【Japanese Samurai】Here Comes the Four Best Samurai Manga!

2020-06-19

Saori

Hello, everybody! It’s Saori from Manga Republic!

So everybody!! Speaking of the Samurai…… What elements would you imagine?

Hello everybody, I’m Manga Republic’s Boss.

Mmm…… The Samurai? …… Let me see……

The elements that Boss imagines!

Fighting with the swords
Valuing honor and human kindness
Sticking his own way

Well~ I can’t think of any, other than these! Maybe they are served by someone……? Nah…… Anyone who fights with the swords and are kind will be the Samurai if what I said was correct, huh?

Yep! Even Japanese people can’t think of the good elements about the Samurai like this…… So today, we’ll feature some of the Samurai manga which show us what it is!

【Japanese Samurai】This Is the Manga, “Samurai” Appears! Here Comes the Four Best Japanese Samurai Manga!

What is the Samurai in the first place?

Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer castle of medieval and early-modern Japan. It’s also the term of the position and the warrior.

Now we all have the image of the soldiers who fight with the swords but the terminology is “to take care of persons in the upper ranks of society, and the persons themselves”.

So basically, Samurai equals to the 武士 (Bushi=warrior), huh?

Yes. The terms are different but they have the same meaning! As mentioned here, it used to be the servant for the high ranked people as the image but now we have the image of the person who fights with the sword.

Alright then, let’s check out what kind of Samurai appears in the current manga!

Vagabond / バガボンド
Now being serialized

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Miyamoto Musashi joins the battle, aiming for the “Invincible Under the Heavens (Tenka Muso)” for the swords. Just like him, those, who want to master the swords, become the Vagabond, following their destinies……

The story starts in 1600, in the aftermath of the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. A boy named, Shinmen Takezou, joined the battle with the sword. But he ended up losing the battle. Never being able to go back to his hometown village, never being loved by anyone, he became at a loss.

Meanwhile, Takezou met Takuan Soho, who admitted Takezou’s talent of the swords and even his existence. Thanks to that, Takezou swore to live, aiming for becoming the top of the sword’s profession. At that time, swearing to become another self, he re-named himself, ‘Miyamoto Musashi’……!”

The original is the novel, ‘Miyamoto Musashi’, by Yoshikawa Eiji-Sensei! Inoue Takehiko-Sensei has started the series of Slam Dunk, which started to be serialized since 1998. (Currently on a break but it depicts various characters, and chapter 3 have been serialized so far.) For this title too, it beautifully depicts the character who aims for the “Tenka Muso as the swordsman”, still sticking to the Samurai……!

Manga Set
Vagabond

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Vagabond

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Rurouni Kenshin / るろうに剣心
Concluded

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The story is set in Meiji era.

Kamiya Kaoru, who manages his Kendo dojo (=the martial arts gym), meets the wanderer, Himura Kenshin. He owns a “reverse blade katana”.

Kenshin, who is usually very calm, wanting to avoid conflicts, finds out that he is “Hitokiri Battosai”, who is called a killer, being the strongest swordsman.

This is a masterpiece, serialized in Shonen Jump and it still is popular with the extra edition, currently being serialized! It’s been made into anime and the movie too. Since it’s already concluded, if you seriously want to learn the “Samurai” with the typical samurai story, this is the one!

Manga Set
Rurouni Kenshin

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Rurouni Kenshin

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Nobunaga no Chef / 信長のシェフ
Now being serialized

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Why don’t you immerse into the era of the “Samurai” or the “Swordsman” from a little different angle……?

A young chef named Ken is mysteriously transported to the Sengoku period (1970s) and also loses most of his memories, even though he doesn’t lose all his knowledge about the cooking that has stuck to his body.

Even though he understands what people say, he becomes at a risk so many times due to the totally different world from his original world. However, as he cooks dishes from the previous knowledge and serve them, people start admitting his existence.

In time, the rumor of his cooking reaches the strongest soldier, Oda Nobunaga, who is going to govern Japan with an overwhelming power.

While the first two depict “the way the Samurai lives”, this one (Nobunaga no Chef) depicts “the dieting style, or living style of the Samurai”! So you guys, do you know how they eat or how they live in the era, where the Samurai was still alive? If you want to learn “the Samurai” from a little different point of view, this is it!! This has been made into a live-action drama in Japan too! It’s so popular……!!

Manga Set
Nobunaga no Chef

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Nobunaga no Chef

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Gintama / 銀魂
Concluded

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How he looks might not be the “Samurai” but the way he lives is the “Samurai”.

The story is set in an alternate-history late-Edo period, where humanity is attacked by aliens called “Amanto”.

The Samurai fight to defend Earth, but they lost decades later. Therefore, they accepted the results. Japan, who accepted the invasion of Amanto, was actually under Amanto and the civilization was dramatically developed.

Meanwhile, a boy, who never forgot the mind of the “Samurai” existed.

His name is Sakata Gintoki. He is lazy and has eyes like the dead fish’s’ but he can’t leave those who in need alone so he manages the “jack-of-all-trades”, where he solves everything.

This is a heartfelt, but a gag-taste Samurai manga about everyday life of Gintoki and people who relate with the “jack-of-all-trades.”

When it comes to the Samurai manga, most of them depict fighting and the savage atmosphere. That’s why I picked the typical gag manga, Gintama, where we can read, being relaxed, even with the “Samurai” mind, as the last recommended manga! However, we can still see some serious episodes too so for those who want to learn the “Samurai” casually, this is it!

Manga Set
Gintama

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Gintama

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