*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.
*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:
I honestly wonder if I should drop this series or succumb to the sunk cost fallacy and power through. 2.5 out of 5.
*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.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
After Tokiyuki’s loss to the Ashikaga forces, he has retreated from Kamakura. Two years later, Emperor G0-Daigo and Takauji are fighting for control of the land.
After a section dedicated to the use of human excrement as fertilizer and bomb-making material, we have Tokiyuki looking for allies so he can take on Takauji and they’re a bunch of weirdos. His new allies even include the son of his enemy, Nitta. It’s a twist for Tokiyuki to have to trust these new people in battle and navigate dealing with so many different types of warriors while increasing his own skills. He’s also not directly in charge, so things have changed for him and it’s nice to see most of this have tactical thinking. 3 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
After the loss at Sagami River, Yorishige faces the consequences of supporting the Hojo rebellion. But Tokiyuki refuses to allow it, offering Ashitaka a challenge: If he can kill Tokiyuki, he wins. But if Tokiyuki escapes, Ashitaka loses everything.
I want Tokiyuki to win using all these abilities and lessons we spend 12 volumes watching him learn; to finally see everything come into play and feel satisfying. But, I felt kinda bored reading this one. At least the scene with the challenge was effectively done. Other than some of the creepier enemies I’ve seen in this series, it was nice for a one-on-one with “normal” combatants. 3 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Tokiyuki is back home now in Kamakura with his retainers as the battle still is not over. They seek out master swordsmith, Masamune. Emperor Go-Daigo sends Takauji to kill Tokiuki.
Ya’ll I thought we were done. I really thought this was gonna end with the last volume because Tokiyuki and his army took back the city but yeah, I should have known this would keep going since Takuji is still out there. Other than that, the weapon upgrades in this were interesting and Shina is a great addition to the cast. I really want to see more of her. Her back story is compelling and utilizing her regularly would make for some unique battles. 3 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
It’s all hands on deck for the final battle for control of Kamakura an when a formidable master of horses, Imagawa joins the fray, it may not be enough for Tokiyuki to evade and survive to face down the man who killed his family and friends.
As a heads up, the while thing with Imagawa and his horses is sad and super gross. I physically recoiled from what he was doing to that poor animal so, trigger warning for that I guess? It was so damn out there that when Tokiyuki finally goes up against anyone else, I was still fixated on the horse. The art style does really well with gore/body horror like this. 3 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Tokiyuki and his allies face the Kanto Hisashiban, each enemy presenting a unique and challenging ability.
Yeah, the horse guy sucks. Poor horses…
I think what keeps this series from entertaining for me as much as it could is the main character. I don’t need my main characters to always be like Mizu from Blue Eyed Samurai; extremely flawed and powerful but the original fire for Tokiyuki to get his title back in the beginning of the series is down to sparking embers. It’s all barely holding my interest. There are bits that hold my interest and keep me turning the pages at the spectacle of it all but deep down, I don’t feel as invested. 3 out of 5
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Hojo Tokiyuki has revealed himself as the last heir to the decimated Hojo clan, putting him in an exhalted position among his comrades but also in the crosshairs of his enemies.
There’s something about this series that feels haphazard. A setup is made that feels bombastic and then it’s all just stuff. It’s very unorganized and all over the place. I mean, yay for the good guys but it’s hard to get invested in whatever is going on. 2.7 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Tokiyuki Hojo and his allies prepare to make a move against their enemies but Hojo must earn the respect of Yorishige’s forces by facing Shokan.
The battle was cool and seeing Tokiyuki use the skills he’s learned so far but something is missing. It feels kinda dry despite all the action going on. I wasn’t able to connect with this one like the others even though I did keep turning the pages to find out what happened next. Maybe the next one will have more of a punch. 3 out of 5.
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