reviews on vagabond seems to be mixed. the way i see it, most of people start reading this manga expecting action-packed scenes with a lot of gore and endless enemies and continuous fighting.

vagabond is not just about fighting its about musashi's journey to enlightenment and the fighting is just one of the ways through which he hopes to achieve that. i think it's very deep. i've heard martial arts masters learning through observing nature and i think that's one of the things the author the hopes to portray in this manga. you will see musashi observing rivers, the flow water, honing his skill through plowing the earth into paddy fields, things like that. that's why its full of your so-called philosophical "mumbo jumbo". you may get into expecting a lot of battles and find yourself seeing musashi alone in the road contemplating the scenery.

i read the book after i caught up to the manga and its mostly the same. i think the portrayal of his growth in the manga is better.
and about the romance in the manga..

so if you'd like to try reading this manga, be warned that this is more philosophical than action and if you didn't like it you can just read berserk or something else.

... Last updated on August 7th, 2013, 10:26pm

I read the novel from Eiji Ishikawa after starting Vagabond. The manga is not following the novel 100% but captures really well the ambiance/spirit.
In addition to the philosophical questions, I just love the drawing which is just beautiful. Each and every drawing is a work of art.
I read a lot of manga from different styles but none like this ne. Definitly my favorite with GTO :-)

This manga is amazing. If you find it boring, go read some shonen manga. Inoue takes a philosophic, naturalistic approach to describe Musashi's growth and tribulations to find what it truly means to be strong.
The art is mangificent and helps to convey the feeling of a realistic and historical accurate atmosphere.
The fights are gory but beautifully drawn and devoid of the usual blabber about special techniques or egomaniacal rants.
Midway trough the manga art shifts from a polished, accurate style to a more raw, minimal one, similar to the classical japanese paintings of the era.
A new classic.

... Last updated on April 8th, 2012, 1:25am

Wow this series is finally off hiatus... I never thought I would see the day again that another chapter was released. Soo happy! I look forward to more chapters being released in the future.

This manga is amazing. This manga is amazing. This manga is amazing. This manga is amazing. This manga is amazing. Seriously, some things take time fully develop, and when they do develop, they turn out to be a grand masterpiece. This book was loosely based Miyamoto Musashi, and tells his life - his way of the sword philosophy and legendary two sword art. And as for the art, it looks like Japanese people to me - realistic.

i was anticipating a lot considering the hype, but i was greatly disappointed. the art and the sporadic action sequences are decent, but the story, though realistic it may be, is just plain annoying. i really can't stand any of the characters throughout and for me to want to read a manga, i have to have at least have one character in it i can root for

... Last updated on November 13th, 2011, 10:52pm

Well, I agree with people saying Oh I should have loved this but for some reason I didn't. I like brutal fights, slice of life and general badasses, but I can't love Vagabond. Yes it might be too slow, and the author just had to keep implying that the story will be like an epic too. I found myself asking: will anything remotely resembling a plot twist take up a volume by itself? If an entire chapter or two, I can't remember, were spent building up tension for and fighting simple small fries, what will the arc for the big boss look like? Well yes those pages were also introducing our characters, but it doesn't justify so many one-two pages spreads.

For the length of the pages I read which might have numbered close 200, I noticed that Inoue didn't set out to impress. His style of slice of life might have resembled a little too nearly the period life, which could have worked, had it not been a century since then. We tend to prize realism with regard to the current period and appreciate its criticism of society, but this series of a man's struggles plainly wasn't interesting enough to hold attention, much less cause controversy.

In fact, I was basically unmoved by anything except the occasional instances of great artwork. Oh look, they're survivors of war! They're sympathetic thieves! Even though their circumstances inspire, their personalities are far too removed from me to be able to give a damn. Add that to the simple plot (but not simplistic, to be fair), ugly women littering the panels, and Vagabond proves to be a frustrating read. Of course, this is apparently a case of Your Mileage May Vary.

... Last updated on July 14th, 2011, 11:54pm

Amazing art. Fantastic action. One man on a journey.
Sure, this manga can be quite slow, with all the philosophy about sword-fighting, but that's what makes it an authentic samurai manga. Forget the fact that samurai were essentially sell-swords in real life, we remember them as semi-spiritual warriors that lived by a code of honour. Hey, if we read manga to escape real life, you might as well do it properly. This is the tale of Shinmen Takezo, who would later become the most famous swordsman of all, Miyamoto Musashi. It tells of how he ran away from his home village in search of glory and fame, and his bitter struggle with the realities of the world and creeping realization that his goal might only be an empty prize. A good, solid samurai manga with fantastic art and some of the best fights I've seen in seinen. I rate out of enjoyment more than quality, which is why this got a 10.

There is ALOT of standing around in this manga
there is lots of philosophical mumbojumbo about sword fighting[that gets annoying fast]
the art is nice for the most part...the woman tend to look ugly and dissfigured but most of the characters are male and look overall good

the biggest problem for me is the standing around and having inner dialogues...oo he is so strong if i beat him ill be famous
im not scared
im strong ... i can win,im not afraid,i know he is afraid of me,my speed is great,he might be fast,no,i can not lose,i will win,my sword is superior,i will become the greatest swordsman ever ASO ASO
then its the other guys turn to have inner dialogues

then we have a couple of pages showing how the fight might turn out if musashi do one move
then some more pages on how the outcome will be if he does another move

Musashis first "real" fight took 7 volumes of 90% standing in one spot imagining the fight

DBZ dragged on the fights sure
this is DBZx10
and to me this is boring

I have to admit I was dodging the manga every time it came up in the recommendations of pretty much every good manga I've ever read, thinking it was your typical hack and slash with a crappy storyline. Boy was I wrong, this manga is ridiculously good and the art is fantastic. If only Mutuhashi would just DIE it'd be perfect. Read it