I'm a hardcore sports anime fan and I enjoyed Days quite a bit. However, I wasn't sure how Tsuyoshi Yasuda's round and cute character designs would suit a historical manga.

Color me surprised! While I wouldn't lose sleep over waiting for the second volume, I was more than fine with this introduction. Definitely looking forward to the adaptation, and I think whether I will continue this series or not will be shaped by how invested I'll feel after giving the series a spin. A big thank you to Kodansha and Netgalley for the review copy!

So I wasnt sure how Id feel about this going in knowing nothing about it but I can't help but give this 4.5 stars. Such a treat that made me cry multiple times. Cannot wait to see where this story goes.

I LOVE I LOVE I LOVE I LOVED IT. I don’t think I can say it enough how much I enjoy it! Can’t wait to see where it goes

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy for an honest review

I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend and I can’t wait to buy a copy for myself 🙂

Rating 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Blue Wolves of Mibu is a historical fiction manga by Tsuyoshi Yasuda set in Kyoto of the 1860’s, when the Tokugawa shogunate was nearing its end. During this time, over 200 ronin loyal to the shogun grouped together with the intention of making the streets of Kyoto safer. This group, known as the Mibu Roshigumi, would later rename itself as the Shinsengumi and continue to fight for the shogunate until the end. The tragic story of the Shinsengumi is one that has been adapted and retold in a multitude of dramas, books, mangas and games; just like it is now being retold in The Blue Wolves of Mibu. In it, we follow the steps of a young orphan called Nio who, after some events involving members of the Mibu Roshigumi, he decides to join in their ranks with the aspiration to create better, safer world.

While I moderately enjoyed this first volume, the shonen approach that was taken on retelling the Miburo/Shinsengumi’s story was not exactly my cup of tea and makes me wary (and curious) of how the manga will continue. Perhaps what I found the most jarring is how scenes of somewhat absurd comedy are followed or preceded by bloody action scenes, leaving me at times confused by the emotional whiplash of it all. Fortunately, by the last chapter of this first volume I got the impression that things might settle for a more serious undertone, and that comedy was to be set aside, at least for the time being.

In regards to the art, I found Tsuyoshi Yasuda’s clean and modern style perfectly adequate for the story and demographic. It is by no means unique or original, but it conveys the mood effectively without being too distracting to the eye or leaving room for any possible confusion.

All in all, although it was not my favorite start, I think I will give it a couple of volumes more before deciding whether I want to keep on going or drop it.

Thank you very much to Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!

First, Thanks to NetGalley, the Author and the Publisher for this ARC.

It took me a while to get into the story.
But the art is gorgeous and the story pick's up a faster pace after 40 pages or so.
I was pleasantly surprised for the amount of violence, since I had no idea what this story was about or what way it was going.
Once It had me hooked, I couldn't put it back down.
I really want to read and know more about the characters and the what they are up to.
And I would love to see more by Tsuyoshi Yasuda.

Since discovering Ruroni Kenshin, I have been fascinated by the Meiji Restoration and the massive shifts in Japanese society, so I will absolutely nom down any media that I can find on that time period.

I was excited to get an ARC copy of this graphic novel, and it looked like a solid start to an interesting series. Nio, an orphan who is trying to survive in a very turbulent Kyoto, has learned that he needs to present a happy and cheerful demeanour all the time to try and keep him safe. He is adopted into the Mibu Roshigumi, who eventually became known as the Shinsengumi.

Stories from the Meiji era are often focused around people who are looking for ways to make their society better, and that really appeals to me. I see that in Nio wanting to make a positive change in the world that he lives in. This is a solid start to a series. You have the context of the Found Family, the driving force in the characters actions which is to improve Japan, and the start of some intrigue happening within the Roshigumi.

Looking forward to the future volumes.

Graphic Novels and Manga - This was on my wish list to read this year. Thanks to Netgalley I picked up this book.
Firstly, this has samurai. an interesting story, some really pretty character art, and overall a good read.
Some of those images had me deeply wishing that I could draw like this too.
since this is book 1, i'd like to read on in this series... and see how this young boy is going to change the world :)

I would have to say, once getting into this, I found to enjoy what was going on.
I found some characters to be intriguing.
I like the burning desire Nio has to make the world a better place.
If you're looking for a samurai series, this is one!

Sometimes first volumes can struggle to really not only set everything up, but end on a note that can really grip me and leave me wanting more. The Blue Wolves of Mibu didn’t suffer from that. It set up the atmosphere, established the characters and left me eager for the next volume.

What I’m assuming is the main cast has a variety of personalities that seem like they are really going to balance each other out and benefit from one another. Nio is a young kid who is determined to learn. He’s so naive and it seems like as the story goes on, that is going to fade.

Knowing nothing about this history, getting bits and pieces of that was fascinating. I loved getting the history laced throughout and as this story continues, I am curious to see more of it.

The art style is rather simple. For the most part, I did enjoy it! Each character was distinguishable and stood out in their own way. I did struggle with it in the scenes with quick movements. The style doesn’t give it a lot of depth which would make it hard to make out what was happening.

Starting off on a promising note, if you are interested in samurai and historical content, pick this one up and give it a read.

