When I began Sengoku Youko, I had no idea it would affect me as much as it did. I thought I was starting a fun shounen action series, enjoyable and good to pass the time. It isn't that the summary isn't accurate, because it is ... for about the first ten chapters. This manga develops into something so deep and moving you never see it coming until you're already in the heart of it.

At its core this is a story about people. Humans, demons; the line between them is blurred as we learn that what defines us can never be categorized as simply as that. The characters meet and mesh and become inseparable, even when physical distance keeps them apart. Their lives and very selves are touched and changed with every meeting as we are reminded that who we meet is so much a part of who we are.

Shinsuke, the "scaredy cat swordsman" mentioned in the manga's brief summary, undergoes perhaps the most organic and immense character growth of anyone in any work I have read. The other characters evolve as well, as times passes, and while in some works a change in characterization can feel like a plot device - heavy handed and deliberate - these characters exhibit life of their own. They are not changing at the author's whims. They are reacting to the situations that arise, the people they meet, the passing of time, and becoming more than they were.

I will admit the pacing is a bit difficult in this, especially as it shifts protagonists part way through. It is unconventional, and may throw some readers. Don't look at this as a betrayal by the author; there is a point to this, and if you stick it through to the end you will witness something beautiful. Let the story take you down an alternate path, parallel and deeply bound to the one you thought you were going down. Don't forget the fondness you hold for the original cast, but allow yourself to experience the new characters the author is entrusting to you as the reader.

This is a story of people. Of meetings, separations, reunions, losses and parting and never forgetting the people that led you down the path that made you who you are. Let the characters tell their story, and let it remind you of the people in your own life who led you to where you are. Keep their warmth in you and let it fuel you to keep going.