By Sidu Arah
Kagurabachi is one manga that the hype doesn鈥檛 capture its true essence. This is common among most Shonen manga, as many expect their stories to be relatively simple. Naruto suffered from this, as people assumed it was all about dreams and resilience. However, Naruto was an anti-war story, and its main character was a war orphan.Another Shonen manga that most readers misunderstand is One Piece. Many see Luffy as a Peter Pan regen with his crew of misfits who are chasing the next adventure. However, One Piece is primarily about freedom. The World Government is an analogy for the real-life government, and the systematic issues like racism and slavery bear parallels to the real world.Kagurabachi presents itself as a revenge story from the very beginning. The first few chapters have Kunishige Rokuhira and his son, Chihiro, on full display. In those chapters, viewers are soothed by the father鈥搒on relationship. Without any warning, they are shown Kunishige鈥檚 dead body and Chihiro鈥檚 tears. Chihiro’s base expression is anguish, but that dissipates as the story goes on.Disclaimer: This article reflects the author鈥檚 views and may contain spoilers.How Kagurabachi changes from a revenge tale to a story of hopeChihiro’s character arc in Kagurabachi is rare in Shonen (Image via Shueisha)The beginning of Kagurabachi is almost Tarantino-esque, with the manga bearing some similarities to Kill Bill. Chihiro suffers an unimaginable tragedy and chooses to chase his form of justice.At the beginning of the manga, it was about ending the people who killed his father, and he had his father鈥檚 last enchanted blade to do the task. End the people who stole his father鈥檚 enchanted blade with a more powerful enchanted blade.Where Kagurabachi starts having more depth than the typical revenge tale is when Chihiro meets other people. When chasing revenge, one’s focus becomes obtuse, and they do not care for the collateral damage that may occur, but Chihiro does. On various occasions, he acts as a shield and protects the surrounding areas from the consequences of his battles. He even takes a detour to protect a young girl, who is treated as a slave.Chihiro now fights for his father’s ideals (Image via Shueisha)The more Chihiro interacts with other humans, the less the fire of revenge burns, and as the reader reaches fifty chapters in, they see an expression on Chihiro鈥檚 face they have never seen before. They see Chihiro smile!A smile on Chihiro鈥檚 face tells viewers that the protagonist has found beauty in life. He becomes a brother-like figure to Samura鈥檚 daughter, and his goal shifts from revenge to balance. Chihiro recognizes the danger in the enchanted blades and is looking for a way to stop their harmful effects.Final thoughtsThere is also an underlying theme about legacy that runs through Kagurabachi. At first, Chihiro sees his father as a saint, but as the story progresses, he realizes that his father’s skill led to genocide. His new objective in the latter part of the manga has Chihiro try to undo his father鈥檚 wrongs by collecting or destroying the enchanted blades.Also read:Rock Lee’s character should have been in Boruto, here’s whyThe key to Amado鈥檚 woes was in Naruto Shippuden but fans have missed itAre Shonen protagonists becoming darker? Explored