Kagurabachi, vol. 1 | Review

Kagurabachi, vol. 1

Story and art by Takeru Hokazono

Viz Media, released 11/5/24

Age rating: Older Teen

Revenge. Magic Swords. Yakuza sorcerers.

All three grabbed my attention immediately when I heard about Kagurabachi at New York Comic Con last month. I was ecstatic and was ready to dive into this story. 

Chihiro’s father, Kunishige, is the most famous swordsmith in the land. His creation of six enchanted blades had helped end a war, and their village lived in peace. While father and son are different personality-wise, Kunishige trains his son to become a swordsmith. However, when a group of sorcerers, the Hishaku, raid their home to steal the magical swords and kill Kunishige in front of his son, Chihiro wants revenge, and he wields his slain father’s seventh and final blade to begin his mission. 

While this story had a pretty slow start, the action and art (which can be graphic and somewhat disturbing) picks up the pace and we witness a story of vengeance that is something to behold. Chihiro’s personality shift from a dedicated son to an emotionless killer was executed (no pun intended) extremely well. Chihiro is shown as more responsible compared to his father, who is more carefree. Despite the character differences, they have a wonderful father-son bond, with Kunishige warning his son that while the swords have saved lives, they are still tools used to kill people, and the swordsman wielding it is still complicit in the death the katana causes. So when Chihiro’s father is brutally murdered in front of him, his personality shift is understandable. 

While the story is dark, the comedy is brought by a diverse group of characters who aid Chihiro: Mr. Shiba, a sorcerer and family friend who joins Chihiro on his mission for revenge, and an orphaned girl named Char who has special abilities that serve as comedic relief. In addition, we are introduced to Hinao, a cafe owner who provides information on sorcerers to Chihiro and Shiba. While we are still getting to know these characters, the scene stealer for me is Char and her flailing oversized sleeves when she’s excited. These cute moments of excitement help balance out the heaviness of the story.

Now onto the violence. There is blood, a lot of it. Think of Kagurabachi as a mix of Kill Bill with magic, and Chihiro as The Bride. Would I put this in younger hands? Not if the readers are very sensitive to violence, but if they can handle Demon Slayer with its depictions of dismemberment, Kagurabachi should not be a problem. 

Kagurabachi is a great story, which is already garnering a lot of buzz, and with the way volume one ended, we need to be prepared for more surprises and carnage that Chihiro is going to face in his quest for revenge. 

Filed under: Graphic Novels, Manga, Reviews, Young Adult