Vagabond

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Alternative Titles

Japanese: バガボンド

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 37

Chapters: 327

Status: On Hiatus

Published: Sep 3, 1998 to May 21, 2015

Genres: Action, Adventure, Award Winning

Themes: Historical, Samurai

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Morning

Authors: Inoue, Takehiko (Story & Art), Yoshikawa, Eiji (Story)

Statistics

Score: 9.27¹ (scored by 171,134 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #3²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #12

Members: 447,517

Favorites: 47,872

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9.27

Ranked #3Popularity #12Members 447,517

MangaMorningInoue, Takehiko (Story & Art), Yoshikawa, Eiji (Story)

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Volumes: /37

Chapters: /327

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Synopsis

In 16th-century Japan, Shinmen Takezou is a wild, rough young man in both his appearance and his actions. His aggressive nature has won him the collective reproach and fear of his village, leading him and his best friend, Matahachi Honiden, to run away in search of something grander than provincial life. The pair enlist in the Toyotomi army, yearning for glory—but when the Toyotomi suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of the Tokugawa Clan at the Battle of Sekigahara, the friends barely make it out alive.

After the two are separated, Shinmen returns home on a self-appointed mission to notify the Hon'iden family of Matahachi's survival. He instead finds himself a wanted criminal, framed for his friend's supposed murder based on his history of violence. Upon being captured, he is strung up on a tree and left to die. An itinerant monk, the distinguished Takuan Soho, takes pity on the "devil child," secretly freeing Shinmen and christening him with a new name to avoid pursuit by the authorities: Musashi Miyamoto.

Vagabond is the fictitious retelling of the life of one of Japan's most renowned swordsmen, the "Sword Saint" Musashi Miyamoto—his rise from a swordsman with no desire other than to become "Invincible Under the Heavens" to an enlightened warrior who slowly learns of the importance of close friends, self-reflection, and life itself.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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BackgroundVagabond won the Japan Media Arts Festival Manga Grand Prize and the 24th Kodansha Manga Award in the General category in 2000. The series won the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2002 and has had over 82 million copies sold worldwide.

Vagabond was published in English by VIZ Media under the VIZ Signature imprint from April 5, 2002, to April 21, 2015, and in large 3-in-1 omnibuses under the VIZBIG imprint from September 16, 2008, to April 21, 2015. The English release got Takehiko Inoue a nomination for the Eisner Award in the Best Writer/Artist category in 2003. It was also published in Brazilian Portuguese by Panini Comics from February 2016 to February 2019.

More characters
Characters

Miyamoto, Musashi

Main

Sasaki, Kojirou

Main

Honiden, Matahachi

Main

Takuan, Soho

Supporting

Otsuu

Supporting

Inshun

Supporting

Kanemaki, Jisai

Supporting

Shishido, Baiken

Supporting

Itou, Ittousai

Supporting

Yoshioka, Seijuurou

Supporting

Reviews

Jan 15, 2026

Meroxy

Recommended

Preliminary (327/327 eps)

This will be my first MyAnimeList review, and it will mostly be based on my personal experiences with the series. Because of that, it might come off a bit rough or unpolished. Still, I hope you enjoy reading it.

Reading manga has always been a difficult task for me. Most of the time, I end up dropping series before I can finish them. My tastes are quite specific, and only a few series truly manage to pull me in. Vagabond turned out to be one of them.

To be completely honest, I had actually dropped Vagabond once before. It was around 2023, when I was preparing for ... university entrance exams. I kept seeing Vagabond over and over on MyAnimeList and eventually decided to start it. You know how everything except studying suddenly feels more interesting when you’re preparing for exams—so I began reading it with a lot of excitement. That said, I was going to start it sooner or later anyway: the samurai setting, the fact that it’s a seinen manga, my prior knowledge of Miyamoto Musashi, and Takehiko Inoue’s distinct art style all made it inevitable.

I was deeply impressed by the very first chapters and started reading rapidly.

The art was incredible. From the very first pages, I could feel that I was about to witness an exceptional character development, and that really excited me. The pacing was also quite good, making the manga very easy to read. However, after reaching around chapter 120, I stopped reading. There were a few reasons for this: my studies became increasingly intense, my family was determined not to buy me a phone until I got into university, and reading constantly on a PC or on my parents’ phones was simply exhausting. Still, I was certain that I would come back to it.

A few months later, during a period when my life was going terribly, I remembered this series again. I still didn’t have my own phone, but I loved Vagabond and was determined to finish it. At that point, I was even banned from using the PC, so I would secretly take my parents’ phones at night after they fell asleep and read the manga. I clearly remember the day I read the last chapter. I felt as if I had accomplished one of the hardest tasks in the world. It was genuinely something I felt proud of.

Now, setting my personal memories aside, let’s talk about the series itself.

Seinen manga generally tend to have more complex writing compared to shounen—though not all seinen fall into this category. Vagabond definitely does. For me, Musashi is one of the best-written main characters I’ve ever seen. His character development, self-discovery, and transformation are incredibly well executed, and Takehiko Inoue’s masterful artwork elevates these themes even further through powerful paneling.

