Vagabond Review

Greatest single reading experience I've ever had. Both the art and the story of Vagabond are second to none. Musashi's development through the book left a very great impact on me and has inspired me to become better through the help of focus and kindness.

Some of my favorite quotes featured in this book are, "All truly strong people are kind" - Soho Takuan (Chapter 224), and "Invincible... It's merely a word" - Yagyu Sekishusai (Chapter 102).

My perspective on the first quote reads that no matter how powerful or successful one is in any endeavor, it is ultimately harder to be a kind human than anything else. It is so easy to succumb to the negative aspects of the world, and as a result of absorbing said negativity, they also release negativity as well. Being able to look past the disheartening aspects of one's own life, our world as a whole, and one's ego in order to be more kind can only be done with immense strength.

I believe the second quote perfectly illustrates the main idea behind Vagabond. Towards the beginning of the book, Musashi, previously Takezo, repeatedly said his goal was to become "invincible under the sun." He believed that by mercilessly killing his opponents, he would inch closer to his goal, but when he was sitting in front of true strength, Yagyu Sekishusai, his ideas and expectations of strength were shattered, as he found his ultimate goal of becoming invincible is merely just an unattainable title that holds no value (or at least no value from the lens of the "strength" defined by Musashi initially). I believe this quote was one of the big stepping stones towards Musashi's development over the series.

The only downside of Vagabond is its indefinite hiatus. For all we know, Vagabond will never be finished, but in my opinion, it doesn't hurt the reading experience at all. Although we may not have received a conclusion (besides the final chapter shown at the 2008's "The LAST Manga Exhibition"), we were still able to experience Musashi's grand and gradual character development over the span of the series, which is enough for me.