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Eisner-award nominated creator Takehiko Inoue’s critically acclaimed take on the life of Miyamoto Mushashi. Transcends the potential of what manga can be.

Striving for enlightenment by way of the sword, Miyamoto Musashi is prepared to cut down anyone who stands in his way. Vagabond is an action-packed portrayal of the life and times of the quintessential warrior-philosopher--the most celebrated samurai of all time!

A tempest of a man has arrived in Kyoto and the entire city is in a fervor, anticipating the storm to come. Musashi has returned for a rematch against Yoshioka Denshichiro, and he's prepared to take down all of the Yoshioka Dojo to defeat him!

208 pages, Paperback

First published February 22, 2006

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About the author

Takehiko Inoue

316 books1,554 followers
Takehiko Inoue (井上雄彦) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for Slam Dunk and Vagabond.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
Profile Image for Henrique.
237 reviews58 followers
April 2, 2024
Vagabond Volume 2


Esse volume vai dos cap 189 ao 197 e continua o arco do Musashi vs a escola Yoshioka devido aos acontecimentos do volume anterior meu nesse volume só mostrou o tanto que o Musashi evoluiu desde que enfrentou eles há 1 ano atrás ele já está em outro patamar e tá cada vez mais indicando que ele e o Sasaki Kojiro vai se enfrentar a qualquer momento e eu tô hypado demais pra ver essa luta porque são dois espadachins insanos e eu não faço ideia de quem vai ganhar essa luta de ela acontecer mas no geral esse foi outro ótimo volume de Vagabond espero que o Musashi continue melhorando ainda mais daqui pra frente a sua habilidade com a espada.
Profile Image for Maria.
606 reviews142 followers
August 19, 2019
SEIJURO!!! 🤯 Holy smokes!
WOW, Musashi doesn’t cease to amaze me! What a BEAST he’s become! It also pleases me to see that the year he’d spent training with the OGs made him this humble.
So yeah, I’m hella proud of my boy. 😌👏🏽💪🏼
Profile Image for Nicolo.
3,464 reviews205 followers
October 1, 2015
The Yoshioka brothers, Seijuro and Denshichiro are a study in contrast. Seijuro is the elder of the two but of smaller stature and baby-faced. Denshichiro is more physical imposing but the elder is a prodigy with the sword and thus deserved to inherit the swordsmanship school their father founded. Seijuro though is a lothario and frequents the pleasure houses of Kyoto while the younger stews over being less skilled with the sword than his brother.

As a character, Denshichiro has become more layered than his brother. He had some key moments here that showed that despite being so stern-faced, he's as human a fictional character can be.

Seijuro though is a bit of flake. If you've read this volume and the one preceding it, the reason is obvious, his character has reached the end but Denshichiro still has his defining moment ahead of him.
Profile Image for Keiko, the manga enthusiast ♒︎.
1,267 reviews187 followers
April 11, 2022
I feel too sad to see the Yoshioka school this unruly. Seijuro's death had impacted the clan a great deal. I sympathized with Den when he was mourning while training at the same time. I never really liked Seijuro, but I loved how the art and the language tugged at your heartstrings. Takehiko used consistent emotive techniques in his style from the earliest volumes, which made this series poignant. You have a stone heart if you didn't shed a tear or two in those panels.

I'm starting to get irritated with Matahachi again! I just hope he finally gets to the rise of his arc. And with Otsu and Jotaro (and Kojiro albeit not in wholesome purpose) showing up in Kyoto, I knew we'll get a reunion—especially the specific panel when Takezo painted a lonely Otsu on the bridge of the Yagyu Clan, and their goodbyes. It made me realize how long the Sasaki Kojiro arc was and how long I was mostly consumed by it. I can only guess that they'll be seeing each other after the fight... or hoping.

We're about to see a Musashi vs Kojiro on the next volume!! I don't know whether to get excited or afraid about this one!! I love them both and I don't want anyone of them to be hurt or rather, die!! This is really making me anxious considering that the previous volume contained a foreshadowing of Denshichiro's defeat. I might say that if Den didn't allow the clan's plan of using the deaf swordsman, they will utilize him after Den's defeat, in retaliation.

