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Kaze Hikaru #1
Kaze Hikaru, Vol. 1
In the year 1863, a time fraught with violent social upheaval, samurai of all walks of life flock to Kyoto in the hope of joining the Mibu-Roshi—a band of warriors united around their undying loyalty to the Shogunate system. In time, this group would become one of the greatest (and most famous) movements in Japanese history...the Shinsengumi!
Into this fierce milieu steps Kamiya Seizaburo, a young would-be warrior who, though lacking in combat experience, possesses a fiery enthusiasm to both aid the Mibu-Roshi in their mission and to avenge his wrongfully murdered family. One of the Mibu-Roshi's most gifted (and immature) swordsmen, the legendary Okita Soji, agrees to take Seizaburo under his wing. What no one suspects, least of all Soji, is that Seizaburo is actually a girl named Tominaga Sei in disguise!
Into this fierce milieu steps Kamiya Seizaburo, a young would-be warrior who, though lacking in combat experience, possesses a fiery enthusiasm to both aid the Mibu-Roshi in their mission and to avenge his wrongfully murdered family. One of the Mibu-Roshi's most gifted (and immature) swordsmen, the legendary Okita Soji, agrees to take Seizaburo under his wing. What no one suspects, least of all Soji, is that Seizaburo is actually a girl named Tominaga Sei in disguise!
200 pages, Paperback
First published October 25, 1997
19 people are currently reading
862 people want to read
About the author
Taeko Watanabe
128 books67 followersName (in native language) : 渡辺多恵子
Zodiac : Virgo
Blood type :AB
Her works consist mainly of shōjo manga and is best known for Kaze Hikaru. She has twice received the Shogakukan Manga Award, in 1991 for Hajime-chan ga Ichiban! and in 2003 for Kaze Hikaru.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
January 7, 2009
My five-star appreciation here runs for the whole series and not limited to one single volume only.
Plus points? Stable pacing, witty characterizations (even for a minor characters like Harada, Nagakura and even Itou), very realistic details for background and atmosphere, deep and touching elaborations of historical events and of course your heart-warming shoujo beat. One more thing to be praised is Watanabe-sensei's quirky genius with aphorism, including the often referred "grass that tells the wind of its existence."
My crit is that in Watanabe-sensei's universe, there's no "bad guy." Even though they are characters waltzing around doing bad things, they're portrayed as just people from opposite faction with different values in mind. That, I admit, sometimes put my logic off since it's Shinsengumi, or rather, Bakumatsu era we're talking about, and we know what it was like in reality.
To wrap it all up, Kaze Hikaru is one of the best, if not the best itself, fictionalized accounts of Shinsengumi with well kept shoujo touch. Definitely high on my list.
Plus points? Stable pacing, witty characterizations (even for a minor characters like Harada, Nagakura and even Itou), very realistic details for background and atmosphere, deep and touching elaborations of historical events and of course your heart-warming shoujo beat. One more thing to be praised is Watanabe-sensei's quirky genius with aphorism, including the often referred "grass that tells the wind of its existence."
My crit is that in Watanabe-sensei's universe, there's no "bad guy." Even though they are characters waltzing around doing bad things, they're portrayed as just people from opposite faction with different values in mind. That, I admit, sometimes put my logic off since it's Shinsengumi, or rather, Bakumatsu era we're talking about, and we know what it was like in reality.
To wrap it all up, Kaze Hikaru is one of the best, if not the best itself, fictionalized accounts of Shinsengumi with well kept shoujo touch. Definitely high on my list.
September 1, 2012
This is an odd blend as a story, but it mostly works. As historical fiction, I feel like I'm almost understanding what is going on at this pivotal point in Japanese history, but I think that reading more about the period and the advent of the shinsengumi would help. It is a point in favor of this series that it makes me want to read more, but it is a point against it that I feel a NEED to read more, in order to follow the context of the story. In this initial volume, anyway, the context just isn't fleshed out quite enough.
