me a while to regain my footing in the ongoing narrative, and remember all the characters sufficiently, but once I got past that, the story seemed an improvement via accumulation in comparison to the previous volume. I would not say that the character of Miyamoto Musashi has yet gained any true depth – he still comes across as rather flat – but the character gallery around him is starting to make up for it. Also, while there is still a lot of violence (one fight seems to be going on for an near endless number of chapters) there is much less carnage in this volume. And perhaps it allows hints of character growth for Musashi as well. The art is stellar, but much of the credit for the plot and characterization must go to Eiji Yoshikawa, author of the novel this manga is an adaptation of.