Kagurabachi Explained

Ja Kanji:カグラバチ
Type:manga
Author:Takeru Hokazono
Publisher:Shueisha
Imprint:Jump Comics
Magazine:Weekly Shōnen Jump
First:September 19, 2023
Volumes:5
Type:anime
Studio:CygamesPictures
Portal:yes

is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takeru Hokazono. It has been serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since September 2023, with its chapters collected in five volumes . An anime adaptation produced by CygamesPictures was reported.

Plot

Chihiro Rokuhira is the son of Kunishige Rokuhira, a renowned blacksmith who forged six enchanted blades that were instrumental in ending the Seitei War. After living in hiding, the Rokuhiras are discovered and attacked by a criminal gang of sorcerers called the Hishaku. The Hishaku murder Kunishige and then steal the Enchanted Blades. Armed with a seventh enchanted blade called Enten, Chihiro embarks on a bloody path of vengeance and justice to destroy the Hishaku and reclaim the stolen enchanted blades.

Characters

Chihiro's group

The 18-year-old son of the late Kunishige Rokuhira, Chihiro trained under his father as a swordsmith during his childhood, hoping to follow in his footsteps. After his father was killed and the he made were stolen, Chihiro swore revenge against his perpetrators being the Hishaku. He took his father's last Enchanted Blade,, and trained with it until he was ready to find his father's killers and reclaim the Enchanted Blades. Although he seeks revenge, he will not allow innocent civilians to be caught in the crossfire of his battles. While he acts stoically and aloof, Chihiro can show compassion, kindness, and trustworthiness to others. With Enten, he can create magically projected slashes, absorb energy for later use, and increase his physical abilities.
  • A highly skilled, very powerful sorcerer and family friend of Kunishige and Chihiro. Like Chihiro, he also seeks to avenge Kunishige. He is a sorcerer who specializes in teleportation. He was a member of the Kamunabi, but left them sometime after Kunishige went into hiding.
  • A friend of Shiba and owner of which serves as both a cafe and a way for Hinao to connect sorcerers with the leaders of the yakuza or big corporations who require their services.
  • Char is a young orphan who was a captive of crime boss and weapons dealer Sojo. Char is the last of the Kyonagi Clan, known for their regenerative abilities. She was experimented on by Sojo for her abilities to help stabilize the Datenseki. While she can heal from nearly any wound she receives, Char can also use her ability to heal wounds on other people.
  • A former member of the Sazanami Clan, who was disowned for his perceived weakness and uselessness to the clan. Vowing to dismantle the Rakuzaichi black market, which his family was in charge of organizing, he joins Chihiro's cause. Hakuri's lack of sorcery was a result of his self-inflicted doubt and worthlessness due to the abuse he suffered from his family, subconsciously circulating his spirit energy throughout his body. This explains why he initially was not able to use the Sazanami clan's signature shockwave-like attack, the . After finally able to properly control his spirit energy, Hakuri is capable of not only using the Isou attack but also the Storehouse, a subspace used for storing items and even people. Hakuri became only the second Sazanami in the clan's history to use both Isou and the Storehouse, a feat only the first Sazanami clan head was capable of. One of Hakuri's abilities is registering individuals into his Storehouse, including any items containing the registered's spirit energy.

    • Kamunabi

    The is a government-affiliated organization of sorcerers with a mission established during the to eliminate all threats to the nation of Japan as a whole like, notably different to civilian sorcerers who generally deal with more person-specific matters such as big corporations or the yakuza. A recent objective of theirs is to gain the Enchanted Blades, so they themselves could make use of them to maintain peace in the country. They and the Hishaku have been in a deadlock for three years with the former having secured the Enchanted Blade wielders and the latter having the blades themselves in their possession. However, the Hishaku are unable to use them due to their life long contracts with their respective wielders.

    One of the highest-ranking leaders of the Kamunabi and an old friend of Kunishige and Shiba, having helped Kunishige find a hidden place to reside following the Seitei War and later serves as a prominent informant to Chihiro.
  • An elite fighter of the Kamunabi stated as its strongest. She is stated to be one of the few individuals capable of opposing an Enchanted Blade by wielding a special sorcery called the, which is said to possess strength on par with the Enchanted Blades.
  • Hiyuki's partner, who looks like a sumo wrestler. His sorcery involves creating a separate domain where battles between two combatants take place, with the domain disappearing once the battle is considered over.

    • Anti-Cloud Gouger Special Forces

    The was a squadron of six elite fighters within the Kamunabi who were tasked with opposing Genichi Sojo and the Enchanted Blade Cloud Gouger he wielded. Only two survived the battle against Sojo.

