Samurai 8: Hachimaru Den

This is, hands down, one of the worst manga I have ever read.

You can barely tell what's going on in any of the panels. The characters are the furthest you can get from interesting, and the setting is too abstract for how generic its conflict is. Did I also mention that it's extremely wordy? I'm shocked at how much exposition there is... constantly explaining plot elements that will never be expanded upon anyway...

I'm dropping this manga with only two volumes left, and it's not out of laziness--it's because the story ends at a mere five volumes, which means if it's still bad by three, it won't get any better. I would say that's a shame, but honestly there is nothing original or interesting about this manga, so it was only a waste of time anyway.

I didn't go into this thing expecting anything great, but I was curious as to why the score was so low. I now know why, and I wish I had heeded that advice before spending my money on it. Of the manga I collect and read, I've only ever regretted buying three series. Even the ones I didn't end up liking, or wanting to continue, I'm glad I gave a chance. That's because I have a love of storytelling and art, which manga often ties together beautifully. With that perspective, even the bad stuff teaches me something. I learn from it because I'm a writer and artist myself.

But holy moly, Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru only taught me to be wiser with my money. I will go into tomorrow remembering only my regret, and not the setting, characters, or any component of the story. What an utter failure.

Samurai 8 is awful. I am honestly very disappointed with what Masashi Kishimoto has come up with, several years after finishing Naruto. I just finished the manga, I had dropped it last year, about 32 chapters in, but now I decided to come back and finish it, and my impression of it is even worse than what I originally had.

This manga had a lof of potential, it could have been a good adventure with compelling characters. Many of the characters introduced have varied personalities, but unfortunately the story never really did anything with them. I'll start by saying the two things that I enjoyed, and that was that the battle choregoraphy was good, it reminded me of Naruto. The art is also interesting, even though it doesn't start off great, specially the fact that it didn't have enough shading, but with time it got better.

Pretty much everything else is bad. There is so much wrong with this manga, that Kishimoto failed so hard at. It's funny because one of the biggest complaints about Samurai 8, the fact that there is an excess of information and exposition in every chapter (starting with the 1st chapter), was adressed by Kishimoto himself before the manga had even started serialization. In an interview he had said how it's difficult to write a sci-fi story for the Weekly Shonen Jump audience because sci-fi usually has a lot of terms and knowledge that needs to be conveyed to the readers, and so he talked about the importance of timing the exposition properly and not having too much information crammed into a single chapter.
And then he proceeds to do the exact opposite of what he said... the very first chapter introduces a lot of confusing terminology and all the chapters follow up with more, and it just gets very boring very fast because much of this information is either unecessary and excessive or just poorly explained.

Another thing that the manga horribly fails at is the power scaling. It feels like every 5 or so chapters Kishimoto changed the power system and nothing ever made much sense. It begins with introducing the trinity, and how Samurai are powered by princesses and key holders, then Samurai can regenerate their whole bodies after taking damage. They also cram in a bunch of techniques that are poorly explained and half the time it's difficult to even understand what they actually do. Then there is the plot armour of how the "chosen samurai" have stronger white coloured samurai souls that can cut through everything, but only when they are feeling brave, and they keep adding to that, with how samurai will never die "as long as they are courageous enough". Samurai can also get instantly stronger if they have princesses praying for them, but that works awfully inconsistently as well. Finally, about 8 or so chapters left for the manga to end, Kishimoto introduces an RPG system where each Samurai has stats, and in order to use certain skills they need to have certain stats. Unfortunately they don't even bother explaining what most the stats mean, so it just feels like it was something that the author came up with at the moment but then didn't have time to finish. It would have been better imo if the stats were introduced at the beggining of the manga and they had started the whole power system with it in mind.

The villains in the manga are also horrible. There is one minor villain that appears in the second arc, but he's just fodder for the main characters to beat up, he doesn't really have any motivation or anything, he just wants to make money and kill people for fun and power.
The main villains unfortunately are not compelling as well, their objective is the cliche "destroy the universe and rebuild it anew". It honestly doesn't make any sense, and there are several things that Kishimoto ddin't bother talking about, like certain characters that they teased in the first arc but then they never showed up nor were mentioned again. The villains' backstory was never broght up as well.

