Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book
Rate this book
High school students heroic act turns into epic human vs. monster sword fight!

Buso Renkin is the story of teenager Kazuki Muto, who dies trying to save a girl who was being attacked by an eerie monster. The next morning, however, Kazuki is left wondering whether it was all a dream. Lo and behold, the girl, the monster, and his death are all real! The girl, Tokiko Tsumura, was actually trying to slay the homunculus (a beast that can take the form of humans, and whose main source of food is people), but Kazuki got in her way. To revive Kazuki, Tokiko replaces his heart with a "kakugane," an alchemic device that allows him to summon a lance with which to fight the monsters. It turns out that Tokiko is a member of the Alchemist Warriors, an organization sworn to protect the world from the diabolical creatures. Soon, Kazuki joins Tokiko in her quest to terminate the sinister being that creates and controls the homunculus.

Never underestimate the power of underwear! With no battle gear to speak of besides his butterfly mask and skivvies, Papillon Mask survives a bitter duel against our boy Kazuki. Meanwhile, Papillon Mask's great-great-grandfather Dr. Butterfly promises him the true powers of a humanoid homunculus, which includes the ability to use a Buso Renkin. Will Kazuki and Tokiko be able to fend off their very powerful--and eccentric--nemesis?

184 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 2004

3 people are currently reading
82 people want to read

About the author

Nobuhiro Watsuki

246 books425 followers
Watsuki Nobuhiro (和月伸宏) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for his samurai-themed series Rurouni Kenshin. He once worked as an assistant for his favorite author Takeshi Obata.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
100 (27%)
4 stars
112 (30%)
3 stars
117 (31%)
2 stars
31 (8%)
1 star
7 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
Profile Image for melhara.
1,877 reviews90 followers
December 29, 2020
This review is part of a personal challenge to: 1) read more French books; 2) improve my French; 3) read all the French manga novels from my mom's manga collection. Seeing as I read this book in French, the actual review will be in French (duh).
----------------------------------------------
Cette critique fait partie d'un défi personnel: d’améliorer mon français!


Ceci s'agit du troisième volume de la série. Je l'ai aimé un peu plus que le volume précédent. J'étais un peu déçu de voir que Papillon était de retour (je n'aime vraiment pas ce personnage) mais j'ai aimé l'introduction des nouveaux personnages (comme les jumeaux, le L.E.X., et Captain Bravo). Un peu de l'histoire de Tokiko a également été présentée et j'espère vraiment que nous en verrons plus.

----------------------------------------------
Note moyenne de la série: 2.7/5
Critiques pour le reste de la série:
Tome 1 | Tome 2 | Tome 3 | Tome 4 | Tome 5 | Tome 6 | Tome 7 | Tome 8 | Tome 9 | Tome 10
Profile Image for Shin Donghae.
2,256 reviews8 followers
September 24, 2021
Saya cukup menyukai perkembangan alurnya, sedikit lebih baik dari volume sebelumnya. Sedikit kecewa karena Papillon kembali (eneg dengan karakter ini) tetapi cukup menyukai pengenalan karakter baru (seperti si kembar, L.E.X., dan Kapten Bravo). Sedikit latar belakang Tokiko juga disajikan dan semoga kita bisa melihat lebih banyak lagi.
Profile Image for Kurtis Burkhardt.
6,000 reviews51 followers
January 3, 2019
From the creator of Rurouni Kenshin, This series is definitely far from the greatness of that manga! The plot and art was all over the place, Great at times and hard to stay with it at times... 👌😁💕
Profile Image for Isabella.
844 reviews55 followers
March 14, 2019
honestly, we're back to the very uninteresting plot. the best parts of the manga are when papillon shows up and that's it lol

also, getting a bad incestuous vibe from those twins. i hope I'm wrong.
Profile Image for Alexis.
2,512 reviews
November 1, 2023
I'm sorry, but this series has become downright boring.
Profile Image for M.D. Williams.
452 reviews5 followers
October 28, 2020
Steadily We Climb
Look, I don't think this series is ever going to be a five star series for me or maybe anyone else. However, that doesn't mean that it can't be enjoyed for what it is. Watsuki's got a great eye for action, and his ability to get more and more comfortable with the weapons that are the Buso Renkin are finally starting to allow his talents to shine.

This volume introduces us to a new villain set. It loses points for confirming Papillion survived though. I'm not always a fan of people making a combat in the lairs. I understand that Papillion is a pretty fan favorite character, but it was literally the next chapter where he was confirmed to still be alive. I felt like that was a bit of a blow. Overall, we got to be introduced to a far more interesting villain group with the LXE. They aren't overally compelling and I wish they had an actual theme. But they're fun and they're good enough for Kazuki, Tokiko and Bravo to show off their improvements. They also introduce Shisui and Ouka in this volume. Something I thought they should have done much much earlier. It's pretty unfortunate that Wasuki adapts this story to the fanbases and not strictly plans them out ahead of time. These two really get introduced, and then we find out their bad guys in like the next chapter. Again, I just think the biggest issue with this and the subsequent volume was dramatic timing and pacing. We're not really allowing the characters room to explore and discover things as well as we aren't really hinting at the ideas of who the enemies could be.

That makes it feel fairly shallow. Still, the action is great. The characters are unique enough and we did get to see a lot of character from the mains this time around. 7.5/10
Profile Image for Ace.
478 reviews12 followers
April 4, 2016
Volume three begins a new arc, introducing a few new characters along the way. The plot bumbles along, drawing on numerous shonen stereotypes, and after reading it, I couldn't quite remember it, because it reminded me of so many other things that I'd read. And can we talk about Papillon for a second? He's so absurd that it's hard to take him seriously.

Fellow students address Tokiko's scar -- and we get a glimpse of its origin -- but the main characters still leave it be, a fact that I still appreciate. Not all heroines have to be perfect, and I like that Buso Renkin doesn't treat Tokiko differently for having this scar. Yay!

Unfortunately, the rest of the series just didn't hold up for me. Everything felt contrived, there were no serious consequences because Kazuki magically solved everything, and I felt very distant from the characters. Just not my cup of tea.
Profile Image for Scott Lee.
2,182 reviews8 followers
December 4, 2016
Kazuki meets Tukiko's boss, and is offered the chance to officially become an alchemical warrior. Papillion Mask, turns up not quite dead, saved by a team of men who've "re-birthed" themselves as humunculi, and a status quo of sorts seems to be finally establishing itself in this volume, after the first threw the reader into the world and the protagonists into immediate crisis and battle.
907 reviews24 followers
February 10, 2010
Still remains pretty insubstantial overall, but there are some amusing characters. I particularly like the fraternal twins, even if their big reveal was completely unsurprising.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.