In this eighth volume, the Chiruran series takes a new step. It is no longer just a few samurai who clash, but total war is declared between the mafia clans. Find out in the column if this change marks a progression for the series.
No more laughter
Chiruran follows the Kondo mafia clan for control of the Shinsen Gumi mafia group and this new volume marks a break. If you have read the previous review of this series edited by Mangetsu, you know that a war is brewing inside Shinsen Gumi. Kondô's group has been in mourning since the murder of Aijirō Sasaki by Matasaburô Saeki. This event transforms an aggressive competition between the two branches of the same mafia into a pitched battle around three groups : the Kondo clan, the Serizawa group and the group closer to the Niimi emperor. More than the Serizawa clan, it is the competition between Kondo and Niimi that is at the center of this volume. The characters multiply and the portrait of each at the beginning of the volume becomes more and more essential. Strategies are becoming more collective. It is therefore no longer the individual talent that counts, but the size of the troops. Alas, the Kondo clan is few in number compared to its competitors.
The Imperial Jubilee
Screenwriter Shinya Umemura also brought imperial power into the arena, making Chiruran a manga with a more historical context. We see the links with Keiji, Mangetsu's other historical series. However, power was greatly weakened after the attack on the Aizu and Satsuma clans in 1863. Even though the army was able to resist, the emperor entrusted the mafia with the surveillance of his palace and the streets of the capital Kyoto. Kamo Serizawa is the winner of this new deal by becoming head of the guard. On the contrary, Niimi is removed from the court, but as a worthy Japanese correspondent of Machiavelli, he places his feet as much on the side of the emperor as the Shinsen Gumi to secretly maintain control. However, Chiruran should not be taken as a history book. Here, spies literally come out of the ground like a mole.
It is at this moment in history that we can ask ourselves a moral question: is telling the rise of a mafia clan justified? We must not believe that Chiruran plunges the reader into moral darkness, because the central group of the Kondo clan does not seek power, but to punish criminals. They are supportive and honorable while their opponents are mercenaries always ready to flee if the fight becomes unfavorable. Although marginalizing to society, Japanese mafia groups are paradoxically very hierarchical. The chief who gives his name to the clan is not contested. His authority is natural and his weaknesses are a sign of humanity more than an index of weakness. Below there are vice-commanders, agents and apprentices. Compliance with the rules is the basis of success.
Alone against all?
The second half of this volume also follows the trajectory of Sanosuke Harada who is seen on the cover with his weapon of choice, the scythe. During the siege of a palace of the Kondo clan, he is the centerpiece. The cartoonist Eiji Hashimoto depicts him as the Western angel of death, but his actions are reminiscent of Romulus from Roman mythology.
Chiruran remains a series on individual courses. In the Kondo clan, each individual has a role: Keisuke Yamanami is the intellectual and therefore the strategist of the group. His role is even greater here because he has to compensate for their smaller number by knowing the places and managing the stages of the attack. Everyone also has a favorite weapon. This is an opportunity for Eiji Hashimoto to show his talent as a draftsman. He manages to render collective strategy and individual fights. The representation of the dead by Sanosuke Harada's scythe is particularly impressive.
In this new volume, Chuiruran takes a step towards exceptional series. Forget about small street fights and discover a complex strategy to defend a palace, but also an overall plan where three groups will fight to be near the emperor. However, Shinya Umemura never forgets to build exciting or terrible characters as the final image proves.
You can find on this link an article on the first volume of the series and on another historical manga, The Mandala of Fire.
