Let’s Read Kagurabachi: Katanas, Gays, and Generational Trauma

[Kermie]

You've probably heard of Kagurabachi. Or at the very least, you've seen it. You know the one.



(P.S: Check the alt text. I'll be putting in some interesting things every once in a while. This thread probably isn't for you if you have low vision, though.)

About one year ago (give or take a month or two), it came out to astounding… memery. There's no good way of saying it. Shonen Jump was glazing it to hell and back, but it didn't look too different from say, Bleach. And Bleach was already completed and getting an adaptation of Thousand Year Blood War, so why would you read this upstart, Kagurabachi?

But things have changed. Kagurabachi is growing in popularity. Everyone from Gigguk to Mother's Basement have given it a shot, and found it matching or even exceeding the shonen giants of old. Heck, I'd even say that I currently enjoy Kagurabachi more than Jujutsu Kaisen.

(Of course, considering that both KB and Dandadan actually still have consistently interesting character dynamics and interactions, that just proves that Gege's a hack writer.)

But talk is cheap. Let's start reading, and I'll show you exactly how cool this manga is, and how it lives up to the hype. While I don't have the first volume physically, let's start with the cover.



Our beloved author and artist (henceforth referable to as a mangaka) is Hokazono. Fun fact: despite currently being a world-renowned mangaka with multiple color/double-spread pages in the legendary Shonen Jump, he started drawing manga pretty recently. Like, "during the pandemic" recently. Kagurabachi is his first long form work.

And you can certainly see the difference. In just four years, he went from one shots that looked like this:

To this:

But that's getting ahead of myself. Let's open up the metaphorical book and see how it starts. Remember, this is manga. Read right to left.

CHAPTER ONE - MISSION

(*CLANG* *CLANG*)​

(A few years before the fight you're seeing right now…)

KUNISHIGE ROKUHIRA - FORGER OF THE SEVEN ENCHANTED BLADES​

…oh, and I almost forgot. Meet our protagonist. No, not the DILF swordsmith. His son! Chihiro Rokuhira.



Chihiro's the anti-Naruto. He's actually more serious than his own father most of the time, being the one to remind him about eating breakfast. He kinda reminds me of my younger self, haircut and all.

Also, pay attention to those three goldfish. They will come up later.



Yup, case in point. Chihiro's not a loud guy, his father's goofy except for the times he's forging, you get the idea by now. But uh, how'd he get the three goldfish?

…well, he got them from the pet store, as a side gift. On the way back from his chores. Yes, really. Can you believe this guy's probably a war criminal?

The goldfish do have symbolism, though. Er, two of them do.



Truly, a masterclass in metaphors. Sometimes the thing that looks cool just looks really fucking cool.

Now, let's skip ahead to the next player in this play.

TOGO SHIBA - FIRST-CLASS SORCERER
​

Here, we see the first sign of how the outer world outside of Chihiro and Kunishige's secluded house works. They see the mystical blades that Kunishige made as war-enders. Weapons that brought about peace.

Heck. "Weapons that brought about peace." Isn't that an oxymoron?

Kunishige acknowledges that. He has a different way of seeing how the world works. How war works.



A gun shoots. A spear stabs. A katana slashes. Kunishige knows that— and knows that those acts of violence are inherently morally neutral.

It's only up to the person wielding that weapon to choose what side of the coin of morality the katana will fall on. As he finishes up his impromptu training, Rokuhira challenges his dear son to take up principles and accountability. And when he becomes a swordsmith, to only let katana be wielded by those with pure hearts.

Chihiro agrees. Why wouldn't he? It's what he's been training his whole life for.



This is one of the last times Chihiro ever sees his father.

And about 3 years later, things have already started going batshit.



Hey, guys! Remember what Kunishige said about katana and pure hearts? Me neither!

The guys in the suits are called the Korogumi. They're yakuza. They've been doing extortion, threats… and also the occasional quiet killing, like what you're seeing. See the guy with the mustache, next to blondie with the katana? He's their boss.

He's also not gonna be very important in the long term. The backers of the Korogumi are. Or more specifically, the backer.

??? - SORCERER?

​

Say hello to the first member of the Hishaku, the Guys Behind The Current Bad Guys. For now, we'll call him Hat Guy. He's also a sorcerer— yup, there's magic in this story. Very cool, except for the kid currently stuck in the brambles.

Hat Guy starts yapping, saying that he can't handle upstarts like the kid, who was a leader of a local youth group protesting against the Korogumi. He then teleports away— don't worry, the tree will disappear with time.

For now, though, we're gonna have a POV shift, away from the leader of this doomed rebel group. How's our main protagonist doing?



Check out the left side of Chihiro's face. It's all scarred up now. His personality hasn't changed much, though.

Oh, and Shiba's back! Did he age? It's debatable.

They exchange pleasantries. Chihiro wonders why bro is eating grilled fish while walking around. (For reference, in Japan you don't really eat while walking around unless you're giga cooked. And even then.) Chihiro also wonders why Shiba is on the same train as him, when Shiba should have met him at the town train station. (There's a reason for this.)

But eventually, the conversation takes a turn.



So yeah. Now you know the context behind that line. Ain't it sad? But it's still pretty funny. It's the first sign that Chihiro's fucking dead inside.

Well. Mostly dead inside.

They get to their destination, and it's smooth sailing for a bit. Chihiro reveals that they're there because of a lead that they have. Apparently, the Korogumi are being helped out by "them"— the Hishaku. Chihiro wants to make a deal with the Korogumi, assuming that they're reasonable if slightly shady businessmen.

Shiba realizes the truth before Chihiro does.



It hits Chihiro a few moments later.



Look at those eyes. Look at them. They aren't the eyes of a mentally healthy person. Chihiro still believes in justice.

That belief's beginning to slip a bit. Chihiro immediately asks Shiba to take him to the Korogumi base. The silent "to kill them all" request is heard.

(Somewhere across town…)

(*SHING*)
​

Like a dark knight, he appears.

On the other side of the warehouse, negotiations are finished. The leader of the youth group, the one strung up in the tree earlier; in a desperate plea, he agrees to give up the locations of all his comrades in exchange for his sister's life. All he can do is pray, as the boss considers the offer, two lives in the devil's hands.



