A gritty historical adventure manga with a strong story, great character development and beautiful artwork makes this manga one with few peers.

I only have two very minor issues, I feel that at times the pacing of the story is slightly out and some scenes could benefit from another page of 'screen time'. I also would like some of the side characters to have a more fleshed out story but this could be done to reduce bloat which I completely understand.

I personally find the art style to be exquisite and the attention to detail makes for breathtaking landscapes and stunning battles. The intense fights are made all the more engrossing by this effort and it draws you in as a reader. Because of the deep engagement you feel the visceral emotion, it is like being present and I can only compare the raw gut feelings you get reading this to the ones I had reading Vagabond. The complex characters and meticulous character development are so effective due to the emotions the story and art elicit; this combination means the characters are so human and alive that the empathy you feel is very real.

Makoto Yukimura has put in countless hours of work to produce this masterpiece and his dedication has shone through, a union of talent and hard work, I could not reccomend this to anyone enough! An absolute must read, even if you are not into violence or history I recommend flicking through this manga just to get a look of the amazing artwork.