samurai deeper kyo is the first manga that i ever read. it's made me a fan of manga and has encouraged me to start reading them. this manga is good but not what you would call a classic. nonetheless it's definitely worth a one time read. btw don't watch the anime. the anime is crap and bs compared to the manga.

i will try to evaluate in my review three aspects, which i think should be the touchstone of any manga. first of all the art which for me is the first thing that attracts. the art and illustration is absolutely fantastic. the drawings of facial expression, character attires, introductions and fight scenes range from out of this world to absolutely fantastic. the illustration leaves nothing to be desired.

secondly- the storyline. the story begins brilliantly with lots of mysteries and cliffhangers. most of which get revealed at the very end of the manga. apart from that there aren't many shocking twists and turns during the course of the series. yes the main mystery is very entertaining and intriguing but if you're a fan of revelations and twists and turns you won't find any till the very last chapters which essentially reveal the mysteries that were set in motion in the first few. some of the explanations are quite confusing.

thirdly- character development. the manga has some great characters and some very annoying ones. the greatest character in this manga is demon eyes kyo who's the antihero. i am a big fan of antiheroes and if you are one then kyo will live up to your every expectation. on the surface arrogant, brutal and merciless he is the exact opposite of say- icihigo or kenshin. but is he really? that's something the mangaka has done so well. gradually developing kyo's character and letting us know bit by bit the complexity of his character. one of the most amusing things about his character is that he never ever explains his actions and is very private about his emotions. as the series progresses he turns out to be a completely different guy than expected. i haven't read many mangas. but of those that i have read i can safely say demon eyes kyo is my favorite character. other characters such as kyoshiro, akira, hotaru, chinmei, the former aka no ou, yukimura get ample development and i found those characters to be very entertaining. on the flip side some characters are cliche, pretty dull and frankly borderline annoying.

the biggest question this manga puts forth is- what do u strive for if u live forever and have everything? ultimately there must be trouble in paradise. it also tries to uphold the value of resolve. the fine line between wanting peace and imposing peace is also underlined. all in all a must one time read but it hardly has any repeat value.