| | |  | DVD | Home » » » » Kaze Hikaru Vol 1 | | | | | | | Product Promotions: | | | | | Description: | | In the year 1863, a time fraught with violent social upheaval, samurai warriors of all walks of life flock to Kyoto in the hope of joining the Mibu Roshiâ€"a band of warriors united around their undying loyalty to the Shogunate system. In time, this group would eventually become one of the greatest (and most infamous) revolutionary movements in Japanese history… the Shinsengumi!Into this fierce milieu steps Kamiya Seizaburo, a young, would-be warrior who, though lacking in combat experience, possesses a fiery enthusiasm to both aid the Mibu Roshi in their mission and to avenge his wrongfully murdered family. One of the group’s most gifted (and immature) swordsman, the legendary Okita Soji, agrees to take Seizaburo under his wing. But what no one suspects, least of all Soji, is that Seizaburo is actually a girl named Tominaga Sei in disguise! Will she be able to become a warrior and hide her true identity? | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Taeko Watanabe | | Paperback:
| 200 pages | | Publisher:
| VIZ Media LLC | | Publication Date:
| January 03, 2006 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 1421501899 | | Product Length:
| 7.6 inches | | Product Width:
| 5.0 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.68 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.5 pounds | | Package Length:
| 7.4 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.0 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.8 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.4 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 4 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 4 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Volume 1 an enjoyable read with great promiseMay 05, 2009
By A. Nakamura
Coming-of-age manga, manga about the Shinsengumi, and manga about girls disguised as boys are all plentiful, but manga that combines the three is a bit more unique. For one thing, while the main character develops a crush on one of her comrades and it's obvious that love will play an important role in future volumes, romance itself isn't the point of the story. Getting a boyfriend isn't even a blip on Seizaburo's radar, and it's nice to see a manga that recognizes the fact that women are capable of thinking about other things. The fact that Sei is a girl isn't really the point, either. The author has currently placed her path to becoming a bushi as the plot's most important element.
The characters in Kaze Hikaru aren't particularly complex but their actions are interesting and make the story worth following anyway. Seizaburo, for example, is earnest, strong-willed, loyal, slightly gullible, easily likeable, and less complex than background characters like Hijikata and Serizawa (the waters here aren't running particularly deep) -but is immediately disillusioned by the crude Mibu-Roshi and attempts to leave the group. This is partly a coming-of-age manga, though, which means she'll learn many lessons, and all of them will be learned the hard way.
Plot development is just as important as character development in Kaze Hikaru, and the author has attempted to be historically accurate. The simple but pleasing character designs do not include pink, blue, or green hair, eyes are mostly proportional to face sizes, and readers are given information about the Shinsengumi's history. There might actually be more historical accuracy than some die-hard shoujo fans might wish, but most people should find it interesting.
The manga does have its faults, though they aren't anything truly hideous. Seizaburo doesn't realize that she has a crush on someone, which isn't particularly believable, the comedic aspects of the story are well-done but sometimes timed inappropriately, there are some pretty corny lines, and they went a bit overboard with the bolded words. Aside from that, there wasn't anything glaringly bad. A warning, though: while Seizaburo makes a good role model for girls, the manga may not be appropriate for younger readers due to violence, crude jokes, and a graphically-mild scene of attempted rape.
All in all, Kaze Hikaru was an enjoyable read that was definitely worth buying. The story has a lot of potential, and future volumes should prove exciting.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Cross-dressing and samurai - What else do you need?Apr 25, 2009
By C. E. Bergan
Sei is a young woman in Japan in the mid-nineteenth century. Her family is killed in this tumultuous time and Sei is frustrated that she can do nothing to avenge her family's death. She does the only thing she can do - she cuts her hair, disguises herself as a boy, and signs up with a group of samurai to search for her family's killer.
I know very little about this time period in Japanese history - called the bakumatstu - and in some ways that's good and in some ways it is not. I do learn some about the history from the series but more often I get confused by the very specific information that is referenced. The notes in the back clear things up a little, but I for one could use about two times the notes than they provide. You can enjoy the series if you can just get over the specifics, which I do, or you could be very frustrated. Or you can pick up some non-fiction about the samurai of the bakumatsu and it wouldn't be an issue either way.
The romance trumps the violence in this series, making it more appropriate for teen or older readers and girls more than boys.
 This series is one of the best I've ever read.May 17, 2009
By Ilen
'Kaze Hikaru' really surprised me. I generally dislike shoujo due to the amount of fluff and melodrama that tends to be present in such stories, but 'Kaze Hikaru' is nothing like that.
This mangaka does her historical homework, and also does an admirable job of fleshing out the characters and retaining the reader's interest. Plotting, pacing, and conflicts are all very well-rendered and believable. I just finished the 13th volume and can't wait for the next one.
Pick this series up. You won't be sorry.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
highly recommendFeb 07, 2007
By Alissa B. Blaney
Kaze Hikaru does have a lot in common with Rurouni Kenshin, which it's usually compared to. They are set in the same time period and the characters are samurai. But Kaze Hikaru stands on its own. I like the art style better. The girl-dressed-as-a-boy plot is such a cliche, but Watanabe makes it interesting again with characterization and humor. The series is young but its a good one. I highly recommend.
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