The Elusive Samurai, Vol. 1

逃げ上手の若君 [Nige Jōzu no Wakagimi] #1

by Yusei Matsui

O ano é 1333, Japão. Tokiyuki Hojo, garoto que deveria viver como herdeiro do Xogunato Kamakura, perde tudo em uma revolta repentina: sua terra natal e sua família. Mas ele tinha um talento insuperável: sobreviver. Convidado por Yorishige Suwa, sacerdote xintoísta de Shinano, Tokiyuki foge para começar a trilhar o caminho do herói!

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

200 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 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

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's been a while since I've wanted to mark a book DNF...😅😅😅

Now let me clarify what I mean though!

This book was a great historical read, but it was surprisingly a lot bloodier/graphic then I expected and was not able to handle it. I definitely think that this story is accurate in the reflection of war and such due to the time period, but I didn't realize how much of the violence would be shown on page. (I also think it was a little bit harder for me to stomach because the hero is younger.)

One of the coolest parts of this manga though was the quite lengthy section at the end talking about the history behind parts/elements of the story! That was super interesting and appreciated that being included!

While I did finish this story by skimming, I think the characters are really great and especially liked Suwa just because he's hilarious! He's the kind of character that you are pretty 99.9% sure is a good guy, but he does things that are questionable that make you pause. LOL! Plus our "Elusive Samurai" is a unique hero to follow!

So overall, I think this was a good story, but was not meant for me in how bloody the violence was portrayed. I think someone who doesn't mind that and LOVES real history within a fictional story would enjoy this!

*(I received a digital e-copy from the publisher. All thoughts expressed are my own.)*

[Diz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it interesting in that it highlights a period of Japanese history that I'm not well acquainted with. Throughout the book there are historical pointers that are shared, so that is helpful for understanding the story. However, the characters are a bit flat.

[Lina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the premise. The execution, not so much.
I don't think I'll keep on reading :/

[Jade Ratley · Rating 3 out of 5]

5.71 on CAWPILE

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tend to read more shojo rather than shonen manga, so this was slightly out of my usual reading zone. I am glad that I read it. Maybe I needed more action and adventure in my reading, because this really hit the spot for me!

One reviewer mentioned that it was more violent than they expected and I am glad that I had that warning, as I was prepared, so it didn't seem that bad. Also, the violence, while horrible, fit the storyline, it wasn't violence for violence's sake. It had a purpose, even if it wasn't a pleasant or happy one.

Warning: beheadings, including of a child/sibling. It was incredibly horrible and sad.

I feel for the poor MC H going through everything that has happened and so want a HEA for him, well, as happy as he can have after having his entire family and followers slaughtered. 4, I want to read the next volumes to find out what happens and he BETTER have a HEA, 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]

Keep me in your thoughts as I try to finish this series. I fell asleep during the middle of this (there’s only 7 chapters). I did make myself finish it through the sleepiness. I can’t tell if I like the art style or not. I’m leaning towards not purely bc the close ups of the adults FREAK ME THE F OUT. Also, can we call the cops on some of these adults?? They’re like super freaking weird with the children. I’m pointing at you mysterious priest who wanted to kiss a sleeping child who you just met on the cheek. I just gotta keep in mind that there are not that many volumes and I can finish it.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ehrlich gesagt, ich hätte den Manga vermutlich nicht angefangen, wenn ich nicht diesen unfassbar guten Anime angefangen hätte.
Das Cover ist für mich nämlich nicht sonderlich ansprechend und der Klappentext war auch irgendwie nichtssagend :/ daher hab ich den Manga damals ignoriert.

ABER... der Anime hat mich so sehr eigenommen, weil er wirklich WIRKLICH super animiert ist, das ich mir mal Band 1 geholt hab und yep... es ist fast genauso gut wie der Anime.

