The Blue Wolves of Mibu follows the story of Nio who is an orphan who wants to make the world a better place. He meets two men who belong to a group if ronin. As they take him under their wing, he begins to learn how to help shape the world to what he wants it to be.

This manga is the first in the series. The story was fast paced with some action and worldbuilding. The pacing of the story was very quick but didn't feel rushed. The characters were interesting and well fleshed out for such a fast-paced story. I would definitely recommend this manga if you were a fan of historical Japan, samurais.
ronin and coming of age stories with a mentor and mentee relationship. The illustrations were also beautiful and well done.

The Blue Wolves of Mibu
I'm stuck on a rating for this one as it falls somewhere between 3 or 4 star.
-released
-there is no date for volume 2
Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for the opportunity to read The Blue Wolves of Mibu and bube my opinion/review on it.

The setting is 1863 Kyoto, Japan. The villagers hoped that with the Aizu Domain Samurai in the area things would change… unfortunately for them nothing has changed and one of the issues they are dealing with are abductions.

Soji and Hijikata enter a shop that is run by a granny and two younger children-Iroha and Nio. These two are Miburo (masterless Samurai), who are viewed in a negative light by the villagers since they are rumored to commit different manners of violence and outrage. The granny steps in when some of the customers are talking to Nio about them negatively and how he should stay away from them. Soji and Hijikata are not deterred by the talk and return to the granny’s shop. This time they learn more about her relationship with the two children, as well as more about the children.
After Nio and his sister were almost abducted, Nio was invited to join the Roshigumi. Although he was frustrated that he was powerless and could not protect his sister, he accepted the invite and left with the two Miburo (masterless Samurai). Nio will now learn and experience a completely different world unknown to him. How will he handle what is to come?

Opinion: Starting off by saying I love the granny, she doesn’t care what others say and can say she moves to her own beat. Volume one starts to set up the series by giving us an idea about some of the characters and environment, as well as showing some character development for Nio.The art design for the characters are detailed, which helps set all the characters apart. I’m not really sure where the story is going in the sense of what their main challenge/enemy they are trying to overcome. So far it does follow the trope of MC wanting to get stronger to protect others and will meet people who they want to befriend/help. This manga would fall on the lower middle of my list to keep reading I think. It’s not bad or anything, just one that I need to see how volume 2 is before deciding if it’s a series I would want to keep following or not.

There are some scenes that have violence and as a warning there is blood and death.

I requested this manga whilst I'm still riding the waves of Shogun, the show, and mainly to cover a time of the Tokugawa Shogunate that I've not read about: the years preceding the Meiji Restoration, when there was a civil war, the Emperor was restored and the rule of the Shogun came to an end. It was time to fix this!

Starting in the 1860s, the plot opens in the Imperial City of Kyoto with a large group of ronin (masterless samurai) that were initially meant to be Shogunate men but that were dissolved and moved on to set up camp on the city's outskirts, and now act like a sort of impromptu police force patrolling around Kyoto. They are known as the Roshigumi, later Shinsengumi, and are famous in town for their reputation of violence and malfeasance, for which the population fears them and steers clear of them. Two of their members, Hijikata Toshizo and Okita Soji, come one day to a humble eatery run by an elderly lady that's raising two orphans, and quickly become the heroes of the two children, not suspecting the samurai are on a mission to disband a mafia of kidnappers and are using the children as bait.

When it all is revealed, Chirinu Nio is very angry and hurt at the injustice of it. Angry enough that he wants to do something, become someone, be strong, and fight for change and justice. So when Hijitaka and Okita offer him to join the Roshigumi, the idealistic boy accepts and goes with them to live and train with them, whilst his younger sister is taken in as servant to a nobleman. At the headquarters of the Roshigumi, Nio meets another boy, a slave named Taro, who is quite the contrast to himself: hard-bitten, bitter, harsh, and pessimistic. They become friends despite it being forbidden to be close with the servants, and you can tell that Taro is going to contribute a lot to open Nio's eyes to the darker realities of life in Kyoto at large and as a Roshigumi in particular, more so than the two older mentors that take Nio out with them on their missions.

