New Readers (No Spoilers)

Rhombaad said:
I finished Vol. 16 last night and promptly ordered Vol. 17 (thankfully, it's available on www.amazon.com at the normal price).

Hopefully it'll be smooth sailing from here on that front.

Rhombaad said:
I really liked the fact that Denshichiro encounters Ittousai and Kojiro on the beach, along with Ueda and three other samurai. It was cool seeing Den before he had "cut anyone" and how Ittousai belittles him. The point system Ittousai established was hilarious, too. Too bad the volume ends on another one of those insane cliffhangers.
I can't wait until Vol. 17 arrives. :guts:

Yeah, great and unexpected connections, just like when he met Takuan
(another one of my favorite little scenes). I also like Jisai's image of Kojiro as an innocent child... sure, but only in the way he kills. =)
 
グリフィス said:
Hopefully it'll be smooth sailing from here on that front.

No kidding. :schierke:

グリフィス said:
Yeah, great and unexpected connections, just like when he met Takuan
(another one of my favorite little scenes). I also like Jisai's image of Kojiro as an innocent child... sure, but only in the way he kills. =)

Yeah, he's quite giddy when he does it. I feel sorry for that poor guy whose intestines he spilled, too.
 
Rhombaad said:
Yeah, he's quite giddy when he does it. I feel sorry for that poor guy whose intestines he spilled, too.

Yeah, even
Ittosai
seemed struck by his words, which could really be said for any following way that don't make it,
"a sad end" indeed.
 
I finished Vol. 17 last night.
The fight between Kojiro and Denshichiro was pretty damn cool. I was a bit shocked when Ittosai stabbed Kojiro in the leg, but as soon as it flashed back to Takuan cutting his arm, it all made sense. Maybe it's just me, but I sometimes find it a bit hard to follow Inoue's action scenes. The perspective seems off at times, which makes it difficult to determine who's moving in what direction. It isn't all that prevalent and is present in only a few panels, but it's something that I find frustrating at times. Maybe it's just me.

On a side note, poor Tenki. I completely missed that he was the one beaten to death in front of Matahachi until the page where Jisai sends him to find Kojiro. Another sad end.
I promptly ordered Vol. 18 this morning. :guts:
 
Rhombaad said:
I finished Vol. 17 last night.
The fight between Kojiro and Denshichiro was pretty damn cool. I was a bit shocked when Ittosai stabbed Kojiro in the leg, but as soon as it flashed back to Takuan cutting his arm, it all made sense.

Yeah, the way Inoue has to get inside Kojiro's head without words makes this whole section unique and interesting.

Rhombaad said:
Maybe it's just me, but I sometimes find it a bit hard to follow Inoue's action scenes. The perspective seems off at times, which makes it difficult to determine who's moving in what direction. It isn't all that prevalent and is present in only a few panels, but it's something that I find frustrating at times. Maybe it's just me.
I think there have been a few moments here and there where something could be interpreted a few different ways so it wasn't clear, but I'm probably not the best judge because I've re-read these scenes so many times I feel like I know what's happening by muscle memory.

Rhombaad said:
On a side note, poor Tenki. I completely missed that he was the one beaten to death in front of Matahachi until the page where Jisai sends him to find Kojiro. Another sad end.
Rhombaad said:
I promptly ordered Vol. 18 this morning. :guts:

Alright, and yeah, poor
Tenki
, he didn't deserve it in the first place, but it's worse after seeing him grow up. Also, I now realize I accidentally spoiled that
"sad end"
line, sorry man. So much for my memory.
 
グリフィス said:
Also, I now realize I accidentally spoiled that
"sad end"
line, sorry man. So much for my memory.

Haha, no worries! I didn't realize until I read the volume that you were even referencing something.
 
Hi, I thought I'd drop by here too, since I kinda follow this one too... Even if I'm not so much "addicted" to Vagabond as I'm with Berserk. It just so happens that they publish Vagabond in Finland which is kinda nice. Truth to be told, I probably would still be oblivious about Vagabond if that weren't the case...