But then the finale of the manga is when things get really, really bad. They introduce a bunch of characters that don't serve any purpose, it really feels like Kishimoto was starting a new arc but then he was notified that the manga was getting axed so he had to come up with a finale at the last minute, and it was awful. So many events are crammed in the last few chapters. The villains suddenly show up and fight the heroes, they use a bunch of unexplained techniques like trapping characters in a void and then, when it seems that everything is lost, a character shows up out of nowhere, and now for some reason they're a samurai, and after a cheesy dialogue the main character reaches enlightenemnt and becomes ultra godly powerful for no reason. Then they're able to get into a dimension where space and time act faster or whatever and so they age and become ultra mega powerful and one of the villains gets killed without even getting properly introduced.
The last 3/4 chapters are such a gigantic mess that they alone would be rated by me as a 1/10. The overall manga gets a 3/10 for me because the rest of it is not as bad, but I'm definitely extremely disappointed with how the manga turned out. I feel like it had potential, and some interesting ideas (that were poorly executed), but the result is abysmal.

REVIEW: from chapter 1 up to chapter 14 (NO SPOILERS)

Story: 10

Interesting, amazing, heartbreaking, many elements are from the Japanese and Buddhist story and legends.

Art: 8

A bit confusing background at the beginning, but it has hugely improved after the first 4-5 chapters and this problem is gone.
You will notice the same Kishi art style...but in the last 5 chapters it has become even better! In the close future it will be even better, I'm sure about that.

Characters: 9

Not many so far, but they are perfectly done. Strong, mysterious, interesting and very cool.

Enjoyment: 10

Definitely the best new manga experience of the year. Samurai 8 becomes better and better after every chapter.

Overall: 10

A stunning example of writing failure (so much more surprising because Naruto nailed the initial emotional turmoil), an unusual case of masterful tech designs being a detriment to enjoyment of reading, Samurai 8 Hachimaru Den is seriously stunted.

Samurai 8, most likely, was supposed to be a lighter, more upbeat story, separating itself from Narutoverse by going into a techy spacefaring future and swapping ninjas for samurai. A space fantasy with magic-like consistently designed technology, with interstellar travel, mysticism and cyber superhuman warriors … A more contemporary hero, initially frail and disabled, gaining powers through his parent’s sacrifice and gaming… What could go wrong?

Turns out almost everything. Even the art is problematic. For starters, it’s unreadable because of the lack of shading, and shading had to be omitted to make way for the wealth of tech details. The situation becomes better in later chapters, but page layouts still look like a mess. It boggles the mind, considering the amount of effort put into visuals here. The samurai designs were carefully bred to become viral, to ensnare little boys, they have it all – variable, complex, dynamic, yet recognizable, sporting that linework oomph with a tiny pang of cool nasty. They travel on turtle spaceship. They have support animal cyborgs. They can fight in space. The level of pandering is on par with MMOs. Yet in the end it all drowns in visual debris. Consequently, with the plot failing to take off, the richness of visuals becomes an annoying dissonance.

These types of overcomplicated settings often fail, and Samurai 8 addresses none of the typical major issues. The old Japan and a biotechy sci-fi have different audiences, which may not intersect much. Advanced technology mimicking pre-industrial world structures and practices needs a very strong suspension of disbelief. And info dumps are unreal. Just like the art, the text of this manga is more often than not rendered unreadable by the amount of terms, titles and names. I love delayed exposition with passion, but it should never take up to 80% of text, which happens in Samurai 8. And then the remaining 20% of narrative are mostly pow-pew-friendship rules-woosh.

The characters are rubbish. I try to see the best even in standard stories, it’s very possible to do them right, but high energy doesn’t hide the vapid emptiness of the cast here. I couldn’t connect to anyone, and the speed and inelegance of introductions are painful. The main group is supposed to be a band of misfits – a formerly sheltered orphan, a cutely uncute freckled girl, a gender ambiguous weird kid – but they are not truly human-like or sympathetic. The protagonist, initially physically disadvantaged, immediately gets the whole adventure-ready package – a body that can do it all with a guarantee, an old legendary weapon, a famous mentor (somehow now literally a cool cat), a robot buddy (both feline and canine), a homely fate-bound girl, institutional support and recognition, and an unfolding galaxy saving quest to take on. He’s lost some things, but he’s reached his dream of being a samurai, the best social class and immortality right from the start, so he’s happy. He’s also a gaming champion, because of course, and that’s how he’s learned all about samurai and how to fight as one. The rest of the kids just tag along, somehow captivated by a former social recluse. It’s boring, he’s boring. Naruto was much more alive and balanced.