    The commander of the Anti-Cloud Gouger Special Forces whose spell, gives him magnetic powers. He is one of only two in the squadron to survive against Sojo.
  • The most recent member of the Anti-Cloud Gouger Special Forces. He is only one of two in the squadron to survive against Sojo.
  • A member of the Anti-Cloud Gouger Special Forces whose spell allows her to erect walls.
  • A member of the Anti-Cloud Gouger Special Forces whose spell allows him to imbue his arm with iron-like properties.
  • A member of the Anti-Cloud Gouger Special Forces who can use binding spells to restrict the target's movements.
  • A member of the Anti-Cloud Gouger Special Forces who can increase the size of his hands.

    • Makizumi

    The are a clan of ninjas who swore themselves to the Kamunabi upon their founding after the end of the Seitei War. They are fiercely loyal to their chosen master, willing to lay down their lives for them. Three members of the clan were assigned to protect Seiichi Samura at his Sanso, Senkutsuji Temple, upon the death of Kunishige Rokuhira. When the temple is attacked by the Hishaku, the Makizumi use their ninja abilities to nullify any smell or sound they make on the battlefield, allowing them to safely fight alongside Samura, who attacks based on sound. Though they try to sacrifice themselves so Samura, Uruha, and Hakuri can escape the crumbling temple with their lives, Samura refuses to accept this. Upon Hakuri retrieving the Enchanted Blade Tobimune for him, Samura rushes back into the temple to save the Makizumi, promptly firing them so they no longer need to lay down their lives for his sake.

    Enchanted Blade Wielders

    The original wielder of the blade during the Seitei War. Uruha greatly admired Kunishige and was honored to be chosen as a blade wielder. Uruha initially refused to believe Kunishige had a son, and seemingly lost his will to live after the swordsmith was killed. However, upon meeting Chihiro, he reaffirmed his loyalty to the Rokuhira family. Uruha can use the Iai drawing technique, having being trained under one of the other blade wielders, Seiichi Samura. Uruha is killed by Samura after the latter revealed his betrayal.
  • One of the remaining Enchanted Blade wielders from the Seitei War eighteen years ago with an eternal contract to the blade . Samura is blind, doing it to himself so as to prevent succumbing to worldly passions in accordance to his Buddhist beliefs. He has a scar going down vertically each eye and wears sunglasses. Despite his blindness, Samura is exceptionally perceptive with his other senses, which is how he was able to recognize Chihiro as Kunishige's son from when Chihiro was young. According to Kunishige, Samura is the fastest of the blade wielders. A master swordsman, Samura uses Iai White Purity Style, a quick-draw technique that utilizes echolocation through a sheathed swords' reverberations to gauge the size and direction of his targets. It is revealed that Samura made a deal with the Hishaku, having been visited by their leader Yura at his home to contract the deal to kill the Sword Master, the original wielder of Magatsumi (also called Shinuchi) and the other remaining wielders of the Enchanted Blades. Samura's cooperation with the Hishaku in eliminating the other wielders is promised with the three following conditions: revealing the identities of all ten members of the Hishaku, the identity of the Kamunabi insider who leaked Kunishige Rokuhira's location, and the whereabouts of the remaining Enchanted Blades. Samura believes that the surviving blade wielders, including himself, must die as punishment for their actions during the Seitei War that were covered up and hidden from the public. He still plans to eliminate all of the Hishaku and those connected them after he kills the Enchanted Blade wielders. Samura successly killed his former student and fellow blade wielder, Yoji Uruha.
  • The original wielder of the Cloud Gouger who was killed by the Hishaku sometime after Kunishige Rokuhira was murdered, leading the blade to be wielded by Genichi Sojo.
  • The Sword Master
  • One of the remaining Enchanted Blade wielders with an eternal contract to Magatsumi, the strongest of the Enchanted Blades. Little is known of the Sword Master, other than he wielded, also known as the, during the Seitei War. Since the conflict he has been incarcerated in a special prison for unknown reasons. The Sword Master seems to have a telepathic connection to Magatsumi, as he nearly took control of Kyora Sazanami when the auctioneer held the blade in his fight against Chihiro. The Sword Master is the target of the Hishaku as Yura wants to wield Magatsumi.

