MANGA REVIEW | "Kagurabachi" - Volume Four
I admire the cool factor that Kagurabachi pulls off. And I’ll also admit that the fights are very impressive to read through. Be that as it may, there was always something about Takeru Hokazono’s manga that bothered me, but I couldn’t quite figure out what it was. In its fourth volume, I finally figured out my issue: Kagurabachi doesn’t know when to pipe down and let the actions do the speaking.
That’s not to say that what’s being said isn’t important. This current arc involving an infiltration of a hard-to-reach warehouse has a lot of layers to it that dive into its existence and importance. It’s just that there are ways to talk about it that don’t involve paragraphs of dialogue to spell it out. Because of this, I can’t help but find that Hokazono’s flaws as a mangaka are similar to that of Tony Valente’s, whose RADIANT series often has trouble keeping quiet and letting the visuals do the talking.
But I digress. Where Kagurabachi shines is in its action, and there’s actually a whole lot of that in this volume. The battle to grab the Shinuchi (the sword, not the rakugo performer) is what’s most important to Chihiro. But besides the blade, there are other things of importance inside of the warehouse that need to be taken out. Well, I say “things”, but calling people by that name isn’t nice.
Somehow, Chihiro manages to get Kamunabi member Hiyuki by her side, as she uses her Flame Bone of the Starving to thwart off Kyora Sazanami’s goons. There’s minimal effort done by Hiyuki to take them down, which — I’ll admit — amplifies her coolness factor by 50%. And even though she and Chihiro are rivals due to Hiyuki’s mission, I can’t help but think something may be brewing between the two of them. However, any hypothetical romances in this series will have to wait. There’s a family matter that’s gotta be dealt with first!
That family matter involves the brothers Hakuri and Soya. The two have a very troubling relationship, with Soya’s version of love being more akin to torture. So when the two face off against one another, it becomes a brutal display of force, with Hakuri attempting to overpower his much-stronger older brother with everything that he’s got. Thankfully, he’s got a few neat tricks up his sleeve, on top of a heaping plate of hatred for everything Soya has done to him in the past.
However, the real surprise comes with the person Chihiro faces off before he can aid Hakuri. Not only is this person dangerous, but he’s the very reason why Chihiro is on this quest to avenge his father and find the six enchanted blades. The enemy winds up being dangerously tough, but there’s a very good chance that he’s still holding back his true strength. I mean, considering what he did to Chihiro, I can’t help but think that this will be a guy that we see many times throughout the series.
Yet again, despite all this coolness, there’s this nagging feeling I have when I read Kagurabachi. While it has some great action scenes, I often feel a headache coming along whenever I have to read pages of dialogue to get to the main attraction. The old saying of “show, don’t tell” needs to be implemented into Hokazono’s brain, as it’s what’s keeping Kagurabachi from reaching the shonen manga greatness it’s aiming for. Volume Four may have some great moments, but they’re often drowned out by the nonstop talking these characters think they have to do. Take my advice: just pipe down, and draw your weapons!
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
