The Manga that Weaponizes Grief

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]Grief will change you. It turns some to revenge, others turn to villain, while some develop obsessions. In a shownen battle manga, all these things lead to fighting. Though, characters don't simply fight to fight. They clash to prove their ideologies. They battle to show their morals. And in many cases, action is a symbol of a character's journey. And in most cases, it all leads back to grief. Fighting grief through the blade, it being a weapon or power or tool to push things forward, is an everpresent theme in fiction, and it's not going anywhere. Red koi symbolize things like passion, courage, and love.

[00:00:40]These koi are Kagurabachi's main character, Chihiro's power. And therefore, you can assume Chihiro is a very emotional main character. But where did these emotions come from? Grief.

[00:00:52]Shihiro's father was a legendary swordsmith creating enchanted blades that would win the biggest war of Kagurabachi. Though this made him a target of assassins and theft, one of the first things we see in Kagurabachi is Chihiro picking up the blade his father died protecting. He wants revenge with it to fight his grief through the blade. Kagurabachi uses grief like a weapon to push you into understanding and feeling for its characters. In this introduction, grief is used to make you feel terrible for Chihiro, as well as a solid motive to push him along in the story. His grief results in revenge, a great way to start a manga. I mean, how many great revenge stories have there been? Though, one thing I love about Kagurachi is that grief never ends just like that. It's never just a reason to start a story, and it's the best part of it all. This is a story about grief, blades, and how it all constantly continues to evolve. Jihiro's tale is the biggest statement for the main theme of grief and how it's a theme presented through swords. Chiro begins the story for simple revenge. His grief pushes him to punish the evil and take the blades back. This leads Chihiro to encounter Sojo, the true evil of the world, also wielding an enchanted blade. Sojo had an outlook that the blades Shihiro's father made were made to kill. And through this grief-filled duel, Shihiro came to the conclusion that yes, his father's blades indeed were made to kill. They're blades after all, but blades can also protect.

[00:02:23]And that is what his father intended for them to do. Here in this arc, Jihiro's griefilled motives already begin to slightly transform as it's clear it's not just revenge to him, not just to take the blades back, but also it's a wish to preserve his father's legacy.

[00:02:40]Chihiro intends to uphold his father's idea of the blades. The idea that the blades shouldn't be used for evil, even if they are capable of such. Though the next arc tests this, Jiro is witnessed to the most powerful blades ability.

[00:02:55]Through one man's hand, numerous die.

[00:02:58]And while with his own blade, he can save many, the destruction of numerous lives are scarier than he ever imagined.

[00:03:05]Can he stick to what his father believed in despite people trying to use the blades for even worse? Jihiro must search for answers. This leads him to a clash with Samura, a relic of these grief-filled blades tragic past. Samura leads to the reveal of the true reason the blades were created, an effort to stop a war in the most destructive way possible. They are weapons through and through, even if they were handled with intent for good. Samura is placed to make Chihiro choose. He must grow or let go. Samura wishes for Chihiro to step away. Let go of his griefilled blade so he, a relic of the past, can disappear alongside the enchanted blades. Samura simply tells him, "Live your own life. A life away from the grief these blades cause." Despite it all, as they fight, Shahiro refuses to listen. He is already living his own life. He lives the best he can because he has a past he'd rather die than forget. There's nothing in his life to throw away. He'll trample over it and move forward, no matter how long it takes. Through this clash with Samura, Chihiro has grown grown to a goal of destroying the blade capable of the worst of the worst. As long as this blade exists, it will spell destruction.

[00:04:24]His grief fililled revenge, his grief-filled attempt to protect his father's legacy has transformed into a way to truly protect what his father believed in. There is now a way forward into the future with his grief-filled goal and a head forward with the griefilled blade that started it all.

[00:04:42]Jiro is the perfect presentation of how Kagurabachi uses grief. As while it begins as simple revenge, the grief evolves into a way to protect his father's ideals. ideals cemented by the blade they crafted together. Everything began with grief for this character.

[00:04:59]Every clash of the sword is about that grief and he walks into the future in a way that doesn't forget that rather gives power to it. Chihiro's next step is evolution as his blade, a symbol of this new path has been broken. But Chihiro doesn't falter. Everything has been for a reason. He now has a goal, has followed the path of this goal, and now is able to take it all and craft a new blade. He'll surpass his father while resembling his father for the sake of the future. And it all began with this grief. He does it for his father's legacy and that is what gives his blade power. It is the past, the past with his father that crafts his future. Though with this, how about we look at a far simpler presentation of grief in Kagurabachi? one to show this series will weaponize this theme even with its smaller rarely appearing side characters. In this case, it's a very small side character only appearing in five or six chapters. He's one working his blade to death, almost running to an early grave as a result of his grief.

[00:06:09]Out of everyone mentioned today, Natsuki is the smallest but one of the most important examples of this theme as he's one of the most real life relatable cases. He only appears in around five chapters, but in these chapters, a tragic character is established. Though to speak about Natsuki, we must first speak of this page. Rain without clouds means evil is doomed. Hail in the summer, evil will perish. Thunder without black clouds. It's evil meeting its demise. These are terms that stamp Ibuki Msaka as a strong man with the goal of justice. He's Natsuki's older brother. But knowing this is a tale of grief, we instantly hear about how this warrior was killed and he didn't do much about it. This is presented right as we cut to Natsuki for the first time.

