by Takehiko Inoue, based on the novel Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa, 186 pages"I won't teach you, Kojirô." So Kanemaki says every time he comes home to his silently beseeching son...right before the boy launches himself at his father and absorbs every lesson the old man unconsciously teaches him. Years pass and Kojirô grows into a deceptively powerful young man as the world outside their tiny village stirs with political upheaval and the tension of impending war. When Kanemaki's former top pupil Ittôsai resurfaces, the gruff swordsman instantly recognizes Kojirô's sleeping strength and barely-held-in-check desire to fight. Afraid he may lose his already fragile grip on his son's elemental nature, the old man tries to protect Kojirô from the other's influence. But although the young man cannot hear, the sword's soul-deep call to battle has been echoing in every fiber of his being since before he can remember. And Ittôsai's push may be all it takes to snap him awake.
I love this series. I love Inoue. *sigh* He makes you feel two or more conflicting emotions at the same time. You want to protect Kojirô, but you want to free him. You love him, but you're afraid of him. It's like you're seeing the world through Kanemaki's soul, then through Kojirô's, and cannot help but sympathize with both. They love and respect one another, but their desires are diametrically opposed. What will happen to them when Kojirô's wild-child inner self finally breaks free? What will happen to Japan...?
I wish Inoue would come and paint murals on my walls. I would never move.
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