Let's see what it will be... my heart is getting heavy.
Profile Image for Juho Pohjalainen.
Author 5 books348 followers
August 18, 2020
Oh, now I realize where the certificate came into Matahachi's hands. There were so many volumed in between that I forgot all about it and couldn't draw the connection until now.

This means that instead of getting to look forward to Kojiro's best buddy to show up again, turns out he snuffed it ages ago. Shame. This manga's really good at making you feel bad even for the minor characters - they didn't just enter into the story to die in a vacuum, you already know their story and how they ended up where they did.
Profile Image for Met.
440 reviews33 followers
January 17, 2021
Anche questo volume rasenta la perfezione: comincio ad accusare il fatto che “succeda poco” in 200 pagine.
Disegni fuori da ogni scala.
Profile Image for Susᥫᩣ.
65 reviews
July 6, 2023
At last Matahachi's cover gets blown. It was getting quite annoying.
Profile Image for Peio.
139 reviews10 followers
July 10, 2023
Lo que estoy viviendo leyendo esto no tiene ningún tipo de sentido.
Profile Image for ki.
83 reviews6 followers
Read
September 12, 2025
“I'm grateful for this life. This man, I can put everything I have up against him. Oh, gods of war. I thank you for my very existence.”

“This life of cutting down man after man. Perfecting your skills, striving to listen to your body's truth, that's the spiral of killing which is your day-to-day existence. Think only about your art.”

“I'm still far from deserving of my victories.”

[Chapter #189-#197]
Profile Image for Noran Miss Pumkin.
463 reviews102 followers
August 20, 2012
Musashi is still slicing and dicing, but not learning is lessons. All the main people, are now in Kyoto, but they do not know each other is in the city as well. The snow scenes are well drawn. I am so enjoying this series-I iwsh I could affod the set myself one day-just to study the pages-so many are pure art.
Profile Image for M. Ashraf.
2,396 reviews131 followers
October 30, 2016
The head of the Yoshioka clan - Seijuro - is dead after Musashi cut him last time. It was an awesome fight! He is a changed man and still his fight with Seijuro's brother Denshichiro is pending. He is now the talk of the town.
The setting of bringing Sasaki to fight Musashi instead of Denshichiro is awesome! and after the whole sets of volumes with Sasaki can't wait to see that happen.
Great volume and amazing artwork.
Profile Image for Hugo Barahona.
37 reviews
September 17, 2025
'' Takezo... has logrado captar la atención en la capital como lo hiciste en la aldea Miyamoto... todos hablan de ti, todos te temen, todos te odian, y aún así, todavía quieres llegar más arriba... aunque el camino sea cada vez más estrecho... ¿Piensas seguir avanzando?''

Llegados al clímax del combate, tanto Miyamoto Musashi Miyamoto, como Seijuro Yoshioka ponen todo sus ser en un último ataque. En ese instante final, el peso de ser el heredero de una gran casa recae sobre los hombros del joven Seijuro y lo hace dudar. En ese momento de vacilación, casi imperceptible, basta para sellar su destino: Musashi lo corta en dos con una naturalidad que asusta, casi inhumana. El hermano al que Denshichiro Yoshioka esperaba para poder entrenar nunca regresará a casa.

Con la muerte del heredero, el dojo Yoshioka entra en su hora más crítica. Denshichiro asume el peso de la familia, pero su espíritu parece marchito, y la capital entera se agita ante la caída del prestigioso linaje y el ascenso fulgurante de Musashi. La fama del joven espadachín crece tanto que muchos buscan su cabeza como vía rápida hacia la gloria.

Tras el duelo, Musashi se encuentra con el célebre herrero Kouetsu Honami, quien le ofrece refugio en su posada. Honami, entiende las espadas como pocos las comprenden y no detecta el ki en Musashi, pero sí percibe el ki asesino de su espada, una ira contenida que Musashi no logra deprenderse. Allí, Musashi experimenta el impulso de comprender a Seijuro, de ver más allá de su rival caído, de captar aquello que aún se le sigue escapando, pero reprime sus pensamientos. Empatizar con sus rivales puede llevarle en esos combates decisivos a la propia muerte. Renuncia temporalmente a esa empatía para concentrarse únicamente a la técnica de su espada, pero en ese mismo instante se sienta a dibujar. Este gesto tan pequeño, expone el conflicto que atraviesa: Musashi no es solo un verdugo. La figura que traza es la de Otsu, recordatorio que Musashi tiene humanidad y es capaz de amar. Otsu, enterada de la muchedumbre de espadachines que quieren dar caza del hombre que ama, percibe como esa fuerza que persigue una amenaza capaz de consumirlo, donde cada paso que da lo aísla de los demás y lo lleva a una cima que se perfila más como un vacío que un logro.

