In the year 1863, a time fraught with violent social upheaval, samurai warriors of all walks of life flock to Kyoto in the hope of joining the Mibu Roshiâ€"a band of warriors united around their undying loyalty to the Shogunate system. In time, this group would eventually become one of the greatest (and most infamous) revolutionary movements in Japanese history… the Shinsengumi!Into this fierce milieu steps Kamiya Seizaburo, a young, would-be warrior who, though lacking in combat experience, possesses a fiery enthusiasm to both aid the Mibu Roshi in their mission and to avenge his wrongfully murdered family. One of the group’s most gifted (and immature) swordsman, the legendary Okita Soji, agrees to take Seizaburo under his wing. But what no one suspects, least of all Soji, is that Seizaburo is actually a girl named Tominaga Sei in disguise! Will she be able to become a warrior and hide her true identity?
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About the Author
Taeko Watanabe debuted as a manga artist in 1979 with her story Waka-chan no Netsuai Jidai, (Love Struck Days of Waka). Kaze Hikaru is her longest-running series, but she has created a number of other popular series. Watanabe is a two-time winner of the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award in the Girls' category-her manga Hajime-chan is Number One! claimed the award in 1991 and Kaze Hikaru took it in 2003.Watanabe read hundreds of historical sources to create Kaze Hikaru. She is from Tokyo.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Volume 1 an enjoyable read with great promise,
This review is from: Kaze Hikaru Vol 1 (Paperback)
Coming-of-age manga, manga about the Shinsengumi, and manga about girls disguised as boys are all plentiful, but manga that combines the three is a bit more unique. For one thing, while the main character develops a crush on one of her comrades and it's obvious that love will play an important role in future volumes, romance itself isn't the point of the story. Getting a boyfriend isn't even a blip on Seizaburo's radar, and it's nice to see a manga that recognizes the fact that women are capable of thinking about other things. The fact that Sei is a girl isn't really the point, either. The author has currently placed her path to becoming a bushi as the plot's most important element.
The characters in Kaze Hikaru aren't particularly complex but their actions are interesting and make the story worth following anyway. Seizaburo, for example, is earnest, strong-willed, loyal, slightly gullible, easily likeable, and less complex than background characters like Hijikata and Serizawa (the waters here aren't running particularly deep) -but is immediately disillusioned by the crude Mibu-Roshi and attempts to leave the group. This is partly a coming-of-age manga, though, which means she'll learn many lessons, and all of them will be learned the hard way. Plot development is just as important as character development in Kaze Hikaru, and the author has attempted to be historically accurate. The simple but pleasing character designs do not include pink, blue, or green hair, eyes are mostly proportional to face sizes, and readers are given information about the Shinsengumi's history. There might actually be more historical accuracy than some die-hard shoujo fans might wish, but most people should find it interesting. The manga does have its faults, though they aren't anything truly hideous. Seizaburo doesn't realize that she has a crush on someone, which isn't particularly believable, the comedic aspects of the story are well-done but sometimes timed inappropriately, there are some pretty corny lines, and they went a bit overboard with the bolded words. Aside from that, there wasn't anything glaringly bad. A warning, though: while Seizaburo makes a good role model for girls, the manga may not be appropriate for younger readers due to violence, crude jokes, and a graphically-mild scene of attempted rape. All in all, Kaze Hikaru was an enjoyable read that was definitely worth buying. The story has a lot of potential, and future volumes should prove exciting.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cross-dressing and samurai - What else do you need?,
This review is from: Kaze Hikaru Vol 1 (Paperback)
Sei is a young woman in Japan in the mid-nineteenth century. Her family is killed in this tumultuous time and Sei is frustrated that she can do nothing to avenge her family's death. She does the only thing she can do - she cuts her hair, disguises herself as a boy, and signs up with a group of samurai to search for her family's killer.
I know very little about this time period in Japanese history - called the bakumatstu - and in some ways that's good and in some ways it is not. I do learn some about the history from the series but more often I get confused by the very specific information that is referenced. The notes in the back clear things up a little, but I for one could use about two times the notes than they provide. You can enjoy the series if you can just get over the specifics, which I do, or you could be very frustrated. Or you can pick up some non-fiction about the samurai of the bakumatsu and it wouldn't be an issue either way. The romance trumps the violence in this series, making it more appropriate for teen or older readers and girls more than boys.
5.0 out of 5 stars
This series is one of the best I've ever read.,
By Ilen (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Kaze Hikaru Vol 1 (Paperback)
'Kaze Hikaru' really surprised me. I generally dislike shoujo due to the amount of fluff and melodrama that tends to be present in such stories, but 'Kaze Hikaru' is nothing like that.
This mangaka does her historical homework, and also does an admirable job of fleshing out the characters and retaining the reader's interest. Plotting, pacing, and conflicts are all very well-rendered and believable. I just finished the 13th volume and can't wait for the next one. Pick this series up. You won't be sorry.
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