#CHIHIRO HAD A FLASHBACK AND EXPRESSED SOME FEELINGS ABOUT HIM!!! OK

[arttitude130]

current thoughts on the matter (hakuchiori propaganda)

[blog-of-hubris]

Kagurabachi Chapter 3: Witness

A good few of my followers/mutual said they were interested in me doing metas on more series outside of jujutsu kaisen. So here it goes!

This meta is going to be about… You guessed it… Kagurabachi lol! This is a new manga in weekly shōnen jump that has gotten some (weird) attention from the animanga fanbase. So bare with me as I dissect this chapter and follow me for more (if you don't already)

P.S—If there is a series you want me to write about, let me know in my asks or comments below!

Meet Hinao

This chapter is a pretty straightforward one, and that's pretty much been the theme of this manga so far. It starts off with an interesting infomercial like moment where we are introduced to the character Hinao. Hinao is an informant on the Yakuza and Sorcerers, while also being a “handler” of sorts. She has access to both sorcerers and yakuza, acting has the connector between the two. I like the addition of a character like her, but I do hope there is more distinction given about her safety being the one who connects two unpredictable parties.

We also get a loose number of how many sorcerers are around, and in Tokyo alone there are over 1000. That leaves a lot of room for different character types, motivations, and powers. I hope that we don't get a stereotypical sorcerer of the week situation every fight. There is a lot of potential to expand on the world building, or more specifically the city building of Tokyo, Japan. Later down the line, I could see the series expand farther, but I think baby steps are best for now.

There is a flashback showing how Hinao and Mr. Shiba started working together to find information on Rokuhira (the MCs dad). Nothing special really straight forward as well, but I like that Hinao mentions she had no idea Shiba was connected to Rokuhira. That information is nice because it confirms how secretive Shiba is, making me more interested in his overall persona.

The Little Girl Char

Ok, first, her name being Char is so cool. I'm a gundam stan, so I feel like this is a homage to the red comet, but I also could be in my own head canon. Either way, WE LOVE CHAR!

Any who, the chapter isn't complicated from here, but I have some moments I really enjoyed.

For example, the conversation between Chihiro and Char felt like a big brother/little sister connection. Chihiro wanted to take her out to get food just because she hadn't eaten, but he didn't believe she actually saw and enchanted blade. You can't blame him, Char is a smart girl and seemed to be acting as if she had no information to give. I think this is her way of protecting herself from everyone. She went into Hinao's place because it was somewhere to hire bodyguards, but she can't just trust every person who asks her about the enchanted sword.

After a short time, Char mentions the sword forming a cloud, which indicates to Chihiro that she isn't lying. My favorite part about this scene, is that if you are paying attention, you see a sorcerer walk into the restaurant while they are talking. He sits right behind Chihiro, and listens in to their conversation. This is when I see Chihiro has a lot of learning to do when it comes to his surroundings. He saw the sorcerer being antagonized by the shop owner but missed that he was a threat to them. This guy perfectly catches our MC off guard, explodes a doll to cause disarray, and grabs Char.

Fortunately, the sorcerer intended on killing Chihiro with that blast but failed. This is where the chapter ends, with him expressing his disappointment in Chihiro's survival, while Chihiro apologizes to Char for not believing her. I find Char's response so cute, but I also am very intrigued with who Char is.

Why is she being chased? How does she know the bad guys? Why did the sorcerer not just kill her but capture her? I think this is a good plot point that could truly elevate the series, even though it's only 3 chapters in.

Potential…

I see a lot of potential for Kagurabachi. The paneling is nice, the character interactions are good, but I need more substance out of the world building. I hope the mangaka doesn't take too long in establishing some sort of concrete enemy, even if there is a plot twist that changes things later on.

I also want more characterization, but I'm still determining if this is a narrative based story or a character based one. Furthermore, I hope that this starts to become clearer down the line and not too late!