    Antagonists

    Hishaku

    The are a small, elite group of ten sorcerers who murdered Kunishige and stole his six Enchanted Blades three years ago, as such making them the targets of Chihiro's revenge. Their expertise in sorcery is so great that they are considered to be monsters. Each member is identified by a tattoo with a flame emblem on the back of one of their hand. They later killed Misaka soon after Kunishige's death, and gave Genichi Sojo one of the Enchanted Blades, Cloud Gouger, and donate another being the Shinuchi, to the Sazanami Clan to be sold in the Rakuzaichi under the alias of Sojo himself. The group has also made connections with many other organizations and individuals in the underworld, such as the Korogumi Yakuza, and the aforementioned Genichi Sojo and Sazanami Clan to further their objectives. After three years of preparation, the Hishaku begin their plans by raiding the Sanso, fortresses owned by the Kamunabi that each holds one of the Enchanted Blade wielders who are protected by the organization's elite fighters, with the help of an army of hired sorcerers to assassinate said wielders, so their lifelong contracts with respective blades are released and are able to be used by them.

    The leader of the Hishaku and being the one who orchestrated the group's murder of Kunishige and theft of his Enchanted Blades, doing so as part of an attempt to wield the Shinuchi for himself. Due to his status and actions, he is Chihiro's arch nemesis and is such his primary target of revenge. Yura is also visited Samura at his house to make a contract with him in exchange of information soon after the Hishaku's raid the Rokuhiras' residence.
  • A nonchalant, young sorcerer who loves to fight. When he was only 3 years old, he was introduced to the concept of killing people. He was dispatched to assassinate Uruha, running into Chihiro as the latter protects him, and immediately takes interests in the later, pointing out similarities between the two like being the same age of 18 years old, are prodigies in their skills of combat, and have killed many people along the way. His sorcery allows him allows him to create paper and mold it into origami. He can remotely control the origami that he creates and they are sharp enough to easily pierce through someone's body, as well as being strong enough to carry something small, but heavy like the piece of Datenseki. However, Hiruhiko now is able to wield Kumeyuri after Uruha is killed by Samura.

    • Sazanami Clan

    The is a powerful criminal clan of sorcerers who are the proprietors of the Rakuzaichi, an annual auction of black market artifacts and weapons, as well as people which serves as a highly popular fixture in the Japanese underworld, and have administered this auction for over 200 years.

    The eleventh head of the Sazanami Clan, the lead auctioneer of the Rakuzaichi, and Hakuri's strict father. As Clan head, Kyora has control over a subspace called the . In this subspace, he can store items and even people, as well as control the environment in the subspace. Kyora has completely dedicated himself in ensuring that the Rakuzaichi auction continues on no matter the cost, even willing to sacrifice his own children. After being mortally wounded by Chihiro, Kyora is ultimately killed by the overwhelming power of the Shinuchi. Kyora's death forever ends the Rakuzaichi.
    The Tou

    The, also known as the, is a small group of the four best fighters in the Sazanami Clan. Their duties are to follow the commands of the clan head and protect the Rakuzaichi.

    Hakuri's older brother who is incredibly possessive of him, obsessively looking for him after Hakuri was exiled from the clan. He was also next in line to succeed Kyora as the Head of the Sazanami. While normally described as cold and calculating, Soya loses control of his emotions when around Hakuri. In a twisted sense of brotherly love, Soya physically tormented Hakuri. Initially wanting Hakuri to return to the Sazanami, Hakuri's alliance with Chihiro has Soya decide to kill his younger brother. Soya is defeated by Hakuri after the latter finally was able to use Isou and the Storehouse space. In a bonus page within the fourth volume of the series, it is revealed that Soya was once jealous of his younger brother Tenri’s superior sorcery abilities. However, this feeling has since been replaced by his obsession with Hakuri, who the entire clan viewed as talentless.
  • Hakuri's younger brother who is highly dedicated in protecting his father and the Rakuzaichi, and was one of the three members of the Tou who confronted Chihiro and Shiba when the later infiltrated the Sazanami estate. Tenri specializes in using short-bladed weapons for combat. During the fight against Chihiro, Tenri uses a Datenseki tool to amplify his sorcery in a desperate play to make his father proud. Due to the Datenseki being unstable, the power overwhelms Tenri and kills him.
  • Hakuri's older sister who is one of three members of the Tou that confronted Chihiro and Shiba when the latter two infiltrated the Sazanami estate. When questioned about Soya’s whereabouts by Kyora during this event, Tamaki lies and says that he is not feeling well before she is corrected by Tenri that he is looking for Hakuri.
  • One of Hakuri's older brothers who is one of three members of the Tou that confronted Chihiro and Shiba when the latter two infiltrated the Sazanami estate. Despite begging Shiba for death after Tenri’s demise, Shiba tells him to live in order to foster the remaining Sazanami Clan members as to prevent another tragedy like Tenri’s from happening again.