For a first volume, this is very much a set up the atmosphere and establish the characters kind of opening salvo. And it has a simple and not too complicated plot so far, with moments of hilarity and boyish clowning, and despite the setting not being a safe one, you're not shown much of the darker aspects of being a quasi-police force. It doesn't seem like it's going to have the gore levels of other samurai manga, it has a lighter tone, but maybe it's just for this one début volume, because given the real history of the Roshigumi, I can tell from here that it won't be exactly all-public friendly. Surely more complexity and thus more gore are coming ahead.

As for the characters, they're established well enough. Hijitaka and Okita have a sort of Bad Samurai/Good Samurai dynamic in the sense that their personalities are well-defined and contrasted: one is serious and grumpy, the other cheery and goofy. You can guess which one I liked best. But the uncontested protagonist is definitely Nio, he seems to be set up for a "loss of innocence" type of character development in this story, so naïve he starts off as. I can't say he's my favourite, he's too young yet, and in any case I enjoyed this manga for the story (and the history) more than anything.

My one big complaint is that I wasn't a fan of the artwork! I'd have loved a style like in "Vagabond." Higher quality and better drawing and inking, that is. Because the art here is basic for my tastes. Not bad, just basic and unremarkable. I hear there's an upcoming anime adaptation coming later in the year, so hopefully the art for the anime is much better.

If you like samurai manga, or just want to get your Shogunate fix, like me, this will be a nice little read to keep you happy one afternoon. 3.5 stars rounded up!

Thank you netgalley for an advanced ARC of this manga

Unfortunately this was not a book that I will continue to read because it didn't keep my interest. I finished it and liked one character from it but I will not be continuing this series. It is a good book just not for me

I went into this manga completely blind. While it didn’t blow me away, it is a solid start to a story I am interested in seeing unfold.
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Nio is a boy of 13, who lives with his adoptive grandmother and sister during the Bunkyu era of Japan. He is content in his life, serving dango in his grandmother’s shop, until two beautiful men with swords show up and change his life. He’s given an opportunity to help create a better world and takes it with little hesitation. But will Nio be able to withstand the bloodshed and treachery that precedes this better world?
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Nio is a fairly typical manga hero. Young, hopeful, and set on creating a better world. That seems like a fairly standard hero composition. Hijikata and Okita break the traditional mold though. While they are seemingly portrayed to be benevolent, they really live in a morally grey area. This does make them more interesting to follow though. Okita is my favorite of the three, simply because he is more talkative than Hijikata, has a sense of mystery about him, and seems to be taking a “sensei” type role with Nio.
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The illustrations are the standout for this manga. They are absolutely beautifully drawn! I know the two samurai were intentionally drawn to be beautiful and potentially mistaken as women, but the fact that it actually worked and I was second guessing myself really speaks to the quality. The art alone makes this manga stand apart from others.
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While this volume was full of setup for the continuation, I am excited to read more and see what becomes of the Miburo as deceit and betrayal start to take root. And I am excited to see Nio grow and become strong enough to actually make a difference in the world.
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Thanks NetGalley for the digital ARC!

