Uriel
This journey isn't ov--AARGH!
Viz does a better job with Vagabond than Dark Horse does with Blade of the Immortal, thats howprawnstyle said:
Seriously though, I've been reading Blade of the Immortal about as long as I've been reading Berserk and I really enjoy it. I'm aware that the localisation took liberties with it, what with switching it from the traditional right to left Japanese style. But manga in the United States wasn't as big back then, so it's forgivable. Another thing I dislike about Dark Horse is the abuse of the "F word". It seems every other sentence Manji spits out has a variable of "fuck " in there. Outside of the minor complaints, Blade of the Immortal is an entertaining manga, with excellent, rememberable characters. The plot ebbs and flows, but it remains good throughout. Samura's artist capabilities are something to stand back and appreciate. Kojima Gōseki, Miura, Inoue and Samura are just about the cream of the crop when it comes to swordplay manga, in my opinion. That's pretty noteworthy.
Yet, Vagabond has me hooked. It's probably because of the localisation and the speed in which it is being released (it has already passed Mugen no Jūnin in Japan and the West). Inoue has created a different, yet enticing take on Eiji Yoshikawa's Musashi. The art is almost without equal, save for us Miura loyalists, and the story is exceptional. I have read the book quite a few times and I find Vagabond just as, if not more, enthralling. The characters are great, even those who aren't the main focus will ingrain themselves on your memory, even if their names don't. The well-timed humour is another factor, but most the time the story is pretty serious. If I were to sum Vagabond up in one word it would be... Epic.
Highly recommended from this swordplay fan, and I'm sure the rest of the contributors of this thread will agree ;)
