Kagurabachi, Vol. 3

カグラバチ [Kagurabachi] #3

by Takeru Hokazono

Chihiro Rokuhira’s father, Kunishige, is the most famous swordsmith in the land. Thanks to his six enchanted blades, the war that has been gripping the nation ends, and peaceful days follow. After the war, he retrieves all six blades and hides them in the cellar of his workshop—but sorcerers raid his home and leave Kunishige dead in front of Chihiro. Many years later, Chihiro wields Kunishige’s seventh and final enchanted blade on a mission to retrieve the stolen swords!

The strongest enchanted blade, known as the Shinuchi, is up for sale at a black market. Chihiro’s determined to steal the Shinuchi back, but standing in his way are skilled sorcerers devoted to safeguarding the auction. Can Chihiro slash his way through and reclaim the fabled katana?!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Action, Shonen, Fiction, Comics, Graphic Novels

192 pages, Paperback

First published July 4, 2024

About the author

Takeru Hokazono (外薗健; Hokazono Takeru) is a Japanese mangaka.

Reviews

[Sana⁷ (Sawamura Version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Then let me teach you a little secret. The lightning never strikes good kids. It's what the sky uses to punish bad guys. [Inazuma's sister]

We won the fight against Genichi Sojo and received Cloud Gouger, but there is no time for a celebration yet. With the upcoming infamous Rakuzaichi auction an opportunity arrives to collect another Enchanted Blade, the Shinuchi. To succeed, we need to stand up against a powerful Sazanami clan, a family of strong sorcerers who control the Rakuzaichi for two centuries already. On top of that we need to deal with Hiyuki Hagari, the strongest Kamunabi fighter sent after Chihiro and his Enchanted swords.

That day a samurai lit my helpless existence into fire. [Hakuri]

Since this volume's focus is put on the auction and the Sazanami clan, we need to talk about one of the newly introduced characters, Hakuri. He's a Sazanami by blood, but as a weaker sorcerer than them and as someone good and kind-hearted, he refused to be a part of his family's dark legacy. He believes that his meeting with Chihiro was arranged by fate and through that becomes, or so I believe, a part of our little family.

I like Hakuri's character. He is treated like a nuisance by his father, because he's a weak sorcerer, and yes, it looks like he doesn't have any power to show off, but he refuses to be defined by that. He might not have any power to fight with, but he has a heart of gold. He's kind-hearted and brave, standing up for the people he cares for and what he believes in, even if he knows it could cost him his life. We just met him, but I like his dynamic with Chihiro already. They have a positive impact on one another so far and I hope that it will continue in the next volumes as well.

And there is the matter of his family. I don't think I will surprise anyone if I say that I hate them, especially the father, who had built his underground empire in the suffering of other people. He's not only Shinuchi's seller, his speciality is human trafficking. By human I mean grown ups AND children. My disgust level reached the roof. Hakuri's siblings aren't any better, the oldest isn't, at least. I hope that Chihiro can be a brother that Hakuri deserves to have.

"I've been looking for you, Chihiro Rokuhira."

Hiyuki Hagari was called Kamunabi's stronger fighter for a reason. She's a badass. I should dislike her for the sole reason that she's not on our side (I'm a Chihiro lover through and through), but she's too cool. What is interesting about her is that she's not someone who fights just because the higher ups told her to. She fights for what she believes in and she believes that the Enchanted Blades are a danger that needs to be stopped. She's also someone who genuinely likes to fight, who gives her all in a match and expects her opponent to do the same thing. She was a great match for Chihiro, a true challenge that he had to face. Through her a power matched the Enchanted Blades got introduced and it was amazing. I hope that we will see more of her, on the good side this time!

Since we're talking about a Kamunabi fighter for now, I need to address the morally gray nature of this organization that has been showcased a little in this volume. Their position according the Rakuzaichi is something I have trouble accepting. I understand that they don't want to put their members in danger, but we're talking about an underground auction where people are sold off, God knows what fate awaits them. It's something that should be stopped, not encouraged, no matter what. I might have trouble accepting it, but I think it's great that the good guys aren't really good guys. It's much more believable this way, because everybody has their own interests and acts accordingly to that.

I like how with every volume we're introduced to not only the new characters, but we can see more and more of the darkness that clouds Japan of this universe. The situation is serious and we need to lock in, but there are also subtle comedy scenes that made me giggle. Everything's well balanced so far and I like it a lot. The volume ended in a pretty interesting way, I wonder how the infamous auction will go and how the bad guys will be defeated! ☺️

[Krysta ꕤ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

chihiro collecting and protecting all these little kids like they're pokemon

[Siona Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like a lot of the concepts in this series but I think I’ll wait for the anime instead of continuing with the manga.

[Vinicius · Rating 4 out of 5]

O terceiro volume de Kagurabachi foi completamente insano, cheio de reviravoltas e situações inusitadas, que levam a trama de uma simples busca por uma lamina enfeitiçada, para, de repende, o Chihiro tendo que lidar com uma das famílias mais perigosas do submundo.

O mangá começa com Chihiro buscando informações a respeito da lamina enfeitiçada chamada "Primorosa", que sera leiloada em um evento com os maiores criminosos do submundo, o Rakuzaichi.

No entando, durante uma de suas buscas, Chihiro se depara com Hakuri Sazanami, um aliado oportuno, que surge como valiosa fonte de informações.

