"Preoccupied with a single leaf... you won't see the tree. Preoccupied with a single tree... you'll miss the entire forest. Don't be preoccupied with a single spot. See everything in it's entirety... effortlessly. That is what it means to truly "see."
I've read many manga the past decade, many of them being amazing and others just OK.
But Vagabond is unbelievably good, the incredible artwork and character exploration is top tier, unrivalled under the sun even.
I've started it many times in the past but haven't put in the time to just read it all. So, during the past few weeks I was itching for something to read and I thought that I should really start it again. The beginning was pretty good, but it wasn't until Shinmen Takezō began his journey under a new name that I truly started to love this manga.
His journey of self improvement was such a great read. From savage beginnings to a wise warrior.
What does it mean to live by the sword? What does it mean to be unrivalled under the sun? What is there to look forward to after you reach the top of the mountain? Is there an end to the spiral of death?
How Takehiko Inoue explores this through characters like Musashi Miyamoto is brilliant but also poignant and beautiful, I only wish he completes this series one day, it'd be a shame to miss out on the final duel at Ganryujima.
If I was to choose my favourite arc, it'd be between the Yoshioka arc and the farmer arc.
Though some of my favourite moments are from other arcs, Sasaki Kojiro vs Koun, Musashi vs Hōzōin, Musashi's encounters with In'ei and Sekishuusai, Kanemaki raising Kojiro and many more.
The art is so damn good, I can't stress this enough. I'll just post some of my favourite panels here.
Anyway, yeah, not the most eloquent review lol. It's not perfect, I think there're some pacing issues, but overall it's a fantastic read. I definitely intend to check out more of Takehiko Inoue's manga, heard Real was good. I could talk about this series all day. I'd recommend it to literally anyone, manga fan or not.