The story is a familiar one...a young woman disguises herself as a young man in order to achieve her goals. In this case her goal is to avenge the death of her father and elder brother, but her path is a complicated one. Having learned the way of the sword from her family, she joins a semi-official police force which is in support of the shogun's faction in the political struggles of the mid-19th century. She believes that the other faction was responsible for the deaths of her father and brother.
Her disguise and the reality of her situation gradually complicate things, and the story becomes very interesting. One of the side plots may offend some, in that there is a gay man who is out to seduce the supposedly pretty boy, and his form of seduction is far from subtle, or even ethical by our standards.
In any case, I plan to read more, but not until I can read up on the history side of the story.
The story is a familiar one...a young woman disguises herself as a young man in order to achieve her goals. In this case her goal is to avenge the death of her father and elder brother, but her path is a complicated one. Having learned the way of the sword from her family, she joins a semi-official police force which is in support of the shogun's faction in the political struggles of the mid-19th century. She believes that the other faction was responsible for the deaths of her father and brother.
Her disguise and the reality of her situation gradually complicate things, and the story becomes very interesting. One of the side plots may offend some, in that there is a gay man who is out to seduce the supposedly pretty boy, and his form of seduction is far from subtle, or even ethical by our standards.
In any case, I plan to read more, but not until I can read up on the history side of the story.
Read
March 17, 2024This just wasn't for me.
I really love our female lead and seeing her determination to avenge her family as well as how strong-willed she is, but I could not seem to get into this otherwise. There was only one other side character I really liked (Okita was okay) but unfortunately could not remember his name and felt he barely was on page as it is.
I tried volume two in hopes of getting hooked on this series because a very precious friend sent me a few volumes, but I just don't have the quipped interest to want to keep going even after trying volume two. It is a VERY detailed historical read, which is awesome if you're into rich stories such as that and want (what seems) a story that brings the Shinsengumi to life, but I found the historical aspect to be overwhelming for me personally.
Despite that I didn't feel this story was a good fit for me like I had hoped it would be, it is one I would still recommend (as I've heard the story gets more engaging as it goes on) to those who like what I mentioned previously!
I really love our female lead and seeing her determination to avenge her family as well as how strong-willed she is, but I could not seem to get into this otherwise. There was only one other side character I really liked (Okita was okay) but unfortunately could not remember his name and felt he barely was on page as it is.
I tried volume two in hopes of getting hooked on this series because a very precious friend sent me a few volumes, but I just don't have the quipped interest to want to keep going even after trying volume two. It is a VERY detailed historical read, which is awesome if you're into rich stories such as that and want (what seems) a story that brings the Shinsengumi to life, but I found the historical aspect to be overwhelming for me personally.
Despite that I didn't feel this story was a good fit for me like I had hoped it would be, it is one I would still recommend (as I've heard the story gets more engaging as it goes on) to those who like what I mentioned previously!
October 4, 2023
Parental advisory:bloody scenes,suggestive scenes and attempted sexual assault
This is not a Shojo Beat manga for young children but a more mature audience.
If your interested in samurai history revolving around the Shinsengumi this is the story for you because it's certainly for me,
I love historical fiction especially ones about the Edo/late Bakumatsu era.
Kaze Hikaru is set in the late Bakumatsu period(refers to the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended 1853 - 1868),the story follows Tominaga Sei who disguises herself as male named Kamiya Seizaburo and joins the Mibu-Roshi (Special Police; later known as the Shinsengumi) and befriends her subordinate,Okita Sōji,who later discovers her secret.
Her primary goal is to seek revenge against the Chōshū clan (also known as the Hagi Domain,a domain (han) of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871 the rulers of Chōshū were the descendants of the great Sengoku warlord Mōri Motonari a prominent daimyō (feudal lord) in the western Chūgoku region of Japan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century),who are responsible for the murder of her brother and father.
The first volume shows Sei working her way into the Shinsengumi and eventually being able to join.