If you stop and think even for a moment the whole setting is very disturbing. The samurai are enshrined as manifestations of a warrior god, they give up their bodies in a ritual suicide to gain immortal vessels and then only seem human. The naturally following moral dilemmas and the highly probable body dysmorphia are not addressed in the manga at all, as far as I saw. Everything else in their world revolves around the samurai. They are neither “natural” superheroes, nor a separate society of jianghu, everyone wants to be a samurai, they are a major asset for a nation. I find a militaristic religion revering inhuman war machines and a society focused on producing them off-putting. Girls are driven to the role of princesses, who sort of give birth to samurai, are bound to a predetermined samurai by “fate”, give them power. There’re some female samurai in the lore, but 99% of them in the main story are male, even though it makes no good sense considering they are cyborgs. Seems like this technologically developed future digs ancient times not only in aesthetic. But it’s hard to speak about nuance here, not only because I dropped this in the first half, but also because there doesn’t seem much of it going on. It is just a loud by the book adventuring, which tries to hide its narrative failures by flexing the character design muscle.

Samurai 8 is a chore to get through, nothing sticks for me. It’s too in your face with its plan to be a self-insert “awesum” adventure for a tween nerdy gamer weaboo, and maybe to cash in on toys. And, like, that’s what Shounen Jump is for, but both story and visual composition here collapse in an unsightly way. The impressive cyber samurai designs can’t compensate for all, and they have ethical and aesthetical issues too.

According to the wiki, they try to save a galaxy from the entropic death in Samurai 8. The underdog protagonistin overcomes his initial limits, has an exciting journey and leaves a mark on the world. But the manga itself remains underrealized and weak, the entropy in it almost palpable. The garbled pace of an axed work right from the start, the bad page composition and the cumbersome unnatural narrative make it very hard to follow, to immerse or to care. I believe this is objectively a poor manga, sadly, the only thing to take out of it for the majority of readers being certain points in designs.

Sci-Fi Samurai

Before “Samurai 8” was even published, it was pretty hyped up. Not only the new series is presented as the Kishimoto san’s new work, but also being dedicated with a trailer of its own.

Thus, this brings to the most important question, is or will “Samurai 8” be as good if not better than “Naruto”?

For now, only until chapter 5, this question “does not have an answer” for a single important reason.
If one manga tries to build or pull off a universe of its own, it “requires time” for it to develop. “Samurai 8” might seem confusing and fast-paced at the moment; however, it is alright though since this work’s predecessor did that exact same thing. “Naruto” speeded through its first chapter and still became a great manga.

Yet with that being said, there are evidence and reasons that make “Samurai 8” seem hella bright and promising so far.

!!MINOR SPOILER!! ▬▬ι═══════>

1. Within these four chapters, “Samurai 8” creates some elements such as mysteries and tensions that gives a great start for the story.
2. The art has the shadow of “Naruto” even though this new series is drawn by Ookubo san. Do not underestimate him! Since Ookubo san assists Kishimoto san in a huge amount of the storyboards from “Naruto”, his level of illustration is absolutely unquestionable. Judging from the depiction of the samurai that fought against Hachimaru, the male MC, he has the facial features that seem like the combination of the Second Hokage and Naruto~ Moreover, Ookubo san’s ability in creating the background is undeniable. You can check it out by yourself when you flip to chapter 2 pg 12 when Hacimaru is seating on his pet.
3. For character setup, it also has the shadow of "Naruto" as well. Hachimaru has the potential like that of Naruto and Daruma, a robotic cat, seems to take on a role like that of Jiraiya or Kakashi~
4. Personal Opinion: If Shounen Jump wants "Samurai 8", new series & new hope, to lift the pressure off from “One Piece” and the “Naruto” fans want it to be another great work, I believe that Kishimoto san, Ookubo san, and their manga production team will pour all their effort into delivering the best 20 pages (weekly) for their readers.