Ainda, por conta dos acontecimentos do ultimo arco, envolvendo o confronto de duas lâminas enfeitiçadas, Chihiro chamou atenção do Kamunabi, organização que esta disposta a separar o protagonista de sua espada, enviando uma de suas mais poderosas guerreiras para completar a missão.

A batalha é intensa, e devido a uma interferência, Chihiro "desperta" um sentimento a mais com sua lâmina, criando um vinculo maior e, possivelmente, descobrindo novas habilidades.

Caminhando para o final da edição, temos a investigação do Rakuzaichi retornando para o centro das atenções, com uma investigação ousada por parte de Chihiro e seu grupo, deixando-o em uma possível adversa para o próximo volume.

[Lėja · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,25 ☆

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to protect Hakuri at all costs

[ami · Rating 5 out of 5]

shiba, me.. you.. in a room unbothered by outside voices?

[gray⁷ · Rating 5 out of 5]

HAKURI IF NOBODY BELIEVES IN U , I WILL BELIEVE IN U

[Adiba (semi-hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it sm!!! onto the next 🏃🏼‍♀️
also the cover of this one is SO PRETTY ARGHHHH 😭

[Leena · Rating 5 out of 5]

literally losing my mind over this!!! the BEST THING EVERRR LIKE ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Mistborn · Rating 5 out of 5]

damn what a banger volume, I love the art style so much, every fight look like a painting, it's so beautiful.

[Tay · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series is picking up and we’re meeting interesting characters. Some of who I liked but will never see again. Felt as though that was rushed pacing to show how “bad ass” The villain was. A tactic I think could have been executed better.

Hoping we get some more of this big bad. I do want to get some backstory for the Tou. They look cool and I’m never averse to learning the backstories of well designed characters. Regardless of if they’re villains or heroes.

Still riding this train and not getting off yet. The pacing could still use some work, but I explained that in my review of volume 1, so I won’t bemoan the point here.

[Sam Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 ⭐️

[ivy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Christian Guerrero · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hasta aqui mi camino por Kagurabachi, bastante zzz

[Rin · Rating 3 out of 5]

some of the characters are too similarly drawn sometimes

[Emmer Wilde · Rating 4 out of 5]

OH MY GOD, I JUST DEVOURED KAGURABACHI VOLUME 3 AND THE HYPE IS ACTUALLY REAL! 4 STARS because the Rakuza Ichi auction setup is absolute PEAK, even if some of the middle chapters felt a little heavy on the flashbacks! ⚔️🔥📉 I was literally screaming when Chihiro decided to go through with that drastic plan—he’s risking literally everything to get the Shinuchi back!

The world-building in this volume is IMMACULATE—we finally meet Kyora Sazanami, and his "Storehouse" power is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in manga recently! 👺🏯 The family drama between Hakuri and his brother Soya is so brutal and emotional, it had me clutching my chest! 😭💔 And don't even get me started on Hiyuki—the "Flame Bone of the Starving" is such a badass skill, she’s officially a favorite! The action sequences are giving total John Wick energy with that noir grit! 💥🎥

It’s a solid 4-star because while the art and tension are 10/10, the pacing sometimes slows down just as things get spicy! 💤⚔️ If you’re ready to see if Chihiro can reclaim his father’s fabled katana, go grab it at Crunchyroll or Amazon and join the mission! EVERY DAY I WAKE UP WITH FRESH HATRED. ✨⚔️🔥📉🌑

[Keith Gears · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 🌟

I think this volume was good but after reading 2 back to back volumes of peak this just wasn't quite as good as the other 2 volumes. That being said they did introduce the Sazanami clan and Hiyuki who are both sooo cool and amazing. I did love the ending and think the next volume will be another masterpiece peak volume so I can't wait.

[Michael Kikle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has some really nice build-up to a potentially awesome volume 4. Really hope it goes that way, because the writing style of this series has been so messy and clunky. Really hope it improves, this is—conceptually—right up my alley, but a pain to read lmao.

[Jhamankys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dios mío, pero que desturque. Casi me da un infarto cuando Chihiro sede a Enten, pero gracias a dios mi hijo es un genio y ya tenía plan.

Veremos como termina el esperado Rakuzaichi!

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ngl I was like 50% through before I realized bro was still missing his arm

[Claudia Russo · Rating 5 out of 5]

the fact that i have to wait till October for the next book is criminal, it was just about to get into the crazy stuff

[Fny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gosh I need more…

[CinderScout · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best of the series so far, this has been my fave new series I've read this year, good writing, with fantastic action. 4.6

[Silvy Antonio · Rating 5 out of 5]

love this third vol such a cool plot.
come on can't wait for vol 4 .
chihiro and hakuri...

[Buddy_Aech · Rating 5 out of 5]

RAAAHHHHHH
Love this series, love this book, love the art love the story love this characters, I loved this.
FLAME BONE LADY IS SO COOL.
And CHIHIRO WITH CLOUD GOUGER???
Time for the next book.

[A_MOTUS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ce nouvel arc a l'air fascinant avec de nouveaux personnages et l'existence de Chihiro qui commence a être connue.

[Maz Castillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

La trama me está gustando. Creo que hacía tiempo que no leía una historia con tantos flash-back

[clau 🫧 · Rating 4 out of 5]

no me tiene tan tan enganchada porque lo estoy leyendo a parches pero me sigue pareciendo una locura