Kaze Hikaru: Vol. 1

by Taeko Watanabe

Synopsis(from the back of the book)
In the year 1863, a time fraught with violent social upheaval, samurai of all walks of life flock to Kyoto in the hope of joining the Mibu-Roshi -- a band of warriors united around their undying loyalty to the Shogunate system. In time, the group would become one of the greatest (and most famous) movements in Japanese history ... the Shinsengumi!

Into this fierce milieu steps Kamiya Seizaburo, a young would-be warrior who, though lacking in combat experience, possesses a fiery enthusiasm to both aid the Mibu-Roshi in their mission and to avenge his wrongfully murdered family. One of Mibu-Roshi's most gifted (and immature) swordsmen, the legendary Okita Soji, agrees to take Seizaburo under his wing. What no one suspects, least of all Soji, is that Seizaburo is actually a girl named Tominaga Sei in disguise!

Review
I'd never heard of the Shinsengumi, so I went to Wikipedia to look it up. Although I understand it better, I'm not sure what that has to do with this series. I know most samurai dramas are usually serious, something which I've become accustomed to; however, this series is not serious at all. It has goofy, often sexual humor, directed at the main character, Kamiya. I don't really know what to make of this. It's not funny at all to me, in fact, I think it's rather boring and cliche. I don't mind this kind of humor, but it does not work here at all.

I suppose to someone in Japan, who'd grown up with knowledge of the Shinsengumi, this series would make a lot of sense, because they'd already know about the main characters and events that took place. To someone like me, who has no idea about anything, it's really hard to remember who everyone is supposed to be, especially when they all look very similar. The author doesn't help this situation, either, by throwing all the characters at you right away, so I admit, I've forgotten most of the characters already. This isn't to say that I hate historical fiction, I don't. I just don't think the author introduced things in the best way possible.

I'm sure the story for this series is very interesting, but I find that the weird humor, and hard-to-remember characters really puts me off. I find myself skipping over parts, wishing they'd get back to the story, or that something interesting would happen. As it is, it's just a comedy with a cross-dressing girl.

Final thought: I suppose if I can't find anything else to read, I'll continue....