The Best (Modern) Shonen Manga

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:01]It's been over 2 years since Kagurabachi dropped its first chapter and I still see comments saying, "Wait, is Kagurabachi actually good? I thought it was just a meme." And for a while towards the beginning, it was. Good thing too, because, you know, it got people reading and helped this brand new series get the traction it needed to avoid Shonen Jump's indomitable axe. As the series went on though, something unexpected happened. This manga that people jokingly said would be the new face of Shonen and a cheap Demon Slayer knock-off was actually pretty damn good.

[00:00:34]I think a huge portion of people who picked up the series thanks to these memes actually ended up enjoying it a lot more than they thought they would.

[00:00:42]Admittedly though, enjoying was more or less the extent of it. At least that was the case for the first two arcs. They had good writing, incredible art, a dope power system, cool characters, the whole shebang. It was just good. However, shortly after the Rakuzai Chi auction arc, the entire series suddenly pivoted away from linear and relatively self-contained story arcs and threw us straight into the deep end. In fact, I think I can show you the exact page Kagurabachi went from a really cool potential series to, "Wait, what did Hirihiko just say?" From there on, Kagurabachi experienced a steep incline in not just quality of visual storytelling, but in how its readers actually perceived and consumed it with viral memes popping up left and right, YouTube chapter reviews gaining decent traction, and some jaw-dropping fan projects such as Isobachi. Sure, a weekly self-contained arc is fun, but an overarching story with constant mystery, insane theory crafting potential, and art like no other, that's what separates a good Shonen manga from a great one. It was safe to say that at At point in time, Hokazono had hit a flow state and gained a true mastery of the Weekly Shonen format. But, what I really want to emphasize is that even though, you know, the memes gave Kagurabachi a very strong head start, it had nothing to do with the overall quality of the series itself. A series clowned to high heaven before even releasing had somehow ended up becoming a genuine masterpiece of fiction by nothing other than sheer coincidence. You can tell just by reading and rereading Kagurabachi that Hokazono knew exactly what he was doing and where the story was going from the moment he put pen to paper. It reminds me a lot of stories like Bleach or Attack on Titan in that sense. Sure enough, by the time Kagurabachi had reached the climax of part one, it had already written itself into the history books alongside the very series we often compare it to. And so, after a full reread of the series to confirm it was every bit as good as I thought, I decided enough time had passed. It was time to put the I thought Kagurabachi was just a meme mentality to rest for good by looking back on part one and appreciating just how far Kagurabachi has come and how far it still has left to go. For a series with such a passionate and creative community though, I felt like, you know, it was a waste to limit this video to my thoughts alone, which is why I reached out to some of your favorite Kagurabachi YouTubers from across the Bachi-verse and gave them each a part one arc to review. Yes, yes, I know. It's all very wholesome and cool, but it's still my video. So, obviously, I'm going to get the ball rolling by exploring the very arc that put Kagurabachi on the map for good. So, as always, like the video, subscribe to everyone's channel, and let's dive right into Chihiro Rokuhira versus Genichi Sojo.

[00:03:46]The first arc of Kagurabachi is actually my least favorite of all the arcs so far, not because it's bad, but because everything to come after this just kept on upping the stakes by a ridiculous margin, to the point where Sojo now looks like nothing more than a mere annoyance. Even at the time of the arc's completion, when I first picked up the series, it was really damn cool, but not something that gave me any long-term investment in the story itself. The more I reread this arc though, the more I start to appreciate just how much heavy lifting it's done for the series as a whole. As of writing this video, we are at the chapter 121 mark, which is over 100 chapters later, and yet the more the story progresses, the more everything links back to what Hokazono had set up right at the start.

[00:04:32]The most basic example I can think of is how Hokazono piqued every reader's interest with a single solitary panel showcasing the Sazae War battlefield in chapter six. At the time, you saw this panel and were like, "Oh, that's cool. I want to see more of that." But now when you go back and read it, you say, "Hold up. Are those crow feathers?" Looking back at that panel and seeing enchanted blade abilities that aren't revealed until the third arc of the series is so cool. But the effect that one panel has will likely keep on climbing higher because there are probably many more abilities yet to be revealed hiding in there. The less obvious setup with the versus Sojo arc, most of which we still haven't seen the full payoff for, include the context behind Sojo's trauma, the significance of Chaz's clan, the soul resonance that occurred between Sojo and Chihiro, and of course the entire series of events that led to Chihiro further understanding how Datenseki bends to the will of the wielder rather than Kunishige himself. A favorite of mine is actually Azami's introduction. Getting his hand fried by the psychic dude seemed pretty funny at the time, but now I view it as subtle foreshadowing for his proper first on-screen battle against Yura, where yet again his hands were targeted first due to them being integral to his power.

[00:05:48]Now, a panel that also moves me a lot is the one of Azami's lock screen being him, Shiba, and Kunishige in their youth. Learning that Azami is actually an incredibly emotional and reactive person later on in the story hit a lot harder because of simple early moments like this where you get a hint of how much Kunishige meant to him. Seeing how Azami processes that trauma compared to the likes of Shiba also just makes these characters seem so incredibly human.

[00:06:16]But, I'll explore that point further in a second. Everything I've talked about above stems from things that we get within the first 18 chapters of the manga, and yet nothing in that arc feels convoluted or rushed. If anything, that arc appears a lot shallower than the others at face value, which is exactly why it hits crazy hard on a reread.

[00:06:36]Seriously, try it. Let's not get it twisted, though. Kagurabachi's first arc aging like fine wine does not mean it was lackluster on a first read through.

[00:06:45]If anything, it's the exact opposite because the primary purpose of this arc, just like any opening arc, was to introduce the readers to the newly found fictional world of Kagurabachi and get them invested. I sometimes think picking up a new manga can feel like that one meme of the dude mining through dirt until he reaches a mound of diamond.

[00:07:04]Patience and commitment is sometimes crucial for enjoying stories, and that's fine. But, I also don't think that's the case for Kagurabachi. Chapter 1 showcases a perfect balance of action, art, and story to get you immediately onto the next one with the flashback of Chihiro and his dad, the goldfish, the day that Hishaku came, and then the cut to the present time as an 18-year-old Chihiro cuts down a whole room of Yakuza with the Enten. If you saw the kind of artwork and paneling Hokazono was pulling off in chapter 1 and didn't immediately crave more, then I don't really know what to tell you because, like, what an insane way to debut your first manga? There's just no need for a slow build-up of the main character discovering their powers or building from the ground up, or for the main character to struggle with the issue of maybe having to kill people or hurt people. Chihiro Rokuhira may not be the strongest yet, but even in chapter one, he's already lying in the top 10% of all sorcerers while still having a long ways to go. All of the parts then immediately start moving forward with the introduction of Char and then the awesome fight between Chihiro and the bounty hunters, which ultimately leads to N 10 versus Cloud Gouger round one. A fight like that within the first 10 chapters of the manga, while not feeling rushed at all, is a huge part of the reason that this series was just so damn easy to get hooked on. Not one single chapter feels lackluster. Plus, Hokazono made some pretty ambitious and ballsy moves for an author that was barely past the first 10 chapters of their manga.

[00:08:35]Sojo pulling off that unreal upset against the ACG squad right as they got the upper hand, leading to most of them dying and two of them acquiring life-changing trauma, was a stupidly brave, yet effective way of showing us how scary the enchanted blades really are and that this won't be the kind of story where side characters get an abundance of mercy. Furthermore, the final 12-second fight between Sojo and Chihiro to end the arc and finish Sojo for good became so iconic, and for good reason, too, because it's such an inventive way to portray a sense of speed and power in a ultimately stationary manga. Oh, and have I mentioned the art and paneling yet? The stupidly dynamic perspective shifts, the unreal aura of characters we barely even know, the full-face panels of raw emotion where words become meaningless.

