Why EVERYBODY, I mean EVERYBODY should read Vagabond.
I was fifteen when I read my first manga. Before that, I was the kid on forums berating “tasteless scums disguising as otaku” for ever thinking that manga (usually the source material for garbage content) was better than anime. I couldn’t grasp how anyone in their sensible mind would gawk over “black and white doodles” with excitement and place that above good ol’ sexy animation. Many, many, many times I referred to them as delusional or just. plain. stupid. Until I read Berserk.
Berserk fucked up my life. It was a literal mind fuck. As I read chapter after chapter after chapter I could see my 15 year old self in the colorless, bleak panels. I could relate to Guts, (the main character) who cleaved at demons every night, as much as I could to a high school kid with secret powers and a ton of waifus who moaned his name whenever he benevolently blessed them with his presence (even though 15 year old me was an ugly fuck no girl would ever blink twice at). Berserk changed my perspective. My expectations and opinions on manga as an art form changed and it wouldn’t be until another 6 years before that would change again.
Vagabond. Where to start? To organise my thoughts (a bit), I’ll list a bunch of pointers to guide this “review” so I don’t sound like a fanboy who just desperately needs Inoue and his big load down my throat – (Inoue if you ever read this and you’re down to get weird please hit me up here. please.) ah back to the key points:
- The Art.
- The Story and Plot.
- Characters and
- The fights (are the dialogue).
- Conclusion
The Art. Honestly, it’s arguably the biggest draw to Vagabond. Every single person who has read Vagabond talks about it and loves it for good reason. Inoue Takehiko’s (author of Vagabond) work is expertly drawn with a lot of attention to detail. Vagabond embraces a bold, tentative use of shades and shadows to drive realism as well as accentuate other elements like mood and tone.
I (subjectively) cannot imagine a manga with better art and if Vagabond is ever adapted into an anime I don’t see any studio doing it justice. Yes, Yes, it’s that good. The fight scenes that occur at night are executed brilliantly. They’re my personal favorites because who doesn’t want to see two men (or one man against seventy) duke it out to death, at night? Who? The art is amazing period. (That’s two periods and if you, like me pronounced the second one out loud then sigh – this is awkward.)
The Story and Plot. Vagabond is a retelling of Eiji Yoshikawa’s “Mushashi.” Inoue’s version includes over a dozen grown men who all want to “live by the sword” (so much for individuality). Basically it’s a fancy phrase that means I’m getting old and I haven’t got a fucking clue what Life is about so I’m going to carry a weapon, take lives and fuck around until I come to understand it. All this sounds vaguely familiar and even relatable if you’re into the business of killing people like I am. The main character, Shinmen Takezo changes his name to Miyamoto Mushashi because some weird priest and his love interest asks him to (Yes, there is faint jab at romance here and there. Nothing serious). The Plot follows Takezo/Mushashi, now plagued by identity crisis down his path to being “Unparalleled under the heavens” and then thickens to include other delusional men like him. Also things tend to get a little…uh…a little…weird…
On a more serious note, the Story is pleasantly simple and the Plot’s pace is perfect. Some bits seem to go on for a lengthy period of time but at the end of each “lengthy” arc, you understand why time had to be spent on it. Inoue’s showcase of the wealthy early Japanese culture is expressly detailed. I found myself getting really absorbed in the setting which is augmented by his art style. The sex scenes are funny and the whole thing is just down to earth and real. Might I also mention that no other manga can milk my cock and make me excited for (wait for it) planting rice paddies??
Characters. Vagabond has a trove of tall, short, beautiful, ugly, kinda ugly but all enjoyable and memorable characters. The brilliance of the plot’s pacing never leaves a character feeling hollow as each of them are given time to be well rounded to the reader. You’ll never find a spot where so many characters are dumped to a point where it gets overwhelming (Naruto’s Ninja war arc is a good example). The Art makes each character feel distinct and instantly recognisable (except minor characters cause they don’t matter) and all the major characters have a repertoire of habits that are unique to them.
A wise man once said “You wanna know what courses through my mind when my mom delivers me a crisp ass whooping? It’s not ‘Oh her hand! I’ve never felt such strength before!’ it’s ow oww OWW OWWW!!”
Vagabond’s fights are the dialogue. A few manga do fight scenes right (I mean most are hype and interesting to read but most times they’re just that) and Vagabond definitely nails it. Vagabond, in general does away with unneeded dialogue. The story is perfectly depicted through Inoue’s art (Did I mention how brilliant his art is?) which detail the characters who in turn convey tone so you instinctively know what their bodies and gestures are saying without unending bubbles of text (sigh Attack on titan). Vagabond, like other shounen has a ton of fights that span chapters. Every fight is met with hype but it’s way more than that. They all have a substance to them and they do more than hold the audience’s attention. Every swing of a stick or stroke of a sword or weapon feels like it has a heft to it, like there’s a deeper meaning to them. After every fight you can feel the characters’ exponential growth. Through the fights we witness characters’ evolutions and histories. I mean:
A lot of what I’ve said about Vagabond is positive and it is all valid. There’s a lot to like about this manga even to people who have never read a mamga before and while it’s not perfect, I can only think of one thing that could stop you from reading it. So what is this one thing? Well, the ending. Or to put in clearer terms, it’s lack of a proper ending. Vagabond has been on hiatus because Inoue hasn’t updated in a very very very very long time. I think it’s a beautiful thing in a way because the story seemed to be nearing its conclusion already and you can sort of. make. out. the. ending–
Inoue’s Vagabond is a masterpiece. I genuinely believe everyone will have a good time reading this. It’s not very often you come across such a rich and healthy blend of visual expertise and storytelling. If I’ve made you even slightly interested in this beautiful piece of literature then read it. You can read Vagabond here or here.
If you’ve read Vagabond and would like a healthy discussion about it then shoot me a message on my twitter, let’s get weird and rub our cocks against each other or uh– ok.
