part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8
I keep falling behind on reviewing manga >.<; during this quarantine, I keep reading ongoing series. so to make up for that, I’ve decided to review another one of the series that I own. it’s always faster for me to read something I can hold in my hands >.>; so, here we go!
Since I own this series, I will be reading the official English translation. I have the omnibus volumes.
summary:
Kenshin journeys to the home of Arai Shakkuu, the legendary swordsmith who forged his sakabatou, in the hope of procuring a replacement for the blade that was shattered in a fight with Seta Soujirou. Instead of Shakkuu, though, Kenshin finds his son, Seikuu, who has given up making instruments of death. But when word gets around that before he passed away Shakkuu forged a final blade, one of Shishio’s warriors also decides to pay a visit, and he doesn’t plan on leaving empty-handed. With the safety of Seikuu’s family at risk, Kenshin springs into action, even if it means fighting without a weapon at his side!
Kenshin journeys to the home of Arai Shakkuu, the legendary swordsmith who forged his sakabatou, in the hope of procuring a replacement for the blade that was shattered in a fight with Seta Soujirou. Instead of Shakkuu, though, Kenshin finds his son, Seikuu, who has given up making instruments of death. But when word gets around that before he passed away Shakkuu forged a final blade, one of Shishio’s warriors also decides to pay a visit, and he doesn’t plan on leaving empty-handed. With the safety of Seikuu’s family at risk, Kenshin springs into action, even if it means fighting without a weapon at his side!
Kenshin realizes that if he is to defeat Shishio the time has come to complete his training in Hiten Mitsurugi-ryuu. But first he will have to convince his incredibly stubborn master, Hiko Seijuurou, that he is indeed worthy of Hiten Mitsurugi’s greatest secrets and techniques. Then, with all of his Juppongatana “Ten Swords” fighters now in Kyoto, Shishio kicks into high gear with his scheme to radically alter the face of Meiji Era Japan. Can Kenshin, Saitou and Misao marshal their resources in time to prevent Shishio from burning Kyoto to the ground?!
I am going to be doing shorthand as I read. These descriptions are really more of a reminder to myself about what all I have been able to read so far. Sorry if this bothers anyone! I will do a full description on the final review page of each series I read.
Every post past this point will be a spoiler, so please read ahead with caution!
ch76: this is mostly a Shishio chapter. they return to the main hideout and announce that once the 10 Swords gather, then they’ll take over Japan. Shishio tells Houji in private that the Swords will be used against Kenshin 1st. Houji’s against it because he realizes Kenshin could take them out, but Shishio’s not concerned. either they kill Kenshin or he will (he doesn’t seem worried about his men). 1 of the Swords (Chou) is already there, and he goes after the sword that Seikuu’s father left behind. btw, Shishio’s gf is named Yumi
ch77: Chou uses Iori (son of Seikuu; my bad) as a hostage to get the sword’s location. it’s a Godsword, meaning that it was donated to a shrine without ever being drawn; it’s the only sword that the father made that hasn’t been used as a weapon. Seikuu could tell from Chou’s eyes that once Chou has it, he’ll “test” it on Iori. Misao overhears and sends a message to Okina to warn him. Kenshin arrives just before Chou
ch78: Chou vs Kenshin! despite only having a scabbard and a broken sword, Kenshin defeats all of Chou’s blades while Misao and co arrive. final blade time! (I actually really like 2 of Chou’s swords that join together to form 1 sword called renbatou/Repeater. with the 2 blades, wounds can’t be easily sewn back up, so normally the wounded would die of infection. that’s a very vicious and effective weapon O.o; ). also, btw, Kenshin’s great with kids; it’s adorable ❤
ch79: final blade is thin and snake-like; it moves fast and unexpectedly, and Kenshin gets injured. Seikuu considers using Kenshin as bait so he can get Iori back, but Okina calls attention to why Kenshin’s fighting. perfect time for a monologue! Chou sees Iori as just an easy target, but Kenshin sees the future he fought so hard to bring during Bakumatsu; that’s why Kenshin’ll fight to save Iori. Seikuu’s moved and makes a run for the godsword; he trusts Kenshin with it and trusts that Kenshin’ll use it for good.
