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Vagabond
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Description
Striving for enlightenment by way of the sword, Miyamoto Musashi is prepared to cut down anyone who stands in his way. Vagabond is an action-packed portrayal of the life and times of the quintessential warrior-philosopher—one of the most celebrated samurai of all time!
Vagabond portrays a fictionalized account of Miyamoto Musashi's life, on a loose adaptation of Eiji Yoshikawa's novel "Musashi".
Type
Manga
Related Series
Associated Names
バガボンド
浪客行
베가본드
Lãng Khách
Groups Scanlating
Latest Release(s)
Status in Country of Origin
32 Volumes (Ongoing)
Completely Scanlated?
No
Anime Start/End Chapter
N/A
User Reviews
N/A
User Rating
Average: 9 / 10.0 (700 votes) Bayesian Average: 8.94 / 10.0
| 10 |
50% (347 votes) |
| 9+ |
26% (185 votes) |
| 8+ |
13% (88 votes) |
| 7+ |
6% (39 votes) |
| 6+ |
1% (10 votes) |
| 5+ |
1% (5 votes) |
| 4+ |
0% (3 votes) |
| 3+ |
0% (1 votes) |
| 2+ |
0% (0 votes) |
| 1+ |
3% (22 votes) |
Last Updated
February 2nd 2010, 10:58pm PST
Propaganda
Image
Genre
Recommendations
Forum
Author(s)
Artist(s)
Year
1998
Original Publisher
Serialized In (magazine)
Licensed (in English)
Yes
English Publisher
Chuang Yi (15 Volumes - Ongoing)
Viz Media (30 Volumes - Ongoing / 6 Omnibus Volume - Ongoing)
Activity Stats (vs. other series)
Weekly Pos # 223  (+2) Monthly Pos # 212 (+103) 3 Month Pos # 211  (-26) 6 Month Pos # 154 (+4)
List Stats
On 1863 reading lists On 623 wish lists On 65 unfinished lists On 80 custom lists
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| User Comments [ Order by usefulness ] | | |
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| OMG by evil4hunter on September 15th, 2009, 5:54am |
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This manga is just so great . When i 1st read this manga . i knew right away it's inoue's.The art and the story are awesome . the battle scenes are good.I would have given it a 10 if there wasn't a man called Mushashi in real life 
Rating: 9.5 / 10.0
... Last updated on September 15th, 2009, 5:55am |
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| To be invincible under the sun...unrivalled under the heaven.. by kazesages on August 8th, 2009, 4:45pm |
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Even though the slow pace can be a problem and even though the switching focus character in the middle of the story from Musashi to Sasaki can be very confusing , this manga is still nothing short of a masterpiece. The characterization is deep,the plot is well thought out, the action is intense, and the art is just .....perfection.
The character model is very realistic ,the scenery is just amazing , and the fights are very bloody and satisfying even though you know someone going to die at the end and that person is not Musashi, and no that's not actually a good thing cause there's so much characterization put into that character that it actually make you care for them and then in the end they just .....get cut down...X[
This manga will show you the real way of the samurai,or what i think is the real way, and the real way of the sword.Nothing less of a 10 for me :]
Rating: 10 / 10.0
... Last updated on August 10th, 2009, 5:09am |
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| amazingly great read by Azari02 on May 20th, 2009, 7:00pm |
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The action is pretty good, (though i think the choreography could still use improvement), and the story is even better, as well as the philosophical side. It could easily be the best seinen manga out there,
Rating: 8.9 / 10.0 |
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| right into the centre of the warrior's heart by Isara on May 11th, 2009, 2:40pm |
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Seriously, sometimes I wonder what people expect in a picture-carried story about a man who dedicated his whole life to the way of the sword.
This is a story about THE one person who revolutionized sword techniques, starting off as a wild brute with nothing but anger and hatred inside (the problem with his father - very much the number one Freud theory) pushing and fighting his way through his darkest feelings to become the somewhat genius swordsman he later was.
Killing people comes with mastering a weapon build to do just this and Inoue Takehiko did an awfully great job trying to show us modern people what living for the art of killing and fighting must have meant.
Musashi grows into a man and an artist and Inoue lets us be a part of his struggling, with all of these hallucination-scenes and wandering of the mind as well as pure technique and hardship.
Fighting 70 men in a ridiculous effort to save himself from being followed and killed in the dark, while knowing that this will most likely make his life even harder (revenge and such), is a truly unnerving way of showing a situation with no possible peaceful solution. There is no way of getting out of this situation alive and well and thus he chooses alive.
Scenes like these almost tore my heart out, imagining the pain, exhaustion and distress.
Definitely the best read about the meaning of martial-art I know.
And the art is just breathtaking. Someone wrote a comment about the scenery and realistic ancient culture, I second that.
For someone who can take realistic thoughts and is interested in the overall topic, this is a must-read.
Rating: 10 / 10.0
... Last updated on May 11th, 2009, 2:43pm |
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| Loving it by sunglasses on April 29th, 2009, 5:16pm |
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| I don't know why I love Takehiko Inoue's work so much. Maybe it's because of the character development. Maybe it's because of the magnificent and mesmerizing artwork. Maybe, it's because... of the overflowing and havoc-wrecking emotion that fixes your attention on the action... and the drama... I recommend this to anyone who liked Slam Dunk. |
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| Very good... though not without problems by Lord_Lucifiel on April 25th, 2009, 1:22am |
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The drawing is technically very good. In fact, everything from the characters, backgrounds, tones, etc., are accurately depicted and very well-constructed. In fact, I feel that the scenery is rather gorgeous and same for certain depictions of certain characters. However, at times, I feel like the art has sacrificed the ability to emote in favour of technicality.
