"Maybe not "deeper" but more fun than Kenshin..." by Mark Carson (USA) on Aug 4, 2004

"If you like Kenshin, you'll love..." Or maybe not, depending on how seriously you take Kenshin. The surface parallels are obvious, perhaps a bit too obvious. Let's do a quick list: Setting: Japan still reeling from the aftereffects of a bloody civil war (in this case, in 1604, at the beginning of the Edo period, rather than the end as in Kenshin). Main male character: a happy-go-lucky guy (Kyoshiro Mibu) who wanders the country (here, as a sort of itinerant pharmacist), but who for some reason carries an unusual sword and seems to harbor some dark secret. Main female character: a tough, feisty, pretty girl (Yuya Shiina) who wears a simple kimono and keeps her hair tied back with a ribbon. She also keeps the male character in line, in this case mostly through impressive applications of rope. Main villains: various bands of ronins from the losing side, who seek revenge on the legendary samurai who defeated them: "Kyo of the demon eyes." (No guesses on who he turns out to be.) We even get a kid (Kota) who's been pressed into thievery, but whom Yuya and Kyoshiro set straight; and a mysterious beautiful long-haired woman (Izumono Okuni) who gets a little too intimate with Kyo for Yuya's comfort.

By this time, Kenshin diehards are probably screaming "ripoff!" I doubt it would mollify them to hear some of the differences: (1) SDK is generally less serious, with higher levels of lechery, and a lot more obvious anachronisms; (2) outside of his, um, "Battousai" mode, Kyoshiro isn't (at first) much of a fighter, more of a (very fast) dodger; and (3) Yuya has a crafty, scheming aspect to her that you don't really see in Kaoru. But let's not get too negative. Kamijo's artwork, in particular his figure drawing, is very assured for a newcomer, rather better than Watsuki's.

Things do change somewhat as time goes on, it should be noted: eventually, the plot gets more involved and takes rather a mystical turn. It does get more serious, too, but Kamijo makes sure to maintain continual injections of comic relief.

The Kana edition is, as usual, very good, readable and complete.