Vagabond, Vol. 1 (VIZBIG Edition)

This book falls apart with the slightest bend of the book. I've had so many pages fall out during my reading experience. The glue that holds all the pages together must not be strong enough. I've seen many other complaints about the structure of these Vizbig editions and trust me, they are true. No matter how amazing the story of Vagabond is, the review of this physical product needs to be 1 star because it is not well made at all.

Those who are interested in starting Vagabond have no reason not to buy this version, considering it's got 3 books in one and costs half the price of buying them separately. Besides being thicker, the book is also a bit bigger both horizontally and vertically so you get bigger pages-and believe me this is a series where you will want big spreads in order to admire the art.

As for the series itself, it's based off of the life of the world-renowned swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, and is a seinen manga (meaning it's aimed at adults). Be aware that it's not extremely historically accurate though, as it is meant to be entertainment and the actual details of Musashi's life are too vague to really piece together. That said, Takehiko Inoue does a great job adapting the man's life into a truly intense and interesting storyline, both thanks to his storytelling skills and his gorgeous artwork. Also as a note-it is a violent manga but not mindlessly so. Basically, if you're interested enough to have read this far then I say definitely go for it. You won't be disappointed.

Amazing manga and amazing book. Sadly mine came unwrapped, damaged and full of fingerprints.

Vagabond is an amazing series targeted at a slightly older audience than the usual manga series would cater to. There's some light nudity and a lot of gore when things get violent (that happens a lot) but every bit of it is wonderfully drawn and is not gratuitous. The nudity isn't for fanservice purposes, the gore isn't to be edgy. Everything has its purpose, and this series is already amazing. (I'm on VizBig vol. 3 right now)

I'd never heard of Vagabond before, and the cover image popped up when I was looking for something else. It seemed interesting enough to give it a try, largely based on one great review and that cover. And what a find it was. It boasts absolutely gorgeous art (to a rarely seen standard!), an engaging story line and a gallery of interesting characters, each lovingly drawn (even one-off characters have clearly distinct faces). It's the kind of manga that's not only beautiful and gripping, but also makes you think. Started reading it at 10pm and next thing I know it was half past 3am... I didn't notice the time go by, and it was totally worth losing sleep over. This edition has great production quality, arrived in great condition and I'd actually give it more than 5 stars if that were an option. There should be an extra star just for the way the eyes are drawn *shiver*.

I'm a fan of manga who remains very selective about the titles I read - particularly when that title is 'Lone Wolf & Cub', and means drowning yourself in 9000 pages of bloody vengeance, bushido and the path to Meifumado; or 'Berserk', with 37 volumes of weird pseudo-European fantasy that cranks the gore to 11 and sucks you in with Kentaro Miura's incredibly detailed draftsmanship and idiosyncratic story-telling. The pacing and structure of manga is very different from American comics or Bande Dessinee, with the action unfolding in a cinematic manner that might spread a single action sequence over dozens of pages when an American comic would compress the same material to two or three. This 'uncompressed' approach means that getting hooked on 'Lone Wolf & Cub' or 'Blade of the Immortal' will require purchasing close to 30 volumes per series, not to mention a heavy investiture of time and emotion. These books, and others like 'Akira', 'Uzumaki', and 'Tekkon Kinkreet' are masterpieces of the artform that will always be worth the cost. 'Vagabond' is another modern classic of manga. Writer/Artist Takehiko Inoue is finally approaching the end of his account of the life of Miyamoto Musashi, the most famous samurai of all time and the author of 'The Book of Five Rings'. After over 16 years some 40 volumes, each around 200+ pages in length, the scale of Inoue's achievement is massive. A quick survey of the artwork in any volume will make clear just how talented an artist he is; the level of detail and texturing is so meticulous, it seems miraculous it didn't take him twice as long. He deserves to be included with names like Katsuhiro Otomo and Hiroaki Samura, who started his own samurai series 'Blade of the Immortal' around the same time Inoue started 'Vagabond', and will likely finish around the same time, with similarly epic pagecounts. But while 'BOTI' has explicitly supernatural themes and reimagines early Edo-period Japan in a rather unorthodox manner, 'Vagabond' hews close to historical fact. As Miyamoto Musashi travels 17th century Japan seeking worthy opponents in his quest to become 'invincible under the sun', maturing from a frightening young thug with impressive physical gifts to the swordsman who cuts down seventy well-armed members of the Yoshioka clan, we are introduced to dozens of memorable characters and experience moments when you almost fear to turn the page. The action is at times gut-wrenching in its intensity, and the violence can be horrifying. Inoue uses his artistry to depict in merciless detail the results of a heavy dotanuki blade as it cuts men into pieces. It is not a story for those with no stomach for gore. At over 8000 pages, Viz has made collecting this series in its entirety much easier with the Vizbig Editions. Each Vizbig volume collects 3 of the regular volumes, gathering 600-700 pages in a book that is taller and wider, has better paper, and costs quite a bit less than buying all three separately. So by the time you have Vizbig Edition Volume 11, you will have read Volumes 1 - 33 of the regular editions. Another nice feature is the artwork that continues across the spines of all 11 volumes to form a panoramic 9" x 20" group portrait of the many characters from the story. Definitely worth investing the time and money to experience this incredible manga.

This 3-in1 volume monster of a book is very well presented, perhaps the best quality trade paperback for an omnibus manga you will currently buy. I own Naruto (soon to be Bleach and it's practically the same quality), Until Death Do Us Part and Lone Wolf & Cub omnibus mangas... all of these are pale in comparion to this VizBig Edition manga! When this book came in the mail it was a little heavy but upon opening the package I understood and immediately accepted the fact that I will do everything in my power to own all of these volumes. You will get your money's worth.

Everyone else wrote accurate enough reviews on the story of Vagabond I would recommend reading those. I wanted to share my experience on actually owning the book. Even if you own the previous volumes, I would find a way to own the omnibus edition for the additional features like additional colored pages.

This is an excellent introduction to the Vagabond series. You get the first 3 volumes of the series at a price a good bit less than all three individually.

There are LOTs more pages than the product info says but I was unable to find any good websites to verify a change. There are, however, a few youtube videos you can look up just by typing this products name in it's engine which will show you it's significantly bigger than the info would have you believe.

I did a rough count and counted about 700 pages give or take 10 pages.

This is a very good read can’t wait to read the second volume. if you like berserk, parasyte, Vinland saga or seinen in general I think you’ll enjoy this book. And also the actual condition of the book is outstanding

This manga is fantastic. Im not a huge fan of viz bigs, however the binding and paper quality is great. This manga is so good i lost track of time as i couldnt stop turning pages. Highly recommend for any manga collector.