The readers are met with characters base on REAL historical figures such as Saito Hajime,Hijikata Toshizo,Heisuke Toudou and Isami Kondou.
I really enjoyed these sections of the story.
The comedy bits were hilarious for the most part.
I wish we got to see more of Sei's training sessions and I wish it took longer for Okita to learn Sei was a girl.
This story was advertised for people who enjoy Samurai X but it's more similar to Hakuoki but not by much.
In Hakuoki Yukimura was looking for her missing father rather than getting revenge for him and Sei fights when Yukimura was just a page boy (narrator for the most part in the games)
Kaze Hikaru volume 1 was surprisingly
interesting for a Shojo Beat manga and wasn't as bad it could have been.
I'm worried about the rest of the volumes turning the story into a annoying badly written romance and making Sei more annoying than she already is.
I think Sei does need some growing up to do but I'm glad she has a role other than being a love interest for Okita.
I liked the illustrations and character designs.
The art reminds me of traditional Japanese ink paintings.
There was one scene I really hated.
The end of chapter 4 Sei almost raped by a drunk samurai who takes a interest in Sei's feminine face.
He has been obsessively trying to get her to has sex with him because she looks like a feminine boy which is really disturbing especially since this is a manga promoted towards young teenagers.
This scene of course was shown as a joke and it wasn't funny.
The scene was very crude and unnecessary.
Read:
October 4th,2018
Shojo Beat tankoban edition.
This is not a Shojo Beat manga for young children but a more mature audience.
If your interested in samurai history revolving around the Shinsengumi this is the story for you because it's certainly for me,
I love historical fiction especially ones about the Edo/late Bakumatsu era.
Kaze Hikaru is set in the late Bakumatsu period(refers to the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended 1853 - 1868),the story follows Tominaga Sei who disguises herself as male named Kamiya Seizaburo and joins the Mibu-Roshi (Special Police; later known as the Shinsengumi) and befriends her subordinate,Okita Sōji,who later discovers her secret.
Her primary goal is to seek revenge against the Chōshū clan (also known as the Hagi Domain,a domain (han) of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871 the rulers of Chōshū were the descendants of the great Sengoku warlord Mōri Motonari a prominent daimyō (feudal lord) in the western Chūgoku region of Japan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century),who are responsible for the murder of her brother and father.
The first volume shows Sei working her way into the Shinsengumi and eventually being able to join.
The readers are met with characters base on REAL historical figures such as Saito Hajime,Hijikata Toshizo,Heisuke Toudou and Isami Kondou.
I really enjoyed these sections of the story.
The comedy bits were hilarious for the most part.
I wish we got to see more of Sei's training sessions and I wish it took longer for Okita to learn Sei was a girl.
This story was advertised for people who enjoy Samurai X but it's more similar to Hakuoki but not by much.
In Hakuoki Yukimura was looking for her missing father rather than getting revenge for him and Sei fights when Yukimura was just a page boy (narrator for the most part in the games)
Kaze Hikaru volume 1 was surprisingly
interesting for a Shojo Beat manga and wasn't as bad it could have been.
I'm worried about the rest of the volumes turning the story into a annoying badly written romance and making Sei more annoying than she already is.
I think Sei does need some growing up to do but I'm glad she has a role other than being a love interest for Okita.
I liked the illustrations and character designs.
The art reminds me of traditional Japanese ink paintings.
There was one scene I really hated.
The end of chapter 4 Sei almost raped by a drunk samurai who takes a interest in Sei's feminine face.
He has been obsessively trying to get her to has sex with him because she looks like a feminine boy which is really disturbing especially since this is a manga promoted towards young teenagers.
This scene of course was shown as a joke and it wasn't funny.
The scene was very crude and unnecessary.
Read:
October 4th,2018
Shojo Beat tankoban edition.