    • Others

    One of the biggest names in Japan's criminal underworld as a prominent weapons dealer, as well as the wielder of the stolen Enchanted Blade . Sojo had been attempting to harness the magical elements of Datenseki, the material the Enchanted Blades were made from, to create weapons and sell them. After repeated failures Sojo kidnapped Char and her mother, believing their regenerative abilities would help stabilize the Datenseki. Sojo admired Kunishige Rokuhira and the blades he created, as Sojo viewed the blades as perfect instruments for killing. After being fatally wounded by Chihiro Rokuhira in their duel that also resulted in Cloud Gouger being bisected, Sojo attempted to channel his energy into some Datenseki, but the overwhelming energy rebound resulted in the Datenseki to explode, killing Sojo.
  • Also known as the Daruma Sorcerer, he is a sorcerer under the employ of Sojo, who wielded the ability to create exploding Daruma using his spirit energy. After his defeat at the hands of Chihiro and Shiba, Norisaku decided to stop being a sorcerer and go straight with his life. While trying to reconcile with his family, Norisaku is killed by Sojo for revealing information to Chihiro and Shiba.

    • Other characters

    Chihiro Rokuhira's late father, who held a significant reputation as his country's most renowned swordsmith, having forged the extremely powerful katana known as the Enchanted Blades. Kunishige was the only one who could control and harness the overwhelming power of the Datenseki, the material used to craft the Enchanted Blades. His blades were instrumental in ending the Seitei War. After the war ended, Kunishige was hidden from the public for protection. While in hiding, he had a son, Chihiro, and forged the seventh Enchanted blade, Enten. Nearly fifteen years after the war, Kunishige was murdered and his blades stolen by the Hishaku.
  • Yuu, or Mr. Inazuma, as he refers to himself, is a child aiming to break into the Rakuzaichi Black Market auction to free his big sister, which leads to his encounter with Chihiro.

    • Media

    Manga

    Written and illustrated by Takeru Hokazono, Kagurabachi began serialization in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on September 19, 2023.[1] [2] The first volume was released on February 2, 2024. As of December 4, 2024, five volumes have been released.

    Viz Media and Shueisha's Manga Plus platform are publishing the series in English.[3] In March 2024, Viz Media announced the print release of the manga.[4] The first volume was released on November 5, 2024.

    Chapters not yet in tankōbon format

    These chapters have yet to be published in a volume.

    Anime

    On December 2, 2024, Toyo Keizai Online reported that Kagurabachi will get an anime adaptation by CygamesPictures, through a joint production by CyberAgent and Shochiku. No further details were provided at the time of the report.[5]

    Reception

    By July 2024, the manga had over 350,000 copies in circulation (including digital copies);[6] over 600,000 copies in circulation by August 2024;[7] over 1 million copies in circulation by October 2024;[8] and over 1.3 million copies in circulation by December 2024.[9] Upon release, Kagurabachi surpassed series such as Spy × Family, Dragon Ball Super, and Boruto on Manga Pluss popularity ranking. Its sudden popularity amongst global readers was partially the result of numerous Internet memes, with many ironically considering it to be the inheritor of Weekly Shōnen Jumps "Big Three" (One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach).[10] Its first chapter was the world's most viewed in its first week of publication on Manga Plus, and the series has received over 99 million page views on the platform by April 2024.[11] The series has been recommended by manga creators Kōhei Horikoshi and Masashi Kishimoto, and the musician Vaundy.[12] [13] [14]

    It ranked seventh on AnimeJapan's "Most Wanted Anime Adaptation" poll in 2024.[15] [16] The manga won the 10th Next Manga Award in the print category in 2024.[17]

