Rating (Out of 5): ~3
Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)
Release Date: August 4, 2015
Volumes: 37+
Spoilers?: No.
Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.
Goodreads Synopsis:
In the 1860s in Japan, a
new era is dawning. During this time fraught with violent social
upheaval, samurai of all walks of life flock to Kyoto in the hope of
joining a band of warriors united around their undying loyalty to the
Shogunate system. This group became one of the greatest (and most
infamous) movements in Japanese history...the Shinsengumi!
Sei is badly injured when she rescues Shoji in a surprise attack against the Shinsengumi. Though she seems to be recovering, Shoji is haunted by the incident and Sei’s role in saving his life. His behavior is so unreasonable that Saito threatens to revoke his role as Vice Captain! Meanwhile, Captain Kondo returns from a disappointing trip to Hiroshima…little does he know that some of his closest confidants are conspiring against him!
Sei is badly injured when she rescues Shoji in a surprise attack against the Shinsengumi. Though she seems to be recovering, Shoji is haunted by the incident and Sei’s role in saving his life. His behavior is so unreasonable that Saito threatens to revoke his role as Vice Captain! Meanwhile, Captain Kondo returns from a disappointing trip to Hiroshima…little does he know that some of his closest confidants are conspiring against him!
Review:
I tend to stay away
from historical books, just because I’m not a fan in general. I’ve tried
reading some, but I have a hard time getting into them. This book surprised me.
Thankfully, the
synopsis at the beginning of the book filled me in enough to get into this
book, what with not having read any of the previous volumes. Clearly there were
a couple important incidents that I’d missed, but this volume was relatively
easy to follow.
And while it is
historical, with clearly labeled dates and political dynamics, it’s also a
comedy. There are serious moments, with fighting and remorse, and Okita starts
getting depressed in the first half, but there’s also a lot of joking around,
moments where the characters are laughing and teasing each other. I liked the
budding romance between Okita and Sei, and the modesty they have with each
other, which makes sense for the time period.
It also seemed like
the author really knows the time period this is set in, which is good.
I was surprised by
how enjoyable this volume was, and I liked the main characters. And even how
some of the side characters seemed to be changing.
A review copy was
provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, and Erik Jansen from MediaLab PR. Thank
you so, so much!
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