After a collective battle of the Serizawa clan, volume nine of Chiruran published by Mangetsu offers a duel in the purest tradition of samurai films. Be warned, blood will flow in this column.
A Demon's Past
For several volumes, the latent conflict has become open in the Shinsen Gumi militia. On the one hand, the Kondo camp promotes positive and collective values. On the other hand, the Serizawa group is a motley group of mercenaries seeking power. However, after the rise of tensions between the two gangs, screenwriterShinya Umemura returns fifteen years in the past. Chiruran takes place at the height of the samurai. In Master Takahata's training room, the young peasant Kumetarô is in awe of them. He wants to imitate them. However, he will become Nishiki Niimi, a thief who respects neither his opponents nor his allies. How to explain this moral decay? Without spoiling you, we can just tell you that this change is related to the scar barring his face and making him look like a Japanese Joker .
An octagon under the storm
This past fades to reveal a Dantesque confrontation between Niimi and Hajime Saîto of the Kondo clan. All the ingredients of an excellent samurai film are gathered in Chiruran: at night and in the rain, two seasoned bretteurs meet, one wanting to avenge the death of one of his own. The technique is highlighted by secret attacks. However, the fight is not only a physical confrontation but also a psychological one. Niimi knows how to destabilize the opponent at the right time to win. We find at the beginning the opposition between the good always imperturbable and the bad manipulating emotions. As is often the case in Chiruran, the scenario shows that this binary distinction is wrong. Entering a clan is not a question of morality but of opportunity. Childhood explains many of adults' choices. It is understood that the samurai are not so far from the Golden Guy mafia. They ensure the protection of the peasants around against the payment of tribute. In addition, the "good" Saîto uses torture to avenge Eisaburô's death.
And that's just the beginning
This duel is only a new step before the planned unleashing of violence against Kamo Serizawa and his clan. Alas, the Kondo camp is not a favorite because, in anticipation of the coming struggle, Serizawa brings in reinforcements from the provinces and the reader meets the seven demons of Mito Tengu-To. This heavy atmosphere does not prevent Chiruran from having lighter passages. Toshizō Hijikata has such an oversized ego that it is ridiculous and the bonus episode illustrates it during a fight for dessert. These multiple registers are very well rendered by the cartoonist Eiji Hashimoto. Images are striking, such as a sword entering a child's mouth. His fight scenes are always effective. The sword blows look like gashes on a scalpel revealing the entrails. The layout plunges the reader into very readable battles. The faces and outfits of the fighters are both realistic and cartoonish. The sets distill a gripping atmosphere before a fight or a more peaceful setting during discussions.
As with every volume of the series, Chiruran proves that it is a brilliant success. We can find more accurate historical series and deeper samurai stories but no current series is as fun to read and offers such a dense gallery of characters. In addition, each volume closes with a sick cliffhanger that forces you to wait weeks before reading more. This series is torture.
