Samurai Deeper Kyo, Volume 12

"Samurai Deeper Kyo, Book 5" is full of secrets being revealed -- secret identities, secret pasts, and the secret location of Kyo's much-sought-after body. Akimine Kamijyo shifts rather abruptly from one major arc to another in this volume, but he does it with a bang and some truly astonishing sword-fights -- as well as a new and deadly band of enemies. The identity of the true Ieyasu is shockingly revealed to Kyo, mere moments before Yukimura's bombs cause his palace to come crashing down. But despite Yuya's fears, Kyo isn't even scratched -- and after some parting jibes from Ieyasu, he and Yukimura finally square off in a maddened duel of fight-loving men (one of whom is wearing a dress). The price: Yukimura finally reveals where Kyo's body is -- in a haunted forest near Mount Edo, Aokigahara. But the trek to that forest may be even more dangerous, as Yuya encounters a kind young blind man with superhuman skills -- and an old grudge against Kyo. He is also part of a band of new enemies whose presence may mean death to Kyo, if he and his friends can't make it through Aokigahara in time. Unfortunately Aokigahara is not a very friendly place... but then, Kyo may be even nastier. I have to admit, Akimine Kamijyo doesn't mess around when he's shifting the story focus -- "Samurai Deeper Kyo Book 5" swings the focus from "kill Ieyasu" to "retrieve Kyo's body" in just a few chapters. It also introduces some spectacularly nasty new villains, although they haven't yet been explored in full -- but at least one of them is scarily strong. It also produces the long-awaited fight between Yukimura and Kyo, a blood-smearing orgy of sweeping blades and crazy grins. And Kamijyo turns the creep factor up to eleven in the last chapter when Yuya is accosted by a tribe of pointy-toothed cannibals pretending to be children (the "ball" monologue is horrendous"). The one downside is that once again, he forgets about what minor characters are doing -- last time I checked, poor Saizo was in critical condition, but we never hear what happened to him. Interestingly, it also seems that Yuya is outright falling in love with Kyo -- which seems a bit out of character for our tough independent heroine, since Kyo has basically treated her like an inept peon at best. But she also discovers a shocking fact about her brother's murderer, and Benitora turns out to have some surprising secrets of his own. Apparently he's not just another wandering weirdo. "Samurai Deeper Kyo Volume 5" is another turning point in this kick-butt samurai manga, and it leaves you desperately wanting to know what happens next in Aokigahara.

Worthy series to own! Action, action, action! Lots of plots, and some philosophy too. Enjoy!

If there's anything that Kamijyo-san can do well, it's the recycling of the same plotline over and over and over and over...well, you get the idea. Following where the last book left off, after Kyo's defeat of Hotaru, the gang are now at the Second Gate. Akira is pitted against two sickeningly pathetic villains: twin nurses Saishi and Saisei. This is the oddest attempt yet by Kamijyo-san to appeal to fanboy fantasies. The action does pick up, however, once it becomes apparent that Saisei is not as one-dimensional as she seems. While this series is rife with our favorite characters getting "serious" and the constant hint that Kyo is simply waiting to unleash his inner demon, Kamijyo-san manages the astounding feat of holding the reader's attention after 16 trite yet addictive volumes. The plot is absolutely absurd most of the time and Yuya is constantly dangled as the damsel-in-distress. This time, her life hangs in the balance as the clock ticks and her life will soon be snuffed out by a waterwyrm (created by Shinrei and exacerbated by the aforementioned nurses) in her heart. The only morsels keeping the reader's appetite alive are the promises of revealing Kyo's past (including more of his connections with the Crimson King, Kyoshiro, Sakuya, and the Four Emperors), his terrible power, and the potential romantic interest in Yuya. Tension and anticipation are what sell Samurai Deeper Kyo yet after pages and pages building up Saishi's fantastic powers, Akira's relatively easy victory seems more afterthought than actual climactic battle. Too much time is spent lamenting Saisei's "tragic" past and the attempt to infuse humanity into Akira is touching but forced. Why do I rate this volume four stars out of five? Akimine Kamijyo accomplishes the only thing he set out to do: hook readers and keep them on board. Yes, this story is much too drawn out. Yes, the plot is repetitive. Yes, so many boss fights in succession without sufficient character development has reduced SDK to a dull, "tournament"-style manga. Yet, he must be doing something right. I bought it, didn't I?

Ive only gotten to book five and episode 8 but I love the story line and the characters. Its just al around awesome! Akimine-san is an awesome artist and story writer and i look up to her as those.

Volume five of samurai deeper kyo is great. Out of the many books they made so far I think volume five is the best. I think if you were going to get a samurai deeper kyo book you should buy this one beacuse you will enjoy it very much. I give this book 5 stars.