His prayers are answered.



Just look at that paneling. Similar to Fujimoto of Chainsaw Man fame, Hokazono was inspired by action movies, like John Wick. You could probably tell.

The yakuza men gather around. They fight for selfishness, money. They're diametrically opposed to Chihiro, both position wise and morally. They can't understand him. Or the principles that Kunishige taught him.

But in the end, there's only one language they'll understand.

CHIHIRO ROKUHIRA - WIELDER OF THE SEVENTH ENCHANTED BLADE


​

In a moment that can only be described as timeless, Chihiro takes a breath, and draws. He remembers what his father told him, and the blessings he was given.



"To ward off evil."

Chihiro makes a tiny swing— and space itself rends. In a horizontal arc that would make Sukuna himself proud, Korogumi men are slashed in the stomach, dying on the spot. Chihiro isn't done yet however. In a single bound, he leaps into the air, trench coat flailing behind him.

And he slashes downward, like the judgement of a vengeful god.



When we next come to, all the Korogumi are dead. Except for one. The boss of them stands alone, cowering in a corner. He asks who Chihiro is. No answer. Chihiro asks him how the Korogumi is working with the Hishaku. No answer. Finally, the boss of the Korogumi asks him one particular question. "Why the hell are you fighting?"

Chihiro remembers how he's gotten here. The principles his father made him swear to uphold. And he answers.

KAGURABACHI CHAPTER ONE - END​

See? I told you it was peak.

One last thing before we go to Ch 2. Kagurabachi directly translates to something like "Divine Fish Bowl". The gifts his father gave him still linger around Chihiro, in more ways than one.

 

[Kermie]

Chapter 2 is much simpler yet much more complicated than Chapter 1. Simple, in the way that not as much new info gets thrown at you. Complicated, in that OH FUCK THE TRAUMA—

CHAPTER TWO - HEAPS​

You get zero points for guessing what the heaps are made of. Also, I wish I could take this art and gobble it up. Is that a weird thing to say? Maybe? Alright, moving on.



We start out with Chihiro having his moment… but from the wrong perspective. -100 aura dude, go back to high school theater.

Oh, and also the leader (?) of that rebel group is safe! Ain't that nice!

Chihiro and Shiba explain what they know about the Hishaku— namely, that they showed up four years ago, and that they're a small, elite group of sorcerers.

Maybe. Possibly. Intel is hard and all.

Anyways, Shiba goes to check on the rebel leader, while Chihiro stays behind to interrogate the Korogumi boss and OH SHIT!

Spoiler: Warning: body horror

Well. I don't think he's getting back up from that one. Korogumi boss man, that is.

This is another time for me to talk about one of Kagurabachi's less often talked about aspects: its body horror.

Too often, when you see body horror in non-horror anime, it's done to a degree that just doesn't go far enough. Like, ooh, you've got SCARS now! You've got LIMB DEFORMITIES now! Like, bitch, that don't do shit! People in real life have those! I've got a scar on my nose from a pimple! That ain't special!

Thankfully, Kagurabachi knows how to use both its body horror and regular horror just sparingly enough to genuinely make you pause (see: the strung-up corpses in the last chapter) but just enough to not get docked any points by Shonen Jump. Now I just gotta wonder what the hell Hokazono's been watching.

Anyways. Back on topic.

The vines burst out, charging towards the captured kid from earlier. He, understandably, understands that he's about to become like an average background character: fodder.



Shiba disagrees. And on the very next panel:




No, I didn't skip a page. They just moved over there.

New readers, place your bets on what power Shiba has. It's pretty obvious in hindsight, and I think you can figure it out right now with the clues you've been given.

Anyways, Shiba opens the door to the warehouse, and Chihiro's there, fine. As it turns out, sword beats tree. Both of them speculate on how Hat Guy (dude with the tree powers) put a curse on Korogumi boss, which would trigger when he tried to give up the info on the Hishaku.

On his own, Shiba does some ruminating. Chihiro's only been fighting (and looking Like That) for three years. Beforehand, he had no combat experience whatsoever.

As for why he's got that combat experience?

(3 years ago…)



But Shiba wasn't fast enough. By the time he got there, the house was fucked. Rubble everywhere, stuff on fire. And in the middle of it all…



Was the corpse of Kunishige, and Chihiro, with the light in his eyes dead. And also with a really bad wound from the earlier fight, which would later become his iconic scar. Chihiro says that the Hishaku appeared out of nowhere, before busting down the door, and before he blacked out.

Shiba takes some time to comfort the kid, but something else draws his attention. The basement is ruptured as well. More specifically, the boxes inside are.



Remember Enten? That was one of seven enchanted blades that Kunishige made. Y'know, the ones that ended a whole war. What you saw earlier was Chihiro with 3 years of combat experience wielding one.

And now the elite bad guys have six. This math doesn't look good.

For his part, Chihiro is also somewhat concerned. His father was a very moral dude, you see— he wanted Chihiro to not necessarily have to forge a strong enchanted blade, but something else. Perhaps something that isn't even a weapon. Carry on the family business and all.

That won't be happening anymore.



Rokuhira is dead. So are his ideals. The katana will only be used to cut down innocents now. Chihiro can't take this— heck, could anyone?

He's only about fifteen-sixteen about the time this happens. But after this, he begins to venture out into the outside world. He has to.



The secluded, fish-bowl sized world of just him, Kunishige, and Shiba… is gone.

There's only the big, wide ocean of blood now for him to swim in.

Chihiro swears to cut them down. Anyone who would dare use his father's katana for evil.

And then, we cut back to the present.

(3 years later, but like, a day after we did that flashback…)

Chihiro sits, brooding. He has the one blade that the Hishaku didn't steal, because his father protected that blade with his life. The seventh and final enchanted blade: Enten.

With both the goldfish symbolism and the fact that Kunishige protected it with his life, it's becoming clear that the Enten blade is literally the weight of the Rokuhira legacy.



But there's no more time for any of that brooding shit. After all, we're in—



And Shiba's got some new info. After that Korogumi guy died, the trail went cold on the Hishaku. Completely nothing. But something's changed.



