The Elusive Samurai, Vol. 3

逃げ上手の若君 [Nige Jōzu no Wakagimi] #3

by Yusei Matsui

In medieval Japan, eight-year-old Hojo Tokiyuki is the heir to the Kamakura shogunate. But the Hojo clan is in decline, and Tokiyuki’s peaceful days of playing hide-and-seek with his teachers come to an abrupt end when his clan is betrayed from within. The lone survivor of his family, Tokiyuki is the rightful heir to the throne, but to take it back, he’ll have to do what he does best—run away!

As the new year of 1334 begins, Yorishige is concerned about enemies closing in on Suwa territory. He needs information about their moves and motives and decides to send Tokiyuki and his growing band of retainers, the Elusive Warriors, to scout things out. Then, in an isolated village on the northern edge of the province, Tokiyuki encounters a dangerous stranger…

Genres: Manga, Comics, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Young Adult, War

200 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2021

About the author

Yūsei Matsui (松井優征 Matsui Yūsei?, born January 31, 1981 in Saitama, Japan) is a manga artist known for manga Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro. He was an assistant of Yoshio Sawai, the manga artist of Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo (Shirota Masakage made a cameo appearance in Shinsetsu Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo).

Reviews

[Rosenblue(vintage & retro manga & classic literature deserve more love on GR) · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far so good,I'm glad I continued to read this despite the strange first four to six chapters that focused too much on shock value and being as strange as possible. I'm enjoying seeing Tokiyuki Hojo going from a silly youth who skips out in training to a strong,brave and gentle warrior with a mission to restore the Hojo clan and revenge his family.

Full review soon.

I'm seeing "reviews" and comments saying this story is another typical samurai series that they can't wait to see discontinued just because they can't handle the fact that Yusei Matsui is writting a different theme/genre than his last series which is extremely hated by a lot of non Japanese just because they can't understand the historical references or because they think the story is anti-western culture or something stupid and ignorant like that. The Elusive Samurai isn't anything like what those reviews are saying at all,the historical aspects are are just a backdrop and you don't need to know that much about Japan's feudal era(and if you want then just research the era at the library or Wikipedia) and western people aren't even mentioned at all,as usual the reviews on manga and other types of graphic novels are being poorly reviewed on this website. I will review all the Elusive Samurai chapters as I re-read the tankoban editions since I've been reading the Jump digital English magazine all this time and the app doesn't tell you when you complete at volume with some of it's series.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mit Teil 3 endet der Anime :D leider - und ich find gerade bei diesem Band wird wieder klar, wie gut der Anime ist.
Die Animation ist so mega gut, die Kampfszenen sind so klasse - das ist im Manga auch toll gezeichnet, aber irgendwie fehlt hier der Impact :/

Trotzdem ist und bleibt es spannend. Es ist wieder ein toller Wechsel zwischen Brutalität und Spaß - dafür haben wir Kindersoldaten dabei, Sklavenverkauf usw :D also nichts für schwache Leutchen.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork in this was a lot less ugly than the first two volumes, so that was a plus. The violence was still there, but also not as bad.

I really liked the insight into the Big Bad via his brother's POV. That artwork that the BB shared with his brother, CHILLS.

As always, the history is on-point and the antagonist is gaining more allies to his side, as well as learning a rather interesting sword fighting style. I think there COULD have been either a lost opportunity OR a Gollum-moment in that fight. We will see.

I can't wait to see what happens in the next volume!

3, it's not quite at four stars yet, but it has my attention and anticipation, stars!

My thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media LLC for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was doing fine until I hit the last chapter in which I fell asleep during it once again! Idk something about this book series is unbelievably boring and I’m just a stuck passenger.

[Michelle Ogden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yusei Matsui follow up manga after Assassination Classroom show his range of story telling and art. The Elusive Samurai follows a young boy after his family lands have been stolen and his family murdered by a traitor. He escapes and finds a hiding place at a temple with a small group of young friends the eight year old boy builds a life. He learns and bides his time for revenge and plans to take back his land and people and punish the traitor.

Each volume has 10 pages at the end explaining historical details and the society of the time period. Important battles are broken down into strategy lessons. I loved learning about Japanese history and the art is magnificent. I can’t wait to read more!

