This is, so far, an excellent shonen series if you can get past the first few volumes, which suck. In that, it resembles the Lymond Chronicles, whose beginning didn’t so much suck as was impenetratble.. It also resembles the Lymond Chronicles in another way too, but that is vaguely spoilery and I’ll get to it behind a cut. Eventually, it gets into some excellent character development, good plotting, political intrigue, wacky riffs on real history, and fun with swordplay and magic.

I read the first volume of this ages ago and didn’t like it at all, and was baffled by the fondness for it expressed by telophase (Stephanie) and chomiji. However, when we were in Japan, Stephanie explained that it improves greatly after the first few volumes, and also told me some plot and thematic spoilers that made it sound way more interesting.

Because the first volumes are kind of awful, but it does get really good later on, I will present a guide to the first few volumes in case anyone wants to try just skipping them, or is curious why they should persevere. At the end, I will reveal the not-terribly-spoilery information Stephanie told me. However, one of the major pleasures of the earlier books are the startling plot twists and slow reveal of information; I won’t reveal anything that I would really hate to have spoiled for me until a spoiler post which I will make later (probably tomorrow.)

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Samurai Deeper Kyo 1

Volume 1: It’s after the battle of Sekigahara. Tokugawa Ieyasu is in power. And sixteen-year-old gunslinging female bounty hunter Yuya meets mild-mannered travelling medicine seller Kyoshiro. Hijinks ensue. It seems that Kyoshiro is periodically possessed by uber-badass bad guy Demon-Eyes Kyo, notorious killer at Sekigahara and generally nototious killer. Big bounty on his head. Yuya is determined to bring him in. There is much very annoying, sexist fanservice. I swear, it gets better!

Samurai Deeper Kyo 2

Volume 2: All sorts of people have personal grudges against Kyo and show up to try to kill him. Kyoshiro continues to be mild-mannered. It is revealed that Yuya is searching for the man who killed her brother, who has a scar on his back. They are attacked by a gang consisting of White Crow (guy with white hair), Black Scorpion (black guy depicted with every bit of the racial sensitivity one might expect given the sensitivity to gender issues earlier), and Red Tiger, a mysterious genki guy. More obnoxious fanservice. I swear, it gets better!

Samurai Deeper Kyo 3

Samurai Deeper Kyo 4

Samurai Deeper Kyo 5

Below are some general development of series spoilers; not really specific plot spoilers. This is what made me pick up the series in the first place.

Kyoshiro has much more to him than meets the eye, but he’s not the main character: Demon Eyes Kyo is. And there is much, much more to Kyo than meets the eye, also. In fact, one of the main points of the series seems to be discovering who Kyo is. So far, we never get his thoughts or point of view. Like Lymond, he’s seen through the eyes of others, trying to figure him out.

Also, Tokugawa Ieyasu is a demon lord.

Click on the image to buy Silver Diamond from Amazon.com

Rakan is an orphaned (or is he?!)– but refreshingly non-angsty– teenage boy in our world, with an overgrown garden and a highly unusual past. Chigusa is a mysterious young man from another world, with an organic gun, a very weird and clever healing power, and a whole lot of angsty past. When Chigusa appears in Rakan’s garden — and is soon followed by several other, otherworldly visitors– an intricate story of intrigue, magic, and human connection begins to unfold. And I will stop there, as a lot of the fun of the volume involves discovery.

The worldbuilding is excellent and unconventional, the characters (including a snake that is also a katana) are great fun, and the story is compelling. This might well appeal to fans of prose fantasy who don’t generally read manga, as the fantasy elements are central and beautifully detailed. This is one of the best first volumes of manga I’ve read in a while. Don’t miss it.

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