The only people who have the other six enchanted blades are the Hishaku. Find the blades, find the Hishaku. No matter where in Japan we go, that'll be one constant.

Off into the big wide world. Let's see where this "current" takes Chihiro next.

CHAPTER TWO - END
ARC ONE - KUREGUMO ARC - START
​

The real Kagurabachi has started. We've got our first players in place, now we can start with the first real story arc.

One last thing before I go, though. Trivia! As a writer, Hokazono tends to put in references to his own previous one-shots, which are self contained stories that are about the same length as the longer Chapter One of this story.

The final enchanted blade, Enten, was inspired by his first one-shot of the very same name! It also focuses on a very near and dear topic to Hokazono's heart— spirit animals.



Isn't that neat? Later on, we'll see more of these "old work influences": I'll point them out as we go along.

 

[Kermie]

CHAPTER THREE - WITNESS​

Our first day in Tokyo begins with quite possibly the cutest girl in Tokyo speaking directly to the camera/us.

HINAO (no last name given, sorry) - INFORMATION DEALER
​

Just like a real life cute girl, she then proceeds to tell us something that we'll be thinking about for weeks.



If you had told me circa 2022 that this is a real panel from a real Shonen Jump manga drawn by a real Japanese man and not a sweaty weeb, I would have laughed in your face and then politely asked you when was the last time you took your meds. But nope. This will be 1000% played straight.

Kagurabachi is about swords. It will always be about swords. I literally submitted "magic swords" as a tag for review just to make sure everyone knows what this thread and manga are about. "Sword echolocation" and "sword chainsaw" are two things that will come up multiple times in this manga. Yes, really.

Anyways, back on track. This moment is also a defining of one of early Hokazono's weaknesses: bro doesn't really know how to worldbuild naturally. Characters will sometimes blurt out things that are technically useful to our knowledge, technically relevant to the situation… but honestly, would a real person say that? No, usually not. Don't worry though, he gets better with time.

So I'm just gonna summarize.

• Tokyo has over a thousand trained and registered sorcerers, people like Shiba and Hat Guy. That's more than in any other place in Japan, possibly because of population density.
• These sorcerers tend to be scouted out by yakuza, other big crime groups, and corps.
• Hinao is an information dealer, connecting the sorcerers with those places and people they need to go to.
• She's also offering a big discount on everyone who offers info on the Hishaku, seeing as Shiba asked her to do so a bit after Kunishige died, 3 years ago.
• It's known publicly that the Hishaku killed Kunishige, but not who they are. And that's been stumping Hinao for years.

Anyways, after Hinao finishes her monologue to… herself? Girl, are you ok? our titular witness walks in. She's not the kind of person you'd peg as a main character in this kind of story at first glance.



Or as a main character in almost any story, tbh.

CHAR KYONAGI - WITNESS?
​

(A considerable but unspecified amount of time later…)

Hey look, it's our two main dudes.



Hinao tells them to quiet the fuck down— the kid's sleeping.



Remember this for later. This will be important.

Anyways, before Char wakes up, Hinao explains her story. Char came in, and asked for protection. Apparently, she's being chased by a "bad guy with the most strongest sword". (Her words, not mine.) Hinao realized that she's probably referring to somebody with an enchanted blade, and that's when she called up Shiba and Chihiro.

Shiba isn't buying it. Since, y'know, kids fuck around a lot. But then Char wakes up, and makes a funny face.



…and then realizes that nope, it's just the good guys and she doesn't have to run away. Shiba asks her where the bad guy is, or what the bad guy looks like. No real answer. Shiba then asks her where her parents are. No good answer— both of them are dead or missing.

Then, Chihiro notices something. (He's been in the gutter as a kid as well, he also knows what a problem looks like at that age.)



And well, Char's stomach answers that one for him.

To make a long story short, Shiba ruminates on how Chihiro's good at taking care of people (he's had a history of reminding his dad to eat) and Chihiro takes Char to get some tempura soba.



Goofy ahh motherfuckers. I love them with my heart and soul. While Chihiro doesn't get to friendly with the kid, the forces of the universe are already conspiring to put them together into found family. (The polycule will come later once we find our other MCs.)

Chihiro tells Char that after they're done with lunch, he'll take her to an orphanage. She says that she doesn't want to go, because of the whole "being chased" thing. Chihiro still doesn't believe her, since, y'know, kids fuck around a lot. More prodding just gets Char to tell him that she doesn't feel like she can tell him what she knows.

He then decides to humor her. Just for a second. He asks about the sword that the bad guy was chasing her with. She then says something that the average kid should have no way of knowing.


Hey. Look at that dude in the back.
Chihiro's a smart dude. He remembers what his father told him. Each of the blades has its own unique elemental properties. Enten has water, for example. Meanwhile, one of the other blades…



Chihiro then immediately jumps to the next thing: enchanted blade=not Enten=Hishaku. He asks if the guy chasing her had a flame symbol on his hand— the single identifying insignia of the Hishaku. But Char says he didn't, he just had a lot of henchmen, (I'm not fucking calling them goons) and it feels like it's back to to square one.

But in the background…



Something snaps. Both literally and figuratively.



Those weren't the fancy metal or plastic kind of chopsticks. That guy just got sent to the afterlife by cheap wooden takeout chopsticks. Damn, you just know that bro's ancestors are shaming him right now.

Chihiro and Char get to their feet, but not fast enough. The man pulls something from his pocket, and flicks his wrist.

??? - SORCE— OH FUCK HE'S GOT A BOMB

BANG!!!​

Chihiro gets sent flying through the window, flailing around like a ragdoll. He just barely manages to get to his feet, however. And as the smoke clears, he realizes with horror that everything that Char was saying was true.

Welp. Fuck it. Time for violence.



Before we go, here's one more thing I'd like to address. Chihiro's presentation as the "edgy Sasuke guy". When you first see Chihiro, you assume that he's a Vergil— stern, caring about power and chivalry. And you'd be partially right.

But what everybody seems to get wrong is this first impression. As Solar said, it seems like "he almost doesn't give any fucks anymore… and now it's your problem".

I'd like to refute that. As we saw earlier, Chihiro's personality isn't solely because of trauma. He was always the stern, reasonable type, the kinda guy that reminds you to eat three meals a day. What his father's death gave him was fear (his reaction to the strung-up corpses) and bloodlust (his killing of the entire Korogumi).

