Customer Reviews

Vagabond, Vol. 1 (VIZBIG Edition)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This one book is actually 3 of the regular VAGABOND comics put together. The only difference is that this book is about an inch taller, which makes no noticable difference to the drawings.
The only people who should buy this are new Vagabond fans just starting out with collecting the comics, since it will be less expensive to buy these 3-in-one big books. But to all long-time Vagabond fans out there who already have volumes 1-27 and growing... I say there is no need to buy this big series just for the extra inch. It is far better to sit down in a comfortable chair or sofa with the normal-sized comic which can be opened wider and is 3 times lighter.

Those who are interested in starting Vagabond have no reason not to buy this version, considering it's got 3 books in one and costs half the price of buying them separately. Besides being thicker, the book is also a bit bigger both horizontally and vertically so you get bigger pages-and believe me this is a series where you will want big spreads in order to admire the art.

As for the series itself, it's based off of the life of the world-renowned swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, and is a seinen manga (meaning it's aimed at adults). Be aware that it's not extremely historically accurate though, as it is meant to be entertainment and the actual details of Musashi's life are too vague to really piece together. That said, Takehiko Inoue does a great job adapting the man's life into a truly intense and interesting storyline, both thanks to his storytelling skills and his gorgeous artwork. Also as a note-it is a violent manga but not mindlessly so. Basically, if you're interested enough to have read this far then I say definitely go for it. You won't be disappointed.

Two friends wake up after a battle, injured, disoriented, and apparently the sole survivors. Takezo and Matahachi grew up in a small village in medieval Japan and wanted to make names for themselves, but now can barely stay alive. Rescued by a devious, seductive thief and her daughter, the two quickly become entangled with a gang of bandits and have an opportunity to find out whether or not they have any skill as warriors. In this combined volume 1-3, we see the beginnings of Takezo's wildly confident style of fighting, as well as Matahachi's cowardice and betrayal. When Takezo's violence attracts the attention of the law, he returns to their village of Miyamoto steeped in blood, shunned by the villagers as a "demon". Two characters try to reach out to him - Takuan the blind monk and Otsu, the fiancee of his friend Matahachi. After reaching the depths of despair, he changes his name and sets out to defeat a master swordsman to make a name for himself.

Amazing historical detail, rousing action, intriguing plot, and complex characterization combine with jaw-dropping artwork to make this an absolutely outstanding manga series. Highly recommended!

I'd been trying to find something to read after I got caught up on Berserk and Gantz for quite a while when i stumbled onto this series. I had read that it was good but was was pleasantly surprised when i realized just how good it was. In my opinion it easily holds its own against titles such as Berserk, Gantz, and other adult oriented titles like that. The artwork is definitely some of the best I've seen and the story only gets better as it progresses(currently up to volume 30, or 10 if you read the vizbig edition). I would really suggest reading this if you like a combination of realistic(but still very exciting and sometimes quite bloody) fights with just as much of a story to back it up. I'm honestly really surprised there hasn't been an anime for this one to date.

Fast paced action but with a lot of character depth and development. This is definitely one of the best manga out there. You won't be able to put it down.

Vagabond is one of the greatest works of art in existence. The story, gripping. The artwork, photo-realism meets japanese paint brushes. I've never read a comic as good as this. Every aspect is perfection. This pefection is emphasized in the greatest way possible via the vizbig collection. Pages that are supposed to be in color, are in color. The trim-size is larger than the initial volumes. The paper quality is impossible to describe, you have to see the clarity of the ink and the shine of the pages to believe it. The blu-ray of manga formats. Also, with three books in one for the price of about two, it is a great value.Must buy for anyone.

Excellent period drama. Being a big fan of samurai series I must say this is one of the best. The main focus of the series isn't so much on the action, which is amazing, but on the inner dialogue and thoughts of the characters. This gives the series a visceral feeling to it which you really don't see as much in other series. Highly recommended and the Vizbig editions are a great deal. It's just a tad cumbersome holding the book when reading because of its weight.

This is the first manga I bought. I ordered(Volumes 1-6) Saturday, was delivered on Monday, and finished reading them by on Tuesday.
I'm back to order more.

You can get someone hooked on manga, after reading this one. This one copy would make an surprisingly excellent gift to any action movie fan-plenty of action, humor, and grit. Just tell them how to read it.

For someone new to this series:
The artwork is very good. It's not like a normal manga/comic. There is soo much attention to detail in each cell.
The story is very good as well, I will not spoil it anymore than Amazon's description or other reviewers have.
It is not a material you want for a younger or immature audience.

Where was I when this manga first came out?But this big edition is much to my liking, thicker, alot more to read and feast upon, easy on my eyes with those bigger fonts.The art of this book is truly amazing.It is awesome to behold. I will be collecting his art book as well.
The story is engaging and the characters intriguing.

Thank you Inoue Sensei for a quality manga.

The manga is extraordinary. Yes there's nothing "original" about it and you've probably heard a story about a wandering samurai looking for trouble a billion times. But Takehiko Inoue brings substance to the material. A story can be told a million times in a million different ways and this is one of those version that you don't want to miss if: 1. you are interested in samurai 2. If you are a manga reader and 3. you just love to read. It is a manga for adults. There are bloody scenes and rape/sex scenes, but nothing overly grotesques. It's more focused on the fight scenes and a subtle use of sexual themes to tell the story and/or personality of a character. Let's just say that Inoue had worked on this for over a decade and the main protagonist, Musashi, has not engaged in a sexual act.

It is not entirely historically accurate and is an adaptation of Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa (And that is a fictionalized depiction of Musashi also). Inoue's art in Vagabond is truly amazing, much better and more polished than his previous manga, SlamDunk. His illustrations and story telling ability enables the reader to immediately connect and understand each character's personality and struggles.

These books are a brick to handle, which is really a shame. I like the idea of 3 in 1 which makes them cheaper, but it's heavy and tough to handle. If you are a serious collector you should look at the regular size manga volumes. They each have a unique art cover and more comfortable to handle, but they are significantly more expensive. It's not cheap to own the whole story.