The Eastern Edge

This past Thursday saw the last chapter of Vagabond for this year in Weekly Morning magazine. That chapter also had my personal manga moment of the year!

I use the word 'manga' instead of comic here mostly to preserve the alliteration in the title, but also because it sounds better than 'comic moment', which may have other nuances in meaning, and because I'm talking about Japanese comics specifically.

Anyway, this moment is one I've been waiting for since I first picked up Vagabond ten looooong years ago. It's been a long wait, but the absolutely incredible progression in Takehiko Inoue's storytelling and art - especially his art! - over the last decade has made me glad that it took this long because it's nearly perfect, right down to the sword grip!

I didn't even see it coming until I turned the page, and then there it was in all its glory!

Yup, that's the legendary tsubamegashi, or 'Swallow Return' (aka 'Swallow reverse' or 'Swallow counter'). The story goes that it was named this because the cut mimicked the motion of a swallow's tail during flight.
Kojiro may not have done it with his famous Nodachi in this scene, but you never know what Inoue has up his sleeve and Kojiro just might get his hands on the famous “drying pole” before the end.

Vagabond just keeps getting better as we get closer and closer to the final duel between Musashi and Kojiro!