Mientras tanto, la crisis de la familia Yoshioka se intensifica aún más y Denshichiro con sus dudas, donde finge esa chispa de pasión que tenía, carcome incluso a su propia familia. Musashi tiene un fortuito encuentro con este y Ueda y aparece otra figura significativa: Touji Gion. Devastado por la muerte de Seijuro, ha perdido toda la fe en su espada y lanza un ataque suicida contra Musashi, este lo derriba de un golpe y deja claro a Ueda el abismo que hay entre él y su señor. Ueda comprende que arriesgar a Denshichiro sería un suicidio y decide buscar en la capital al espadachín con un nivel igual o superior al de Musashi: Sasaki Kojiro.

Mientras los Yoshioka inician la búsqueda desesperada, aparece Matahachi que se lamenta de la fama de su antiguo amigo. Sus palabras llaman la atención de los Yoshioka, que intentan ejecutarlo... hasta que surge ante ellos el hombre al que buscan: el espadachín sordo que podría ser el único en superar a Miyamoto Musashi.

La violencia que arrasa la capital no solo delimita el poder de Musashi, sino que resalta la soledad de su camino; a cada victoria, su mundo se estrecha, ¿Podrá Musashi salir de esta espiral o solamente fue siempre su destino girar alrededor de ella, rodeado de sangre y soledad?
Profile Image for Turpinpower.
59 reviews4 followers
September 15, 2021
Tras la brutal (con todas las letras) muerte de Seijuro Yoshioka a manos de Musashi en el duelo producido entre ambos en la noche de Año Nuevo, el dojo Yoshioka sufre una pérdida irreparable y provoca un auténtico terremoto en la capital.

A su vez, Musashi queda no sólo malherido físicamente, sino afectado psicológicamente por vez primera tras la muerte de un rival. El tiempo que necesita para recuperarse de las heridas y prepararse para el combate contra Denshichiro que todavía sigue en pie también lo usará para meditar sobre lo acontecido y el por qué siente lo que siente.

Denshichiro queda muy afectado por lo sucedido y ante su estado, el dojo intentará evitar su combate contra Musashi y contratar los servicios de algún guerrero muy diestro y de renombre... y llega a sus oídos el cada vez más famoso nombre, al igual que el de Musashi, Kojiro Sasaki... lo cual se complica incluso más con el regreso también a la capital de Matahachi, que por más que le pase y desgracias que provoque, es una cucaracha que no aprende de sus errores y sigue viviendo de hacerse pasar por Kojiro Sasaki... al menos, mientras pueda.

Un grandioso tomo de necesaria transición que te hace plantearte más que nunca lo duro y hasta cierto punto estúpido que es la mentalidad masculina de vivir por la espada, por y para el combate, poniendo siempre tu vida en juego y dejando un reguero de muertes a tu paso.

¿Cuál es el por qué de esto? ¿Qué sentido tiene? ¿Cómo acabará el conflicto con los Yoshioka así como la conjunción de todos los elementos del manga hasta la fecha que al fin parecen unirse en un mismo punto?

Todas esas preguntas o al menos parte de ellas quedarán respondidas en el siguiente tomo o en los venideros, los cuales ojalá tuviera ya entre manos por me muero por leer.

Vagabond sigue siendo un manga absolutamente ejemplar y obligatorio que no hace sino mejorar y enganchar más a cada tomo que pasa.
Profile Image for Angelika.
45 reviews2 followers
May 14, 2024
A rather eventful volume, even though the Seijūrō duel proves to be surprisingly anticlimactic. Which is a somewhat interesting plot choice. And I'm glad Seijūrō's character has been made a bit more rounded.

