A martial arts historical series about a peasant turned samurai and caught in the turmoil of the final year of the Edo Period (1868).
Included one-shot: Inu no Seikatsu.
7 Volumes (Complete)



This story relies heavily on action, and the action is really good. The sketchy art style was refreshing to me, and I liked some of the character designs too.
There's not much to say about the characters, I never found a reason to care about any of them. The peasants are set up to be an interesting dynamic, but we only learn a little about Ushi and he has little development, if any. There's so much focus on the pederasty character, while potentially interesting characters die without doing much of anything. I'd say the ending felt rushed but the whole story is a bit of a mess.
I'd been waiting to read this for a while, gritty samurai stories don't seem to get a lot of love. This did scratch an itch I had (just binged blue eyed samurai), but it was also a lacking and rather empty experience.
One of the best mangas I've read on this subject. It takes itself very seriously and doesn't let down on the intensity at any moment, this is just as masterful as Vagabond so far.
A bunch of clueless farmers are being trained to use the sword. They don't become overpowered creeps and instead use guerilla tactics and other alternatives to do their jobs, as the weaklings they are. The theme of a samurai's honour regularly pops up but is there a place for it in their world? It's a really interesting manga with very memorable scenes.
A nice surprise read. A real underdog story about peasants being recruited as assassins to become samurai. Our heroes are weak and they know it; they are implicitly disposable. Art could be a real turn off but the plot definitely hooks you from the first few chapters.