Shinmen Takezo is destined to become the legendary sword-saint, Miyamoto Musashi--perhaps the most renowned samurai of all time. For now, Takezo is a cold-hearted killer, who will take on anyone in mortal combat to make a name for himself. This is the journey of a wild young brute who strives to reach enlightenment by way of the sword--fighting on the edge of death.
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About the Author
Takehiko Inoue was born in Kagoshima prefecture in 1967. His first major success -- the hugely popular 31-volume long basketball manga SLAM DUNK -- sold over 100 million copies worldwide and catapulted him into the top ranks of Japanese manga artists. Besides manga, Inoue also worked on character design for the Playstation basketball game ONE ON ONE.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even better than the First,
By
This review is from: Vagabond, Vol. 2 (Paperback)
Vagabond is about the journey of Takezo, a young man, future master swordsman, who is in search of purpose and meaning to his life. In the first book he thinks its to become the best swordsman by challenging and defeating the best in the world. Having experienced disillusionment about people, he meets a monk (You'll love this guy) who strives to teach Takezo the value of a person, beginning with the youth. Book 2 gives us more of Takezo's background as he desends into a bestial killing machine. Can the monk help Takezo save himself? No alone.
If you like Manga that does not romanticizes war or swordsman, Vagabond should peak your interest. The storytelling is excellent in the drawings, more so than the text. I would rank such adept skill in the same arena as Lone Wolf and Cub. LWC is the standard for balancing poetic story telling and showing the hardcore grit of life as a swordsman. The Vagabond sereis starts with a youth, a teen, not a man with a child. So Takezo maturity is not yet there. What drives him to succeed and overcome his past makes this series promising. The characters show a range of emotions in this manga, and the situations they deal with does an excellent job of targeting a mature audience. Takezo struggle for "his" truth becomes ours to learn from his journey about becoming complete. Read each book like a wine, one delicious sip at a time, enjoy the flavors.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Follows the book! OUTSTANDING!!!,
By Larry L (NJ United States) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Vagabond, Vol. 2 (Paperback)
I just found out about these titles, bought and read them before I could throw out the box they came in. Being a martial artist and student of Iaido (Japanese sword drawing), I am very Familiar with the Musashi story. Yet these books (vol I & II ) are told from a fresh perspective that keeps you tuned in. I can't wait for the rest of the series to follow. The artwork alone makes these books worth buying. Also worth a look are the Lone Wolf and Cub Series...
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Taming the Savage,
By
This review is from: Vagabond, Vol. 2 (Paperback)
The second volume Takezo returns to his hometown once he loses Matahachi to his miss deeds. Takezo is confronted by the towns corrupt samurai protector and his men. They try to hunt and kill him. We me Matahatchi's fiance and she is a childhood friend of Takezo as well. The samurai that hunts Takeso is a failure and a local monk named Takuan starts helping everyone and moving the story along. He is the most lovable manga character I've witnessed in a while. I have a itching suspicion he will end up to be a bad guy though, that's usually how manga works. Anyway, Takuan catches Takezo in his own way and Takezo is reformed in a grueling way. The volume ends with Takezo's release.
The second volume is vastly improved on in the art department. This manga is like reading a fine art book. Most of the frames almost look like portraits or paintings. It's really realistic looking. This is probably the most mature manga I've ever read. To quote Wikipedia: "Vagabond is a fictional retelling of the life of Miyamoto Musashi, often referred to as the "Sword Saint" - perhaps the most famous and successful of Japan's sword fighters." This is a good read for people that like action manga, people that like samurai manga/sword fighting manga, or people that are Japanese history
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