Die Story ist ziemlich brutal (was mich nicht wundert, immerhin geht es hier um japanische Geschichte :D und mich wundert es, das soviele den Manga nur deswegen so schlecht bewerten...). Vorallem weil sie eben ... sehr realistisch ist - hier werden kleine Kinder geköpft und verprügelt, solche Sachen eben. Die Moral von heute wird hier eben nicht benutzt, und das gefällt mir, so unangenehm das ist. (Rache üben ist super! :D)

Gleichzeitig ist der Manga auch so mega witzig - die Wechsel zwischen Comedy und plötzlicher Brutalität sind wirklich krass. Mir gefällt es so gut, weil der Impact von den Szenen dann umso schlimmer sind. Für Leute, die historisches und Zeug wie Intrigen usw. mögen, dem wird das hier gefallen. Vorallem der Trope "Frühere Freunde, spätere Feinde".
Man sollte sich nicht von dem spüßen Cover täuschen lassen (so wie ich), die Story ist im Grund ziemlich grausam. Und wenn sich der Manga an der realen Geschichte orientiert, dann wird das alles auch nicht gut enden :D das ist schonmal klar.

Was ich auch noch gut fand, am Ende des Mangas sind einige Texte zum historischen Kontext - wie akkurat die vom Mangaka recherchiert sind weiß ich nicht, aber ich find es ne gute Idee, passt sehr gut zum Manga.

Und wirklich, der Anime ist sehr zu empfehlen.

[Celia Burn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent art, but the storyline hasn't broadened to much more than the young lord is boringly good at evading people and situations (and not even in a humorous manner) while the rest of the story is tediously commonplace. Bonus star for the history notes which were a great addition to the shonen jump manga.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

DNF
The cover is too cute for the content of the story itself. Not sure if I'll pick it up again. I do think it's a great representation of the Japan at the time and for that I'll give it 5 stars, I also like the style and the story seems to be well told. It just doesn't fit me.

[Alex Richey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is by the same author of Assassination Classroom, and you can tell by the amazing and exaggerated facial expressions and silliness mixed with seriousness.

I don't think this story is bad, it's just not for me. It's a little too dense and a little too violent for me.

[Mylove4book · Rating 5 out of 5]

意外的超級好看欸?! 暗殺教室只看過一點點點所以這算是我第一次認真看松井優征的作品吧.
很適合在看過鎌倉殿的13人後來看...北条家覆滅真是令人感慨...還有好多鎌倉殿的13人也有出現的家族, 像是安達家. 我對日本史模糊的印象中, 鎌倉幕府滅了以後好像就是室町幕府了? 不知道這部關於北条時行的部分到底是怎麼回事...就不估狗以免不小心被劇透啦~~希望東立電子版可以出快一點, 紙本都10了~~

[Maxime S. Sonnet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Titel und Klappentext klangen spannender als es war. Ganz angenehm zu lesen aber die 'quirky'-Mentor-Figur ist einfach nur cringe und nervig.

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

pffffffff non

[Azriel :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

You'll have to pry this series (and show) from my cold dead hands

[Cell · Rating 3 out of 5]

讀英文版好痛苦，卷末的解說部份直接放棄

--
主角時行在我讀的日本史只出現一次，寫法還是被當作背景

（足利尊氏）1335年，乘北條高時之子時行叛亂占領鎌倉之際，領軍進逼關東，公然反叛新政權。旋即占領京都。

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Based Loosely (with a capital L) on historical record, The Elusive Samurai is a shonen manga spin on ye olde Japan that carries all the negative connotations of the medium with precious few of the positives. Born to be a puppet leader, Hojo Tokiyuki spends his time running from lessons than developing an interest in self-improvement, until a sudden betrayal leaves his family in embers, and he works to take revenge. It’s yet another battle Shonen, but at least this one places an emphasis on speed and evasion over endless KLANGs and KASHINGs, granting some level of coordination to the action as each character figures out how to use Tokiyuki’s speed to help them win the fight.

Things go wrong pretty quickly here with one of the more baffling opening Chapters I can remember reading in a Viz volume. It’s never clear whether your manga series will last long enough to deliver the story you want, but Elusive Samurai wears this lack-of-confidence on its sleeve, as it tears through valuable history, character growth and revelations at a matter of knots, reducing the inciting incident of the entire series to a montage that comes out of nowhere. Also out of nowhere? Gore. Surprisingly visceral gore, too! Be nice if that felt at all congruous with the wacky cartoon style the rest of the book goes for.