[00:06:57]Listening to high energy music as he cuts two lightning fast logs to shreds.

[00:07:02]Without saying it, the layout of this appearance states he trains because of his lost brother. It's implied even more so as Natsuki instantly explains his bond. In their hometown, they were undefeated. His brother would smash the guys on the right while he'd smash the ones on the left. Together, they were undefeable sword fighters. When Kagurabachi's war began, they followed.

[00:07:25]Natsuki's brother was chosen to wield the special enchanted blade, while Natsuki wasn't. And so they went their separate ways. The war then ended. Ibuki lost the will to fight and was killed.

[00:07:38]In Natsuki's words, he became weak, so he was defeated. That's just how it goes. He then explains that he's different. He has never lost focus when it comes to the sword. And so he stands up holding two blades.

[00:07:53]On the surface, Natsuki might appear as a tough, competent guy who looks down on his brother due to his defe. But in reality, it's the complete opposite. He and his brother worked as a team in their youth. They were left and right respectfully. And now Natsuki holds a blade in both the left and the right.

[00:08:10]It's a simple way to say that connection is there. And now he fights for both of them. With how Iuki was described by the narrator and with how Natsuki described him, you can tell he was special. While Natsuki may say that's how it goes in regards to his brother's loss, you can tell it's a deflection, it actually upsets him per his facial expression.

[00:08:32]Not to mention, if his brother's loss didn't affect him, why did he feel the need to include the snide remark that he never lost focus in the blade? Simply put, you can see the training, the strength, and the rush connecting to it all. And it's all a form of grief.

[00:08:49]Instead of facing what happened to his brother, Natsuki delved into the sword more than ever before, fighting his grief through the blade. And out of all the reasons we see in this video, I think this one is the most relatable to me or you. Natsuki is a simple way to remind us of all the moments where you may put your grief into something else.

[00:09:10]Like me with fighting games, when I'm deeply upset, it's easier to ignore it and vent the emotions on a fighting game. Shout out Grandlau. Natsuki is definitely an extreme of this idea, but at its core, his reason is without a doubt relatable. Natsuki is immensely powerful, immediately appearing to thrash away at the villain who actually killed his brother. Though he has no idea of this truth, an interesting moment happens here. Natsuki introduces himself and brings up how the villain's group killed his brother. And even when the villain states he'll introduce him to his brother's killer, Natsuki directs his attention to another topic. He instead argues about the lack of focus on himself. They won't look at the master swordsman in front of them.

[00:09:54]Natsuki, when facing the past involving his brother, opted to speak about himself and his abilities with the sword, deflecting the topic completely.

[00:10:03]Natsuki, rather than grieving slashsp speakaking of his brother properly, directed all his attention to the blade, opting to recklessly clash away his pain. Nasuki then charges after the villain with no second thoughts, releasing a destructive lightning sorcery, showing that he indeed really has spent every ounce of life honing these powers. Though, it's here something crazy occurs. Yua, Natsuki's ally, crashes through the ceiling with his own fight. This turns the situation into a 2v2 and seeing someone he really wants to fight, the villain reveals the truth about Natsuki's brother's murder.

[00:10:40]As expected, the fight gets pretty crazy following this, but it's immediately clear what's really important to Natsuki. Natsuki recklessly charges in like before. Yet, he doesn't once rage or speak about his brother's killer. yet rather he takes this as a chance to prove his skills, only speaking and thinking to insult his teammate swordsman. He won't acknowledge the pain involving his brother. The sword, the strength, it's an everpresent way to cover it up. The latest we've seen from Natsuki is him in the final clash where despite the main villain gaining a clearly unstoppable power, he recklessly charged in head first. While not stated, this too is without a doubt a way to prove his strength. And the result is he has been completely obliterated.

[00:11:28]Following the passing of his brother, Natsuki devoted himself to the blade more than ever before. And in this big battle, we saw his main focus was proving and demonstrating the strength in the most reckless way. Natsuki is so obsessed with strength, he'll nearly die to prove it. Though at the same time, he disregarded every mention of his brother. not out of hatred, but almost like he doesn't want to talk about it.

[00:11:53]He doesn't want to talk about the relationship that started this all. The truth is clear. Everything stems from the passing of his brother and the grief following it. Instead of facing that death head on, Natsuki delved into the sword more than ever before. Fighting his grief through the blade. One for himself and one for his brother. But with this, we've now seen two cases of people fighting grief through the blade.

[00:12:18]And keep in mind, Natsuki, everything considered, is a very small side character. He's a small example of this theme. A really good example of this theme, despite how small of a character he is, just to show that, you know, it's important to this manga. Though, now we've seen grief that results in revenge and grief that results in a toxic pursuit of strength. But what occurs when grief truly pushes someone over the edge?

[00:12:47]Yura is one of two main villains in Kagurabachi and he's the one who kicks off the entire series as it was he who murdered Chihiro's father. Therefore, we immediately ask why? Why would a man do such a thing? Though while with the others it was presented quick with Yura.