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Cayanan. Joanna. Fabricant 100 Manga Ends, 3 New Manga to Launch in Shonen Jump. Anime News Network. September 3, 2023. September 22, 2023. September 4, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230904002622/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2023-09-03/fabricant-100-manga-ends-3-new-manga-to-launch-in-shonen-jump/.201921. live.
    2. Web site: ja:父のもとで刀匠を目指していたはずが…憎しみに駆られた少年の剣戟バトルアクション. https://natalie.mu/comic/news/541554. Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc. September 19, 2023. September 23, 2023. ja. September 26, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230926131810/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/541554. live.
    3. Web site: Lada. Jenni. New Shonen Jump Series Kagurabachi Begins Its Run. Siliconera. September 18, 2023. September 22, 2023. September 28, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230928135605/https://www.siliconera.com/new-shonen-jump-series-kagurabachi-begins-its-run/. live.
    4. Web site: Mateo. Alex. Viz Media to Release Kagurabachi Manga in Print in Fall. Anime News Network. March 6, 2024. March 6, 2024. March 6, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240306204346/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2024-03-06/viz-media-to-release-kagurabachi-manga-in-print-in-fall/.208379. live.
    5. Web site: Cayanan. Joanna. Toyo Keizai Report: Kagurabachi Manga to Get Anime at Cygames Pictures. Anime News Network. December 2, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20241202221117/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2024-12-02/toyo-keizai-report-kagurabachi-manga-to-get-anime-at-cygames-pictures/.218492. December 2, 2024. December 2, 2024. live.
    6. Web site: ja:『カグラバチ』3巻発売で『NARUTO』作者が絶賛 日本刀バトルで「漫画好きが好きなやつ」. https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2334359/full/. Oricon News. July 3, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240703155750/https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2334359/full/. July 3, 2024. ja. July 3, 2024. live.
    7. kagurabachi_x. 1829031037730730247. ja:【60万部！】#次にくるマンガ大賞2024 コミックス部門1位仕様の帯が巻かれたコミックス！ 皆様の熱烈な応援のおかげで 累計60万部を突破しました！最新4巻は10月4日(金)発売予定！ご期待ください！ #カグラバチ #Kagurabachi. August 29, 2024. Japanese.
    8. kagurabachi_x. 1847193402355700033. ja:【すごいぞ！】 JC「 #カグラバチ」 全巻重版出来！(11月14日予定) 累計100万部突破しました！！ 応援ありがとうございます！ 最新コミックス5巻は12月4日(水)発売予定！※書店様への入荷のお問い合わせはご遠慮ください。. October 18, 2024. Japanese.
    9. Web site: ja:「カグラバチ」5巻で130万部突破！無料公開やPV、帯コメントメーカーなど盛りだくさん. https://natalie.mu/comic/news/602062. Natasha, Inc.. Comic Natalie. December 4, 2024. December 4, 2024. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20241203184530/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/602062. December 3, 2024. live.
    10. Web site: Whitbrook. James. Kagurabachi Is Big, But Not as Big as the Internet Wants You to Think. Gizmodo. September 21, 2023. September 25, 2023. September 25, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230925171119/https://gizmodo.com/kagurabachi-manga-memes-glazing-shonen-jump-anime-1850861999. live.
    11. Web site: "Kagurabachi" Captures Global Attention - Shueisha Releases Excerpts from Volume 2. Japan Anime News. Oricon. May 15, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240515042417/https://us.oricon-group.com/news/360/. May 15, 2024. April 30, 2024. live.
    12. Web site: ja:堀越耕平も推薦、憎しみに駆られた少年の剣戟バトルアクション「カグラバチ」1巻. https://natalie.mu/comic/news/559535. Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc.. February 2, 2024. February 2, 2024. ja. February 2, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240202084537/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/559535. live.
    13. Web site: ja:「カグラバチ」、岸本斉史が「この才能このスタイル、漫画好きが好きなやつ」と推薦. https://natalie.mu/comic/news/580540. Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc.. July 3, 2024. July 3, 2024. ja. July 3, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240703031040/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/580540. live.
    14. Web site: ja:「カグラバチ」2巻、帯にVaundyのコメント　TシャツのプレゼントやLINEスタンプも. https://natalie.mu/comic/news/571585. Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc.. May 1, 2024. July 3, 2024. ja. May 7, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240507174419/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/571585. live.
    15. Web site: ja:「アニメ化してほしいマンガランキング」発表　1位は仲曽良ハミ「しなのんちのいくる」. https://natalie.mu/comic/news/566082. Comic Natalie. Natasha, Inc.. March 22, 2024. March 26, 2024. ja. March 22, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240322090214/https://natalie.mu/comic/news/566082. live.
    16. Web site: Iikura-Gross. Ken. Shinanonchi no Ikuru Tops AnimeJapan's 'Manga You Want to Be Made Into Anime' Ranking. Anime News Network. March 25, 2024. March 26, 2024. March 26, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240326045733/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2024-03-25/shinanonchi-no-ikuru-tops-animejapan-manga-you-want-to-be-made-into-anime-ranking/.209189. live.
    17. Web site: Cayanan. Joanna. Kagurabachi Tops Print Category, Girl Meets Rock! Wins in Web Category of Next Manga Awards 2024. Anime News Network. August 28, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240828134530/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2024-08-28/kagurabachi-tops-print-category-girl-meets-rock-wins-in-web-category-of-next-manga-awards-2024/.214760. August 28, 2024. August 28, 2024. live.

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