The Shinsengumi is pretty inescapable in Japanese fiction, and I fully admit that most of my reading about them in the manga and visual novel sphere has been on the shoujo side. <i>The Blue Wolves of Mibu</i> is a male-oriented approach, although it still shares some similarities with its female-oriented counterparts, namely that the focus is on Hijikata, Okita, and a preternaturally beautiful insert character, in this case a white-haired young teen named Nio. (Apparently there's a rule that all author-created characters who join the Shinsengumi are beautiful and feminine in appearance, no matter the gender.) It largely follows the tropes of the genre, with Nio encountering Hijikata and Okita, joining the group when they're still called the Miburoshi, and learning what the true nature of the force is behind the history. It's mostly set up and perfectly fine - it doesn't do much different from other similar works. The only thing I really didn't like is the art for the faces; they feel very overdrawn, to the point where they stand out uncomfortably from the rest of the artwork. But otherwise this is an easy recommendation for genre fans. Others may want to flip through it before purchasing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for providing me a copy of this volume in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a good start to the series. The volume follows our main character Nio, as he joins the ranks of the Shinsengumi, meeting many important and historical people in this group. This story is based on history, with historic events taking place during this volume. I think I would have enjoyed this volume more if I knew the actual history better. I am only familiar with the Shinsengumi from reading Kaze Hikaru (a shojo manga about the Shinsengumi). This volume does have some background information at the beginning, which is helpful to understand the historical context of the story. As for the art in this volume, I think its great! I love how detailed some of the characters are, as well as the use of larger panels.

This was an okay manga. I liked the story and writing alright, but the art style wasn't for me. Fans of Gintama and the shinsengumi may find this interesting.

The Blue Wolves of MIbu follows the members of the feared Shinsengumi of the mid 1800s. This first volume I think does a good job of introducing us to the characters and to the dangerous landscape of that time. I also really enjoyed the art! It'll be interesting to see the anime when it comes out this Fall! As a first volume, it didn't immediately have me screaming for the next volume, but the action and characters I think are interesting enough to have me intrigued!

What a great read. I've always been a big fan of Japanese history and have already read and watched an awful lot about the Shinsengumi. It's a topic I'm really interested in that's why this manga caught my attention.
It was emotional, authentic and even funny at times with a great art style and a main character you can't help but love. I'm so excited for volume 2.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for this e-book copy!

I am a sucker for historical fiction and I am always down to checking out manga depicting eras of Japanese history. The Blue Wolves of Mibu follows Nio, an orphan who joins the Shinsengumi to fulfill a dream of wanting to make the world better. This first volume was a good setup for Nio's journey and set the stage for the key players in the Shinsengumi. I am intrigued to see where things go and will likely continue the series. Definitely check this out if you are a fan of the author but also if you enjoy samurai content this does not disappoint.

I got this book for free via NetGalley for a review.

Nio is a young orphan with a passion for justice and who wants to change the world for the better. He joins a group of ronin and discovers that he has much to learn about the world.

I passed over this manga a couple of times in favour of others on my TBR pile, but when I actually got into this volume I found myself really enjoying it.

It has a good balance of light and dark which I like in a story. In this case it comes from a fairly naive young boy placed into a gritty storyline.

The character designs were really good, everyone felt unique and I found myself liking all the main characters almost immediately.

Set in 1863 Japan, the world building focuses more on explaining to the audience what was happening in Japan at that time, which I feel was done well.

There isn't that much substance to the plot yet, as this volume does a lot of work to introduce everything and get it all set up. But there is enough intrigue that I would like to continue reading the next volume to find out what happens to Nio next.

Overall, this manga took me by surprise because of how much I enjoyed it.

This was a really interesting samurai mango I think not only does it have some type of emotional tether, especially with the main character and how they want to protect but also learning to fight for what they want to protect. I also do you love the other two characters that are samurai and you can start to see them come out of the shower on the relationship and friendship blossom between each of the characters, which I do what you like, but unfortunately I just fell slightly flat for me personally, and it felt like it so it’s been over done a lot in the past.

That was very short and ended in a cliffhanger 😐🥺😵‍💫

This is the first volume of The Wolves of Mibu, and its four chapters serve as an introduction to the life of Nio, an orphaned boy who lives with his grandmother and adoptive sister on the outskirts of Kyoto in the year 1863. Due to the political tensions and social and economic changes of the time, we see what life is like for someone with limited resources living in these circumstances.