This is a guy who feeds lonely kids, who wants even deadly weapons to at least possibly be used for good. When Char got kidnapped, his first reaction as pictured above was to throw hands/swing swords. Even though he's a young adult, Chihiro still believes in his father's childish ideals of swords being used for justice.

Chihiro doesn't "almost" give a fuck. Chihiro cares too much. He totally gives a fuck, and that defines his entire being.

CHAPTER THREE - END​

 

[Kermie]

Chapter 4 is just a big fucking fight chapter, plus some exposition/worldbuilding that actually makes sense this time. Let's get right into it.

But before we do, check out this fanmade opening somebody made for this arc! I love the Kagurabachi community so fucking much, man. Make sure to turn on English subtitles.


View: https://youtu.be/7HAMkWthx4k?feature=shared

CHAPTER FOUR - SORCERY AND THE ENCHANTED BLADE​

Damn, that title's a lot longer. First time we've had a two line title on mobile!

Anyways, we begin the fight and… Shiba what the fuck are you doing.



This is exactly where the "Shiba is a bum" (henceforth known as Shibum) allegations began, btw.

While Shiba is getting his beauty sleep, Chihiro is busy assessing his enemy, Daruma Guy. I know, my naming sense is off the charts.

Chihiro wonders if DG has some sort of connection to the enchanted blade, but he puts that aside for a moment, using his blade's first special move to release Char from her binds.



We saw this earlier— it was one of the two moves Chihiro used to kill off all the Korogumi goons. A ranged slash that sends out a goldfish/water like a bullet.

Also, apologies for the fact that it isn't "Kuro" anymore. I'm using a fan translation now.

As Char flies from the force of the magical ropes breaking, Chihiro calls out for Shiba. And I dunno if Shiba's just learned to recognize the Rokuhira Serious Tone (TM), but he wakes up on the spot.



And appears all of a sudden, saving Char from an unpleasant collision with the concrete.

When we next come to, Char and Shiba are safe on the car. How Shiba thinks that the car's gonna hide them from the explosions, I have no idea.



Char's fine, thankfully. Not sick at all. You just know the kid would feel fine on one of those crazy 60 loop de loop rollercoasters.

Anyways, Char says that what Shiba just did was so cool, and that she wants to do it too. Shiba says she can perform sorcery as well… if she works like a goddamn Asian valedictorian desperately seeking validation from their parents at it.

(slightly over exaggerated there, but I think I kept the spirt of the thing.)

Worldbuilding time! Power system edition:

• Everyone, from old to young, has spirit energy sleeping inside of them. As long as they work hard, they can awaken it.
• Spirit energy is basically another word for "life force".
• Spirit energy can also—

Oop! Looks like we're cutting off the explanation here. Chihiro's posed up and getting ready to use another attack.



Goddamn bro, using Kuro again? You really like that move.

Meanwhile, Shiba continues with Char's crash course in sorcery— by explaining how the enchanted blades work as an outlier to the normal system.



Yup. It's a Stand. Meanwhile, all Daruma Guy's got is the ability to mass-produce those explosive darumas, which aren't even sentient! Kunishige was forging something crazy, fr fr.

And just look at that paneling. Gorgeous shit. Also nice dodge from Daruma Guy, that can't have been more than a three second window.

Chihiro can't spend his time admiring that sick weave, but he does take a second to ask where Daruma Guy's boss is. DG just says to "ask the questions once we're done fighting". Kinda based of him, ngl.

Of course, any props that me or you are giving should be being thrown out the window right now. He senses Char's presence, (but doesn't know where she is yet) and immediately starts beef with the small child.



My brother in Christ, you are beefing with a twelve year old. She might be younger than that! And we don't need to see your ugly ass teeth and unending void of a mouth, get a dentist on that!

Also, we've now got to consider how this guy knows about Char's mom. Clearly, somebody from this guy's team offed Char's mom, but we don't know much more than that…

Oh, and Chihiro's pissed now.



The mention of dead parents sets him off, just by a bit. So does the next thing Daruma Guy's big-ass mouth says out loud for Char to hear:

Now watch! May the death of this little punk remind you…

Of your mother's miserable death while trying to protect you!

There's never been such a meaningless and pathetic death! Remember that!

Click to shrink...

He then throws out a pile of daruma, and—

BANG!​

For a second, there's just smoke and silence. Char can't look away, as Daruma Guy throws his head back and brags.

But just as all hope is lost—



"To attract good fortune."

(*WOOSH*)​

Chihiro re-emerges from the explosion, unscathed. He's not gonna die this easily.



This is where the manga switched up and became peak unironically, for me at least.

Throughout this chapter, there's been a growing mini-mystery of Char's abandonment issues. Her mother's death, and how she doesn't believe that Chihiro's gonna live, even when Shiba attempts to reassure her.

This scene, is in a way, Chihiro proving that he's the reliable protector that Char's been missing since her mother's death. Nobody was there when he was without a parental figure to protect him— he's not gonna let Char go down the same path he's gone down.

He is the "good fortune" that the red goldfish represented. And he'll protect Char and bring her a good life no matter what it takes.

This is also the point where DG realizes that Chihiro had been holding back until now, by the way. Fantastic job, buddy, you really could have avoided the incoming asskicking if you had kept your dumb mouth shut.

Chihiro and DG leap into the air, but DG uses the smoke to maneuver around Chihiro, and bind him with the same ropes that he used on Char. He pits his hands out, and prepares what can only be described as an extremely shitty Kamehameha.



But Chihiro isn't scared, actually. He just switches to reverse grip and fires his backup weapon.

And by backup weapon, I mean DG's weapon.



In the car, Shiba explains that Aka "blocks an attack and takes ownership over it"— essentially, it's a parry that gives out a one time copy of any sorcery.

Chihiro absorbed the explosion earlier with Aka, during that cool-ass double spread I just showed you. He was then able to store that explosion and return it to sender. (Read: DG.)



You can literally see the light returning to Char's eyes.

Spirit energy also seems to bolster a person's capability for resisting harm. That's the only explanation I can find for DG not being a burnt corpse rn.

