kei_k's manga / #Shinobi(3)

The art was superb. Both Hanzous were hot, and Sara was pretty. Part 1: Hanzou looked so hot strolling around the red light district, but I was kinda sad, too, 'coz he was such a flirt. When he saw Kaguya/Sara's scar, he thought the memory loss was also a plot against his master so he even reported her. It's good that he listened to her as he strangled her, though. He must've felt her sincerity so he finally believed her. It's good that after the ruckus, they didn't seem to be enemies after all. It was kinda sad, about the first love thing. You know, when Sara asked him why he liked her and he said she looked like his first love, which turned out to be her sister (who married Lord Nobuyasu, Hanzou's master). This first part was too short that I wanted more build up for their relationship. I mean, c'mon, he's a playboy. How can he change so easily? I wanted to see them interact more. Oh well, I guess that's expecting too much for less than a hundred pages volume. Part 2: Sara received a mission to marry Hatsutori Hanzou to investigate Iga's weaponry and steal the scroll of gunpowder's secret formula to prevent another war from breaking out (led by her brother). She immediately agrees, thinking it was the same Hanzou (her lover) she's gonna marry. While running onto the hanging bridge, excited to see Hanzou, it breaks and she's saved by a handsome shinobi who resembled her Hanzou, only to find out that he's actually the Hanzou-sama she's about to marry. She wanted to carry out the mission immediately at night before she marries him, but due to the unfamiliarity, they decided to do it after the wedding. Her Hanzou arrived to congratulate his relative, only to find out that the bride is actually his lover. She revealed her mission and asked him to believe in her, but of course, it was difficult for Hanzou too, especially when she sided with Hanzou-sama when Hanzou hit him with a stick. He left saying Hanzou-sama's a good person and she'll probably be more happy with him. As he's leaving, he notices an army approaching and goes back immediately. Meanwhile, Sara secretly acquired the secret scroll, but as Hanzou-sama's pursuing her for their wedding night, she resists until Rikimaru arrived and took her out. As they left, Hanzou-sama noticed the missing scroll and they were unable to escape successfully because of the trap laid out. Hanzou-sama was furious and decided that she can no longer live, but Hanzou arrived on time stopping him and informing them of the approaching army. At first, Hanzou-sama didn't believe them but an informant confirmed it. Sara said that they will be stopped if the secret scroll was delivered, so they took it again and Hanzou asked Hanzou-sama to believe in them. They were able to stop Sara's bro in time and the war was prevented in the meantime. Rikimaru, who was left, was released by Hanzou-sama and told him that he'd release him but they shouldn't come back to Iga anymore... It ends as Hanzou and Sara goes home to ask her father's approval for their relationship. Hanzou was very nervous and Sara kissed him to his surprise. Far away, her father, Oda Nobunaga, was watching it and said that his daughter was indeed wild for that act but he'll let her be for the time being. Anyway, I liked both volumes, but I wish there was more. Especially during the year they spent together after the last incident. Did Hanzou really stop his habits? I wanted to see him in his uniform more, too. Hehe.

I have mixed feelings for this manga. It was sad seeing how Hanzo (let's use this for the lead) changed after Sara's counterfeit wedding plan. He became too strict and even overbearing at times. When he took Usagi out and left her outside the gate after she declared she didn't want to practice anymore, it was disappointing to see how he was too coldhearted to bear leaving her there. I mean, seeing the art, I was just heartbroken. Anyway, Usagi's naivety was annoying at times, especially because she caused a lot of troubles as well. Well, her strong point is that she's a great medicine maker despite being inefficient in ninjutsu. About their love, well, it took time for Hanzo to fall for her, but I wish it was further elaborated. I mean, he was in love with Sara because she was his ideal and even when Sara and Hanzou were back together, he still longed for her. So, anyway, what made him fall for Usagi? Perhaps because she was persistent and she was always vocal about her feelings for him. I mean, even during the race when Goemon kissed her in front of Hanzo, she quickly defended herself. I guess that's when Hanzo really "looked" at Usagi. It was a point where he felt threatened by Goemon, so he finally gave her a chance. For Usagi, well, honestly, the way she fell in love with him was very typical. It was love at first sight. Seeing how handsome/hot he was, she even attempted to escape the marriage to pursue this guy who helped her (Hanzo). It was superficial. Then, what? She went after him despite being treated harshly. It's like she's already convinced that despite being treated harshly, Hanzo's still kind. Well, I liked that about her too. I mean, the time when she was kicked out, she was aware that she was also at fault so she accepted it as Hanzo's kindness to make her realize her mistake. Anyway, Usagi got kissed by different guys (Goemon, Yuki, Ranmaru) but I'm glad Hanzo was mostly indifferent with women so I didn't get my heart broken so much. After all, I wanted a male lead who'd be faithful only to his female lead. I didn't like how Usagi was so dependent on Goemon, though. She was totally insensitive to his feelings. Even towards Yuki. I can't believe she asked him to marry her after seeing the towel she gave him! I mean, if she were to marry someone who cared for her too much, why didn't she pick Goemon, who went more ups and downs for her sake? I just didn't understand her logic. As for the plot, it was honestly quite messy. I mean, at one point, it was about Usagi working her way towards Hanzo as his bride, then it focused on her being a medicine maker, then towards the end, the plot was more of the history about Nobunaga and the others. They felt like side characters to me because I was more interested on the historical figures presented which I started to recognize because of HaruDaite. XD