Is Kagurabachi another story of a puritanical protagonist?

The ani-manga community completely debunked the concept of never judging a book by its cover as Kagurabachi manga came to light. Even before the first chapter aired, fans were engaging in conversations about the future of the manga. In its first chapter, the manga featured beautiful art with a simple story. It’s a story of Chihiro and his revenge.

His dedication towards revenge shines through as he coldly slashes away lives with his sword. Chihiro’s dedication towards revenge might sabotage the potential of the story, reducing it to another story driven by its edgy protagonist. Now that we have the first chapter to base our thoughts on, let’s explore the potential and future of Kagurabachi. 

Kagurabachi Manga: Does it show any potential?

Kagurabachi has taken some classic tropes which are the recipe for success. To start, it’s a dark shounen which is easily the most popular genre at present, with titles like Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man. Additionally, it’s a revenge story and most importantly it has swords. Everybody likes swords, as they should! With that the beginning of the manga looks safe, the author decided to go with the basics by not introducing anything out of the ordinary. 

Seemingly a revenge story, Kagurabachi holds the potential to be more than that. If not straying off the path of revenge, it needs to be done well. A recent example of a revenge done right is Oshi No Ko. The execution and the storytelling are engaging, it keeps people hooked on what’s coming up next. From the get-go itself, Oshi no Ko was a little unpredictable.

As for Kagurabachi, it has introduced some supernatural concepts as well. We already have an evil organization and an upcoming flashback to look forward to. It’s a simple story but it already has laid some groundwork for the readers to stick around for. As long as the upcoming chapters are paced well and the execution is exceptional in some sense, the future looks bright for the manga. 

Is it just another tale driven by its puritanical protagonist?

As harsh as it is to judge a character with only one chapter as the backing, let’s just dive right into it. Chihiro has been shown as a sincere kid who respects his dad for his values and skills. He cares for him and wants to follow in his footsteps. Whatever happened to his dad has led him down a path of revenge against an evil organization. While he shows signs of becoming a full-fledged edge lord with revenge narrowing his vision, there’s still hope for him.

Currently, the story is bland as we hardly know anything about the characters. Seeking revenge solely might not even be the case, as he has been shown to care about what his father believed in. The beauty of dark shounen is that we get to see the complexities (often cruel ) of life and what it does to people. This makes the situation of the characters relatable and if not that, at least understandable to some extent. If the creator fleshes out the characters convincingly, things will fall into place for the readers. 

Conclusion

Becoming a hot topic even before the first chapter aired isn’t an achievement easily unlocked, but it didn’t seem to be a problem for Kagurabachi. From here on out, Kagurabachi can go down the path of predictability with the safe tropes it decided to start with. Or it can use them to its advantage by executing them well. We’ll know the fate of the manga better with its upcoming chapters.