Mugen is a foreign-born mercenary with no taste or restraints. Jim is a tightly-controlled Japanese Samurai who is as disciplined as he is reserved. Fuu is a waitress who has been saving her money to go on a trip to look for a Samurai who smells like Sunflowers, but when a hungry Mugen starts a fight in the Inn where she has been working and saving her money, she is simultaneously thankful and annoyed. Thankful that he saved her from the moneyed louts who wanted more from her than to serve them drinks, and annoyed that in the process of doing so, he burned the Inn to the ground!
Jin also has problems. He came to the aid of a poor man who was being unfairly persecuted by an unjust magistrate. The same magistrate sicced his guards on Jin, then found out, to his loss, that Jin was much, much better at swordsmanship than they ever were. But when the louts that Mugen was fighting turn out to have been the friends of the magistrate's son, who was their leader, Jin, Mugen and Fuu need to get out of town, and fast!
But is the man they trust to show them a way out of town really leading them around the checkpoint, or into a trap for the ruler of the area? And even if he is leading them into a trap, does Mugen care as long as he gets more men to fight? And even more, after its over and they finally get out of town, will Mugen and Jin become friendly, or will they resume the fight that destroyed the Inn and nearly precipitated the crisis?
Normally, anime are based on Manga. But just as with the creator's previous work, Cowboy Bebop, this manga is based on the anime. I haven't seen much of the anime (despite loving Cowboy Bebop), so I can't say how closely the manga is based on the anime. But as a manga, it's entertaining and holds together well.
As with Spike Spiegel and Jet Black in Cowboy Bebop, this manga is based on opposites. Jin is cool and reserved, so much so that he almost doesn't believe in anything- not any cause, any person. He has nothing to use his great skills for, because he doesn't care about anything personally. Mugen, on the other hand, is hot and passionate (and incredibly violent). He follows no one style of fighting, and so his style is impossible to get a grip on. He fights Jin to a standstill because despite the great difference in their fighting styles, they are evenly matched. Fuu is the one who brings them together and gets them working together. Though she sometimes appears bubble-headed, she must keep the two in line much like a mother would two squabbling siblings. She's also the one who earns the money to keep them fed and housed... but their penchant for destruction confounds her best hopes.
I don't find it as good as I did Cowboy Bebop, but perhaps that's because I haven't really watched the show. I find it an intriguing idea, and I would like to read more of it, and perhaps watch the show now. Recommended.
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