It’s clear from the violence, sprawling clan politics, and embedded history that Matsui wants his story to feel different than other jump comics, but there are barely any pains taken to earn it. Once you do heave past the opening chapter, a certain groove begins to settle in, and you can appreciate the artistic merits afforded by the rich setting, as well as Matsui’s surprisingly striking panel layout - a rarity in manga, I find. But what else do you find? The same juvenile random sexual humour in all these series? The same insincere character writing that reduces all the background cast to indiscriminate shrieking? Bonus points for the historical information provided at the back, but outside of flashes of interest, this has all the makings of something disappointingly rote.

[MajesticalLion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a bit reserved on The Elusive Samurai up until now, but today's chapter teased the beginning of the first big arc, and I'm loving their ideas. If this arc lasts the next 2 or so volumes, I'll be very happy. I needed to see progression towards a goal. That's what it was missing for most of this volume. And chapter 7 gave that to me. I'm excited for volume 2!

[Blake the Book Eater · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty good! It’s interesting reading a historical manga and it definitely adds a weight to everything happening. I’m definitely invested in the tale of revenge!

[kuristina- tabreez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I can remember, I’ve been quite fond of feudal era Japan stories, be it in history articles and pages or in media itself. This one, however, is fairly unusual in some ways. The way in which it structures itself, the peculiarities of it, don’t strike any bells when I try to recall anything similar with the same theme. The mangaka uses underused names, locales, and events at all points possible. Furthermore, there is another of The Elusive Samurai’s major qualities; the unique palate of cast.
In this series, we possess a man who houses the divinity of a god within his body as his own, an elusive and aloof shrine maiden, a rather large shrine maiden, a budding bushi general, and a protagonist who excels in escapism. In addition to such an interesting primary cast, our villains do remind me of Rurouni Kenshin and how that manga also followed a similar format. Every major villain (essentially the “boss” and “mini bosses”) had extremely unique traits and abilities as well as fairly odd and very unique physical attributes and mannerisms. The same can be said for both Rurouni Kenshin villains as well as The Elusive Samurai villains. It’s nice to see this sort of format in place yet again, as well as so many unusual designs and name drops. This story is supposed to take heavy inspiration from true events in Japanese history, but I wonder just how much the ending might differ.

I also appreciate how the mangaka compiled what was essentially an annotated bibliography at the back of this tankobon. It was informative, considering he used a lot of typically underused names and places in media when working with Japanese history, but it was also sort of comical to me to see how even a Japanese citizen struggles to find full history or accounts of Japanese history. This tells me that back in school, when I studied the heck out of Japanese history, all of my roadblocks were not entirely to be blamed on the West receiving only limited information, but rather perhaps the Japanese were bad at keeping written accounts of events, or perhaps rather bad at preserving said accounts. Either way, it’s sad that so much Japanese history is simply unknown to the majority of the world’s population, especially when it seems to be richly steeped in the culture that permeates their highly advanced life and routine to this day.

[Enairolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

J’avais très envie de découvrir cette nouvelle série de Yusei Matsui. J’étais très curieuse et je dois bien avouer que la couverture m’a donné encore plus envie de le découvrir. Bien qu’on ne juge pas un livre à sa couverture, une jolie couverture donne tout de même plus envie de plonger dedans. Je me suis donc jetée sur le premier tome et malheureusement je n’en ressort pas entièrement convaincu comme je l’espérais. Mais bon c’est comme ça on ne peut pas toujours tout adorer. Parfois il y a des loupés et ici c’est le cas. Je n’ai pas non plus détesté, disons que je n’ai pas entièrement été convaincu.

Dans ce premier tome, on va suivre le personnage de Hôjô. Ce jeune garçon dont le destin était d’hériter du shogunat, perd tout, sa famille, sa ville natale, les partisans de son clan.. C’est le dernier survivant de sa lignée et devient désormais le fugitif le plus recherché de la région. Mais heureusement Hôjô a un don particulier pour survivre: la fuite.