June 2, 2024
As much as the history of the Shinsengumi is interesting, I couldn’t get into this manga. The FL is the annoying type that is impulsive and speaks and acts rashly, putting her foot in her mouth and needing to be rescued. She’s not brave, nor does she take the time to think and consider the people around her. It’s all surface level judgments with her. When her father and brother were killed, if she had just stayed prudently out of the way, her brother may not have been distracted in his fight. She’s THAT girl.
It’s hard to like any of the characters so far, since so far they’re just a bunch of randy drunks. We have a sudden case of a new guy trying to assault her with the help of his friend - that was weird because the friend seemed like an ok guy, but here he is helping him kidnap and assault a fellow group member (they think she’s a man). The friend defends him by saying he’s a nice guy, but just focused on *that*. Uh, sorry, that’s not a nice guy.
I have some hopes for Saito, but after seeing how many volumes there are, I’m giving up because I can’t tolerate Sei that long. Maybe someday when I’m bored.
It’s hard to like any of the characters so far, since so far they’re just a bunch of randy drunks. We have a sudden case of a new guy trying to assault her with the help of his friend - that was weird because the friend seemed like an ok guy, but here he is helping him kidnap and assault a fellow group member (they think she’s a man). The friend defends him by saying he’s a nice guy, but just focused on *that*. Uh, sorry, that’s not a nice guy.
I have some hopes for Saito, but after seeing how many volumes there are, I’m giving up because I can’t tolerate Sei that long. Maybe someday when I’m bored.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 16, 2011
Kamiya Sei(zaburo), a girl masquerading as a man so she can join the Shinsengumi and avenge the murder of her family, has a lot of problems. In this volume, the major one is both being accepted into the Shinsengumi (here called the Mibu-ro, since they had not received their official name yet) in the first place, and her gender being discovered by her captain, Okita Soji.
One of the great things about this series is the author's attention to historically accurate details. She goes into some depth at the end of each volume to descibe pieces of Shinsengumi history.
One of the great things about this series is the author's attention to historically accurate details. She goes into some depth at the end of each volume to descibe pieces of Shinsengumi history.
September 3, 2016
I liked this manga. Though at times it was a bit too slow. At the end it got really good though.
November 11, 2017
This was at the tail end of my manga reading days and I remember being pretty obsessed with it. I still have not finished the series completely.
January 19, 2023
A good setup overall. Great artwork and interesting historical era that was fairly informative. I just didn’t get along with the humour very much, which is generally always my problem with manga.
August 12, 2011
I've only read up to 10 volumes of this series so far, and I've got to say that I am pretty much obsessed with this series now... in a good way, of course.
When I first read this manga, I had a bit of trouble getting used to the manga style, which is different from the usual Arina Tanemura-sparklyness I'm used to. Over time, I got used to it and now I love Taeko Watanabe's original style of drawing and gorgeous detail (I'm a terrible sucker for details).
This manga is a very good read, in my opinion. The endless humour from all of the Shinsengumi guys and Sei almost kills me with laughter, and Saito's secret crush on Sei is truly hysterical to see (or read), coming from such a serious guy. It also teaches a respectable amount of Japanese history without being confusing (in my case, seeing as I know some Japanese history already). I find it a shame that such a good read isn't so popular in English-speaking countries. Overall, I find that the characters are very original and funny, and at times serious. (Just gotta love Souji and his treats and everything [heh].)
When I first read this manga, I had a bit of trouble getting used to the manga style, which is different from the usual Arina Tanemura-sparklyness I'm used to. Over time, I got used to it and now I love Taeko Watanabe's original style of drawing and gorgeous detail (I'm a terrible sucker for details).
This manga is a very good read, in my opinion. The endless humour from all of the Shinsengumi guys and Sei almost kills me with laughter, and Saito's secret crush on Sei is truly hysterical to see (or read), coming from such a serious guy. It also teaches a respectable amount of Japanese history without being confusing (in my case, seeing as I know some Japanese history already). I find it a shame that such a good read isn't so popular in English-speaking countries. Overall, I find that the characters are very original and funny, and at times serious. (Just gotta love Souji and his treats and everything [heh].)
