Although the released bits of Shigurui are only about three issues deep, already the art-work and overall flow of the story seem to be a nice hearkening back to the golden oldies of samurai manga, such as Samurai Executioner and Lone Wolf and Cub.

If you are a fan of old live action samurai movies genre, or interested in martial arts, or just enjoyed the anime version, this is a must read. I completely disagree with some of the reviews here saying it rely on shocks to draw audience and has no story or redeemable characters. Even if this is to be adapted into a live action movie and have its gore and nudity tuned way down, I would still find the story and character to be fascinating and very human.

The graphical depiction of violence is merely one of many tools the creators of this manga used to depict the absurdity and cruelty of the way of the samurai, that has often been romanticized and glossed over in modern days. In addition, certain parts of the story later on suggests not everything you see on the page should be taken literally. The imagery are sometimes from a subjective POV that's exaggerated to show the mental state of the POV.

As someone who studies kendo, I especially enjoy the martial art aspects of this manga, which tiptoes between reality and fantasy. Even though I am just a beginner, I can still find the principles of kendo in this work, so there were definitely research went into making this, not just complete fabrication. As a martial art manga, this one is up there right along side other great works such as Shamo and Vagabond.

Finally, you get to see some great art and the most badass duels ever drawn on paper. It's worth a read for that reason along.

... Last updated on January 21st, 2009, 1:53am

Honorable characters are by no means requirements for a good manga. llbloodll and GangstaPanda don't seem to understand this.

This manga has detailed, atmospheric art; visceral, well thought-out action; good pacing; an exciting story of revenge, ambition and intrigue; and interesting, unpredictable characters.
Highly recommended.

I really have no words for this master-piece.
The only thing I can utter right now is that it felt like I was reading "Hamlet" in a world, culture and principles different than those of the original.

I found this manga by mere coincidence. I saw a banner on a site once about the anime and watched it . As expected I didn't understand much as the anime (for me) isn't in-depth enough as the manga.
The manga on the other hand is very interesting , the story is very good and the characters remarkable, although sometimes they all seem alike with the hairstyle being the same.
I found the main characters very appealing specially Irako because of his ambitions and emotions reflecting on every move he does in the story , contrary to Fujiki who's pretty dull to me.
There's a lot of graphic scenes ( nudity and gore ) the fights are cool with the sword stances and attacks being very detailed.
Some people complain about the level of 'insanity' in this manga, I for one found it a bit too much but that's nothing you can't cope with if you try to understand the characters personality which is very singular.

good > high-class art + good story + historic value + serious
bad > slow story at times
overall > among millions of manga titles ... Shigurui surely stands out

thanx kotonoha for starting it, spore & notspore & AnonymousStem (r they the same?) for reviving it

... Last updated on January 16th, 2010, 10:40pm

dont let the first volume put you off, by the time you get to vol 8 you'l be loving it. the story really develops and its pretty mature too -no romanticism, just great samurai stuff.
8 for now depending on how it ends

... Last updated on January 20th, 2010, 8:41am

I'm not so sure as to what to write about this manga~
After having read all the scanlated chapters (10 volumes), I feel the need to comment. So there.

I guess I like fighting manga... Action and stuff~
War.
Guts spilling? Well, not really. lol.
The story so far is decent, and flows quite well.
I especially like the way it is told. Like in a book, where someone else tells what happens. The fighting scenes are interesting, though somewhat hard for me to follow with all the names and such, since I have no prior knowledge of those themes.
As another commenter has said, this manga does not romanticize the era, nor the samurai theme one bit.
Instead, it shows the (literally) dirty side of it.
It does go a bit over the edge with their strength, but it's nothing I'd complain about.

Though I wasn't keen on certain parts like ~

The art style is somewhere between realistic and cartoon-like.
But again, it's solid and very detailed.
Though I'd say the mangaka was having fun the nude there. (not that I'm complaining )
One thing that annoyed me there was the fact that when they speak, the mouths don't move/open/nothing (only sometimes)... It grew on me after some time though, and became less annoying~

Overall, it's worth a shot.
If you don't mind people being cut, and then being cut some more.

I won't rate Shigurui for now.

... Last updated on April 9th, 2009, 12:01am

Amazing manga. Some scenes are very gory but as long as you don't have a very weak stomach you should handle it.
Some scenes are very very memorable. Indeed even the first chapter is enough to show you how special the manga is.

... Last updated on January 20th, 2009, 7:23am

got to say, this is without doubt one of the best things i have ever read. and that is despite the gore, because while i do not like gore, saw 3 being the only movie i have ever walked out on, it fits this story perfectly, and actually serves a purpose in telling the story, as opposed to other shit out there which has gore just for the sake of it, as this is a serious, brutal and dirty story about a serious and brutal part of society