The car pulls up, and Shiba rolls down the window for Char to take a look. Chihiro, for his part, is pretending to not give a fuck. He's not that convincing.



He's got that resting bitch face on hard. Also, check out that close up on the scar while he was mentioning his backstory. Nice.

Anyways, Chihiro walks over to Daruma Guy, who is still conscious. Somehow. Big ass lips and all.

He's got three questions.

CHAPTER FOUR - END
​

If you couldn't tell already, this was the chapter that sold me on this manga. It's honestly a goddamn crime free readers can only read up to Ch 3 on the official Viz website. (That's why we love piracy! Fuck yeah!!! Shame about the translation, though.)

Leave your discussion below! And make sure to recommend this thread to your other SV friends if you think they'd be interested.

 

[Kermie]

CHAPTER 5 - A GOOD MEAL​

This chapter acts as some light setup, so let's get through it quickly and efficiently.

First off, behold! Char's new/real design!



Hinao is never beating the big sister allegations after this, btw.

And also behold! Char's ULTIMATE MOVE! A SMALL PEEK OF THE PEAK YOU SHALL WITNESS IN THE TIMESKIP ARC!!!



Nah, just kidding. There is no time skip arc (not yet at least) It just looks funny.

Anyways, Char then gets hungry, and Chihiro tells Hinao that a. He has no idea why everybody wants this little girl, and b. He's gonna go pick up some food for her. He leaves Hinao and Char alone, and drives away. As he's driving in Shiba's car, Chihiro picks that to be the time to have a small flashback.



Said flashback then gets interrupted… by a stowaway!



Chihiro is pretty much dead inside, and this just kills whatever small spark of ok ness he had left. But Hinao convinces him to just pick up the food with Char coming along, since he should be able to protect her should anything happen thanks to Enten.

While they're driving, Chihiro says that it's still a huge risk that Char's coming with him. But she says that the reason that she went with him in the car (to go get some fresh air) was because she was "captured" and "cooped up for so long".

Chihiro remembers what Daruma Guy said about Char's mother, and just decides to let Char have this. He asks what she wants to eat. She wants a sandwich.

(Meanwhile, in another place…)

Daruma Guy wakes up, and finds that he's probably screwed.



It seems that anti-magic isn't too hard to get in this setting. Also yes, that is Shiba.

Daruma Guy says that he doesn't want to talk, because of reasons. Shiba gives him a reason to.



DG knows what an enchanted blade is. Shiba knows that DG knows. What Shiba doesn't know is simple: who has the enchanted blade?

Unsurprisingly, DGs answer is quite unhelpful.



He'll later eat those words, but that's for later. And speaking of eating…

(back with Chihiro and Char…)

They're doing a lot of eating. First, Chihiro takes her to get that sandwich.



Then, Char convinces him to get a weirdly menacing ice cream…




Yes, it looks like the ice cream's getting hanged. Also, why is Char acting like a food critic? Has Hokazono met an actual kid?



And then a mint shake to wash it down. Geez, the kid can eat. Good taste, though.

Meanwhile, in another location, the plot is still happening. Our current main villain is getting a report.



DG's boss is lounging in a hot tub, getting a message from some dude who he gouged out the eyes off. Ouch. He does some speculation, and here it's revealed something very important.



Nobody knew about Enten. It's not just figuratively Chihiro's secret weapon— it's literally a state secret.

(Meanwhile, back with the main characters…)

Chihiro and Char are done with their food binge, and they're driving back. Right before he picks up a call from Shiba, Chihiro asks how Char's doing. She says this;



Char is the main "heart" of the story right now. Without her, this story would have been cancelled in ten chapters as Generic Shonen Slop. The mysteries surrounding her (captured? Both her and her mother?) give Chihiro a more immediate motivation then some vague revenge, and also centers the story into a pretty easy "monster/sorcerer of the week trying to capture Char" plotline to center the story's first few episodes.

Anyways, Shiba then calls in. He tortured the info we need out of DG— bro's feet are gone.

GENICHI SOJO - CONTRACTED WIELDER OF CLOUD GOUGER, AKA "KUREGUMO"
​

so that might be a problem later, especially considering that he's definitely more experienced than Chihiro when it comes to combat. Also, don't ask why Shiba knows how to torture people. Maybe he learned it in the war!

But we gotta wrap up this chapter, we just hit 14 or so pages. So turning our attention back to the road that Chihiro's driving on…

Char notices someone out the car window. Or something. It's probably nothing though.



Yeah, it's probably just a block in the road. Totally nothing like from the renowned horror mangaka Junji Ito's Uzimaki (Spiral).



Yeah, and I have no idea what Sojo was talking about when he was saying to "release the child." Clearly, our next enemy's going to be just like Daruma—

??? - BODY HORROR SORCERER (???)
​

Ok then. It might be something.

CHAPTER FIVE - END​

Damn, can't wait to see what'll happen next. Or if that dude's actually human (it's questionable) Wait for the next chapter that I'll be reviewing Saturday/Sunday!

 

[Kermie]

Our next chapter starts off right after the first one: in traffic, with a sorcerer(?) approaching Chihiro and Char.

CHAPTER SIX - TRANQUILITY​

Hokazono is really just looking directly at the camera and lying now, huh? There's no way in hell that this chapter's gonna be calm. This is still a battle shonen, after all.

Before we get into it though; make sure to check out the top of this thread! I got some new tags. "Kagurabachi" is an official setting tag now!

Ok, now back to the reading. As the sorcerer-amalgamation approaches Chihiro and Char, Chihiro grabs Enten, which was sitting there in the other front seat. Chihiro wonders how the hell a sorcerer like this managed to track down him and Char in broad daylight, especially with how someone should have reported them to the authorities by now. He then realizes the trick.



The enemies chasing him are in every single car around their's. He and Char are surrounded. The car is enveloped in a murky goop, covering all the windows and the entire roof. One of the spotted man readjusts his tie, congratulating himself on a job well done.

Chihiro takes offense to that.



Yes, that is Char underneath Chihiro's arm. Also, look at how swaggy bro looks right now! So cool.

