How long has it been? It's too long! Far too long! And this manga even not episodic like Doraemon or Detective Conan. This is ridiculous! All for what? Okita and Sei's dragging romance? That romance that we've been waiting for YEARS! Remember that romance?

I used to really love this manga. So funny, clean art though it's only a so-so story but it made me laugh. Still do, sometimes. It's kinda boring now with stagnant story lines and kinda unfunny humor. I get the feeling that mangaka wants to explore all the accuracy of the history, but dear Lord, please ends it. Shinsengumi reign is not that long (only about 6 years), but somehow this manga manage to drag it for so loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooong.

Used to recommended, now...? Still waiting for the ending

For real, to date it is 22 years this manga has been running.

I really do appreciate the story, character development and how much care is put into the art (so neat, detailed and not all-over-the-place as most long mangas, i.e. 7Seeds and Skip Beat). STILL, how slow can you goooooo... T__T

Such a drag. When I retire, I will probably be able to read this in whole!

I'm embarassed to admit that upon reading up to where the scanlations are now (roughly volume 25) I suffered three days of horrible withdrawel symptoms, and even now months later am still subconsiously searching for something to fill the hole it left. Probably not the most flattering of introductions, but this series is perfect for wierdos like myself who have incurable historical shoujo cravings.

The cons would have to be the fact that the male MC is an airhead, and the female lead is a bit of a thick-headed idiot. Nothing new for shoujo, nothing great about it. But they're adorable together, and the grounded historical setting gives it a nice edge of not-just-fluff material. However due to this, due to the fact that it is based off of real life events and is not afraid to kill off some greatest characters when the time dictates, there's a somewhat bitter-sweet flavour you're left with due to it's unfinished state.

Because, and this is no spoiler and no secret, the historical Okita Soji dies at the young age of 25 from the terminal, highly contagious illness tuberculosis. We don't know if the author plans to deviate or not, and I personally have an ominous feeling she won't, because as far as I know she has made no comment about it. There are 10 un-translated volumes, and I spent the better part of a week seeking convincing clues on the net to no avail. Don't let this deter you, it's still plenty enjoyable.

I've seen people complaining about the recycled themes. And, for what it is, that didn't bother me much in the least. It's essentially a slice-of-life, fluff, not action, romance, comedy, shinsengumi, yet bizarrely convincingly somewhat believable tale. Obviously with that discription alone, it's a one of its kind. That's what you get, and it still managed to make me laugh or feel some other emotion in every chapter.

... Last updated on June 24th, 2017, 1:22am

This story started up good, and though the romance is sooo slow, I can't bring myself to leave this series. All because of the avdorable character and plot. Sei is way too awesoommeee. She improve herself so much even though she's a girl. Her spirit to be with the one he love is amazing. I love her persistent character. Okita, on contrary, acting super dense. And my favorite character in this manga is absolutely Saito-san~ >,<
This manga has all the things I need: comedy, romance, historical, samurai, gender bender, and blushing bishounen. I hope they'll keep publish this manga in my country...

This is indeed my favorite manga....well....almost.
If not for its suuuuuuuper slow scanlations, id love it even more. This manga is wonderful except for okita's stuburness of being "bushi", and i actualy like the slow pacing of this manga, cause i like the way things are at the moment.
I just hope the scanlators can pick up the pace!!!

... Last updated on January 6th, 2016, 6:16pm

I've read 80 chapters and this is what I'm currently wondering.

It's not action.
There are barely any fighting/war scenes and even when they do appear they end within a few panels. For the most part, the fighting, the war etc are being TALKED about by our characters, but we don't actually *see* anything happening more than their everyday lives at the HQ.

Drama?
Well, yeah there is drama. However, to be honest I'd classified it as slice of life and not drama. The reason is that it's all infuriatingly episodic, with everything kinda rubber banding to its default state after the mini-arc ends. And I say MINI, because, despite the number of volumes, there's no real 'arcs' or larger plot points (other that the most obvious ones, like that they are the shinsengumi, what they strive for.. etc). For me real drama has to have impact on the characters.

Gender-bender?
Yes. This one I can easily agree with. Kamiya does seriously try to live as a bushi. However, that doesn't change the fact that her femininity is CONSTANTLY underscored, highlighted, talked about, EVERY freaking character and their grandma is secretly in love with her. And she just. Won't. Stop. CRYING! ARGH!

Historical?
Indeed. In the sense that it's akin to attending a history class where someone talks about all these historic events but you don't actually get to SEE any of that. And in the rare cased you do - it'll be a panel here and there and then it'll quickly pan away from all that and let you admire the SKY while TALKING about what happened and the result.

Romance?
Haha...hah...ha... *sigh*
There are touching scenes, I'll give it that. However. There's NO development, no progress. At the beginning you think it's just slow paced and get all excited for what will happen. But then, as you read and read and read... it starts to slowly dawn on you that no. Nothing's happening. And when something finally MIGHT happen and you see a faint glimmer of hope that their relationship will finally start to evolve... it's turned into a bloody PUNCHLINE. A gag. And so you laugh. Because what? You'll cry? Nah, you're not the heroine.

Slice of life?
YES. This is it I think. It's a slice of life about the everyday life of the Shinsengumi. With the emphasis in DAILY life. You see them eat, bathe, shit, fight, laugh, cry, fart, sometimes die or go to the red light district. They talk about important matters, but you don't really care because you won't see any of that anyway. They are an interesting bunch and it's quite entertaining to see them carry on with their lives, but don't expect character growth. It's like there's this default state for all of them, and after every mini-arc, they just kinda return to that default state. Rinse and repeat. Over and over...and over again. Fun!

6.5/10 because it did keep me for 80 chapters before I lost my patience.

... Last updated on May 24th, 2015, 11:02am

After re-reading a lot of it recently, I've decided to remove it from my Favourites list and drop its rating. While this manga is far from poorly done, I discovered there was enough that I didn't like about it that my opinion of it was lowered. Here's why:



But in the end, it's very hard to hate this manga. It's cute, the art's great, it makes you laugh sometimes, and though it can occasionally be irritating, it's a great time waster for shoujo lovers. If you like historical, love-triangle mangas, give this one a shot.

... Last updated on December 11th, 2011, 12:30am

I love it. Though I skip out on most stuff, I definitely love so much things about KH.
-Saitou`s blushing face. I love his inner thoughts and his poker face. So adorably funny.
-Okita`s denseness and idiocy (at times). How could he be so slow?
and most of the shudo stuff. I admire Sei though she doesn`t change that much. I admire her strong will and desire.
A very good read thats not a waste of time (though scans are so friggin slow).

... Last updated on January 5th, 2012, 12:26pm

Oooku really reminds me of Kaze Hikaru in the detail well-researched artwork.
Both Oooku and Kaze Hikaru give the fresh view of Shoujo manga with great plot and neat illustrations. The authors always drive my expectation away, i really cannot guess what gonna happen next in the stories.