[00:09:27]Yeah, the art is reason enough to keep turning the page. In my opinion, though, the absolute greatest strength of this whole arc when it comes to hooking readers is just how crazy fast Hokazono can get you to fall in love with the characters. This panel of Sojo, the wielder of Kuragumo, genuinely crapping his pants at the thought of fighting Azami and Shiba as they nonchalantly issue commands from atop a building, is exactly the moment I decided this series was going to be the one for me. Deny it all you want, but hype moments and aura is a hugely important factor in a battle shonen, and Hokazono understands that to a T. Even so, though, we still barely know Shiba. We still barely know Azami.

[00:10:08]We still barely know Char. So, why? Why are they so enjoyable to see interact with each other in such a short time?

[00:10:15]Well, the answer is exactly as I said earlier when I spoke about Azami.

[00:10:19]Hokazono is just so good at making his characters feel really human. The way Shiba talks to 15-year-old Chihiro in chapter 1 is a good example of this.

[00:10:28]He's loud and expressive and says dumb things like, "Here's something you haven't heard. I talk too much." He feels like a goofy uncle, yet there's nothing about it that feels too forced.

[00:10:39]Similarly, Char is a really fun character to see interact with the rest of the cast, and I think she is definitely the best example of what I'm trying to say here. I often find that young children in shonen manga are just unrealistically mature for their age, even though they are put in unnatural circumstances that are often traumatic in nature, just as Char was, they still act as if their brain is fully developed. But Char doesn't. She is actually just a child. A strangely charismatic and confident child, but a child all the same. Her dialogue is completely nonsensical, and she has these fun little quirks, like like when she asks, you know, Hinowa Chihiro if they want to swap while they're giving her a piggyback. Some other cool examples of when she tries on Hinowa's jumper, which was just way too big for her, so she starts hyperactively swinging the sleeves around. Also, when she orders Chihiro around like an Uber driver while getting food. And when she goes, "Oh dear." to Hinowa. And when she Even just the way Chihiro interacts with Char in the way a parent or a teacher would because of his experience looking after his dad, and the way that he takes after his mom is an amazingly like awesome and natural feeling interaction that you can't help but smile at. I say this is the arc's biggest strength because it gets you invested in the cast early on, but I also think it's something that this arc specifically does the best. I'm not saying this aspect is lost completely because Yori and Samura flashback absolutely nails this, but as the stakes in the story inevitably rise, the opportunities for wholesome human moments fall. That's why I really hope we slow down and catch up with some of the characters we haven't seen in a while after the flashback is done. I definitely think I've yapped for long enough about this arc though, so I'm going to hand the mic over to Daffy for a review of Kagurabachi's second arc, the Rakuzai Chi Auction.

[00:12:27]Yo! Yes, everybody. Yes, your boy Bob Marley, and yes, we are here to talk about some Kagura Bachi, ladies and gentlemen. And you did it really correct. Your favorite European one, your boy to come and give my thoughts on the Rakuzai Chi arc, and I I had to pull through, chat. Y'all know I'm here. I'm active. I didn't abandon y'all.

[00:12:48]I mean, I kind of did cuz Chiwasha was on my ass like some hemorrhoids, and it was it was bad. It was It's not fun. Not great. As far as the Rakuzai Chi arc goes in the general Kagurabachi space, the arc is revered for a reason. There's a ton going for the arc, and I think that Hokazono really nailed it as far as getting us attached to Hakuri quickly. I feel like if Hakuri wasn't as revered as he was in the fandom as he is now, he could have very easily been a very annoying grating character, especially if his gag of being obsessed with Chihiro was taken too far, but I feel like Hokazono kind of knew where to stop with that boundaries. Like, okay, yes, but this is who he is obsessed with and who he wants to be, who he wants to aim for, but I feel like he did it in a way that wasn't exactly exasperating for the audience. I'm always a sucker for the trope of seeing our hero's deeds through the eyes of the common man. So, when we have Hakuri in the cafe kind of sipping his noodles in a depressed state and he sees Chihiro fighting Sojo outside and is inspired. It I I I like that a lot and it actually gets us attached to him fairly quickly. And then as we go through the arc, we see all of these trials and tribulations that Hakuri has been through and all the abuse that he has suffered at the hands of not just his brother Sauya, but as well as the other members of his family and just the neglect that his father showed him as well. Hakuri's backstory uh with the ice woman is also just tragic as well. Very easily there could have been an outcome of oh, where she got out or she managed to get away, but that's not the message that she wanted to tell Hakuri. The It's It's as dark as it is, I do feel that served its purpose as well. For some people, they just don't have any hope.

[00:14:29]For some people that they just can't see the light at the end of the tunnel and it's it's it's tragic and it's unfortunate. By the way, we're not getting a trailer. I I Alonz is coping and other people are coping. We're not getting a trailer. I'm assuming it's a key visual. If we If we get a trailer by the time I'm recording this tomorrow, I don't have a watch.

[00:14:45]>> [laughter] >> If we get a trailer by the time I'm recording this, I will I will I will We're going to do a waifu tier list.

[00:14:50]We're going to do a waifu tier list in Kagurabachi with all the men. That's what y'all going to get. That's what y'all going to get from me. There you go. I got to stop making these best people, man, cuz that's what I did with One Piece and look what happened there. But as far as Chihiro goes within the Rakusashi arc, he feels like he's he's kind of along for the ride with us and the arc isn't exactly his arc, which is fine, but there's still a lot of stuff that revolves around him, which is good. You have Yuta showing up and you have Chihiro showing more of his vulnerable side, right? Him screaming out, "Why did you kill my father?" That was obviously a very poignant moment for a lot of people. Having the presumably final boss, obviously we know Yuta is not the final boss at this point, but having Yuta show up randomly with this group of guys and him saying, "Yeah, I killed your dad. What are you going to do about it, pussy?" That's That's cool. That's That's cool. It's interesting. But then you also have his fantastic entrance into the Raikuzachi raid with him using Kuragumo or Cloud Gauger as well. That That spread with all THAT NEGATIVE SPACE WE ARE ALL ABOUT THE KAGURA Bachi all day nonstop. Yes. Hiyuki Hiyuki showing up in the arc is She was a nice addition as well. I wish she had some more to do.

[00:16:00]I would I do wish that Hiyuki had some more to do. Her conversation with Chihiro I did like it. I did like the I do like the alliance that Hiyuki and Chihiro come up with. I'm hoping to see more of her in the manga as well. Part of why I'm not necessarily a huge fan of the final battle as well as it choreography-wise is kind of weak. Like Do you know what, Daffy? I I love you and I I respect your opinion. Um yeah.

[00:16:25]Seriously though, what the [ __ ] are we talking about, dude? Look at this [ __ ] We Bro's just trying to ragebait me. I know he's just trying to ragebait me, man.