The story is intriguing. I'm sure I've read a simpler version before but never has it been told and etched out in such detail. The conflicts, the various motives and lives of the entire cast is depicted and written with care. And the historical settings are very well-done, from the buildings to the food, to the clothings and behaviours of the people. (In fact, the story feels very historically realistic as opposed to an interpretation from a 21st century viewpoint.) And the action scenes are fairly cool too as even the varying sword techniques are depicted accurately and interestingly in terms of art and writing.
However, such an in-depth, panel-intensive approach to storytelling is not without risks when considering the immense cast involved as the series is what? Probably halfway through the total intended story arcs. This is further complicated by the philosophical aspects. Though interesting as they lend an introspective layer to this series, the author seems bent on repeating them so it adds on even more pages to an already lengthy saga.
And to me, the final blow is that by focusing too much on action and bloodshed at times, the writer has diminished the characterisation of Musashi by making him seem too murderous when he fights for other purposes. Yes, I understand the need to depict the blood-thirsty era of the samurai ages but without constant narration or other forms of storytelling techniques, it's hard to seriously and properly maintain the layers of his character or of the other cast. In contrast, I feel that Cesare, Historie and Vinland Saga do a much better job of preserving characterisation while depicting a story amidst blood-drenched histories. That is: showing the characters to be capable of extreme violence while not allowing the bloodthirst to overshadow the storytelling.
Rating: 7.5 / 10.0
... Last updated on April 25th, 2009, 3:22am |
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| Vagabond by GodOfMadness on April 13th, 2009, 7:44am |
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| The art is amazing. The storyline is amazing. This manga is amazing. I don't think Otsū and Musashi will develop a relationship, he's "The way of the sword" all the way. But I don't want her with Musashi's childhood friend either >.< He's a coward and a jerk. |
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| gorgeous by serobins on April 9th, 2009, 10:33pm |
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I read this religiously, buy the books, and rate it a ten based on the art alone. The drawing is just plain amazing.
The story is alright. It's usually a dozen chapters of gritty sword fights followed by a dozen chapters of Musashi moping around and philosophizing while he heals/trains. I like a good samurai disemboweling as much as the next girl, but I think I'm missing the point of a lot of the way of the sword stuff. Oddly, I like the side stories about Kojiro and Musashi's childhood friend better than the main story a lot of the time.
Rating: 10 / 10.0 |
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| rofl, you guys try too hard by xGunner1 on February 23rd, 2009, 6:40pm |
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Reading some of these reviews, pretty god damn funny. Here's a quote
"For instance, there's this scene in which Musashi fights 70 samurai. The fight lasted...what? 20, 30 chapters? By the end of it, I was literally EXHAUSTED I wonder if the author did that on purpose to let us experience a bit of how tiring it must have been for Musashi to fight that many people..."
EXHAUSTION, happens when you sit in a chair reading manga. lmao
Moar:
"First off, the art just makes me hyperventilate..."
0_o, im sorry but when I read mah manga I don't overexcite myself to the point of hyperventilation
*breathes heavily*
Main point is that you guys need to chill out and lighten up on your reviews a little, then again it gave me agood laugh XD!
Rating: 9 / 10.0 |
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| Very violent by JHax9999 on February 16th, 2009, 8:39am |
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To the laughing idiot above me:
Heh, you're a peculiar one. I don't know why you feel the need to critique other people's reviews, but obviously you've never been taught any courtesy or manners. Dude, everyone reads manga differently. Some read it for a good laugh, others get caught up in the plot. Nothing wrong with either case. I don't give a damn how you read your manga, and neither do I tell you how to state your opinion. So, how about you stop telling others how to write their own review and actually contribute something relevant to the topic. Just a suggestion.
===============================================
This manga is great. Beautiful art, riveting plot, morally ambiguous characters... all these make for a very interesting read.
But I just have to say, there is so much needless violence. And the brutality of the killings can be quite off-putting, especially when you're continuously bombarded with it throughout the whole manga.
For instance, there's this scene in which Musashi fights 70 samurai. The fight lasted...what? 20, 30 chapters? By the end of it, I was literally exhausted. I wonder if the author did that on purpose to let us experience a bit of how tiring it must have been for Musashi to fight that many people, or if he's really just doing fan-service for his gore-hog readers... but anyway, there's a whole bunch of bloodshed and really awful, just awful, killings.
My point is, it's just kinda hard to like a character when you see him kill a man in cold blood, and then see the man's little kid come running out and crying over his dead body. Pretty hard to clap for the victor there, unless of course, your a bit of a jerk and that stuff amuses you. If that's the case, good for you, you've hit the goldmine with this manga. Anyway, this isn't a criticism, it's just to show you how morally ambiguous and dark the tone of the story is, and what a tough position this can put you in as a reader. This manga is heavy reading, not the rainbows and lollipop stuff you get from most manga.
Anyway, if your a bit of a saddist, and you like gorey stuff, along with a pretty great storyline, this manga is for you. But be warned, things are gonna get ugly, fast.
... Last updated on March 11th, 2009, 7:33am |
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