As Chihiro lands, the spotted man starts to yap. "Oh, I bet you don't know who we found you." He then proceeds to explain (in a horrendous translation, these fan translations are all over the place) that Sojo recently put out a bounty on a kid with an enchanted blade and the kid he's protecting. In case you're wondering why I'm skimming over this, it's because the new translation I have to use now translated Sojo to "Soujo" and enchanted blade to "demon blade". Char was translated to "Shal". Yeah.

But to put in perspective how bad this is, Sojo said that he'd pay out "as much as possible" for both Chihiro and Char, and everyone knows that he means it. Essentially, the entire sorcerer population of Tokyo is now hunting for our two main characters. Ouch.

Chihiro runs down an alleyway with Char underneath his arms, trying to get the Spotted Men away from him. They chase him and Char down relentlessly.



Before you ask, the translation's still "Kuro". Fan translation weirdness, "sorcerer" was literally translated to "necromancer". I'm not making this up btw.

Anyways, Chihiro realizes that these extra Spotted Men are clones created from a mixture of dirt from the ground and sorcery. They'll keep on spawning endlessly as long as the original Spotted Man (the one who was talking) lives.

Said spotted man comes up to Chihiro, and begins to speak. He's seen the power of the blades before, with all the experience he's had and all. And he thinks that…



Whatever the hell happened in the Seitei War had to have been crazy. It's no coincidence that lots of readers of this story compare the enchanted blades to nukes.

Multiple spotted men swarm Chihiro and Char, but he's able to swat them away easily, considering they're no more than expendable mooks. But then, someone else reaches through the chaos. Down on the bottom right.



Chihiro barely has any time to process this new intruder, before he gets touched, and then—

(*CLICK*)​

Let's just analyze that crazy paneling. It's implied here that the top part is the last breakfast that Chihiro had with his dad. But if you read that last part in the bottom-left from top to bottom as intended, it's also implied that Rokuhira's death broke Chihiro. The happy memories of that last breakfast were literally overwritten by Rokuhira's death, literally getting farther away. Banger paneling and foreshadowing for what Hokazono's gonna be cooking up in later chapters, and definitely not good for Chihiro's head.



In case you're wondering, that last part is supposed to be something more like, "only 4 seconds have passed in the real world." Either way, not good for our main man.

The guy who did this to Chihiro seems to be working together with Spotted Man, as a one-two duo. SM distracts, this guy then knocks any remaining guys out.



YET ANOTHER UNKNOWN SORCERER - BASTARD
Chihiro can't move right now. The accumulated trauma and the fact that his brain just went through so much in so little time compounds to him essentially being paralyzed.

Meanwhile, our terrible duo are discussing while Char's just hanging there helpless. Apparently, the Kyonagi family (Char's family) have special properties. If you eat their flesh, you become immortal!!!

…nah, just kidding. Trauma Sorcerer says that's a false rumor, and that the vast majority of the Kyonagis died over something that wasn't even real. But there's still a kernel of truth inside the lies.

Spoiler: TW: violence, body horror

Two things to say here:

One, just like sorcery, the Kyonagi family's regenerative abilities also seem to commonly manifest themselves as black bubbles/ink, in keeping with the fish bowl theme.

Two, you know damn well Chihiro's mad now.

Trauma guy decides that he hasn't had enough of torturing Char, and chooses to cut off her limbs this time, just for kicks. But just as he picks up Enten…



Chihiro forces himself to move, even if every single one of his muscles are contracting and aching. Trauma Guy forgot about one important thing.

Chihiro's past doesn't just cause him to freeze up. It's the reason he's still on this quest.



Spotted Guy's head snaps over to Chihiro, and for once, his normally unflappable composure shatters. He sends hundreds of clones after Chihiro, to absolutely no effect. Chihiro closes in, and locks on to the original guy.



And with a single strike, dispatches the sources of all the clones. Also, the art's a banger, but I didn't need to tell you that.



When we next come to, Chihiro and Char sit alone. All the clones have disappeared. The corpses of both sorcerers sit in the background, but they're not important now.

Chihiro takes a knee to look at Char, and asks about if what the dudes said was correct. Char confirms that yes, the reason that she didn't open up to Chihiro later was that she was scared that Chihiro and the gang would use her for her regeneration powers. Chihiro says that it's fine, and the offers her his sandwich.



I'm gonna be honest, that chapter was the exact opposite of tranquil. How will Hokazono top this??? (I say, knowing about chapter 8 and beyond.)

CHAPTER SIX - END​

 

[Kermie]

And we're back! Now with a decent-ish fan translation. Thank god.

CHAPTER SEVEN - SMOKE SIGNAL​

We leave off from where the last chapter ended, Char riding on Chihiro's shoulders. It looks like they're gonna have to walk back.

Then suddenly—



Yeah, I'm not even going to intro these guys. Remember, most of the sorcerers in Tokyo are chasing Chihiro and Char rn.

Chihiro gets ready to draw Enten—



But before he can, someone else pops up. And Chihiro chooses to sheathe his sword, right as the other person seems to disappear. He moves so fast, that when we next see him he's in midair.

AZAMI - CONTRACTED SORCERER OF THE KAMUNABI​

Meet Azami. He's one of Rokuhira's old friends, and he's in roughly the same league as Shiba from before. The only difference is that he doesn't use much sorcery. The flying kick he pulled off earlier? Skill. Yeah, anybody can do that with minor body reinforcement, it's a skill issue if you can't lmao.

As Char asks about why Chihiro sheathed his sword, Chihiro explains that Azami is just as trusted as Shiba, and also a member of the Kamunabi.

He's basically like a mixture between a FBI agent and a Navy SEAL. Unfortunately, that makes him… a bit too resistant to pain. As we see when Chihiro asks him about his newly-injured hand.



When we next come to, everyone's back at Hinao's place. Looks like with Azami around, nobody bothered to do any jumping on our wonder duo.



First of all, funny Shiba face. Also, he's probably lying.

Like, think about it. We saw him literally TORTURING Daruma Guy earlier. That "no holds barred" mentality would NOT go over well with the government dudes of this story. While they might not show up too much in this arc, you should remember the name of the Kamunabi.

