historical fiction

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Lenni Reviews: “Firefly Wedding” Vol. 6, by Oreco Tachibana

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

After saving Satoko, Kotaro vows to help her with her dream of living happily with Shinpei. But they still need to get off this island, and Asagiri won’t make it easy for them.

Since they’re still stuck on this island, it gives us a chance to see more of Shinpei and Satoko growing closer and get some insight into Asagiri and why she’s making things so difficult. They’re working on a different way to get off the island. It’s nice to see Kotaro actually listen to Satoko and help her get what SHE wants, other than what her family obligations are. Her family sucks anyway. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Elusive Samurai” Vol. 19, by Yūsei Matsui

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

This volume is the Battle at Ishizu where Akiie’s army is outnumbered and Tokiyuki faces his former retainer, Morofuyu.

I get that fleeing is Tokiyuki’s thing, but wow, he is losing allies and friends right and left. This is historically based, and yes, when waging a war, things don’t go smoothly and you lose people. But still, this volume doesn’t really make Tokiyuki look good. 2.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Vagabond” Definitive Edition Vol. 5, by Takehiko Inoue

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is suggested for mature readers. 

Takezo faces Kohei, Master of Chain and Sickle.

While we learn Kohei’s backstory, we also learn about Kojiro, a deaf child raised by Jisai. Kojiro’s growth into a skilled swordsman takes up the bulk of this volume. It seems he’s destined from birth to wield a sword, but like a lot of stories in this genre, that’s a tragic fate. This had to be my favorite of the series so far. It’s everything I love about this genre, despite including some SA. 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Firefly Wedding” Vol. 5, by Oreco Tachibana

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Satoko tries to convince the most popular prostitute on the island, Asagiri, to allow her contract to be bought out since she has turned down every offer so far. While running her errands for Asagiri, Satoko spends more time with Shinpei.

Their relationship is odd but sweet. Shinpei is still his cute/psychotic self, and we get more glimpses into Satoko’s past, where her sister still sucks. It also sucks that we’re still stuck on this island, but it was sweet to have Shinpei and Satoko get closer, hanging out and doing random things. Shinpei is still low-key terrifying, though. 4 out of 5

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Lenni Reviews: “The Elusive Samurai” Vol. 18, by Yusei Matsui

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Tokiyuki and his vassals fight Kono Morano while Akiie has to deal with ineffective nobles in order to win.

I do enjoy how Akiie treats his troops, making sure they can have celebrations to keep up morale. He’s a good leader, so it’s clear Tokiyuki can learn a lot from him. But as he’s still going through this learning process, this still feels kinda dry. I couldn’t even get it into the fight scenes. It all feels like that Simpsons meme:

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I honestly wonder if I should drop this series or succumb to the sunk cost fallacy and power through. 2.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Elusive Samurai” Vol. 17, by Yusei Matsui

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Tokiyuki and his army head to Kyo where they face the powerful Toki Yorito, and a former friend appears to kill Tokiyuki.

While there is a lot of action in this volume, it doesn’t feel smooth. It’s very “This happened. And then this happened.” but didn’t feel like I was enjoying a story. They felt unconnected, like Sunday comic strips: all our familiar characters are there, but from scene to scene it doesn’t flow. It’s not bad. The tactics and battles are cool to look at, some of the character reveals will raise an eyebrow, but overall, this is just ok. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Vagabond” Definitive Edition, Vol. 4, by Takehiko Inoue

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Musashi challenges the Yagyu school, not realizing that the wealthy patron who took in Otsu is the master of that school he wants to defeat.

It’s nice to see Otsu doing more than sitting and pining for Musasgu. She’s traveling with Jotaro after Musashi once again sets off on his own. Since she was staying with the Yagyu, she’s picked up a few things, so she’s not a complete damsel. She’s nowhere near the swordsmen like Musashi, which figures since she’s not on a mission to become the best like he is. 3.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Firefly Wedding” Vol. 4, by Oreco Tachibana

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Kotaro, Satoko’s bodyguard, comes to rescue her, but Shinpei isn’t about to let her go that easily.

We also learn who hired the thugs who kidnapped Satoko in the first place, which was not surprising in the slightest. Again, Shinpei really swings from psychotic to sweetheart in a terrifying way and the art is fantastic at showing both. Even though Satoko has these two scary guard dogs, she still gets a chance to show her strength in her own way within the confines of her position and her health. For now, we’re still stuck on the island and not likely to leave anytime soon. I’m itching to find out what happens when Satoko gets home. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Elusive Samurai” Vol. 16, by Yusei Matsui

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Tokiyuki heads west with Kitabake’s army but some who are still loyal to Takauji are ready to stop him.

It was interesting to see Tokiyuki have to confront the fact that not every soldier fighting with him is going to be some honorable warrior with high morals. Some are just brutes who enjoy violence and pillaging but he is not in a place where he can be picky about his allies when he’s got a war to win. It’s a worthwhile lesson to learn to work with people where they’re at. This is one of the bloodier volumes as well, since the armies clash and our main cast faces some wild enemies. The battles are well done and are the most entertaining parts of this volume. 2 out of 5

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Lenni Reviews: “Vagabond Definitive Edition” Vol. 3, by Takehiko Inoue

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

After his defeat, Musashi is training to face Inshun for a rematch. We learn how Inshun came to be who he is and Natahachi runs into the granny who is still enraged with Musashi.

I do appreciate the spots of levity after how dark Inshun’s backstory turned out to be. After that, it’s a LOT of talking and we check in on Otsu and Musashi, trying to talk his way into challenging the Yagyu Sekishusai in order to increase his skills. In all the blood and guts, those little breaks are pivotal to me in enjoying the story as a whole. I do wonder if those asides to Otsu will come to impact Musashi’s story overall because it’s clear he’s left everything behind to pursue this single-minded obsession with being the best swordsman. 4 out of 5.

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