This is a fantastic book. I really enjoyed it. The drawings are absolutely stunning! The story is great as well, but the images will blow you away.

This was a good start to a historical manga series. Like most vol 1's, there is a lot still open about how it will progress. I found the main character enjoyable. The art is quite nice and I appreciate that the adult characters are more nuanced. The main character has many IDEALS but his surrounding party help ground him a bit. There is also quite a bit of humor. I see this being quite popular for my library.

What could've been a fun, found family filled manga falls short due to choppy pacing and confusing action scenes.

First off, the art. I have some conflicting feelings about the style. While the style has it's appeals and there were definitely a handful of visually interesting panels, it seemed unsuited for the genre. The action scenes were stiff and hard to follow. Perhaps this was due to poor storyboarding/preproduction but it seems like the artist(s) just wasn't very familiar with drawing movement or dynamic poses. I found the art, overall, to be lackluster.

The writing itself wasn't fantastic either. I'm unsure if this was due to poor translation or if it was like this in the original but the dialogue was just written in this really stunted, unnatural way. This, along with the poorly done action panels made this entire manga a difficult read. The panels just never really flowed together like they should which did the story's pacing no favours.

Aside from the strange dialogue and weird panel layouts, I think the characters were likeable enough. Perhaps, in another manga, I would've liked them more. Unfortunately, despite any positive comments I may have towards the more likeable characters or the potential of the plot, I just don't consider this manga to be of high enough quality to fully recommend it.

Nio wants to change the world for the better. But he has no training and is very inexperienced. Enter the Mibu. Samuri that deal justice. When he uncovers an internal conspiracy, he has to decide what to do about it.

I like this. The art style is so nice and the story is so interesting. I would definitely keep reading this series.

I enjoyed this Manga. I liked learning more about the Shinsengumi, who I've seen depicted in other manga and anime in the past. This is the first time I've seen life from the point of the view of the Shinsengumi (or Roshigumi, as they're called in this manga), and not from the Samurai, so I feel like I learned more about what kind of culture the Shinsengumi were operating in, which I really enjoyed. It made my knowledge of Japan in the Meiji era feel more three-dimensional.

I did feel like some of the illustrations were less polished then others. Some pages seemed perfect, while some pages edged more towards un-finished then I prefer. I also wish the plot was more fleshed out. I know that's hard to do sometimes with the limited pages that are available in a graphic novel, and I was able to follow along with what was going on (fairly) well, but there were sometimes jumps in ideas/actions/dialogue that I couldn't quite follow.

Overall an interesting read, and I will definitely pick up vol. 2 when it comes out.

Rating: 4.35 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 4/5
-Cover (+art): 4.75/5
-Story: 3/5
-Writing: 5/5
Genre: Action
-Action: 5/5
Type: Manga
Worth?: YES

Want to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book.

Not a bad story just not one for me. The beginning was really interesting and pulled me in but as the story progressed I lost a good bit of interest in it.

The art in this one is absolutely stunning. If you have been looking for a new Samurai based series to dive into, I think this one would be a good fit for you. There are quite a few different ways this one could go, and I may be more inclined to love it down the road. Based on this first volume, I'm not sure I would add it to my (very shoujo heavy) collection. But it was a good read.

The Blue Wolves of Mibu is a story about a group of hated ronins, who later became known as the Shinsengumi. We followed the journey of Nio, an orphan, who encountered two of these wolves and came to realize they were not as bad as what people said, and decided to join them to make the world a better place.

First, let me talk about the art. It's a different style than what I'm used to, but I think it works well with the genre. The rough edges of these ronin came to live with this kind of style, and the fight scenes are also well portrayed.

The three ronins--Souji, Hijikata, and Kondo are lovable from the first sight. Especially Hijikata, who looks tough, but is apparently soft inside. Nio, the orphan, is naive, but full of idealistic values. The introduction to these "wolves" and the turbulent situation in Japan was well done--it hooked me right from the start. I'm surprised at how much I'm invested already in these characters. Highly recommended for those who love this type of story.

<i>Thank you Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for the arc in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Ouf, this book was not for me, nor did I feel like this would be a book for my followers. I skimmed through the last half, rather then DNF-ing it, but I just dont think I am the market audience for this.

It only took the title for me to immediately request this manga on NetGalley, and I’m not ashamed to admit it! If you know me, you’ll already be aware that I’m really intrigued by historical fiction (it’s always been this way), and you’ll also know that Edo Japan is my favourite historical era. Plus, with the films I’ve watched and games I’ve played about this significant period in Japanese history, I was really eager to see how the characters I’ve come to get attached to would be portrayed.

I have to say that I really did enjoy this first volume. I suppose it was easier for me to get immersed in the story since I’m well familiar with it. The Blue Wolves of Mibu are exactly how I’ve got to know them, so I’m really glad to see that the author has kept their depiction as it was meant to be.

I’m not generally into stories where the main character is a child—although there have been exceptions—but I really feel for Nio. He lives in a harsh world where people are murdered and children are kidnapped all the time, and he just wants to make the world a better place. I’m really looking forward to seeing where his own sense of justice will take him.

Not really short of cute comical moments—despite the brutality of the story—The Blue Wolves of Mibu Vol 1 is the perfect introduction to the world of the Shogunate.