Anyways, Char's happy that she can stay with Chihiro (since he won't try to abuse her hyper-regen powers) and Azami says that the Kamunabi bosses want to talk to Shiba and Chihiro. Since Sojo put that message around about Enten and Char, everybody knows about the seventh enchanted blade being out, and that's a huge deal. Remember, we're mentally equating each EB to a nuke.

Like, the EBs were so important that only roughly a tiny chunk of the government higher ups even knew about Enten and Chihiro's existence— alongside that and the magic barrier, the existence of the Rokuhira's in general were kept underneath as much lock and key as possible. Remember, if you want nukes, you gotta keep your nuke-making factories safe as possible.

Azami says that just Enten's existence is a national threat, but that he's gonna keep it on the sly not confiscate Enten. He trusts Shiba, and while Shiba and Chihiro may not be hiding anymore, he trusts Shiba's assertion that Chihiro can truly fight now. And since Chihiro's ready, he chooses to share some intel with him.



As Azami tells us about this Rakuzaichi, our POV shifts, over to a strange, almost ethereal/dreamy panel. It's our main arc villain.



So basically, there's a WMD (Weapon Of Mass Destruction) on auction. And it's not Kurogumo/Cloud Gouger. Sojo got his hands on another freaking Enchanted Blade, and he's in kahoots with the Hishaku.

As this flashback ends, we cut back to Azami and Chihiro. Azami tells Chihiro to only act in self defense, since the Kamunabi are going to deal with the auction. Chihiro's response?



Chihiro goes to take a break in another room, and both Shiba and Azami ruminate on how bro's clearly lying. Remember, Chihiro cares too much. Breaking into an underground auction to get back one of his father's magical weapons? Yeah, he's gonna do it. But Azami says that they don't have the luxury to care. This is the first time the Hishaku are making big, nation shaking moves since Rokuhira's murder, and…

CHAPTER SEVEN - END​

 

[Kermie]

Hey. We're back.

CHAPTER EIGHT: NORISAKU MADOKA: I WILL CHANGE​

The chapter starts with Shiba and Azami explaining that since Daruma Guy and the others got their ass kicked, Sojo should be winding down. For now, Chihiro should spend some time relaxing and watching Char.



Char's playing shiritori in her dream; a Japanese word game where each player has to say a word that begins with the last kanji of your opponent's word. With Char being around 8-ish, her vocab isn't large enough to win against her dream opponent. Keep trying Char, you can do it!

As Chihiro gets up, it's revealed that they're still in Hinao's shop. Guess it's their Airbnb for a while.

…wait, where was Chihiro living before this? On the streets? There's no chance that crime fighting pays the bills.

oh well. Probably not something to look into that closely.



After that panel, we cut to our title, the one you saw in the beginning. And all of a sudden, our POV shifts.



It's Daruma Guy. Or Norisaku, I suppose. We cut to him being interrogated by Shiba. He's told our deuteragonist everything he knows, and is now done. Shiba tells him to go start a new life, far, far away from Tokyo. Norisaku tells Shiba that there's no chance of that; his family disowned him.



"Not that I'd know."

Remember, Shiba was also a sorcerer who was around for the destructive Seitei War we saw two chapters ago. Chances are he's seen some shit that's made his stance on "sorcery vs normality" clear. To Shiba, it's clear that Norisaku isn't too bad of a guy— he was just another cog caught in the system.

When we next see Norisaku, he's in his house, and with a new haircut. He was clearly affected by Shiba's speech— he's calling his sister.



His sister hesitates for a while, before deciding that she'll drive him over to their mom's house. Also, wait, they have a car? In Tokyo, the city famous for its really fucking good subway system? The hell happened?

Ok, moving on.



Hey! That's the title! I can't wait to see how Kagurabachi is gonna do with this guy's plotline. Maybe it'll be about redemption or something?



Nope. She died so fast his expression didn't have time to change. And before you ask, that wasn't a random hit man with a bullet. It's worse.



Genichi Sojo is in the backseat. How did he get there?!

These deaths… are the cost of you not finishing your work!

Click to shrink...

Deaths. Plural.

Daruma looks out the window and sees… something out of frame. We the readers don't even get to see it. But the implications are clear.



Something starts to happen. Whether it be because of his sorcery or because of the blade Sojo stabbed him with, Norisaku begins to change.

Spoiler: TW: Body horror

Yeah, remember that rant I did in Ch 2 about how Hokazono does body horror so well? This is it. This whole chapter is dedicated to fleshing out Norisaku as human, but now he's chunks of flesh that barely even look human. He's… changed.

Sojo walks out of the car, saying that "that woman" is still alive, just unconscious.

Whether he was referring to Norisaku's mother or his sister who was still in the car, we never get to know.



In the end, Norisaku's efforts to be a family man were in vain. He changed, but not fast enough to outrun Sojo.

If you're going to choose a path in life, at least be strong enough to dedicate at least one measly lifetime to it.

Click to shrink...

When we next see Sojo, he's back on the ground. He's talking to somebody different— the brother of the trauma sorcerer that hit Chihiro two chapters ago.



For a second, it seems that Sojo's just going to do the reasonable thing and go to Chihiro's location, which this dude seems to have given to him.

But then, for absolutely no reason, he tackles the brother with inhuman speed. Why?

"To get the blood pumping," of course. He just wants to throw hands and test Cloud Gouger out some more. Fucking madman.

But of course, don't you remember? The trauma sorcery is activated on touch contact. Unlike the last time we saw this, I won't put this in spoilers because of plot importance, but be warned of body horror.



Remember those flowers. They will be important later.

With little to no effort, Sojo shakes off the same sorcery that paralyzed Chihiro— and walks away, leaving behind the brother's headless body. This man straight up decapitated a dude with sheer grip strength.

He takes a few turns, walking through the crowd with the bloody Cloud Gouger at his side. They don't notice: remember "Japan is a katana society". The violence is normalized, even when it's actively walking towards its next victim.

This theme of societal injustice and ingrained violence will continue, along with more explorations of everyone's favorite: war crimes! But that's for later.



That's the same cafe Hinao and Char and Chihiro are in. This is bad. Thankfully, Chihiro reacts fast enough to not get straight decapitated.



Gorgeous double spread. Incredible speed from both Chihiro and Sojo as well. And that last word? Mei? That's not Chihiro.