September 20, 2015
Kaze Hikaru tells the story of a girl who dresses up as a boy so that she can become a samurai to avenge her family in the 1800's. I love stories with protagonists dressing up as the opposite gender and I had an interest in Japanese history, so I thought this would be a great manga choice.
This volume is both dense and lacking in depth at the same time. The historical stuff that's happening is very dense. It references politics and lacks translations for a lot of words (romanjized but not translated), which lends itself to confusion. Add to that the drunken and goofy state the other samurais are often in, and I found myself pretty confused about who was who and what was happening. This might be more interesting if you have a background in Japanese history, but I went in knowing just the basics and felt a bit lost. The writing style didn't draw me in enough and I never read farther into the series.
This is definitely for older YA readers - there's an attempted rape in one scene.
This volume is both dense and lacking in depth at the same time. The historical stuff that's happening is very dense. It references politics and lacks translations for a lot of words (romanjized but not translated), which lends itself to confusion. Add to that the drunken and goofy state the other samurais are often in, and I found myself pretty confused about who was who and what was happening. This might be more interesting if you have a background in Japanese history, but I went in knowing just the basics and felt a bit lost. The writing style didn't draw me in enough and I never read farther into the series.
This is definitely for older YA readers - there's an attempted rape in one scene.
April 4, 2023
More of a 3.5 but giving a slightly higher rating because I have a feeling it’ll get better as time goes on. I like the protagonist - the side characters are typical but some still have a nice charm to them. Having watched gintama it’s funny seeing the shinsengumi names used so often but the mangaka creates unique characters here so it feels different and I can immediately separate her characters from those in other media that use the same names
Also - it is quite a confusing first volume with lots of challenging translation/cultural references that are explained fairly well at the end of the book (probably should have been included at the beginning) - I can imagine this being even more confusing with someone with zero knowledge of Japan in this era
Finally, the whole issue with age and harassment is apparent and here - still ends on happy notes but everyone is so borderline gross besides the main characters it’s a bit off putting - even if the protagonist and author are clearly opposed to it.
Still looking forward to see what such a long series has to offer.
Also - it is quite a confusing first volume with lots of challenging translation/cultural references that are explained fairly well at the end of the book (probably should have been included at the beginning) - I can imagine this being even more confusing with someone with zero knowledge of Japan in this era
Finally, the whole issue with age and harassment is apparent and here - still ends on happy notes but everyone is so borderline gross besides the main characters it’s a bit off putting - even if the protagonist and author are clearly opposed to it.
Still looking forward to see what such a long series has to offer.
June 25, 2020
Might be my favorite manga series. It's historical fiction and Watanabe puts so much research into the series! It makes the experience immersive and I love the character development, although it is definitely a slow burn romance. I like that it takes a different route than most shoujo manga and stays very close to social expectations of the time, rather than just being silly. There's something for everyone, but critique of the story is fair. The MC is more passive than I would like, but it is still a fun read.
March 1, 2011
I found Kaaze Hikaru 1 about a year ago, and have been obsessed with the series ever since first off, its hilarious, seccond theres just enough romance, and third, its just plain good. I have written a few stories for it on fanfiction.net (SeiSojiFan421), but bottom line I would reccomend it a to all manga fans.
December 30, 2016
Sometimes the plot was a little hard to follow, but at the end it was still easy to see the general line of the story. The characters are very dynamic and unique and some are even relate-able. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoyed Mulan. It feels like a grittier and more realistic version. Can't wait to read the rest.
August 16, 2012
Interesting premise: girl disguises herself as a boy in hopes of learning to be a swordsman so she can avenge the death of her father. Sadly, the narrative flow is choppy and has way too much sexual innuendo.
December 9, 2016
I absolutely love the premises of this series and the characters are funny and well rounded. Only thing is sometimes it's hard to follow the thoughts of the characters. A little crude but so lightheartedly so.