[00:13:05]The why is one of the last things we learn. Eura then goes on to have a hand in everything that happens inside of this series while keeping a mysterious watchful eye. His first major appearance is actually weirdly normal. Especially so as he appears to Shahiro and is actually quite honest about his goal. He wants to wield the Shinui or Magatsumi, the most powerful and destructive of the enchanted blades. The interesting thing to note about the Magatsumi is that it's effectively summed by the series itself as a power that can change the world.

[00:13:39]Just by holding the blade and its bearer allowing a bit of power, it can unleash a wave of dark death stemming from plants that suck the life out of everything. It's told this blade is the force that allowed the war involving it to be won. And to tell us such a feat can't be a lie, it's also explained the blade's wielder went on to use it to annihilate over 200,000 people. The point is clear. The blade is bad news.

[00:14:06]this enchanted blade and the enchanted blades in general become a very central point of Kagurabachi. They already were, but like even more so. Essentially, it's about the idea that these blades can clearly change the world. Should they be used to do that? And if so, how should they be used? With the goal to obtain the most powerful blade, it appears the villain Yura wants to change the world.

[00:14:32]But again, with this character, we ask why. And it isn't until 104 chapters deep into this series we finally get the why. And of course, it's grief. Yura is in the ultimate clash to prove his views is right. The Enchanted Blades' power can change the world. He's burnt away by his two opponents. And in the flames, we begin to see glimpses of a motive. Euro speaks with a woman, an important woman to him, as highlighted by her wedding ring. As Euro speaks about the war recently ending and their area being rebuilt. The radio then speaks of the blades that ended this war. The master swordsmith is enshrining the blades. And in this moment, Yura actually thought positively, smiling as he thanks the war heroes alongside the woman. They can rest easy knowing these heroes will protect the country and them. This small glimpse of the past ends with a smile as he listens on to the woman. Filled with hope that they'll be safe. Yet in the present, Yuri continues to fight. He won't let go of the blade and his goal.

[00:15:37]He states after the war, people were exploited and victimized. Even the government couldn't control it. Human beings can only do so much. He states that with the blades, the most powerful one, everything could have been different. With a burst of despair, he screams to Hiro's father. The master swordsmith made the world this way. And here the motive is clear. Yura genuinely believed in these war heroes. They contributed to the safety of what appears to be the most important to him, the woman. But after the blades were sealed by Chiro's father, it's likely he felt abandoned by those heroes. He speaks about how after the war, nothing changed. And I think we're meant to draw the conclusion that something must have happened to the woman. And whatever it was, the enchanted blades could have been the tool to stop it. Era's whole reason for using the blade as a tool of villain is his grief. Because of what happened to him, he wants to use the blades to create a new world where evil is struck down by the heroes wielding the blades. It's almost proved as the second he appears to lose the fight, he states, "We were a nobody." likely referring to himself and the woman. They were a nobody, but they needed a hero.

[00:16:54]In this moment, Yuri gives his body over to the original wielder of the enchanted blade. He agreeing to act as the hero.

[00:17:01]And Yura's agreeance to do so highlights one thing. It isn't about him, rather what's being done. The griefilled reason is true. And just like the other cases, grief is the major factor that connects us with Yura. Everything becomes understandable in a single chapter through the concept of grief and what it can make us do. With grief, we understand perfectly how Euro would become this villain. If what was most precious to you was taken because the heroes of society disappeared, you'd aim to reverse or change that in some way.

[00:17:38]And in Kagurabachi, the vehicle for this grief related ghoul becomes the blades.

[00:17:43]They are a power that your sees can change the world. It all stems from his grief, and that's the point.

[00:17:50]Kagurabachi, despite the neverending memes and an opening I will always call edgy, has become a story that is just amazing. While a lot of stories will have one thing I love more than anything else, say the art or maybe the writing, with Kagurabachi, it's hard to actually say just one. But if I had to, it's that there's dedication to everything it does. The art stays consistent throughout. The writing stays strong and is the highlight of today's states, its messages are unending. About 90% of Kagurabachi's characters deal with the theme of grief and their grief will often motivate everything they do. It's weaponized to make us feel and understand the reasons and everything behind these characters. This goes perfectly in hand with other themes of this series. War, responsibility, and many other sad sounding themes.

[00:18:44]Kagurabachi is just very aware. You can't tell a revenge story involving a war and the blades responsible for the war without including the sadness and grief those things cause and involve.

[00:18:57]And I just have to say this is probably one of my favorite themes the story puts forward. With that, thank you so much for watching. This video is kind of out of the ordinary for me. I normally speak about a character rather than a theme.

[00:19:11]But with me finally, yes, finally, working on the Samura video. Well, it's been a lot of sadness. It's been a lot of thought about the themes of grief and all the past future stuff this story deals with. So, I kind of wanted to talk about it a bit more. I also wanted another excuse to talk about Yura and an excuse to finally talk about Natsuki.

[00:19:32]So, it all works out. But with that, thank you so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed this video and bye. I'll see you next time.

[00:19:50]Guys, now I'm waiting.