Kagurabachi starts as a revenge tale, but is actually about healing

Kagurabachi is one manga that the hype doesn’t capture its true essence. This is common among most Shonen manga, as many expect their stories to be relatively simple. Naruto suffered from this, as people assumed it was all about dreams and resilience. However, Naruto was an anti-war story, and its main character was a war orphan.

Another Shonen manga that most readers misunderstand is One Piece. Many see Luffy as a Peter Pan regen with his crew of misfits who are chasing the next adventure. However, One Piece is primarily about freedom. The World Government is an analogy for the real-life government, and the systematic issues like racism and slavery bear parallels to the real world.

Kagurabachi presents itself as a revenge story from the very beginning. The first few chapters have Kunishige Rokuhira and his son, Chihiro, on full display. In those chapters, viewers are soothed by the father–son relationship. Without any warning, they are shown Kunishige’s dead body and Chihiro’s tears. Chihiro's base expression is anguish, but that dissipates as the story goes on.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author’s views and may contain spoilers.

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How Kagurabachi changes from a revenge tale to a story of hope

Chihiro's character arc in Kagurabachi is rare in Shonen (Image via Shueisha)

The beginning of Kagurabachi is almost Tarantino-esque, with the manga bearing some similarities to Kill Bill. Chihiro suffers an unimaginable tragedy and chooses to chase his form of justice.

At the beginning of the manga, it was about ending the people who killed his father, and he had his father’s last enchanted blade to do the task. End the people who stole his father’s enchanted blade with a more powerful enchanted blade.

Where Kagurabachi starts having more depth than the typical revenge tale is when Chihiro meets other people. When chasing revenge, one's focus becomes obtuse, and they do not care for the collateral damage that may occur, but Chihiro does. On various occasions, he acts as a shield and protects the surrounding areas from the consequences of his battles. He even takes a detour to protect a young girl, who is treated as a slave.

Chihiro now fights for his father's ideals (Image via Shueisha)

The more Chihiro interacts with other humans, the less the fire of revenge burns, and as the reader reaches fifty chapters in, they see an expression on Chihiro’s face they have never seen before. They see Chihiro smile!

A smile on Chihiro’s face tells viewers that the protagonist has found beauty in life. He becomes a brother-like figure to Samura’s daughter, and his goal shifts from revenge to balance. Chihiro recognizes the danger in the enchanted blades and is looking for a way to stop their harmful effects.

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Final thoughts

There is also an underlying theme about legacy that runs through Kagurabachi. At first, Chihiro sees his father as a saint, but as the story progresses, he realizes that his father's skill led to genocide. His new objective in the latter part of the manga has Chihiro try to undo his father’s wrongs by collecting or destroying the enchanted blades.

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