Thats one of Cloud Gouger's special abilities, mirroring Enten. Check out the lightning way in the bottom left corner— that's a Cloud Gouger special.

In this hectic situation, Chihiro asks what's been on his mind. This is the first time he's seen another Enchanted Blade actually being used after all.



Translation: "Hey. Are you using those blades for what my father intended, aka Justice?"

Translation: "fuck you."

Well then, looks like we're throwing hands. Let's see just how well Chihiro can match up to this monster in human form.

Also peep this double spread. This is a weekly manga by the way.



The real Kagurabachi starts here. Get ready.

CHAPTER EIGHT - END​

 

[Kermie]

Something's been leaked for Kagurabachi. And it's not its cancellation.

At 61 chapters (counting sidestories) we now have a reliable and trustworthy source telling us about…


View: https://x.com/MangaMoguraRE/status/1863534839535641078?t=zlRPsWddc3RP8kisfksH1Q&s=19
(Alt link here)

AN ANIME!!!!

THE KAGURABACHI ANIME IS REALLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!

 

[Kermie]

Everybody, we're now officially in…

KAGURABACHI, VOLUME TWO​

Now. So that means we've got a new cover!



Nothing else I can see except peak. Also, Sojo needs to wash his hair. How greasy is bro?

Getting back on track, we're starting with:

CHAPTER NINE: ENTEN VS CLOUD GOUGER​

Chapter title speaks for itself. Let's get into it.

The chapter starts with a flashback, focusing on our two adults. (I'm not counting Chihiro as an adult tbh, he should be in high school.)



Shiba and Azami are discussing Sojo. More specifically, at the rate that Chihiro's going, they're gonna see a clash between him and Sojo soon. However, that isn't the big problem. What is the big problem is that the public have never witnessed the real destruction that the Enchanted Blades can yield, especially considering that up until now, all EB wielders were on the side of Japan during the Seitei war. A clash between Enchanted Blades could spell disaster.

And not just civilian casualty-wise. What would it mean for the average Japanese citizen's view of Kunishige? They all see him as a hero, not a weapon maker after all.



Now, we flash back to the present. Where for the first time ever, two enchanted blades are about to clash.



Both Chihiro and Sojo are considering their own sides of the battle.

On Chihiro's end, he's considering Sojo's motives, especially with how it seems that he isn't chasing Char. He's also pissed about Sojo using his dad's katana for evil, but that's obvious.

On Sojo's end, he's curious. How did Chihiro survive his first attack, with the lightning bolt ("Mei")? A normal sorcerer would have died instantly… but an enchanted blade wielder is a cut above that.

With all that out of the way, they both charge into battle.




Already, they're showing their differences in fighting style. Sojo's pretty much button mashing with a strategy— his attacks are covering the block, and he's already picturing Chihiro's move as we speak.

Meanwhile, Chihiro's only got his eyes on one target.



Yup. Chihiro just pulled a "teleports behind you" with pure speed. That's why he's my GOAT. Unfortunately, Sojo's no slouch either. He just blocked a katana using a reverse grip. That takes some real skill.



Thankfully however, Chihiro's fulfilled his first goal. He's given Char and Hinao time to vacate the area. Now he can fully focus on this fight.

Chihiro considers the situation once again. Sojo isn't even short of breath, nor has he used the speed-enchanting effect of Cloud Gouger. As such, Chihiro estimates that the only thing that'll let him keep going through this fight is Nishiki— his third ability, the goldfish we haven't seen yet.

But then out of nowhere, Sojo says something that snaps Chihiro out of his ruminations.



I haven't skipped anything, btw— Sojo just randomly stopped to say this, out of pocket.

He's not "only" a murderer. He's gay. For Chihiro's father.

Ok, not really. He's a parasocial fan, though! (Wait, that isn't much better—)

The weapons he created were exalted, I read everything I could find about him.

And just recently, Cloud Gouger fell into my hands. It was a dream come true!

Click to shrink...

He then asks Chihiro why he wields Enten, an enchanted blade that he didn't ever know about. Chihiro responds easily; for his father's principles, to protect the world.

This answer bores Sojo. Because it's the same thing everybody— all the books, all the civilians— say.



Remember how Chihiro thinks that the blades should be used as tools of justice? Sojo… mildly disagrees (understatement.) He thinks that the Enchanted Blades should be weapons. He then proceeds to demonstrate his point further by ascending to heaven.



This is probably the closest he's gonna get to there, considering there's no way that Sojo's going to heaven after he's done. He's literally going to kill hundreds of civilians, just to fulfill his murder boner, and prove that Chihiro is wrong about his father's creations. He's essentially the Yang to Chihiro's Yin, believing that the Enchanted Blades are weapons first and foremost, unlike Chihiro's belief in justice via the blades.

As Azami says it, if an EB were to be used in public for slaughter, Kunishige's reputation would crumble. And that's exactly what Sojo wants.

At the very least, Sojo would definitely make a good lawyer! Look, he even presents the evidence for his argument for everyone to see!

(BOOM!!!)​

For a second, a thunderclap shakes all of Tokyo. But no lightning to go with it. When the dust clears… the only person hurt is Chihiro.



Ooh, so close Sojo yet so far. What Chihiro actually did here was her his actual defensive ability; Aka, the same one he used to absorb Daruma's attack. While Sojo is only focusing on slaughter, Chihiro's simply focusing on surviving and protecting the civilians. A nice contrast!

However, it seem Aka has some limits. Unlike when it absorbed Invincible, Chihiro shows some clear signs of damage. It seems the damage absorption has its limits.

Now that the civilians are beginning to evacuate, Chihiro gets ready to really give it his all. He'll need to cut Sojo down fast, and he knows that this is the best time to do so.



Because while Sojo may have the strength advantage, Chihiro knows Cloud Gouger better than he does. It's his family property, after all.

With that recharge period in mind, this is essentially his one chance to kill Sojo, here and now.

Chihiro remembers what his father said for a moment, about katanas being used for good. The exact opposite of what Sojo believes the enchanted blades are. Who's right here?

Well, Chihiro doesn't seem too interested in thinking about that right now. He's just locked in.

CHAPTER NINE - END​