The back cover of volume ten of Chiruran announces it: we will witness the last battle of the first leader of Shinsengumi, Kamo Serizawa. But how will the weakened Kondo clan resist?
A decisive fight constantly postponed
This volume is initially a succession of frustrations. In the first pages of Chiruran, Toshizō Hijikata confronts Kamo Serizawa. We think we are witnessing the decisive moment of Chiruran but it is a trap set by the screenwriter Shinya Umemura to the reader because the real fight comes next. In the middle of the volume, the Kondo clan plans an attack in the pleasure district, Shimbara. The reader thinks he will find the very successful cocktail of volume eight of duels and group attacks. Keisuke Yamanami wants to propose a complex collective strategy to reach Kamo and defeat the seven demons of Mito Tengu-to, but Toshizō Hijikata opposes it in the name of honor. To our surprise, this volume leads to a succession of duels. We then think of a fighting video game when you have to beat several opponents before reaching the boss at the end of the level but even more like team championships of a combat sport. We even start counting the points.
Through the talent of the cartoonist, the scenes of sword fights so often read take on a new dimension in Chiruran. Eiji Hashimoto wonderfully modifies the expressions in one box: an angel becomes a demon, a hero a rainbow, a child metamorphoses into a titan. Each fight is an opportunity to stage crazy techniques: a demon uses a powder to get more power while a fighter has an invisible sword. His quick attack slashes his opponent and blood spurts in drag. These battles also allow to discover the past of each one as when a disciple confronts his former master.
To triumph without glory…
For several chapters, the Chiruran series has focused on the camp of evil. Morality has disappeared in favor of the struggle for survival or power. Alliances are not based on honor but on interest.In the previous volume, we witnessed the confrontation of two perverts where the camp of good does not hesitate to forget the rules. Moreover, in Niimi's past, it was discovered that an innocent child took pleasure in hurting because of war. In this volume, it is Kamo Serizawa's turn to be highlighted as shown on the cover. The reader enjoys a new portrait of a very successful villain. We also discover his past. From birth, he is endowed with a unique strength and loves to make others suffer. We are very far from the innocent child. As an adult, his strength and speed freeze his opponents. However, contrary to what one might think, he is not just a brute. Coming from the nobility of the sword, he read the basic books of Confucianism and taught himself a foreign language. When, at thirteen, he eliminates the largest troop of bandits in the region, one would think that he would follow his father in the way of the samurai. Nevertheless, very quickly, this wealthy son gets tired of this life because everything is too easy. His incommensurate strength becomes an obstacle because he is alone and depressed. Power disinterests him. Despite this past, Kamo feels that he looks a lot like Toshizō. Everyone is looking for excellence in their art of warrior but this quest can only lead to a tragic end. They are both samurai lost in a society that no longer wants them. For this big boss of the rival gang, modern society does not care about fighters.
In this tenth volume of Chiruran published by Mangetsu, the reader takes great pleasure in following these fights because you never know who will survive. It is even more demanding because the graphic rendering is splendid. He also discovers a new figure of evil very successful but waits feverishly to know who will reach Kamo in the next volume.
You can find the beginnings of the series on this link as well as Butterfly Beasts, a series also taking place in the geisha district.