[00:16:33]Chihiro using Aka momentarily is fine, but I feel like there could have been more, especially with Flamebone. I feel like we still don't really have a firm grasp on Flamebone and its abilities, exactly what they do cuz it seems kind of basic compared to all the other like enchanted blades, hacks, and and everything else that we have. Having Hiyuki rise up and while he's not the best fighter he he and he hasn't gone through some sort of training arc like, "Oh, well, Hiyuki was gone for 2 weeks and now he's fighting like Leon Kennedy just like punching people in the neck and and then drop kicking him in the chest all of a sudden." Hiyuki is still he's not a fighter, but he's getting better. He's improving with his abilities and even though he does have their ancestor's mask, that doesn't mean that he's automatically the strongest member of the Sazanami family and I do like that. Something else also that I do really like with this arc is the fact that we have the lesson that Chihiro learned from Sojo with the lesson being that, "Okay, well, these blades, they're not just mementos or positive memories of my father. Like, these are weapons meant to kill people." And you have the lesson with Chihiro where you have these individuals who do not have any sort of emotional attachment or care to these weapons or these mementos that your family has. They will try to sell them off to the highest bidder, and it is damn near impossible for you to contain that yourself. You need help. So, it's twofold. And you have this resolved at the end of the arc when you have Chihiro accepting the help of the Kamunabi and saying, "Hey, I need your help sealing this. Like, please help me. I cannot do it on my own." Cuz beforehand in the first arc, he would try to do it by himself. "These are my father's blades.

[00:18:05]This is all me." That's not the lesson that was learned here. I I obviously love Chihiro sticking up for Hakuri as well, saying he saved my life, you know, giving Hakuri some more hope. And even though he gets the [ __ ] kicked out of him by Souya, he still manages to stick up for himself and be brave in the face of adversity. So, obviously, Hakuri's a fan favorite for a reason. This arc has tons of good stuff back-to-back-to-back-to-back. As far as the anime goes, I can't imagine that it'll be any longer than maybe seven to eight episodes for the Rakuzaiji. This is a a fairly short arc, but it's it's it's packed with a lot of stuff. I'm also a huge fan of the Naruto references with Chihiro versus Chihiro and Hakuri.

[00:18:42]Obviously, I mean, Hokazono was my age. He grew up in Naruto and having the inspiration from the Zabuza fight with early part one Naruto. And you have the fake out going, like, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no." I love it.

[00:18:53]There's so much good stuff in this arc, man, overall. Uh let me know down in the comments below what you guys think. I'm plugging this [ __ ] like it's the end of my video.

[00:19:00]But let everybody know down in the comments below what you guys think is Kagurabachi's best arc. Personally, I like the Rakuzaiji arc. I do. I like the Rakuzaiji arc. I must confess, though, the sword bearer assassination arc Like, like what like I don't know, man. It's really good. I'm not a fan of the Kabunabi raid, but the sword bear assassination arc and and and the Samura backstory, ooh, yeah, that's that's some good THAT'S SOME GOURMET [ __ ] WOO! HOKUSONA WAS COOKING. NOW, GENERALLY, I do think that Sojo is more of an entertaining antagonist for an arc compared to Kyora, but Kyora does strike me. I think that Kyora does have a everlasting impression on the cast of Kagurabachi. When you look at Kyora's death specifically and you look at his life and everything that he's done, he does try to face the fact that, "Hey, I was probably a terrible father to my children. I might have been living my life the wrong way." Especially when he's getting consumed by the Shinuchi and he says, "No, this has to go on. I'm making the I'm making this sale." He he held onto his guns up until his death and it's interesting if you want to think about a possible alternative [music] life or scenario where he was a loving father to his children and he was a loving husband to his wife that he imagines at the table, but as we see, he he shattered that dream by his own hand where you see that visual of the the gavel striking the glass. But, I do like Kyora. I do think that Kyora is interesting enough. But, anyway, it's me boy Daffy guys. I'm out of here.

[00:20:25]Bye-bye.

[00:20:27]Subscribe to me. Look, I I can't be making like an hour-long Kagurabachi video and only be in it for 10 minutes.

[00:20:33]So, between each person's review, I'm going to be giving a very very brief rundown of my thoughts on the arc because Rokuzachi, especially, is really important to my experience with Kagurabachi because it is literally the Hakuri Ice Lady chapter. I love that we just call it Ice Lady. That got me to start reading Bachi weekly. I read the Sojo arc once it concluded as a batch and then I kind of read the first few chapters of Rokuzachi and decided, for no real reason, to just let it build up a bit, right? Eventually, when that chapter came out with Hakuri, that was the moment when I read up to it and I was like, "Ah, okay. So, I I think now I'm going to have to read weekly, and I'm so glad I did because going through SBA, which we'll talk about in a second, was an amazing experience to say the least.

[00:21:15]For me, Rokka Ichi, I think Kokuri was the highlight. I'm not going to lie. I love the Sazanami stuff. I love the sorcery. I saw very simple strong shockwave, really cool. I love the Shiba gimmick of him just appearing places, right? So, when he appears at Kyo's desk, when he appears at the door, Hokazono clocked on that that's a cool thing he can do and ran with it for the rest of the story. Yuki, amazing character, great setup. Only downside of her is the fact that she's a bit of a mic guy in that she's so strong but kind of unexpectedly and unnaturally strong that he has to sideline her a bit. At least that's what it feels like. If she was part of the future arcs, then I feel like they would have turned out very differently. So, I'm looking forward to see what we do with her in the future because that ability is dope. I'm so curious about the lore behind it and also just seeing the way it functions almost like a partially manifested Susano is very interesting. And I I I I I I I I I I I really am looking forward to seeing more, especially with her mindset decisions when it comes to the the future of, you know, the Kamanabi and the person who gave her orders turns out to not be such a good guy. Kyo obviously insanely good villain. I just it's beautiful, very self-contained again and yet overall still ties into the story cuz we see him in the flashback. Only a little bit, but he's there. And also I think this is where Hokazono really started to lean into his newer art style. Like towards the end, I don't know. I feel like he finds his own style within the Rokka Ichi and then sticks with it throughout SBA and onwards. Yeah, I'll stop yapping about Rokka Ichi there though and I will let Mike up take you through the Sword Bearer Assassination Arc.

[00:22:46]Hey guys, Mike here. And I'll be talking about the Sword Bearer Assassination Arc, or at least the beginning of it.

[00:22:51]Even though I wanted to do the Kamanabi Raid Arc, but it's fine. It's fine. Now, the arc begins right after Jiro's trial with the Kamanabi, where it was interrupted by the Ashaku attacking Ruha's safe haven. Jiro joins the Kamunabi for the moment, but they're still on pretty thin ice since he still wants to take the enchanted blades for himself at the end of this. Though for now, the alliance still stands. Mainly because Hikaru with storehouse has the ability to bring the blades back to the wielders through the registration system. Though with the amount of damage he did to himself last arc, he still needs to heal. So their main focus for now is getting Ruha to another secured location with the place of choice being the guarded ground of another sword bearer, Samura. But before they can get there, we get the introduction of the first antagonist in this arc, Hirohiko.

[00:23:36]Who? He's introduced alongside another Ishaku member as the ones hunting down Ruha. Currently with his first big scene being him posing up dead bodies of Ruha's bodyguards right after he killed them. Just to rage bait him, nothing else really, just that. These kinds of mental tactics is something you're going to see a lot from Hirohiko, especially when it comes to his relationship with Chihiro. Now this is where the first real fight of the arc begins with Chihiro fighting Hirohiko and all the sword bearers the Ishaku have hired for this mission. With it ending when Chihiro takes Hirohiko right off the train, splitting apart from the group, which will lead to many consequences later on. Hikaru and Ruha go into meet up with the Masumi and I still think to this day that they're the best special squad in Kagurabachi because they actually get [ __ ] done and aren't just hype tools or ways to show the Kamunabi's incompetence. Using a ritual circle, they teleport to the temple that Samura has been kept in for his safety.