ch80: Kenshin goads Chou into an attack then elbows him to the face (ooo, so cool!). he’s downed temporarily, but he’s also calmed down and decided to attack Kenshin from a distance from now on. Seikuu throws Kenshin the godsword, but Kenshin won’t draw it because he’s sworn never to use a sword except a sakabatou. Misao finds out that Kenshin was Hitokiri Battousai specifically, and she seems shook. Chou threatens Iori, and Kenshin attacks, reverting.side note: I hate how we have 2 onmitsu on sight, but they’re just watching this kidnap situation and thinking “boy I sure wish someone would do something to save that kid”. and they both pull out weapons at the end of the fight, so they clearly could’ve been doing something this whole time other than just narrating
ch81: looks like Kenshin killed Chou… except the godsword was actually a sakabatou, and Chou’s alive! Chou reveals he’s part of Shishio’s 10 Swords and warns Kenshin that there’re at least 2 that’re stronger than Kenshin, so there’s no way Kenshin’ll be able to defeat Shishio. Kenshin decides to turn Chou over to the police so Saitou can get info from him (kinda’ evil of you, Kenshin xD ). the sakabatou’s wooden handle breaks and reveals a poem from Shakku the creator. he created swords to better the world for his grandson, despite not liking it himself and despite it making his son hate him. Kenshin has a flashback to when he received his previous sakabatou from Shakku; it was when he was quitting being battousai to become a rurouni. the sword Shakku gave him was actually the lesser version of the godsword (when a godsword is made, multiples are actually made and the best is named godsword), so this sword is better than his previous one. we get foreshadowing to the next day; cliffhanger!
ch82: Kenshin decides to leave Aoi-ya to try and protect them. Okina’s understanding about it and promises to send a signal fire when they find the last person Kenshin was looking for, but Misao’s upset. she decides to eat out to get her mind off things and goes to Shirobeko. Kaoru and Yahiko’re workng there now! they hung up a sign for Kenshin which Misao sees. Kaoru asks about Kenshin, and Misao realizes she must be the person that Kenshin left behind. elsewhere, Okina signals to Kenshin that the last person has been found.
ch83: Misao and Kaoru try to talk, but misunderstandings are happening about Misao’s and Kenshin’s “relationship” xD during that, Kenshin meets with Okina to get info on the last person, and while Kenshin leave, Okina reassures him that everyone at Aoi-ya is his ally. back at Shirobeko, Misao makes sure that Kaoru can handle what’s to come, and Kaoru assures her that she didn’t come this far just for a whim, so Misao promises to get her to Kenshin. meanwhile, Kenshin confronts the man he’s been looking for; apparently it’s his master (who uses an alias as a potter)
ch84: colored pages; yay! there’s a lot more orange/brown this time =O normally it’s mostly reds and blues. durn; it’s only a few pages, too… Kenshin asks his master (Seijuurou Hiko -all hitenmitsurugi masters use that name) to train him, but Seijuurou refuses; he agrees to listen to Kenshin’s story though. while they talk, Misao leads Kaoru and Yahiko to Aoi-ya and then to Seijuurou’s place (Misao and Yahiko react the same way to… really everything so far). we see a flashback of 15 years ago when Kenshin was just 14 and wanting to join the Bakumatsu. his master was against it, saying that hitenmitsurugi-ryu is too strong; it influences the world, so it must remain impartial. Kenshin disagreed and said it was supposed to be used to protect. they never reached a consensus, and Kenshin left without completing his training. because Kenshin was so headstrong and idealistic, his master says that Kenshin helped to create Shishio who embodies all the bad of the Bakumatsu and the Meiji government. this is why his master didn’t want Kenshin to join the fight, and at this point, he refuses to teach Kenshin the rest of hitenmitsurugi-ryu; in fact, he wishes he’d never taught Kenshin at all. Misao and Yahiko break in at that point, and Kenshin’s faced with Kaoru again
this seems like a good place to stop this time! to keep reading with me, then please click here!
Completed Manga Review 