Overall characterisation has improved since the early volumes. It's not all about the chad Musashi and his cartoonish friends anymore. Even minor secondary characters are afforded some space now, they have their own stories. And the main characters are becoming less and less one-dimensional.

Seijūrō, the head libertine of the manga, is revealed to be ultimately not as dedicated to his debauchery as he was painted to be. Behind the scenes, he was still a hustler. Which is not really that surprising, one could sense his hedonism was a bit of a facade.

But Kojiro, our baby-faced savage, discovering his body in other ways than the respectable way of the sword? Now, that I didn't expect. Our newest loverboy approaches corporeality with the same kind of naivety as every other thing in his life. He's just a force of nature, he's not a saint, and I like it.

Musashi, on the other hand, seems to be intent on following the path of a tormented romantic, always longing for Otsu while remaining invariably chaste. His internal monologue continues to go through ebbs and flows of self-doubt and existential dread, but nevertheless he sticks to his murderous ways in an almost autistic manner. What a goofy goober.

With everyone gathered in Kyoto at the same time, shit's bouta go down, I guess. Somehow I can't say I'm like terribly, wholeheartedly excited for what's to come. But I'm hooked nonetheless.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Gustavo.
901 reviews16 followers
February 20, 2020
Me encantan estos tomos en los que están todos cerca de encontrarse pero se cruzan y no se ven, en cierta forma creo que reflejan el estado de Musashi, que tampoco se encuentra a sí mismo después de la lucha con Seijuro, derrotar a su oponente inalcanzable lo deja algo vacío, porque no recuerda la forma en la que lo derrotó, y eso hace que piense que todavía "le falta". Es un buen tomo, tranquilo, que va creando algo de tensión para lo que se viene.
Profile Image for 47Time.
3,454 reviews95 followers
December 4, 2021
Profile Image for Elisabet.
69 reviews
August 11, 2022
Esa sensación de insatisfacción a pesar de haber alcanzado una meta lo puedo comprender y así es como se siente Musashi en este volumen. Me gustó mucho! Y como siempre está en juego el honor y la reputación de un clan poderoso.
El único que me causó lástima fue Matahachi y su sentimiento de inferioridad por estarse comparando con Takezo.
Profile Image for Brandon.
2,811 reviews40 followers
September 22, 2024
Masashi is recovering from his match against Seijuro, but doesn't feel as accomplished as he expected? He's sleeping, resting... moping, I'd say. Which is cool! Also Matahachi is, stupidly, still parading around the city under his false name. You're a wanted man in this city! The real dude is in this city! Come on, bro, why are you constantly so pathetic?
Profile Image for Miriam.
237 reviews
July 7, 2025
“Not even my sword loves me.”
Seijuro's death was brutal, seeing his corpse left me perplexed, but what finally destroyed me were Denshichiro's tears and see such a different reaction from Musashi.
And my God, the hype is real. I can't wait for Musashi to meet Kojiro.

I confess that I have a great crush for Kojiro.
Profile Image for Pablo Carretero.
25 reviews
November 18, 2023
uno de mis tomos favoritos de los 22 que llevo. la reputación de musashi crece exponencialmente sin que él mismo sea consciente de ello. vuelven personajes como otsu, matahachi o kojiro, como piezas de un tablero que se prepara para una jugada increíble.
Profile Image for Dr Rashmit Mishra.
907 reviews93 followers
September 12, 2024
This was awesome !

From the deciding battle with Yoshioka to Musashi finally coming to terms with the fact that life is more than simply killing and the set up for the next issue ... dang! Kojiro vs Musashi . Let it come!
Profile Image for Kurtis Burkhardt.
6,000 reviews51 followers
August 29, 2019
Really awesome samurai manga!! Lots of awesome fights, love the story and art 😻😻⛩⚔️😁❤️❤️
Profile Image for Ostrava.
909 reviews22 followers
January 17, 2021
A "bridge" volume, connecting the two big fights of the arch. Nothing to complain about here, but it is interesting how Kojiro has finally met "Kojiro". We'll have to see what comes out of that...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Ericka  Joestar.
211 reviews4 followers
March 23, 2021
Shit is about to go down 🔥🔥🔥 Proud of how fast my man has come though. Really learned some humility from the old geezers. Bet that future fight between him and Kojiro is gonna be insane.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews

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