[Rereader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an intense, bloody volume! I probably say this every volume review, but I'm genuinely amazed at how much bloodshed is shown in this series and that Matsui gets away with it. Not that I'm complaining, I like it because it shows the reality of war, just surprised. Hojo's new retainer is super cool and pretty funny, a nice edition to the squad. I loved the chapter discussing divine powers, holy shit that panel at the lake was FUCKING GORGEOUS. And, of course, our main baddy Takauji is nuttier than a fruitcake and is super fucking terrifying. So curious to see what the final showdown will be like between him and Hojo.

Really loved this volume, looking forward to more!

[Blake the Book Eater · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one! Feels like the series is coming more and more in its own. The action was great, Tokoyuki’s retainers are great and I love the sad hints of nostalgia that Yorishige provides as the mouthpiece for the author. It’s really interesting and I like it a lot!

[Ya Boi Be Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story begins to get into longer arcs. This entire volume is essentially a single arc (idk what its officially called so I call it the vs Shokan arc). Some might worry this means there is less variety in the situations you read in this volume (one of the strength of early TES) or that they're drawn out. But don't worry! Nothing is kept too long and there is a still a variety of action and set scenes.
This arc is a particularly nice one. The villain of the arc, Shokan, is a memorable character in himself. The plot points surrounding him and the arc are equally memorable as well. To cap off the volume we end on a bit of an episodic slice of life chapter that does AMAZING things with the world building and its art (albeit with weird and unneeded lightly sexual jokes).
The art continues to be incredibly detailed and varied in paneling. The fight scenes are very nice and unique. However, Matsui has a tendency to mar many fight scenes with an excessive amount of action lines. It's hard to appreciate the action when half the panel is obscured with action lines. Equally it is disappointing when detail is lost in a panel due to the excessive action lines reducing the amount of details or artistry seen in shots.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hojo Tokiyuki and his young entourage are scouting out a possible weak point in the Suwa defenses when they encounter a young man defending a village from bandits. They join in the defense after sending word that they will need assistance. They then plot how they will defeat the bandit army. The assistance arrives in the nick of time to save them from Sadamune and his army. Then Hojo has to help Yorishige restore his ability to foretell the future. These strange requests caused a bit of consternation among the Elusive Warriors, but Hojo learned a bit more about how the world worked. A satisfying read.

Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read this volume.

[Marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed it, and the historical notes in the back are interesting. But the way the author keeps putting the 9 year old main character in sexual situations is just weird. The other 9 year olds thought he was into bdsm bc he had rope, collected food known for being aphrodisiacs, and made a life size shrine maiden doll. The author intended it to be funny but it’s just weird and doesn’t make sense bc they’re all 9. If they were at least 17 year olds it would make sense since that age group would tease a friend for sexual stuff and might have a vague idea of bdsm.

[Fidia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memarik. Ada sedikit perbandingan antara manusia era modern dan masa lalu. Semakin kuat pembangunannya, semakin kita kehilangan hal² istimewa yang dulu diresapi dalam dalam semacam "hal tak kasat mata" termasuk spiritualitas dan kepekaan istimewa yang telah ditumpulkan dengan berbagai teknologi.

Bahasannya menembus ruang dan waktu yaa (untuk tokoh di era tahun 1300-an berpikir demikian)

Shizuku tolong gemass sekali 🥲

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yusei Matsui delivers another solid volume with things happening and everything being rendered beautifully. I feel like the way the story is unfolding this series could have long legs and could go for an extended amount of time. There is a lot of action and violence in this volume so while dialogue is strong…some pages will fly by. This is another solid volume and I am “almost” officially onboard for however long the series goes!

[Raechel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hojo and his friends follow up on possible enemies encroaching on Suwa land. They learn new tactics while supporting the small village. I'm finding it interesting to read this historical fiction plot being sprinkled with fantasy.

[elif sinem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fubuki really made it for me in this arc, thats the guy I was waiting for!!!

[taylor clonce · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Sheepy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Getting better and better each volume, I'm actually intrueged to what will come up up in the next volume!

[Mylove4book · Rating 5 out of 5]

原來描述這個時代的漫畫很少, 是因為武士盔甲很難畫嗎XD 而且現在居然可以用3D建模來輔助了, 科技在漫畫產業中也進步了這麼多啊~
作者後記有很多超有趣歷史小知識, 字蠻多的, 還好用Elipsa看很舒適~

[Andrés · Rating 4 out of 5]

A micro redemption arc in the works, interesting. The art is still great!

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5