Forum - View topicGreatest Samurai manga ever
|
Goto page 1, 2 Next |
| Author | Message | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kagemusha
 Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
|
|||||
|
I've read quite a few samurai mangas, from lighthearted, shonen ones to gritty mature ones. after reading all these, i think i can boil down the three best: Lone Wolf and Cub, a very traditional tale of clan politics and a father and son forced to become assasins to regain honor; Blade of the Immortal, a very non-traditional, "samurai-punk" manga with characters and story telling that are very modern; and Vagabond, the story of legendary sword saint Miyamoto Musashi's journey to enlightenment through the sword. To pick from one of these is very difficult. i think i enjoy Blade the most (only slightly), but i think that Vagabond really embodies within it the true meaning of a samurai. we see Musashi at first as a wild beast, a killer with only his bloodthirst and will to live keep him going. as the story is progressing, we see him gradually begin to change and become enlightened on life and the way of the sword. anyone else care to cast their opinion?
|
||||||
|
||||||
Onmyoji
 Posts: 203 Location: MD |
|
|||||
|
The Samurai manga you mentioned were good, but my favorite Samurai manga as of late would be Samurai Deeper Kyo. I guess i'm just into the whole split personality thing.
|
||||||
|
||||||
darkhunter
 Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
|
|||||
|
Samurai Deeper Kyo and Rurouni Kenshin are both great samurai manga also even though they're a little more light-hearted then the one you mention. I would consider Blade of the Immortal to be the best.
|
||||||
|
||||||
jfrog
 Posts: 925 Location: Seattle |
|
|||||
|
Am I the only one who remains unimpressed by Rurouni Kenshin?
|
||||||
|
||||||
C_Brightshadow
 Posts: 81 Location: In a Mod-Starbridge running away from pirates |
|
|||||
Don't worry, I too am unimpressed by Kenshin. |
||||||
|
||||||
Pepperidge
 Posts: 1107 Location: British Columbia, Canada |
|
|||||
|
Don't worry, Kenshin isn't a samurai comic.
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
jfrog
Posts: 925 Location: Seattle |
|
|||||
Could people stop nitpicking about this? This is just as annoying as the guy who tried to convince me that Evangelion wasn't a mecha show because the Evas weren't wholly mechanical. Are you going to attack Kurosawa next for calling his film Seven Samurai because Kikuchiyo was born into the peasant class? How about speaking out against the labeling of Batman as a superhero because he's just an ordinary (if incredibly rich) guy? |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Nagisa
Moderator
 Posts: 6128 Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh |
|
|||||
I have to agree with jfrog here. Just because the central character himself isn't a samurai doesn't mean this series is not a "samurai" title. It still takes place around the "samurai" time period after all (feudal to Restoration-era). Sure, Kenshin himself isn't a samurai. I'll usually be among the first to point that out. But that doesn't mean the series isn't set in that time period and doesn't carry much the same feel. As such, it shouldn't be excluded whenever someone brings up "samurai" anime or manga. Perhaps instead, people should use a more general term to describe historical Japanese series (just like how we don't usually call Medieval stories "knight stories"). |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Kagemusha
Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
|
|||||
|
basically, what i consider a samurai manga is any story involving swordplay occuring sometime in historical Japan.
but i think what Pepperidge means was that Kenshin isnt a samurai comic because it basically follows the formula of "monster/enemy of the week" that every other shonen manga follows instead of getting into deeper plots |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Nagisa
Moderator
Posts: 6128 Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh |
|
|||||
I don't think so. It's no more shallow than many of the other "samurai" titles out there. It's the same "Kenshin isn't a samurai so it's not blahblahblah" nitpicking as always. Just like how people argue that Sailor Moon isn't sentai because they don't have mechs or whatever. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
darkhunter
Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
|
|||||
|
Wasn't Kenshin a Samurai (Battousai the Manslayer) before he was a wanderer. Even if he's not label as one, he sure dress like one and carry a sword during the fedual age.
Perhaps because he gave up killing, people don't want to label him as a samurai. Who knows, as long as it's entertaining it will be good.
Well Samurai Deeper kyo is a samurai manga and it has the enemy of the week theme. That doesn't mean it doesn't go deeper into the plot and that doesn't mean it's not good either. New enemey = more new exciting fight and style. What happen after our hero defeat a evil bad guy? He has to face a stronger evil challenge instead of fighting the same guy over and over. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Nagisa
Moderator
Posts: 6128 Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh |
|
|||||
He was never a samurai. spoiler[He was born to a poor farming family that died, sold into slavery, taken in by Hiko and raised as a hermit in the mountains, came down and participated in the Revolution as an assassin & soldier,] and then committed to a life of wandering until he came across the Kamiya dojo.
Well, more like Restoration age, but you're right in that he follows the basic samurai tenants rather faithfully.
A samurai is a noble, not a murderer. Just like a knight in Medieval society is part of the nobility and not just a bloodthirsty soldier. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Kagemusha
Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
|
|||||
|
personally, i hardly think you can call samurai noble. after all, they could do anything they wanted, as long as it was in the name of their master. waitress spills water on you when serving? samurai could simply cut her (or his) head off.in the Last Samurai, they were portrayed as noble heros. in reality, the rebel samurai simply didn't want to lose their power. they were just as bad as the bandits sometimes (you think about this stuff after reading Blade of the Immortal
 )
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
Nagisa
Moderator
Posts: 6128 Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh |
|
|||||
|
Aaaand you missed the point. I'm not saying they were noble, I'm saying they were part of the nobility -- the upper class -- the rich, spoiled folk of society. The two things are different. Strict class structure is a part of feudalism, hence the era in which samurai lived is often referred to as the feudal era of Japan. It all fits together like that.
BTW, using fictional sources to back your point is a bad idea. History books and factual documentaries tend to give you more credibility. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Pepperidge
Posts: 1107 Location: British Columbia, Canada |
|
|||||
|
Okay, okay, sorry. I didn't mean to nitpick, i just wanted something to add to this thread.
|
||||||
|
||||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group