Nio wants the world to be a better place and decides that in order for that to happen he must take an active part in that change and therefore join the Shinsengumi, a group of masterless samurais, Who have a reputation for being ruthless killers with no loyalty or master, and therefore hated by all.

This is the story of how Nio finds his own sense of justice and how his determination will help make the world a better place.

The art and drawing are of excellent quality as well as the storytelling and plot pace. I'm looking forward to the other parts of this story as I quite enjoyed the book.

Thanks to Netgally and Kodansha comics for this ARC. This is my honest opinion about this manga/graphic novel.

I like the art in The Blue Wolves of Mibu; it reminds me a bit of Takehiko Inoue's character designs. The protagonist (Nio) has a bright personality in spite of his background. He wants to make the world better for children which is a refreshing change instead of the standard "I want to be #1" goal with which most shonen manga protagonists are introduced. Combined with the white hair and blue eyes on a person supposedly from 1863 Japan and the fact that he just so happens to get recruited to what would be the Shinsengumi by Okita Souji himself, it's hard to deny that Nio feels like a self-insert character. From the first few pages you almost think the story would be told through Shinpachi Nagakura (one of the Shinsengumi members who made it to old age), but the lion's share of the volume is definitely told from Nio's perspective. I made it through most of volume 1 thinking it was a pleasant enough read, but the last chapter introducing Taro-kun brought in such a tonal shift that leaves me unsure if I want to read volume 2.

The Blue Wolves of Mibu is a historical shounen manga set in 1863, the time of the shogunate. The society is in uproar and masterless ronin roam around the land doing crimes. Our main character is Nio, an orphan. He's thirteen and ends up meeting these two ronin who belong to Miburo. These two men take Nio eventually in and he joins the Miburo wanting to change the world to a better place for all children. He has to see death, betrayal and all and then grow up and find his own path. The story is interesting, but perhaps Nio could be a little older, since he's quite philosophical and naive at the same time, which isn't credible. He's the perfect poster child and it's a contradiction with everything else.

The art looks amazing and so much like seinen, but this is shounen. The manga is very bloody and violent not to forget societal problems and whatnot. This makes the series quite heavy and perhaps too much for younger readers to even understand the setting, which isn't explained well. This could've worked better as seinen for me and making Nio older and not so naive. Still, it's always great to read historical manga and especially something this grave!

Thank you to NetGalley, Kodansha Comics, and Tsuyoshi Yasuda for the opportunity to read this manga in exchange for an honest review.

This manga follows the earlier years of the Shinsengumi, when they were known as the Miburo or the Blue Wolves of Mibu. It takes the historical names that many of the manga and anime use for their Shinsengumi tales, though it adds a bit of a twist. This tells the story of Nio, a thirteen-year-old boy who wants to join the Miburo to help make the world a better place. When stories are told about the Shinsengumi, it's always Saito, or Soji, but here we have the hidden story of Nio and his quest to make the world a better place.

A classic-feeling art style, fast-paced read, and perfect for fans of historical fiction and the Bakumatsu period of Japan. A great start to a shounen series.

Good story, good artwork and good lettering. Manga about an Orphan who is taken in by two swordsman.

Thank Net galley for giving me the opportunity to read this arc.

In my opinion this felt mix of anime of demon slayer with touch of one-piece elements, super cool concept with as well comedy, slice of life, and with of man v man, man v world. I definitely recommend this manga for those who are looking to start a new series.

This digital ARC was obtainable via NetGalley for an honest review!

I enjoyed reading "The Blue Wolves of Mibu"! I love delving into the mind of warriors. There were definitely some funny moments but Nio's search for justice is what really sold me. Nio is very perceptive for his age. He asked the same questions I ponder about when looking at events that took place centuries ago. Hijikata (insert heart eyes) & Okita (I call him the happy crazy man) were interesting characters. Also, they were super cute. Taro's story was heartbreaking and I wonder how the next volume will pan out. This was a solid read for me. I can't wait to grab a physical copy of this manga!