Je ne sais pas trop par quoi commencer ni trop quoi dire d’ailleurs. L’histoire a clairement du potentiel, l’univers est bien fourni, riche et intéressant à découvrir. Les personnages également, on en découvre pas mal dans ce premier tome. Ce qui m’a le plus dérangé, on va dire ça comme ça, c’est que j’ai trouvé ce premier tome un peu fouillis. Fouillis dans le sens où j’ai eu l’impression qu’il se passait tellement de choses qu’on a très peu de temps de répit en réalité. On a beaucoup de choses à prendre en compte, à assimiler etc. Et c’est ça que j’ai trouvé dommage. J’aurais aimé que ça prenne un peu moins de temps mais qu’on ai plus de temps pour mieux tout comprendre.

Je vais quand même lire le second tome parce que je ne m’arrête jamais au premier tome. On va dire que je vais lui laisser une seconde chance. J’espère que la suite sera meilleure que ce premier tome. Il y a tout de même du bon dans cette histoire, je ne suis pas en train de dire que c’est complètement nul, c’est faux. Je vais directement me plongé dans la suite juste après avoir écrit cette chronique, en espérant que j’apprécie plus cette suite!

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

The year is 1333.

In medieval Japan, young Hojo Tokiyuki is the heir to the Kamakura shogunate. All seems peaceful and secure in the lands. The great warrior, Takauji, protects the empire and watches over Tokiyuki—who much prefers to run off and play rather than study with his royal teachers or practice archery.

Everything changes though when Takauji betrays the shogun.

Tokiyuki loses his father, half-brother, and loyal retainers almost overnight. He is the lone survivor of this coup and massacre.

With no other options, Tokiyuki is forced to flee his home.

Luckily, he had the aid of Suwa Yorishige—an ally of the Hojo clan and a powerful lord based out in the Suwa shrine. Essentially a god on earth, Suwa is blessed with divine sight and can see Tokiyuki reclaiming the throne.

With the help of Suwa and a new set of young retainers, will Tokiyuki be able to win this new, deadly game of hide-and-seek and avenge his family’s demise?

So, this is a rather fun and interesting story that is set in an engaging and dynamic time and populated with such a unique cast of characters that, unfortunately, suffers from some poor storytelling choices.

I don’t understand why the story is formatted the way it is—with these odd and unnecessary interruptions from the divine priest that add nothing of note to the story. Personally, I find the rest of the tale around these moments to be enough. And, honestly, the priest just makes me uncomfortable.

But, aside from some confounding sequences in the format of the story, I do find this to be an interesting tale about a time I don’t know much about. I think the art in this story is also quite moving and disturbing at points. There are some really sick demon designs and some beautiful panels of the main characters in their traditional garb.

I’m willing to read more of this story in the hopes that it becomes more streamlined~

[Ghostea · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an introduction to what is obviously going to be a long-running series, it is difficult to get a wider scope of how “The Elusive Samurai” will develop beyond being a new historical shonen series. However, the pacing of the first book is one of joyful excitement as it wastes little time in setting up Tokiyuki’s tragic backstory and quests for revenge. This does not necessarily feel rushed either, as Matsui has proven himself to be a talent in creating characters with strongly defined personas that are accessible from the first introduction–mannerisms and speech give a quick sense of who the character is. Consequently, the series has yet to define itself but it will be obvious to the reader that they are in capable hands, with the wonderfully expressive way that Yusei Matsui crafts the world of “The Elusive Samurai”.

However, where the inaugural release really thrives most is in its artistic direction. Besides the expressive cast, the flow of action in the series is perfectly executed with the book’s first major conflict between a slew of young fighters and a crazed samurai oozing all the cool and sleek action you would want from a series of this ilk. Fans of historic fiction will further appreciate the inclusion of familiar folklore that is imbued into these villainous characters. As an action series, combined with the strong character depictions, the title shows promise to escalate towards epic showdowns as the ability of Tokiyuki grows. There is also a welcome addition of light humor throughout, both in visuals and dialogue, that keeps the title from being dark in its overall tone.

My full review can be seen over at Asian Movie Pulse https://asianmoviepulse.com/2022/07/m...