Weird thing about the Finnish edition is that the print quality is really topnotch, along the paper quality, but the translation is only so-so... unfortunately it's a "2nd-generation" translation from Spanish, (if anyone knows about Ivrea publishing, they are the ones doing it here) which explains a lot. :mozgus: Usually all the manga's that get Finnish editions are just the opposite: ugly-a s-hell print jobs on a toilet paper, but quite competent translations. (only exceptions to this rule that I know of are Yotsuba&, Nausicaa and Battle Angel Alita...) Go figure. Just today I spotted 8th volume at the magazine stands and immediately bought it. They come out like once in 3 months here, hopefully they don't fold the project since I don't believe any other publisher would continue it and they are 8.90 euros a piece which is a bit less than the price Viz volumes fetch around here. And I'm hoping that if Vagabond succeeds here we could have more samurai mangas published... so far manga publishing in Finland seems to center around childish shojo titles...
 
I'm about 3/4 of the way through Vol. 19, which I purchased the other day along with Vol. 20 while picking up the lastest issues of Young Animal at the Kinokuniya in Seattle.
The encounter with Musashi during the aftermath of the Battle of Sekigahara was a pleasant surprise. I'll never look at the first chapter of the series the same way again, haha. I was expecting him to face off with Kojiro when he first showed up, but was glad that they fought on the same side by the time the skirmish was over. I can't wait to see the results of Kojiro's battle with the refugees when I read some more tonight!
 
Hey BiQ, thanks for the intel on Vagabond in Finland, sorry to hear about the second hand translations, that's really too bad. I do hope they continue adapting the series there though.

Rhombaad said:
I'm about 3/4 of the way through Vol. 19, which I purchased the other day along with Vol. 20 while picking up the lastest issues of Young Animal at the Kinokuniya in Seattle.
The encounter with Musashi during the aftermath of the Battle of Sekigahara was a pleasant surprise. I'll never look at the first chapter of the series the same way again, haha. I was expecting him to face off with Kojiro when he first showed up, but was glad that they fought on the same side by the time the skirmish was over. I can't wait to see the results of Kojiro's battle with the refugees when I read some more tonight!

Nice, you're moving fast, which makes sense since there's definitely some A material in that portion, and really not a lot of room to stop and breath, you just want to jump into the next volume.
 
グリフィス said:
Nice, you're moving fast, which makes sense since there's definitely some A material in that portion, and really not a lot of room to stop and breath, you just want to jump into the next volume.

Haha, yeah I'm speeding through these volumes pretty quickly. Volume 20:
I just finished the chapter that ends with Ichizo being killed by Kojiro.
I'll probably finish Vol. 20 later tonight.
 
Rhombaad said:
Haha, yeah I'm speeding through these volumes pretty quickly. Volume 20:
I just finished the chapter that ends with Ichizo being killed by Kojiro.

That and the following episode are definitely one of my favorite WOW moments in series, something that was way more effective than the players or situation really called for.

Rhombaad said:
I'll probably finish Vol. 20 later tonight.
So? :serpico:
 
グリフィス said:

I was a little put off at first when these new characters were introduced, but once they met up with Kojiro it all started to come together. That's what I get for not trusting Inoue, haha. The fight between Kojiro and Koun was pretty epic. It was cool seeing the tsubame gaeshi coming together, as well. I loved how the fight ended, with Kojiro sobbing at the death of his new friend-by-the-sword. It was really moving. I can't wait until I can pick up Vol. 21 and 22 next month.



I just placed my order for volumes 21 and 22. :guts:
 
Two of my favorite volumes, and an excellent pair to get together I might add. :SK:
 
Th3Branded0ne said:
GREAT!! Just don't drool on it! :badbone:

Haha, I'm doing my best not to. The art is gorgeous, especially the water colors in the first few pages of Vol. 21. I read a few chapters last night and am really digging it so far. Hopefully, I'll get through the rest of the volume tonight, but I'm trying to take my time with it.

EDIT: Volume 21-22:
Wow. So far these two volumes are incredible. The fight with Seijuro was shorter than I thought it'd be. It really shows how far Musashi has come in a year. It was one of the more violent fights in the series, too. Between Musashi drooling and Seijuro's body standing with half of his upper torso missing, it was pretty disturbing. I found myself tearing up while Den was training and trying to remember everything that Seijuro had taught him over the years. Don't get me wrong, I love Musashi and was rooting for him the entire time, but the situation is just so tragic. Hopefully, I'll finish Vol. 22 on the bus ride home today.
 
