Viz Manga's dense, beautiful releases of Takehiko Inoue's VAGABOND continue to be must-reads. Following the life of the legendary Musashi Miyamoto, this series is equal parts gorgeous and gory, violent and nostalgic. And it's not just the story itself that deserves accolades—it's how Viz is bringing it to English-speaking audiences.

Volume 2 contains the original fourth, fifth, and sixth volumes of the manga, clocking in at more than 600 pages. Color pages are reproduced in amazing detail, meaning readers get to see every aspect of the manga as intended. It's a weighty read, but it moves fast. You never want to put it down between volumes.

This new segment of the story follows Musashi's acquiring (and subsequent loss) of a loyal follower: a young boy named Jotaro. While the boy initially admires the vagabond, Musashi's fear when fighting Hozoin Inshin repulses him. In the time following, Musashi trains to overcome that fear. We also see the emergence of, if not a legendary figure, then at least his name: Kojiro Sasaki. As the two men once known as Takeo and Matahachi achieve fame across Japan, they contend with their own fears and drawbacks.

Viz's decision to release VAGABOND in three-in-one editions was an excellent one. Besides being eminently readable and exciting, this series is one that deserves to be owned for posterity in editions as beautiful as these.

In the original volumes of Vagabond covered by the Definitive Edition's Volume 2, sure, Musashi has the warrior monk arc. Between Takuan's appearance early in this volume and his interactions with Hozoin's warrior monks, Musashi gets hit with some philosophical talk, which is quite refreshing and definitely sets up the following fights. I found that the biggest fight for Musashi in these volumes is his relationships with strength and fear. Somehow, the most violent fights in this volume involvedno blades, just wooden weapons. We also catch up with Matahachi, who somehow manages to keep failing upwards while refusing to learn from his past mistakes or take ownership of his actions. It ends at a nice stopping point, which makes me ponder what Musashi will internalize from his internal fights with strength and fear in the next volumes.

This continues to be a really solid historical action series! A good chunk of these volumes is dedicated to a single fight. You get a real sense of both characters as they pummel at each other. Musashi still has a lot of emotional growing up to do, as this fight shows him. The art really pops during the fight scenes. I can see why this series is as regarded as it is, and I'm glad it's back in print for new people, like me, to discover!

This is a long read, and playing nice songs once in a while really helps for this definitive edition. While I prefer moments in the previous definitive edition, it had no chance of becoming my favorite as this one includes a fight between Inshun and Musashi. Aside from Inshun being my favorite character in "Vagabond," their fight captures everything I adore about this manga. Letting the art speak for itself and crafting distinctive characters. Inshun is a different type of prodigy than we are used to in "Vagabond." He radiates living for your passion. He is joyful and humorous, but also sharp when he has to be. If Inoue had made him the main character, I would've been overjoyed. While Musashi is certainly a compelling lead, he lacks the enjoyable charm Inshun has. And to cap it off, the art has been refined. Just when you think "Vagabond" can't improve, it brings you supreme art and a character like Inshun, and you're addicted once more.

I'm so happy to see that Vagabond is being treated with the respect it deserves in this new definitive edition. As soon as publishers began releasing these huge volumes of other series, I asked myself which one I would like to see - the answer was obviously Vagabond. It's a masterpiece, and even if the story isn't for you, the art in and of itself is worth the price.