Creator: Takehiko Inoue
Publisher: Viz
Age Rating: Mature
Genre: Action
RRP: $12.95
Vagabond v1
Reviewed by Michael Aronson

“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.”

Vagabond is a stunning piece of work about that legendary warrior whose epic adventures the Japanese just can’t stop celebrating through various forms of entertainment, and if the first volume of Vagabond is any indication, they have good reason for this obsession.

The story starts out like something from a male power trip fantasy. Takezo wants nothing more than to become a respected and one day legendary warrior, and is willing to beat the ever-loving crap out of anyone whose defeat can help him achieve that dream. He has no lack of faith in his skills, at he’s willing to challenge any number of enemies at anytime in any conditions. Pfeh, you think a badass warrior needs clothes?

But thus far, that’s really all we get in the story. While the action is beautifully and gorily illustrated, it’s also somewhat slow as a result, and so not a lot happens in a good number of pages. That’s eastern pacing for you, but it also means that this story can’t become a top scorer. Nevertheless, it’s off to a strong start with tons of potential, given that the end will probably find him having become legendary and noble warrior of his fantasies.

The color pages are a nice bonus for this collection, and although they’re few and far between, there’s slightly more here than in the average manga package. It does somewhat make up for the brevity of content.

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6 October 2009
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