Vagabond Vizbig Edition Volume 3

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Vagabond Vizbig Edition Volume 3
Vagabond Vizbig Edition 3 review
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  • North American Publisher / ISBN: Viz - 978-1-4215-2245-6
  • Volume No.: 3
  • Release date: 2009
  • Format: Black and white
  • UPC: 9781421522456
  • Contains adult content?: yes
  • Does this pass the Bechdel test?: no
  • Positive minority portrayal?: no

This bulky collection presents a three act arc that constantly varies the tone, and constantly surprises. It’s there from the start in what was originally Vagabond Vol. 7, where the expectation is surely that Takehiko Inoue will head straight to the rematch between lead character Miyamoto Musashi and Inshun, the monk who defeated him so comprehensively in the previous collection. Musashi has licked his wounds, he’s trained extensively under the former master of the Hōzōin Temple to diminish his antagonistic aggression and cultivate patience, and the opening pages show his overnight preparation in the forest. There’s no battle until what was Vagabond Vol. 8, though.

Instead it’s an audacious presentation of the samurai equivalent of two boxers staring each other out at the weigh-in. A couple of hundred pages is never dull, nor ordinary as Inoue opens up the thoughts of the combatants and those accompanying them, offering insight along with tension.

Surprises await in the middle third also, where the battle is relatively brief, but accompanied by Inshun’s backstory, explaining his invincibility and detachment while also supplying a heartbreaking set of experiences. “I covered myself up”, Inshun thinks, “with nothing to offer anyone, withdrawn into myself. I was all alone where no-one could reach me”.

The final act, what was originally Vagabond Vol. 9, seed Musashi moving on and seeking to challenge himself further. Despite the presence of an old enemy, Inoue doesn’t take the obvious route, but instead supplies a chapter plotted deftly as Musashi employs his wooden sword. It’s a comedy of missed chances as Musashi tips up at a sword school not realising the love of his life serves the master, a skilled swordsman able to defeat anyone he came across. Meetings between Musashi and Otsū are teased, but never occur, and Inoue instead introduces the complication of the Master’s grandson, also a skilled swordsman and an all round hunk besides. Musashi’s would-be apprentice Jōtaro also returns and the collection ends with Musashi on the verge of manipulating a fight to further his aims. Inoue has also set up the future via a couple of chapters featuring Musashi’s former friend, now masquerading as a swordsman with a formidable reputation.

All that is great even before considering Inoue’s superb art. Because Vagabond has run for so long, there’s a danger of underestimating just how good Inoue is. Inoue’s work rate is there to see on every page of Vagabond, be it in the beauty of nature or the subtleties of visual characterisation, and while he will resort to close-up portraits, these are meaningful rather than an excuse not to draw backgrounds. His cast resonate, no matter what their intentions may be.

It’s easier to find Vagabond in these larger editions now, and Musashi’s machinations provoke a result that plays out in Volume 4.

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