Yeah, like I said, two of the best volumes and easily one of my favorite sections.
Den's viewing of Seijuro's body and reaction are some of the most moving moments in the entire series. Truly sad, even Musashi is affected.

Let us know what you think upon completing 22.
 
Wow, what a finish. I can't wait to read the next one, but I'll have to wait until next month's paycheck, haha.
I knew Matahachi was gonna run into Kojiro eventually. What did he think would happen? I was surprised to see Gion die to quickly. I thought for sure he'd return after some intense training and face Musashi in a fairly long bout, but in the end he was killed pretty quickly. Although, I suppose it's not that suprising since Musashi was able to beat Seijuro.
 
Rhombaad said:
Wow, what a finish. I can't wait to read the next one, but I'll have to wait until next month's paycheck, haha.
I knew Matahachi was gonna run into Kojiro eventually. What did he think would happen? I was surprised to see Gion die to quickly. I thought for sure he'd return after some intense training and face Musashi in a fairly long bout, but in the end he was killed pretty quickly. Although, I suppose it's not that suprising since Musashi was able to beat Seijuro.
Yeah, that's one of the coolest aspects of Musashi's return after training. He already surpassed these others guys long ago, but didn't know it himself until he faced Seijuro.
 
I got home Saturday evening, and began reading the first volume right after posting about it on the other thread. I got past the volume pretty quick, shaking my head that it couldn't be right, I mean, I've spent more time on other first volumes because everyone tends to explain a lot typically, but it wasn't the case here. Yet, I quickly unwrapped volume 2 and went on to 3 *smirk*. I couldn't wait long enough to order volumes 4, 5, 6 that were missing, and read them online, and stopped my marathon read by 1 am. I was amazed how I was drawn into the series, and it progressed at a good pace, with character development, and intensity. The art is GORGEOUS giving you the impression there were actual paint-brush strokes in it, especially when Miyamoto's fighting someone. I got home last night, and I just couldn't put it down haha! I just got to the point where Kojiro's roots were explained, and
he meets Takuan at the beach briefly. I wouldn't have imagined him to be deaf, what a surprise!

With regard to the art, Miyamoto looks a lot scrawnier, gruffier, thinner/ toned, and vicious than what we see in the first volume. I like how he's vulnerable and is defeated or in tight spots from time to time, especially now since he's hunting down some big-wigs. I can't wait to see what happens next, and I realized this wasn't something I could carry with my in the Subway to read because most of the covers are White, and pretty.

What I notice with the single volumes was the minute I turn a few pages, the first page opens up a bit, making the volume more hold-able or readable, especially for bigger 2 page panels. In a way, I'm glad I didn't pick up the VizBig volumes because I would be all the more careful holding/ handling em!

I plan to catch up with what I have on me before I leave for Otakon this Thursday morning, and re-read the series once I'm back.
 
Damn, that's one hell of fast turnaround getting into the series. Glad you're enjoying it so much.

IncantatioN said:
The art is GORGEOUS giving you the impression there were actual paint-brush strokes in it, especially when Miyamoto's fighting someone. I got home last night, and I just couldn't put it down haha! I just got to the point where Kojiro's roots were explained, and
he meets Takuan at the beach briefly. I wouldn't have imagined him to be deaf, what a surprise!

That's a great little scene, and yeah, the series it's worth its price based on the art alone, and that might not even be the best part.

IncantatioN said:
With regard to the art, Miyamoto looks a lot scrawnier, gruffier, thinner/ toned, and vicious than what we see in the first volume. I like how he's vulnerable and is defeated or in tight spots from time to time, especially now since he's hunting down some big-wigs.

Yeah, where you're at and the next segment with Musashi is probably my favorite part of the series.

IncantatioN said:
What I notice with the single volumes was the minute I turn a few pages, the first page opens up a bit, making the volume more hold-able or readable, especially for bigger 2 page panels. In a way, I'm glad I didn't pick up the VizBig volumes because I would be all the more careful holding/ handling em![/spoiler]

Yeah, I've only handled the VizBig versions in stores, but could imagine reading them in full to be a bit more of a chore at their size.
 
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