[00:24:29]And if you thought Ruha had an introduction, well get ready for a real one. Always loved how he initially thought Hikaru was Chihiro. The Ishaku begin their second raid on an enchanted blade bearer's safe house, but this time they go all out with the forces, bringing in wave after wave of hired sword bearer and hitman. We also get to meet the guards of this temple besides the Masumi with it being the monk force, name not official. Then we get Samura's first fight and the week [music] this dropped was something special. Like Uruha's intro with him chopping up a few sorcerers was all right, but he missed one [music] thing, presentation.

[00:25:05]Okay, I was not planning on interrupting anyone again after doing it to Daffy, but what what do we mean by all right, bro? Like listen, all the samura glaze that's going to come after this is valid. Samura is the goat. But are we looking at this page of Uruha launching his big ass hat the guy in front and then jumping over his head and slicing through the hat as well as the guy's face. We're looking at this and we're going it's all right. But Samura does the same thing with a [ __ ] cigarette and suddenly it's peak fiction. Hey, they're both goats, all right, chill.

[00:25:35]Chill on my guy. Because the style with which Samura was taking these guys out was unheard of up until this point. And when they popped the dots and seki thinking it could do [ __ ] only for him to give them that Kashimo treatment and the final page at the end. After that pure display of skill, we switch over to Chihiro's fight against Hirohiko. Where we get more of a breakdown of who he is.

[00:25:55]We find out that he is 18 just like Jiro and was killing people since he was three. Going to be honest, to this day I still don't know how exactly he was able to do that [ __ ] Like he killed a grown ass man with what looks like his teeth.

[00:26:07]Got to be a top five toddler in the series in terms of strength. The fight starts with Hirohiko using dots and seki boosted sorcerers to distract Chihiro.

[00:26:15]While he finds the perfect spot he can use for what he believes Chihiro's weakness is against him. Kind of crazy just how good Hirohiko was with his sorcery. Like being able to use the paper from where he was to [ __ ] up Chihiro's line of sight and create butterflies to see what was going on while directing sorcerers where to go.

[00:26:32]Now, Hirohiko versus Chihiro is the second main highlight of this arc because this entire fight gives us an understanding of who Hirohiko is and how he'll grow throughout the story. Also, this is still one of the best double spreads in the entire series. You can feel the Kishimoto influence seeping in here. But going back over to Samura's group, we see what Yura has been up to.

[00:26:53]And he's dead ass just been [ __ ] around at a playground. We also get Alondy's favorite panel in the entire series here. This single panel is what keeps the Shiba agenda alive, I swear.

[00:27:03]We then get Hatchaku's entrance into the fight where he pulls up with the most sauce yet. I don't care what anyone says, he has the most style [music] in the Ishaku. He's the only character who can wear red or a hat and actually pull that [ __ ] off without looking like he shouldn't be trusted with children. Not to mention he is really smart using every underhanded tactic he can to get some sort of advantage against Samura and trip him up. Almost actually killing him until the Masumi pull up. And honestly, Hatchaku does have the most sauce, but everyone had insane pull up games this arc. I remember how suspenseful this moment was when the arc was first coming out because we had Hakuri, two sword bearers, and a special force squad fighting together. And it felt like we were just waiting for someone to die. But of course, before that could happen, Hakuri locked in again and that means he gave himself even worse brain damage. Though he did manage to get the Tobimune to Samura.

[00:27:57]And you get the feeling of wow, everything is going almost too good. A top five moment in Kagurabachi for me is when anyone sees this particular panel of Hirahiko saying that Samura and Yura had met. Because when he says it, at first you're just like, wow, that's odd.

[00:28:14]Then you kind of start reading again, but then you slowly let it sink in. And by the end of the chapter when Hirahiko grabs the Kumiri and you realize what just happened, it's just [ __ ] we are screwed. Now taking a break from retelling, I need to take this moment to drop some slander. Because I have seen very few moments where the villain will nerf themselves in a fight and that [ __ ] doesn't backfire at all. Aruha, you're supposed to be a prodigy. Like everyone and their mom in the story loves to glaze him. But the thing about Aruha is he is garbage when it matters. Three [ __ ] years letting himself soak in hot springs instead of swinging a blade a single time. Like if he did 10 push-ups before he fought Sojiro, we would have not been in this situation right now. But no, instead we had to deal with the first villain who knows how to handle a nuke properly. When Sojiro got this thing, you could tell the difference of power compared to the others we'd seen. And then what he did to Chihiro pulverized my goat. But of course, the arc ends with Chihiro waking up on the hospital bed at the Kamunabi HQ. And we get a ton of setup for what's going to be happening next. Chihiro joining the Misumi, more Hishaku on the move, Sojiro's packed with Yura, and Hiyuki now being a blade wielder. Was all great setup for the next portion of the story, which I sadly will not get to cover. I'm sorry, but my time has ended now. But what an arc to cover. Looking back on it as a whole, it really was the arc that set up everything for the rest of part one to cover. The sword saint's sin, Sojiro's guilt, Chihiro becoming more of his own person. Just a perfect build-up that was giving us a taste of all these new characters. Though, that'll be for the next person to cover.

[00:29:50]So long, and check out my own stuff after you finish this video. Okay, I'm here again giving my thoughts on the SBA arc, which is the pivotal moment of Kagurabachi for me. Like I said in the intro, this exact page that I'm going to show you here is the moment that it went from "Oh, this series is really damn good and these characters are cool" to "Oh, is this this Are we doing Is this this Attack on Titan like level stuff?

[00:30:11]Okay, fine. Sure. Yeah, just what a a unique and inventive way to reveal a a traitor." It's not as simple as "Oh, he's a bad guy." No, it's so much deeper than that. And even within the arc, you kind of get little hints that what Sojiro is doing isn't actually the full picture. He has a grander a grander plan, which I I really and like seeing that kind of hinted at throughout, right? So even when he's doing bad things, it doesn't seem like he's a terrible person. Another amazing thing I want to point out in this arc as well is the introduction of EI White Purity Style, which I think is probably the coolest actual sorcery mechanic of Kagurabachi so far, and I really hope it becomes an iconic anime manga move because the way Hokusono draws it and the unconventional method of using a sword that way, having three masters in the world with Chihiro and Hirohiko kind of being able to use it. I love that.

[00:30:59]It's so cool. And then of course the Hirohiko Chihiro conflict and their dynamic being explored is so good with some of the best like art and and aura moments for Chihiro as well. So, yeah, SBY peak. Now for a Cal-Can to break down the Hirohiko arc of Kyoto Bloodshed Hotel.

[00:31:19]Yeah, Cal-Can hijacking the video, that's right.

[00:31:22]>> [laughter] >> It's a good day because I get to talk about Kagurabachi's Kyoto arc or it's also often referred to as the Kyoto Bloodshed Hotel arc. Whatever one you want to call it, that's what we're talking about. We start the arc fresh off of a major loss, which is Chihiro's first major loss in the whole series really, so the stakes are really high for this one. We get the introduction of Iori, which is of course absolutely wonderful. She is a gem and I love what she adds to the story of Kagurabachi in a whole. She's also just really interesting in concept as well. The whole So, this really strong guy defeated us last arc, killed his peer, it was a whole thing. We're trying to stop him. By the way, he has a daughter and she doesn't remember him.

[00:32:07]The drama of it all. I love it.

[00:32:09]Seeing the weird things going on in Japan like the rise in crime and especially Owl from the perspective of normal people or like students is really cool cuz it reminds us that more exists outside of these crazy situations that we usually see Chihiro in. With everyone being unable to use their enchanted blades, it really allows us to get some grounded action. Of course Hokusono finds a way to make it super cool even though it's on a drastically smaller scale than what we're usually used to.

[00:32:40]Cars are flipping, we're slicing buses completely in half. Sumi hits an Akira slide, and Chihiro jumps over it. Like, what the heck? That's so cool. And this is all framed as a learning moment for Chihiro, too, which is really good character stuff, I think. Because he's insecure about his skills following their loss in the last arc, especially in association with how injured Hikari is after all of that. it's really great to see him want to get better for somebody else. Then we actually get to the hotel where the steam really starts building up here. Chihiro and Iori have a really good dynamic going on. Chihiro advocates for Iori to learn her past with Samura, giving her the chance to choose if she wants to keep her memories or not because of how much he values his memory of his own father. They also have a really good conversation about how similar their circumstances are with both of their dads being heroes of the Sate war, but also with how different they live at the same point because Chihiro gets up to his usual Chihiro things, his whole mission, and Iori lives as a normal student. Both of those conversations are really great. We are shown to one of the world's greatest gifts, my good friend Hirohiko. Who?

[00:33:55]>> [laughter] >> In this arc is sporting a cutie little bun in his hair. He stabbed the dude with a hair pin and then put it in his hair, and that just oozes personality.

[00:34:05]That's my goat right there. Love it.

[00:34:07]Love it so much. Things escalate very quickly with Hirohiko being violent in this non-violence tolerant hotel.

[00:34:16]People are sent after Chihiro, which leads to the glorious people shot. And then in the same chapter, Chihiro and Hirohiko reunite after, granted, not that long of a time. Still, it's an awesome page. It looks so sick. Their whole scuffle is really freaking cool because the dynamic that they have is super fun to read and the art is it's gorgeous. We learn a little bit more about Hirahiko as well, which I think is really interesting. The memory seal fully breaking and Iori starts throwing down. Woo! Goes so hard. Then we get into flashback territory, which this flashback with Samura and Iori is absolutely beautiful and I actually like actively cried multiple times while I was writing my notes for this because [laughter] I could not stop crying while I was reading this flashback. It was bad. That's besides the point.

[00:35:09]Well, I guess it's really not because that shows how good it is. Um, so actually it's not besides the point.

[00:35:15]Anyways, the stuff with Iori is so good, but it's so sad, like I said. The whole I don't have to see she laughs like you.

[00:35:26]We get the malediction reveal in this flashback, too, which is crazy, of course. This answers some of the questions in our mind at this point in the story, which would be like what are the sins of the sword bearers that Samura was talking about and why is Kunishige so adamant in denying that he is a hero and even more questions than that as well. Those are just some examples, but this is a really big deal.

[00:35:50]The whole malediction thing, whoa. So it answers questions, but it also gives us more questions because it's like what made the sword master go berserk? What's Yura's true intention with this prophecy that he's delivering? Is the prophecy [ __ ] And it's fun to look back on these things in hindsight as well with the context that we have from the Kaminari headquarters arc. We also get the introduction of the concept of eternal contracts in this flashback, which is another piece of game changing information for the sake of this story.

[00:36:23]And of course the Samura and Iori of it all is really what makes this flashback so good. Her getting bullied because of who her dad is, but trying to hide it so that they can stay together. And then Samira making her live with her aunt anyways.

[00:36:39]>> [screaming] >> The whole I'm sorry I caused you nothing but pain at the way end makes me feel genuinely off my rocker insane.

[00:36:50]Oh my gosh.

[00:36:52]We're back to the present. Woo. Which of course leads to absolute peak absolute cinema that is the infamous two ending pages of chapter 74. Incredible build-up to an incredible moment, truly. After that, the fighting really ramps up. We get the banquet and play reveal, so the Kumi Yori ability reveals at least two of the three. Super freaking cool. The Suzaku reveal.

[00:37:20]So good, too. Great stuff all around.

[00:37:23]The whole one-v-one-v-one is sick. I love Hirihiko's rampage is what I like to call it. I think it's super cool. I don't care that he loses. It's so cool.

[00:37:33]>> [laughter] >> Because Hirihiko really did put up a really good fight, especially after he'd already lost to Chihiro once today. He was already very beat up, and then Samira pulled up. It was his first time actually getting to use his enchanted blade in battle, and he really did give it his all for the opportunity to fight Chihiro one-on-one. He really gave it his everything, and it wasn't enough.

[00:38:00]And he's distraught about it, and it's a really interesting place to leave off with him. With an opponent down, there's a little intermission from Kyoto where we cut to headquarters in Tokyo, where Hakari's finally up and at 'em. Woo. I remember this reveal was so fun reading it. Azami throws the down. It's so cool.

[00:38:20]Sorry Cal and viewers. I'm I'm interrupting the video and making it all about me again. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

[00:38:26]But I just got to point out that while she's on the topic of Azami fighting those bombs in chapter 79, oh my days, bro, this is easily the most memorable reaction moment I've had on stream reading a chapter and I just have to play the clip cuz it's iconic. All right, here we go. Going oh, Azami.

[00:38:44]Oh, bro, no. Wait, that is so what these non-Hishaku guys are. Wait, just pause for a second. Bro, you know sometimes in just anime and manga when you introduce these like new characters and that you that the author just like gases them up and then they exist to be one shot by like Bro, Azami's going to come in and waste these fools and then one V one the Hishaku, bro.

[00:39:05]Maybe.

[00:39:06]>> Now watch. Oh, bro, I'm telling you Listen, I'm calling it right now. When I scroll down, they're both dead, bro, okay? Because he broke the chains.

[00:39:13]He's eyeing up that Hishaku. He saw something, bro. [laughter] These bombs are getting slammed with a Yes, bro, they are. LOOK AT HIM NOW, BRO. [laughter] HELL YEAH. CALLED IT, BRO. HELL YEAH.

[00:39:26]This is where we get the whole executioner reveal for him. As an Azami girly from the get-go, this moment felt really good. [laughter] Hikari gets even more traumatized, which is really just par for the course for him at this point, but he is saved by Aruha who's alive. Let's go. This reveal is so freaking cool. I love it so much.

[00:39:47]I think it's so effective, so good. And then when we get back to Tokyo, it's followed up by Chihiro figuring out Samura's plan, which includes the fact that Aruha is alive after all. I really like how that writing is done of showing Aruha being alive and then going back to Kyoto and Chihiro figuring that out for himself. This is where Samura versus Chihiro begins, which Let me just say now, [ __ ] peak fiction. Oh my gosh, so good. We get the reveal that N10 was made to destroy the other enchanted blades here, which is so cool. The build-up to this moment is great between Chihiro's desperation to stop Sojiro and the flashback in the hospital with Shiba and Chihiro talking.

[00:40:33]Oh my gosh, and then it leads all into the reveal that it's made to destroy the other ones and you're like, "Oh my gosh, this is peak." Because it is. This fight is so full of emotion because Chihiro and Sojiro both have their reasons to fight. Sojiro doesn't want Chihiro and especially Iori to be tormented by the past and he wants them to be able to live their own lives unassociated from all of this. There's an internalized guilt that Sojiro just can't shake, but Chihiro is fighting to prove that first off, this is his own problem to deal with because he is Kunishige Rokuhira's son, but second, he's mainly fighting to prove that Sojiro can have a future and that he doesn't have to throw his life away and that there is another way to do it. My words really can't do it justice.

[00:41:15]It's It's just so good. It's so good.

[00:41:18]The art in all of this is a mix of gorgeous and stunning because it's snowing and it's like, "Wow, that's beautiful." But also it's cool as hell, which of course it is. It's Kagurabachi.

[00:41:31]It's Hokazono. Really, it's to be expected, but like I'm so going to glaze it. All of these high stakes finally wrap up with Sojiro both metaphorically and literally opening his eyes.

[00:41:45]Overwhelmingly peak. Oh.

[00:41:49]Oh my gosh. I'd say easily one of the best moments in the whole series and I know for a fact there's no way that's a hot take. Like everyone knows where they were. When Sojiro opened his eyes. The arc concludes with a little talk in between everybody involved in this whole ordeal. Of course, Sojiro and Iori get to hug it out and Chihiro gets to watch with a bittersweet smile with Sorry, that's the last of that.

[00:42:12][laughter] We transition to headquarters with a double spread of the Satai war. Hello, what the heck? So peak, really gives us a taste of what we're in for, huh? And we also get to see Akimaru Soga, who at this point is still only known to us as the sword master or the sword saint, depending who you're talking to. And at this point, he stands up for the first time. Scary.

[00:42:38]Talk about setting a tone. And at the way end here, Chihiro and Samurai declare their next move that they are going to Tokyo to the Kamunabi headquarters. Kyoto Bloodshed Hotel Arc, um the best arc in the manga by far. My favorite, definitely. It's it's unbelievable, it's just ridiculous.

[00:42:54]Going weekly through that, you get some some hints at lore drops. We get to see what these Doton Seki-wielding Islanders look like. You learn about the malediction, but you learn about it all from a potentially unreliable source of Yura Hishaku, right? That kind of makes everything a bit questionable. So even though you're getting answers, you still have something in your mind going, is that actually the whole story? And obviously, as we're learning now, it's probably not as simple as what it was made out to be. And then of course, we have the Samurai and Yura stuff. That flashback, what was it, two, three chapters? Peak. I don't blame Karl for crying. It's so good. I let out tears on stream when I saw Samurai open his eyes at the end. It is just peak, all right?

[00:43:31]It's really good stuff. Samurai is a just a stupidly compelling character, and I already know he's going to be, you know, one for the history books. See, he's going to be iconic, let's be so for real. And uh then just the main crux of the arc being the reveal of Kume Yura ability, Chihiro vs. Hirahiko round two, Samurai's entrance, and what is just the best paneling, double spreads, and artwork in the series, and some of the best in manga. Like the page of Chihiro through the peephole, amazing. The double spread of Samurai pulling up, and then doing Tobimune right after Hirahiko and Chihiro do their blades, almost like it's well, it is a direct reference to, you know, the Sendai Colony Three-Way Domain Clash, is maybe the best page in the whole manga. If not that, then it would be one from, what, literally the next chapter, where Sumer flies up into the sky in a amazing framed panel and uses his wings to then fly back down.

[00:44:23]It's just ridiculous. I don't even know, like, I'll just move on. Let's move on.

[00:44:27]It's the best. It's the best arc. Moving on to Dice and his pretty lengthy review of the Kamunabi Invasion Arc and the final arc of part one.

[00:44:37]What's up, everyone? As the last arc of Kagurabachi part one, Assault on Kamunabi Headquarters is just peak fiction. Not a single arc up to this point has been a miss, and this one caps things off with insane developments, great writing, and absolutely amazing art. You know, the usual from Hokazono.

[00:44:54]The introduction of characters like Kiri, Hogoto, and Natsuki to Yura, and then Akamura Asoga finally taking center stage. To say that the whole arc is one hell of a wild ride would somehow still be an understatement. Even though Kamunabi HQ starts to get raided in chapter 78, the arc doesn't actually kick off until chapter 87. With a Kamunabi operative in the archives of HQ trying to figure out who exactly are the Hisaku. The fact that absolutely nothing is known about who they are, where they come from, sorceries, relationships, nothing. Only that they have the skills to pull off the murder of Kunishige Rokuhira led them to be seen as phantoms. And here, the Kamunabi find themselves under attack by those very forces. But this time, outside the threat elimination grounds, the Hisaku themselves wait to make their entrance.

[00:45:37]Just chilling. Specifically, Bingo Yukisada, Uran, and who summoned the online community called Best Unist, wait for Yura before they make their move.

[00:45:45]It's in this moment when Yura shows up and wages his life on a coin toss just to go to the restroom, which is somehow still one of his coldest, most iconic moments, cuz for a second, his eyes look just like Akamura's and says that today the gods are on his side. This whole interaction with the old man really captures the essence of Yura's character, his sense of conviction and how he has no issue putting it all on the line because he's convinced that higher powers are backing him. At the same time, he's still only human. In the bathroom, he admits to being nervous, but tells Yukisada that he doesn't hate it because nervousness precedes victory and calls him the strongest fighter in the Hishaku. With the opening created by the mole within the force field core, Best Genius improvises and teleports the gang inside right before Izaru catches onto the mole and incapacitates him.

[00:46:30]They're brought face-to-face with Uruha, Hikari, and then Kiri who pulls up to help. As the granddaughter of Mr. EI White Purity Style himself and babysitted by both Uruha and Samura as a kid, Kiri is just a breath of fresh air in the middle of this whole thing. She brings a lot of comedy relief and proves to be a fun character all around.

[00:46:46]Meanwhile, Yura realizes that Samura had brought Uruha back to life, but isn't really tripping and gets straight down to business, pulling a katana out of a book and clashing with the former enchanted blade bearer who uses his crimson recital sorcery to blitz Bingo's giant dancing lion head. Kiri shows off her unique sword style and turns one of the Kamunabi traders into a shish kebab along with Bingo's summons. Bingo and Ron also go on to do their thing down the line with Uron freezing Kamunabi fodder as Bingo chops down on them to fuel his sorcery. I mean, from here on out, the whole arc is just non-stop action and chaos, and things only get crazier with each chapter cuz Hokuto and Natsuki Misaka then join the mix, each with a banger introduction that essentially puts them on a collision course. Hokozono shows off his knack for creating fun character dynamics and how their individual motivations play into it. Here he does it with three newly introduced characters, all of whom bounce off each other really well with Uruha right at the center. As a legit smoke demon, Hokuto only looks to engage in duels that put his life on the line and allow him to go all out. Hokuto was the one who actually killed Kunishige Rokuhira using his puppet sorcery. At the same time, he invaded Ibuki Misaka's home and defeated him in a duel. Ibuki was no longer the swordsman he used to be at that point. So, the duel wasn't satisfying for Hokuto. Natsuki, who looks to avenge his brother and consistently prove himself as a master swordsman after feeling overlooked when he was younger, makes it just in time to save Kieri and Hakuri from Hokuto and strikes him with his lightning menace sorcery. His short backstory is great because as the younger brother of a former enchanted blade bearer who was killed after losing his will to fight and with Uruha being chosen over him to wield Kamiyuri, the kind of chip Natsuki has on his shoulder adds some subtlety to his character and really plays into those character dynamics I just talked about. So, when Uruha falls through the roof fighting Yura, Natsuki's reaction is just priceless. The four of them go on to have one of the most memorable duels in all of Kagurabachi featuring one of the coolest spreads in the entire manga. Natsuki, who was also holding back, isn't having it with Hokuto being satisfied against Uruha and makes it his point to prove that Uruha's been sitting in a hot spring for years while he never lost his edge. And Uruha himself realizes that he's the only one who wasn't prepared in peak form and finally locks in. With the former prodigies instincts flooding back and Natsuki fully engaged, they both start going all out and force Yura to pull out the ace up his sleeve. In what is probably the second wildest plot twist of this arc, Yura wields the Magatumi's abilities without even coming in contact with the blade itself, revealing to have charged it up with the spirit energy before handing it over to Kyora all in preparation for this moment. Effectively using Kyora as a guinea pig to see if the eternal contract could be bypassed and know what exactly it would take. To me, this is when Yura cements himself as a legitimate mastermind and the kind of villain you can't help but appreciate for what he does for the story. He was already known for taking gambles and being two steps ahead and this is the very pinnacle of that. Meanwhile, right after Kieri successfully escorts Hakuri to store Magatumi, Kazen is revealed as the insider who got Kunishige killed and had been conspiring with the Hishaku this whole time talking about establishing order with the enchanted blades or whatever. I mean, Azami shuts him down real quick, like it's nothing.

[00:49:53]And just like that, he turns around and has the guts to pull up to a Magatsumi-amped Yura himself with nothing but some spare change. Okay, I've interrupted everyone else, so it's only fair I interrupt Dice as well. I just need to say this panel is the the funniest manga panel of all time, bro.

[00:50:08]This sorcery is not called coin. There's no way he's called it coin, which means he's just taken a coin out of his pocket, flipped it in the air while looking at the ground, and spontaneously says the word coin. It's like if I just pick up my mouse and just go mouse. I I don't know what was going through Hokazono's brain, bro. It doesn't It doesn't make any sense, base. It's great. It's goated goated panel.

[00:50:26]Determined to avenge his best friend, Azami quickly shows why he's on another level. With Uruha and Natsuki sacrificing themselves to draw out Centipede, Azami is able to position himself in the attack's weak spot. And despite Yura shredding the bones in his hands with Dragonfly, Azami paralyzes him with his coin sorcery. A healing-based sorcery that was passed down his lineage for generations, but he adapted it for combat. And with it, he catches Yura with a nasty hook to the rib cage. The way Furuha Azami is illustrated, both in the weekly release and the volume 11 redraws, is so raw.

[00:50:57]And the two-page panel of him and Yura facing off is cold as hell and one of my favorites. Yura starts to command more of the Magatsumi's powers, determined to bring order to the nation, which for the first time lets us know what his wider goal is. As Uruha and Natsuki get a second wind and along with Azami, take him on one more time. With Yukisada revealed to be the barrier vessel interfering with the force field to repel the enchanted blades, he's targeted by Ikuto, who makes an unexpected return with serious PTSD, feeling responsible for the deaths of his comrades against Sojo. But that same PTSD has led him to create this figment of his imagination with his sorcery, who he imagines as Kagura, resulting in him now subconsciously circulating his spirit energy constantly, which actually makes him perfectly suited for battle.

[00:51:42]Bringing Ikuto back this way and pitting him against Yukisada alongside Kiri and Hakuri is just great stuff from Hokazono because it speaks to his ability to do a lot with both new and returning characters by putting them in compelling and interesting situations. However, even this buffed version of Ikuto with the help of Kiri and Hakuri is not enough to kill Yukisada with his ridiculous regeneration abilities. Bro got decapitated and wasn't even fazed.

[00:52:06]Their fight is cut short as soon as Ikuto senses the presence of Magatsumi and uses his iron sand to shield off Kiri and Hakuri along with himself. Yura then walks in with Azami's arm in his hand leaving a trail of Magatsumi's flowers including on the bodies of those in his way. He proceeds to make his way to Akamura to kill him and properly wield Magatsumi once and for all. But their conversation changes everything.

[00:52:29][music] Yura only intended to wield Magatsumi because he was convinced that there was no one else fit for the task if the sword saint had gone crazy like they say. With Akamura no longer encroaching into Yura's body and revealing that he never lost his mind but intentionally unleashed the malediction based on his ideal to protect the people of Japan, Yura has a change of heart. He approves of the malediction and admits to getting Kunishige killed who Akamura reveals is his brother-in-law because he believes that sealing away the enchanted blades was a mistake. A mistake that he planned to correct. And with the Magatsumi finally in his hands, Yura offers Akamura a chance to lead with the enchanted blades together. I really can't glaze this moment enough. The plot twist, the dialogue, the implications on the wider narrative, everything about this interaction is just peak and feels like the culmination of everything that the Hishaku have worked for up to this point. That is until Azami shows up like a walking corpse and plays the spoiler.

[00:53:23]Even after losing his other arm, he's able to buy enough time for Shiba to show up after Hakuri was able to teleport the core station vessel into the storehouse. As always, Shiba's pull up is tough especially how he teleports to Yura outside for Chihiro and Samura to deal with. With the man who led the plot to kill his father in front of him, Chihiro is as locked in as ever. But, the same cannot be said about Samura, who finds himself distracted by innocent bystanders in danger. Even though Shiba has that covered, Yura is still able to exploit that as a weakness of Samura's and makes the point to him that you can't perform great feats without making sacrifices. Chihiro pulls up behind Yura and uses Nishiki to resist and dash through centipede, stabbing him and unleashing a combination of Samura's Suzaku stacked with his own via Aka to sever Yura's connection to Magatsumi. In his most vulnerable moment, Yura screams at Chihiro that it was Kunishige who made the world the way it is, not the Hishaku. Yura and his wife were merely nobodies who needed a hero. His wife was killed after the so-called heroes abandoned them and were no longer around to protect nobodies like them. After seeing his memories, Akamura assures Yura that he'll be that hero. And by allowing Magatsumi to completely devour his body, Yura becomes possessed by the sword saint himself. Answer, Akamura Soga. This is why I'm saying that this entire arc is just ridiculous, because each reveal only enriches the story and continues to set the stakes even higher while building on and naturally progressing the storyline of what it is that Yura and the Hishaku fought for. It doesn't take long for Akamura to make his presence felt. He acknowledges that his existence is incompatible with society's mainstream ethics, but insists that he had to go to a place where no one else would and wipe out the enemy.

[00:55:04]He felt that he fulfilled his role and that that was enough. But, as he recalls Yura's final words, he realizes that it wasn't. He unsheathes Magatsumi, causing the buildings around him to bleed black, and [music] asks why Kunishige sealed away the enchanted blades. It only takes him seeing Enten in Chihiro's hand for him to know the answer to that question.

[00:55:24]Before Samura can react, Akamura cuts the whole panel in half and speed blitz Chihiro holding Magatsumi to his neck.

[00:55:30]He treats him with familiarity as they chat for a bit. Akamura reveals to him that he's his uncle, his mom's younger brother. He also wanted to hear from Chihiro himself why it was that his father sealed away the blades. Upon learning that Anten was forced to destroy the enchanted blades, Akamura seems to take it personal and vows to eradicate evil and protect the vulnerable and will kill anyone who gets in his way, no exceptions. Samura comes back just in time with Suzuku, yet still aware that Akamura can take his life.

[00:55:58]Chihiro is given a chance to back down, but as he says, he has his own mission to fulfill. It's revealed that Magatsu is the enchanted blade crafted with the purpose to kill enemies, has more than three abilities and drains life around it giving it to its wielder, allowing it to command a darker and stronger power.

[00:56:15]With Akamura's true realm, simply unsheathing it allows it to passively drain the life of everything within its radius. Even Samura's Suzuku can barely hold it off. At one point, Samura engulfs Akamura within a domain of Suzuku's flames. And sure, it's still no match for Akamura, but I can't even put into words how hard the art goes in this sequence. Like Hokozono just flexing every time he drew Akamura and Samura going at it. Anyway, Anten on the other hand was the blade forced to counter the malediction in Magatsu. After opening the doorway to its true realm, Chihiro is able to use Nishiki to block Magatsu's disruption of all life and ignore spider, taking on Akamura before he can kill off Samura. With Aka, Chihiro discovers how the Magatsu channels black energy into infinite forms. And with his Roku Hira eyes, he's able to perceive the blade's pathway and react to Akamura's attacks. It's here when Akamura becomes aware that Chihiro and the Anten are a legitimate threat.

[00:57:09]And though he wanted to avoid killing his nephew at first, he then recognizes that Chihiro is a samurai like him.

[00:57:15]Akamura stops playing games and lands a decisive blow on Chihiro, breaks the Anten, and then pierces his heart. He's convinced that Kunishige's rusty old ideas and the post-war years dulled his skill and made him lose his way with Chihiro's fleeting destiny and the Anten being the result, the evidence that Kunishige lost his mastery. Akamura tells Samurai that he lost betting on a dud and goes on to use B to blast a massive hole into Kamunabi HQ, claiming he'll purge the Kamunabi, place it under his control, and leave Japan with the malediction. Aware that Akamura has returned, Shiba rescues Hakuri and intends to fall back and regroup, evacuating anyone who stands a chance at landing a blow against him in the future. Chihiro thinks of his father as he bleeds out with Enten slowly disintegrating in his hand. But, Samurai doesn't let that happen. He's convinced that Chihiro wasn't a dud, that he's the light that will continue to shine on many. This time, it is Samurai who burns his own life force to wield the dark power, preventing Enten from turning to dust and healing himself for one last duel against Akamura as he undoes the malediction with his black flames, saving all who were affected. They share a short conversation in a mental scape, kind of like we see between Chihiro and Sojo. To Akamura, Chihiro is inadequate in every way, but Samurai understands what Chihiro has been through. That until just 3 years ago, Chihiro was forging swords. He says that in every way, Chihiro is just getting started.

[00:58:38]With their powers basically canceling each other out, they meet at the apex of sword play. This sight is burned into Chihiro's Roku Hira eyes, giving him the blueprint to destroy the Magatsumi and slay Akamura Soga. When they first met, Samurai and Akamura weren't all that different and felt a sense of mutual understanding. The hands of both would shake when they killed their enemies.

[00:58:58]Akamura even used to believe that beyond the pile of corpses, there was a peaceful world. But, the war changed him. Instead of just waiting for Samurai's body to turn to ash, Akamura opts to respect him as a fellow sword fighter who's fully committed, and they charge at each other one last time.

[00:59:15]Ultimately, it is Akamura who emerges victorious, of course, bisecting Samurai. Samurai fades into thin air and uses one of Crow's feathers to deliver Tobimune to Yori as Shiba teleports away with Chihiro. Samurai goes out like a goat. His bet on the future and how he thinks of Yori as he fades away is genuinely heavy and extremely well-written when you look at his entire character arc. Four days later, Akamura has already revealed himself to the public and is said to have issued a declaration of war as we see him looking over the city from the skies. Meanwhile, Chihiro regroup with the Masumi and Yori who've been keeping a low profile. He blames himself for losing but sense that there's still a chance to bring back So Mura using the dark power. A secret realm of the enchanted blades that even Kunishige couldn't fathom. Only Magatsumi commands that power constantly, but the other enchanted blades always had that potential.

[01:00:04]Chihiro believes that he can destroy Tobimune so So Mura can return using the black flames he went out with. But first, Chihiro will need to forge a new enchanted blade using what remains of Enten and the other piece of Cloud Gouger. With the perspectives of Sojo, Hiyuki, Kyora, Yura, and Akamura on his mind, he reflects on what kind of blade he should make now that he set on seeing the world through his own eyes. He doesn't just look to follow in his father's footsteps. He looks to surpass him. And with Chihiro forging his new enchanted blade, the curtain closes on Kagurabachi part one. Honestly, I don't think things could have ended on a higher note than this. This entire arc is just an experience. Chapter after chapter, things only get better and better. And just when you think Hokazono can't top it, he goes and does it again.

[01:00:46]I'll wrap things up by saying that this arc captures everything I love about Kagurabachi. The fights, the reveals, the art, the character writing, and the clash of ideals relating to absolute power and the moral obligation it entails. It's all just sublime and while assault on Kamunabi headquarters is genuinely one of my favorite arcs in all of shonen. But I've yak more than enough. Big thanks to Alant for having me on. Peace. The Kamunabi invasion arc is a really weird one for me because it has some of the absolute highest highs of the whole series and is mostly an incredible arc all round. But it's also one of those arcs that I have some tiny little complaints about or more so just like criticisms or issues I personally have, right? I'll go through the positives first. Everything to do with Azami is probably my favorite part of the series or top three. His social reveal is dope. Coin is a hilarious and iconic panel at this point, and the fact that we have this guy a very emotional and and very reactive, like I said in the beginning, you know, immediately you can see when Kaizan reveals himself as the traitor and says it was even worth Kunishige's life, you can tell from that panel that Azami is about to freak out.

[01:01:55]Like just from the way he's been drawn in that tiny little panel, you can tell.

[01:01:59]Next page, fist to the face is so so good. And then we get to him, you know, doing the whole I'm going to go kill their leader, and he throws down with what is basically a hydrogen bomb while being a coughing baby. It's ridiculous.

[01:02:10]The fact that he managed to do that to person wielding the Megatsume at Yura's level is just insane. And then he does the Gojo later on, you freaking demon.

[01:02:18]But then we have really cool stuff.

[01:02:20]Hokuto, Natsuki, Yura, and Uraha, love it. Did a reread, Uraha's one of my favorite characters. Hokuto is really really cool. I lowkey think he's the strongest Hisaku. And then there's obviously, you know, Yukisada is just a thing. I don't know, bro. Whatever. That fight, the art, some of the double spreads ridiculous, next level stuff.

[01:02:36]Genuinely, I don't have the words, it's so good. Some great set-up there, very good dynamic and and kind of interactions between those characters while fighting as well. I really liked Bingo and Uran. I found those two very interesting, especially their power sets. I wish we got more though. There was moments like that where we cut to them or we see, you know, the Best Jeanist guy or we see those hair comb sorcerers that pulled up and started talking smack to Uran and Bingo, and that never really went anywhere.

[01:03:02]Obviously, Ikuto had some great stuff and he interrupted that with something really dope, but even then, Ikuto had his moment and kind of just dipped, right? I feel like there was a lot of underutilization of these characters, and I do wish we'd slowed it down and focused more on those kind of like little things. Like I thought this arc was going to be very Hakuri-centered and sure, he did a great job with some great moments, but he wasn't anywhere near as crucial to this arc as I thought he would be. But then, of course, yeah, Yura and Samura and Chiro and then kind of Shiba peak. I don't know what else to say. Akumura Soga actually coming through, no one expected that. And then, the fact that he's here to stay with Samura giving up his life and set Ah, it's just all good. Dice explained it enough. I love that arc, it's amazing.

[01:03:40]We are now in the Seita war arc, which means part two has officially begun and I'm not going to be covering that just yet, but the quality is just as consistent. I really do think Kagurabachi is in it for the long haul, but even part one in itself is generational. Let's be for real. The anime is coming April of next year. I can't wait for it to hit another massive boom in popularity. I will still be here making content. I'll obviously have to make a part two video similar to this when it gets concluded. Yeah, overall, Kagurabachi, definitely not a meme.

[01:04:08]Thank god it was in the beginning. It had nothing to do with how coincidentally amazing this series turned out to be and I will have more Kagurabachi videos coming out in the future. Thank you very much to everyone who hopped on the video. I think it was a great way to showcase the really nice kind of tight-knit community before, you know, the anime causes the whole fandom to to blow up and massively increase.

[01:04:26]Big up the creative community in Kagurabachi. It's a great space to be in right now for the most part. And yeah, let's just hope it stays as good as it is so far cuz it's peak. How should I end the video? Like, subscribe. Enough time has passed, I guess.