Summary
VIZ Media took to Twitter and Instagram on Wednesday to announce that theKagurabachimanga will be getting a print release Fall. The series, created by Takeru Hokazono, saw immense hype shortly after the release of its first three chapters, with many readers calling it one of the very best of the new age in Shonen Jump.
With the serialization ofKagurabachibeginning in September 2023, it has taken a mere six months for the series to get its first print version throughNorth American licensor and distributor, VIZ Media, a testament to the series' immense popularity in its infancy.
What isKagurabachiAbout?
A Story of Sorcery and Vengeance
Kagurabachifollows the story of Chihiro, the only son of master blacksmith Kunishige Rokuhira, a man capable of creating swords that are just as deadly as they are beautiful. Chihiro’s life of learning the tools of the trade under his doting father comes crashing down around him after witnessing his father being slain in cold blood. With his thirst for vengeance ignited and armed with one of the last swords his father ever forged, Chihiro dedicates himself to finding the people who did it and making them pay.
Kagurabachi is set in an alternate version of Japan in the modern-day, one in which a period of peace was achieved fifteen years prior to the events of the series throughthe use of Rokuhira’s blades. Many of those who know of Chihiro’s father know him to be a hero far more famous than some of the warriors who fought in the war. Learning that his father was murdered by sorcerers, Chihiro stops at nothing, not even at defying the Korogumi Yakuza who rule over the city, backed by a band of sorcerers known as the Hishaku. The story really gets going when it is established that the element that made Rokuhira’s swords so integral to ending the war 15 years prior is the fact that he imbued each of them with sorcery, making them katana that possess special powers.
What Can Kagurabachi Be Compared To?
A Gritty, Gory Revenge Fantasy
When the Kagurabachi memes and internet discourse were at their height in late 2023, the vast majority of opinions seemed to be concerned with establishing the series as an instant classic comparable to, if not better than the entirety of Shōnen Jump’s new age, and even thelegendary Shōnen Jump Big Three. While the intention was largely intended as humour, the immense hype surrounding the series brought to it, a huge legion of readers who were quickly turned into fans by the series' quick pacing, gore and interesting presentation of magic and supernatural elements in an anachronistic world reminiscent of a mash-up of modern-day and medieval Japan. The protagonist’s thirst for vengeance is straightforward, but the series shines more in the department of art and concept.
In a manner akin to something likeDemon Slayer, the various magical effects of the swords forged by Chihiro’s father are easy to follow and make a page great to look at, but there’s also immense time and effort put into the composition. As an overall reading experience, it’s particularly difficult not to think of Tatsuki Fujimoto’sCHAINSAW MANas visual and stylistic inspiration, especially when it comes to the character designs and simplicity of human forms in general situations, which is contrasted by highly dynamic and gory combat panels. T
here is a sardonic sense of humour imbued into some of the moments inKagurabachithat are incredibly similar to Fujimoto’s magnum opus; combined with the overwhelmingly positive initial response to the series, that makes it understandable as part of the beginning of a “post-CHAINSAW MAN” era in Shōnen manga. TheKagurabachiphysical print comes this Fall.
