Title : Samurai Deeper Kyo
Creator : Akimine Kamijyo
Last chapter update : volume 38 <complete>
Tags : shounen, samurai, ninja, feudal japan, oda nobunaga, fight, action, magic, cool
In a Nutshell
Shiina Yuuya is a wandering bounty hunter out to find her brother’s murderer. She met a man called Mibu Kyoshiro, a clumsy and sweet man who works as a traveling medicine seller. Mibu Kyoshiro turns out to an adept swordsman with a mysterious past. Most interestingly, when he is pushed into a battle, a separate identity called Kyo appears, an aggressive, talented warrior who seemed to personally hate Mibu Kyoshiro with a vengeance. As it turns out, Kyoshiro had detached Kyo’s soul out of his body and sealed it into his own body for unknown reasons. Yuuya also learnt that Mibu Kyoshiro was involved in the murder of her beloved brother. As Yuuya and Kyo travel together into the heart of the mysterious territories of the Mibu clan in search for answers, they stumble upon a mix of new and old friends, along with a range of enemies out to hunt them.
Review
Story : At first the story was a cute adventure between Yuuya and Kyoshiro who got along very well, just that the personality of an angry, difficult Kyo sometimes appear. Then, Mibu Kyoshiro turns out to be a shady person with alot of secrets and Yuuya and Kyo both went on a long journey to find out answers. It gets more serious past Volume 3 as they get closer to the belly of powerful and omnipotent Mibu clan, a secret clan thought to orchestrate even the political structure of Japan using their knowledge of sorcery. Along the way, they met new friends, who are searching for their own answers, along with old acquaintances of Kyo who simply wish to fight alongside the Demonic Eye Warrior once more. They also come upon stronger and scarier opponents, mostly from the Mibu clan itself. The fights are visually stunning, as it incorporates decent swordplay with magic and just plain coolness. Also, everyone basically have their own fighting styles, swords, spears, needles, strings, brute strength, elemental attacks, etc. The fights are never boring, and honestly is the main highlight for me and why i enjoy reading this numerous times. Okay, another reason why it’s so easily re-readable is also because the story got so confusing towards the end with the Mibu politics and Kyo-Kyoshiro parallels and i ended up ignoring the plot just to enjoy the fight scenes. The plot is kinda messy, but the art and freshness of the fights and characters more than make up for it.
Art : As mentioned above, i love the art. Like all comics, it was average at the start, and got so much better as it progressed. The art is sharp and clean. There’s barely an ugly person in the manga, as everyone is drawn beautifully. They look like models, especially Kyo with his blue-steel expressions and red eyes. I sometimes get annoyed by weird body proportions in other comics, but Akimine Kamijyo, i feel, draws them so attractively well in terms of length. And the fight scenes are cool. For example, Hotaru (who’s my fave character) has a blood ritual to enhance his fire-strengthened swordplay, in his fight against Shinrei, who fights with water-inspired swordplay. Like, how cool is that? Everyone is just so different and even some of the weapons are cool af. Obviously, my fave manga genre is the japanese sword fighting kind, and i really attribute this manga in solidifying that preference in me.
Setting : Tokugawa Japan.
Character : The manga is quite heavy plot-wise, due to the many corruptions and unethical cruelty by the Mibu clan. However, it still doesn’t feel that miserable because the main characters are generally fun, light characters who knows how to laugh even in the direst of situations. You don’t really have the angsty, ‘i dont wanna die in this mission…’ kind of thing, everyone just lives in the heat of the battle, they’re real warriors who are confident of their skills. And that’s why i love reading about them so much. Yuuya is the first main character and she is a spunky girl who is way weaker than everyone else (because, yknow she’s a human non-warrior girl), but never places herself in the damsel-in-distress position, which i like. Kyoshiro was the second main character, but was eventually replaced in position by Kyo, the angry, aggressive warrior who never seems to care about anyone, but always gathers loyal comrades around him. I dont think he’s particularly nice to anyone, but seriously, everyone likes him. Maybe it’s because he risks his life in all his fights and struggles to win despite his inabilities (not his original body, so his fighting skill is halved at most). Their components include the heir of Tokugawa clan; Benitora who is keeping his identity secret so he can keep traveling with them; Sanada Seimaru, the handsome womanizer whose fighting skills, sharp intellect, and cunning rival even the best of the Mibu; members of the Shiseiten, a group of the most powerful Swordsmen of its era which includes Akira (a blind warrior with ice-manipulating skills), Bontenmaru (a beast of a man who fights with pure brute strength), Hotaru (my favorite- a detached warrior who turns alive in battle), and Akari (the scariest of them all, even Kyo). There’s so many more i can’t. (and i’m lazy).
so handsome, but so dumb ❤
Overall : Well, considering Samurai Deeper Kyo has been a staple in my manga collection since the start, i’d say it’s a favorite of mine. At worst, this manga is more style than plot, relying greatly on action and little plot twists to carry the story. At best, the characters and fights are just SO COOL. isn’t that enough?
Baka Reviews Manga 