January 31, 2018
I really enjoyed this. In part I think that is because my first anime love was Ruroni Kenshin which is set at the same time. However this story is told from the other side. It os neat though that some of the characters overlap. Looking forward to reading more.
July 14, 2025
To be honest, the most I know about the Shinsengumi is from Hakuoki 😅 unfortunately that does give me a big heads up on the fate of some of these characters if this manga chooses to be strict with its historical accuracy. If that’s the case, I will once again be crying over Okita 😭
January 23, 2011
I feel like I should like this--I do like the art--but the story is a bit of hot mess and the whole everybody-wants-to-have-sex-with-Sei thing gets old fast.
Did Not Finish
March 27, 2011Couldn't finish. The characters and history of this time period are interesting, but the characterization here was just silly. I've seen it done better.
December 25, 2012
Interesting to see a shojo manga treatment of a very tumultuous and bloody period in Japanese history.
September 12, 2013
Loved this book, loved the series!!! It delves into the history of Japanese culture.
November 17, 2016
Loving it!
March 16, 2018
This manga was alright, but I didn't think it was anything special so probably won't be reading the rest of the series.
February 29, 2020
A very good nostalgia read~ I'm starting to collect all the volumes! So its gonna be a huge part of 2020~☆
September 7, 2021
Been wanting to try this long running and still currently publishing series for awhile. Not sure if I'm gonna like such a strongly historical setting, but for now, I'm intrigued.
Read
January 3, 2024det første volumet var litt kaotisk, og er noen deler av historien liker jeg ikke så godt, men tror den kan bli mye bedre etter noen flere volum🙌
August 1, 2022
This series holds a lot of nostalgia for me as it's one of the first manga series that I read when I was a teen. Overall I really enjoy this series, it's has beautiful art and an engaging story, but I do feel at times, some things are a little bit hard to follow.
Since this is a historical setting, there's a lot of references to real life events and people that I unfortunately have very little knowledge of and, for me, was sometimes a little bit of an information overload. I did find myself having to go back and read bits to remember what things were or to understand them better.
That being said it doesn't stop me from enjoying the overall story. I love the range of characters in this series and I'm excited to progress through the story since I only read as far at what was serialized in Shojo Beat Magazine. I appreciate that this is more of a slow burn romance and not the typical love at first sight that happens in Shojo manga so I'm excited to see how the relationships develop.
Since this is a historical setting, there's a lot of references to real life events and people that I unfortunately have very little knowledge of and, for me, was sometimes a little bit of an information overload. I did find myself having to go back and read bits to remember what things were or to understand them better.
That being said it doesn't stop me from enjoying the overall story. I love the range of characters in this series and I'm excited to progress through the story since I only read as far at what was serialized in Shojo Beat Magazine. I appreciate that this is more of a slow burn romance and not the typical love at first sight that happens in Shojo manga so I'm excited to see how the relationships develop.
August 4, 2025
The story was so captivating that I finished it in one go. I absolutely adore the main characters. What draws me to this manga was the fact that it’s an action shojo and the fact that it didn’t shy away from having the female lead’s hair to be somewhat shaved. I also love the art style. It has the old school gag manga feel to it.
Though, as the other comments mentioned, there is an attempted SA scene around the end, so feel free to skip from p. 178 onwards. I also saw another post that said there is innuendos in the book, which I would like to say is completely untrue. The only somewhat inappropriate is the one I mentioned above. Other than that, I would highly recommend shojo and shonen fans to at least try this book out once, because I personally think that it is amazing.
Though, as the other comments mentioned, there is an attempted SA scene around the end, so feel free to skip from p. 178 onwards. I also saw another post that said there is innuendos in the book, which I would like to say is completely untrue. The only somewhat inappropriate is the one I mentioned above. Other than that, I would highly recommend shojo and shonen fans to at least try this book out once, because I personally think that it is amazing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews