Callum Porter’s Reviews > Musashi > Status Update

Musashi stuff good.
Everything else bad.

When the book focuses on the philosophical journey of Musashi its pretty good. Everything is is pretty bad though like omg

I just think that so far the Manga does a much better job at honing in on what makes the character interesting whilst removing all the fluff.
The book also has a more comedic tone while the Manga is more somber.
But when the book gets to Musashi and his journey it is very compelling, it's just the recent chapters have had less of a focus on him to stretch out the story over the 900 pages.

Very close to DNFing. I'm REALLY feeling the whole "this was originally a magazine serial".
Doesn't help that this arc has focused on some terribly written woman who can be characterised as: Woman that is obsessed with Musashi (bitches be crazy), Woman that is obsessed with Musashi and is a sexual assault victim (bitches be crazy), old woman that is obsessed with Musashi (Evil bitches be crazy)

Very slow burn. So far I would recommend the Manga over this novel. There are pretty significant, none-cosmetic, differences between how Inoue and Yoshikawa adapt the story and I just think Inoue has the benefit of a modern mindset and his beautiful art.
Yoshikawa's story is strong, but so far does feel rooted in the styles of the time.

I think it was very sagacious decision to have Musashi's first metamorphosis, the change from the beastly Takezo to the scholarly Musashi, to be not from some epic duel but studious captivity.
It sows the initial seeds of Musashi's far more defining scholarly and philosophical side.
Of course I know that he faces many martial challenges later. But the initial one is very much philosophical.

Bro read the Art of War and is now a changed man

Though I only really started this novel because of Takehiko Inoue's Vagabond, a manga series based on Yoshikawa's novel, I am blown away by the vivid and transient depictions of a time long departed. It's as if Yoshikawa is a time traveler from the early Edo period.
I find it interesting that Yoshikawa's father was a samurai technically of that period, which spanned 200 years from the point this book takes place.