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

I have been reading TES ever since it's debut on the Manga+ app but to celebrate it getting its official anime announced I picked up some volumes from my library. TES hits the ground running with a strong start. It doesn't flit around as it introduces you to its main premise early. The story is nice. It's based on actual history so it can't go too offbeat but it stays from being dry with its fun quirky adaptation of characters like Sadamune. Sadly, this isn't seen as much in Volume 1.
I love early TES for its set-up. Early TES is based around the MC hiding his identity while dealing with quirky villains and facing off against them in challenges tailored to their skillset. While there is a bit of this in Volume 1, its seen more in the following volumes. Volume 1 is a bit more of a setup as it introduces you to the cast. This does make it a bit of a drier read than later volumes.
But the art more than makes up for it. At the end of the volume Matsui notes all the helps he gets on the art side. And man does he get a lot of help as the art ends up looking amazing and stellar for a weekly manga. The art is consistent, able to shift artstyle to fit tone, chockful of fun and interesting imagery, and intensely detailed with patterns galor. The only part of the art I am not a fan of is its overuse of action lines. Fight scenes can become a bit hard to read with the overabundance of action lines but compared to later volumes and chapter its no so intense here which is nice.
Overall, a good start to TES that sets the scene and hints at its strengths (and weaknesses) that you'll see in later volumes. A great start but compared to the rest of the manga a bit of a slow burn first volume.

[Nazish Ahmed (Nazish Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rate this 3.5 stars.

I have watched Assassination Classroom season 1 episodes a few years ago and loved them. I also have the complete manga and anime series because I loved season 1 so much, I plan on reading the whole series soon and then watching the whole series. So when I heard of this new series by the mangaka, I had to try it. Volume 1 isn't out in English until July so I ended up reading the chapters on the app.

So far this series is ok, not very attached to any of the characters yet. But I have heard that it gets better, plus I love Assassination Classroom so I have a feeling that this one will be great too. Plus the concept sounds really interesting and funny and I want to see how the characters manage to accomplish it.

I like that the main character is the straight man to everyone's craziness. The only other anime and manga character I can think of at the top of my head for that is Haruhi from Ouran High School Host Club and Kyo from Zatch Bell. I love the crazy main character in anime and manga, but it's also funny when they're thinking "wtf is wrong with these people?"😂

The one thing I don't understand is why some of the characters, like the priest, look like mad men in some panels. It makes him look creepy and like someone we shouldn't trust.




Blog: nazishreads.net/TravelandBookBlog
Twitter: Naz_readsanime
Instagram: nazreads01, nazcosplay, nradesigns, charmedanimegirl01

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Elusive Samurai's" first volume is inconsistent in tone. It starts off fun and lighthearted. It then gets dark and bloody. Then, it gets silly and alternates often in tone. I like funny stories, and I like serious stories too. Sometimes, there are books or movies that can pull off a mixture of them. However, there are huge inconsistencies for this book's tone and it was often jarring.

The pacing was also a bit too quick. The betrayal mentioned in the blurb was very sudden. The scenes were a bit rushed at times also. A lot happened, but I think too much did in just one book. It would've been better to stretch this over two books.

As for the story, it is intriguing. The premise is a good one. It did keep me engaged. However, as I mentioned earlier, much of it could've been fleshed out more and in a slower manner. The art was good altogether.

I have mixed views of the characters also. I like Hojo Tokiyuki. It's fun how his main strategy is to run. His actions are understandable also. His struggle is shown well. However, I wasn't a fan of Suwa Yorishige. He came off as creepy and very strange. I also didn't like how women were portrayed in this book either.

Overall, I wasn't a big fan of this book. There is a good premise and the MC is cool. The antagonist isn't bad either, but he had a rushed arc. The pacing is too rushed as well and the tone is too inconsistent for my liking.