But the series isn’t just about Musashi. Nearly all of the side characters are also very well written and memorable. I usually test how well characters are written with a simple method: if I can still remember their names and stories long after finishing the series, then they were done right. Of course, this isn’t a perfectly accurate method—sometimes characters stay in your mind for different reasons, or you might remember a poorly written character anyway—but I’d say it works about 90% of the time. Overall, Vagabond handles its characters exceptionally well—not just through their backstories and impact on the narrative, but also through their visual designs, many of which are truly outstanding.

In terms of story, Vagabond doesn’t present an especially unusual or complex plot. However, what makes the story so compelling is its excellent pacing and the way it portrays the characters’ experiences over many years. These elements turn a relatively simple narrative into something truly special. The storytelling is incredibly strong, and it plays a huge role in how fluid and engaging the series feels. So while the story itself may not be extraordinary on paper, Inoue’s storytelling, pacing, and sense of flow make it undeniably powerful.

In the end, I give Vagabond a 10/10.

I don’t give out 10s easily. To me, a 10 means something close to perfection, and I don’t really believe true perfection exists. However, sometimes I make exceptions because of the emotional connection I form with a work. Vagabond is one of those exceptions. Because of what it gave me during difficult times and the emotional weight it carries for me, I’m willing to overlook its minor flaws.

Review rating: 10/10

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Oct 13, 2025

KrisoniX

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (152/327 eps)

Vagabond is a manga that, despite having many good ideas, isn’t quite as great as it seems at first glance.

The story states numerous philosophical questions that both the reader and the characters must answer for themselves. I even think that these questions, rather than the duels between samurai, are the most interesting aspect of the manga. However, given the story’s setting, these questions often end up feeling confusing and blurry, often too broad. The events and character behaviors often contradict the themes they’re supposed to represent.

While reading, I often had to stop and think about what is happening and how it represents the thopos in ...

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Jan 21, 2024

Jaitnium

Not Recommended

Funny

Preliminary (260/327 eps)

Spoiler

Vagabond interested me because it's an action, seinen manga. Unfortunately, it's a mixed bag. Vagabond has great characters and art, but has horrendous pacing and the fights can be hard to follow.

What I want to talk about though, is why I dropped the manga.

The second visit to Kyoto is an event that has been on the back of readers' minds for the majority of the manga, and needless to say I was hyped.

The mangaka starts the arc with a massive spoiler. The spoiler completely robs the story of any suspense from the following dozen or so chapters as we're waiting for the characters to catch ... up to what the author just spoiled. I'm honestly dumbfounded by the writing decision making here. This style of writing works when the author shows a future scene, making the audience drop their guard since they know what will happen, only to subvert expectations with an unexpected twist by showing the full context of that scene. That didn't happen though.

My next two grievances are with our protagonist, Musashi, who is the worst.

Musahi finally has his duel with Denshichiro. At this point Musashi can easily defeat Den, blindfolded, armed with nothing but a wet sock. Yet for some reason it doesn't even cross Musashi's mind to spare Den, even after what he puts Den through. Musashi contemplates all the different ways he can execute Den before finally ending him. It would be one thing if Musashi killed Den and then he was reprimanded by his comrades, but that doesn't happen. That's because the author thinks Musashi needlessly killing Den is completely fine. Denshichiro is a good man, probably the most honorable man in the story. How is Musashi any different than he was when he was tied up in that tree? He's merciless and has no regard for life.

The final straw was the 70 man battle. If Musashi had even an iota of foresight, he'd realize killing Den would incur the wrath of the Yoshioka. Conveniently, Musashi teleports into the tree next to where the Yoshioka are plotting to kill him. Rationally, Musashi decides it would be best to avoid the confrontation and leaves in the middle of the night. He seemingly downs a bottle of stupid juice and decides to go fight them anyway. This is the moment when Musashi FULLY ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY for the outcome of the battle. It is no longer self defense at this point. He knew about the ambush, he had a chance to avoid it, but he just didn't want to. Musashi chose to butcher the rest of the Yoshioka. I'm not going to bother talking about how the fight is just several chapters of mind-numbing carnage. Musahi is completely at fault here.

Musashi starts off the story being a battle-thirsty demon who wants to make a name for himself. He was captured, reformed, and started on a new path. On his new path, he encounters the Yoshioka and kills several of their disciples. The following year he kills both heads of the household (granted one is self-defense), and then slaughters everyone else. He is not reprimanded for this because the author thinks Musashi is justified. Musashi hasn't changed at all, the only thing that has changed is that nobody is giving him shit for his actions.

I find myself agreeing with Matahachi's mother, which is when you know you fucked up.

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Poll: Vagabond Chapter 1 Discussion kie_ - Oct 24, 2008	45 replies	by rahand_hemn »» Jan 10, 6:33 AM
Poll: Vagabond Chapter 309 Discussion Raikoye - Apr 9, 2013	7 replies	by Amir3003amglist »» Jan 8, 12:39 PM
Poll: Vagabond Chapter 20 Discussion Madara22 - Nov 29, 2015	8 replies	by SwitchArooo »» Jan 2, 11:30 AM
Poll: Vagabond Chapter 12 Discussion Mikasa - Nov 24, 2012	13 replies	by VitaoDaPisadinha »» Dec 29, 2025 12:17 PM
Poll: Vagabond Chapter 11 Discussion _HeroKenzan_ - May 13, 2015	12 replies	by VitaoDaPisadinha »» Dec 29, 2025 12:04 PM

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