Manga review:
Getsu Mei Sei Ki: Sayonara Shinsengumi
By Morita Kenji
Vol 1-9 (still running)
KYouth Taiwan Chinese translation
After Peacemaker, this is the next Shinsengumi-related manga I am going to recommend. Yes, I know, yet another Shinsengumi manga. But I'm a Shinsengumi fan, after all... ^____^
Getsu Mei Sei Ki is a historical samurai manga set in the final years of the ailing Tokugawa bakufu (shogunate). It centres on the one of the most famous, or rather, infamous, historical figures of the Bakumatsu period, the Demon Vice-Commander Hijikata Toshizou, and follows the development of the Shinsengumi from its earliest days in the Shieikan dojo in Edo to its trials and tribulations as an auxiliary police force in Kyoto.
Unlike several other Shinsengumi manga like Rurouni Kenshin and Peacemaker, Getsu Mei Sei Ki is based quite strictly on real historical events and real historical figures. And as the title, which is a phrase taken from one of Hijikata's haiku, suggests, the manga is a tribute to Hijikata and the Shinsengumi and can be expected to develop towards a tragic ending when the Shinsengumi are defeated in the Meiji Restoration.
The general outline of the plot is quite historically accurate, with famous events functioning as structuring milestones that guide the narrative along. Significant events, such as the Ikedaya incident, are recorded as key moments in the Shinsengumi and the country’s history.
Within the general structure, Morita takes full advantage of the space in between real historical events to develop storylines and characters. For a Shinsengumi manga, detailed characterization for the core members of the Shinsengumi is absolutely essential, and Getsu Mei Sei Ki certainly does justice to the interesting array of characters found in the real Shinsengumi.
Hijikata is the main protagonist and incidentally, the only handsome male character in the manga (the easiest way to spot a shounen manga). He is portrayed as a steely, merciless man with a suppressed kind nature that occasionally surfaces. While most other Shinsengumi manga portray Hijikata in a similar way, Getsu Mei Sei Ki's portrayal is more substantial, perhaps because he is the main character. Motivated by what Yamanami (the other Vice-Commander) calls an "excessive interpretation of Bushido", Hijikata is willing to dirty his hands to support his leader and childhood friend Kondou’s dreams. Morita also credits Hijikata with turning the Shinsengumi from an unorganized bunch of peasants-turned-ronin into a highly-skilled team of "true samurai" committed to the spirit of Bushido.
However, when confronted with Okita's childish pranks, the gentler side of Hijikata surfaces. His flustered peevishness and concern for Okita’s illness remind the reader of the man behind the hard, ruthless exterior, and this adds depth and poignancy to his character.
Okita, the famous top swordsman of the Shinsengumi, is depicted as usual as child-like. The art style of the manga is generally realistic but Morita really pushes the boundaries of manga conventions of drawing Okita as a slender, effeminate, boyish youth. Defying the convention of physiognomy in manga is commendable, but seeing a tall, muscular and slit-eyed (!!) Okita fooling around is simply too disturbing.
The manga also has a nuanced and sympathetic but clear-eyed understanding of the realities of politics in the Bakumatsu period. Morita imbues the story with a bitter-sad recognition that people with the same values can end up fighting against each other simply because of political allegiances. The arc on Serizawa Kamo is also particularly well-handled, depicting him as a man of excesses who ironically ends up a victim of politics when he turns over a new leaf.
Bushido is a central concern of the manga as well, and by portraying the Shinsengumi as a group of social reformists fighting for a new era where peasants can become "true samurai" of spirit and not of class, Morita gives the reader a refreshing new angle on a samurai organization conventionally associated with the bakufu and conservatism. However, the manga fails to recognize the inconsistencies in Bushido as interpreted by the various characters. There are several instances when the tenets of Bushido contradict, but Morita seems to favour disclaiming tricky tenets and simply validating Hijikata’s ideas as the moral centre of the work.
Nevertheless, Getsu Mei Sei Ki is an engaging read for all Shinsengumi fans who want more realism in their manga reads.
Picture of manga cover taken from:
http://www.geocities.com/Niwashi_1/Manga/GetsuMeiSeiKi.html
kaoru said at 9:03 PM