[Wafflepirates · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review*

I have no idea what to make of this series. Set up as a shonen-ified historical fiction series, Matsui takes readers to Medieval Japan, where 8 year old Tokiyuki's whole family has been killed. As the lone remaining heir to the Hojo clan and the only one standing in the way of the traitor Takauji's complete takeover of Japan, Tokiyuki is urged to flee and fight another day. In fact, the whole gimmick here is Tokiyuki is so good a running away, it'll save his life and eventually, Japan. The few fights we see him in, he remains on the defensive, constantly dodging until an opening presents itself. A lot of this volume is spent on setting up the plot and characters, so not a lot of development happens, but it shows glimpses of a standard shonen premise. I'm not familiar with Assassination Classroom, so I don't know if this is just Matsui's style, but the art was very distinctive, though sometimes off-putting. The faces some of these characters were pulling felt out of place for the kind of story being told, and often were used to break tension, to varying success. This feels like a pretty unique story plotwise, i'm just not sure i'm sold on the actual execution just yet.

[Rereader · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I'm not attached to the characters right now, this was a solid start to what is bound to be a bloody, action-filled historical series. Having read Assassination Classroom and loved it, I was curious to see what Matsui's newest work would be like. Elusive Samurai still holds his trademark humor, but the violence and disturbing factor has been ratcheted up. The first chapter was brutal and set the tone for the rest of the series.

Hojo is a nice character, he reminds me a lot of Nagisa from Assassination Classroom, and Yorishige is...interesting, to say the least. I'm curious to learn more about him and his motivations and look forward to seeing Hojo grow as a character. The artwork/ art style is top notch and the amount of disturbing imagery (specifically body horror) is unnerving, but doesn't feel like it's used for shock horror. Matsui is not afraid to show readers the horrors of war and the trauma that comes from it.

Overall, this was a solid first volume. I'm looking forward to reading more and seeing where this story goes.

[April Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one, but the flow of the story does seem a little off to me, kinda choppy. It might be the amount of set-up, which is understandable in the first volume of a series, so I'm not all that upset about it. We're still getting to know the characters; Hojo Tokiyuki and Suwa Yorishige, the two main characters, get the most treatment (Yorishige is delightfully odd, and for good reason), but the rest of the characters haven't been fleshed out that much yet. There is some violence, it does get a bit bloody, and two beheadings happen (not *exactly* shown, but we do see severed heads). It did seem appropriate to the story to me, and wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but be warned, it's there. I enjoyed the historical aspects of the story (and appreciated the author's historical notes at the back), and I liked that there's a touch of otherworldliness running through it, just enough for flavor, y'know? The story is a good one, even if it starts off a little bumpy, and I'm curious to see how this heroic tale progresses!

#TheElusiveSamuraiVol1 #NetGalley

[Souzou Moon · Rating 2 out of 5]

J'avais trouvé le concept de l'histoire intéressant et j'étais assez curieuse de découvrir ce manga mais j'avoue que j'ai été vachement déçue.

Les personnages sont plat à possible et pour un manga qui a pour concept un héros qui fuit j'ai trouvé ce focus très ennuyeux tellement notre héros est doué en fuite ( et pas d'une façon qui est très drôle non plus)

J'ai aussi très peu apprécié les changements très brusque de ton ou notre Héros commençait à être triste et avoir des sentiments qui aurait pu être intéressant à explorer , mais non il fallait absolument qu'il soit coupé pour un moment comique avec le prêtre

D'ailleurs ce prêtre parlons on- il souffre comme littéralement tout les autres adultes de ce manga d'être un énorme dérangé et qui mets hyper mal à l'aise, je suis sensée m'attacher à un dérangé qui a essayé d'embrasser un gosse de 9 ans qui dors ?

Cependant je mets deux étoiles pour les dessins qui sont très jolies selon moi et pour les informations historiques à la fin du tome qui était ma fois très intéressantes

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not going to lie, this series has big Heroic Legend of Arslan energy, what with the Prince setting out to get back his kingdom along with his allies and all the politics etc.

The art is well drawn, with evil characters being depicted as slightly disturbing, and the artist doesn’t shy away from showing the more brutal scenes and consequences of war.

I’m not really that attached to the characters just yet although I think I’m going to like the Elusive Warrior’s group as they seem to mesh quite well and I do find the God quite funny!

There’s a lot of action in this volume and I feel it’s a good start to the series, laying the groundwork for what needs to happen and the end of the volume giving our MC his first mission/goal.

It is pretty brutal and I expect it to be throughout but it’s definitely intriguing me and I like the historical notes at the end because I was wondering how much was factual!