I am currently enjoying “Samurai 8”. But since it is still relatively new. I will give it a solid "Hachi" overall and “keep reading” to see how it grows! (ノ・∀・)ノ


Story: 6 (developing)
Art: 9.5 (might be confusing sometimes -0.5)
Character: 6 (developing)
Enjoyment: 10
Overall: Hachi

Sometimes I wonder to myself why I haven't already dropped Samurai 8. So far, it fails to grab my attention. There are two reasons for this, its uninteresting narrative and confusing aesthetics. These two sometimes go hand in hand together making every read a Herculean task.

The first problem lies in the fact that Samurai 8 is essentially another bland battle shonen in terms of narrative. It lacks early Naruto's heart and ambition. Normally, I have great patience when it comes to such kinds of manga. Even with Black Clover's clumsy start, it managed to carve a niche and refined its narrative. For Samurai 8, it's still an unknown but I trust Kishimoto on this.

Unfortunately, its aesthetic problems are far more sinister than its narrative troubles that it might be a deal breaker for this manga. I wish that Masashi Kishimoto was the one drawing this instead of Akira Ookubo. I was only able to follow other "generic" battle shonen because their art is as straightforward as their narrative. But for Samurai 8, it's potential for worldbuilding is pretty much stunted by the convoluted art. Reading Samurai 8 is not only a bore but its takes more effort to read than your average manga. There is no depth and shadows. It's hard to distinguish between character and background. It looks like a coloring book instead of a manga.

Unless there is a dramatic shift in the art, Samurai 8 might just be a missed opportunity for a compelling manga.

Samurai 8 is the new manga by the author of Naruto. It has some similar feelings and writing style, but also manages to be unique.

Story (8)
We are already getting a ton of worldbuilding and lore. The story needs some time to set up, which it seems to be doing now.

Art (8)
A unique artstyle that is good to look at, although the characters sometimes blend into the backgrounds, and sometimes the action scenes can be hard to decipher.

Character (8)
Some characters are great, others are just OK.

Enjoyment (8)
It can be exciting or emotional, but it can also be a little boring. Still enjoyable.



Samurai 8 has a ton of potential, and it will probably be an interesting story.
8/10

Review from chapter 1 to 14:

Kishimoto strikes back! And this time he want to outclass even his previous success, Naruto. Can Kishi-sensei succeed? Right now he has all the cards to do it!

Story --- (10)

At the beginning the lore is simple: saving the whole Galaxy from a mysterious threat that will destroy everything. The key to save the Galaxy is finding out the Pandora's Box, who needs 7 Special Keys in order to open it.
As you can notice by reading it the story it takes many elements from the Japanese and Buddhist folklore and mythology (something that Kishimoto loves to do since), mixing them perfectly in a fantasy sci-fi story.
I won't post spoilers...lemme just say that the series did well in terms of not explaining too much at the start and then spreading it out when the time was right. The result is an amazing chapter, the most important one (chapter 14).
With the hype of an intriguing and amazing story...and with some very sad and astonishing moments...the story takes a 10!

Art --- (9)

I won't lie. At the beginning the art was a bit hard to understand...not much hard tbh. However Okubo (right hand of Kishimoto for more than 6 years, since the Naruto era) improved A LOT from chapter 6 and above. In fact you will recognise the same Naruto's art in many panels, especially in the attacks/destruction panels...that are VERY outstanding! Vote - 9

Characters --- (10)

Hachimaru, the main character, is not the classic shonen hero...he's realistic. At the beginning he acts like a normal kid once he find out to have "superpowers". However he will get one of the most amazing character-improving I've ever seen in a shonen. Also thanks to one of the most sad moments ever appeared in a shonen.
Hachimaru's dad is a real hero, with a extremely important role.
Several other characters, Master Daruma included, are interesting, cool and OP! With many secrets that we're going to discover in the future.
...Let alone that Samurai 8 has one of the most badass villain (Ata) I've seen in years. The best part is ...this villain is the first of the series and he'll play a huge and important part in the future.
Let alone that several chars are based on the Japanese and Buddhist folklore! Vote - 10

Enjoyment --- (10)

I won't say much here 'cause of spoilers...but trust me when I say that Kishimoto and Okubo have created a future masterpiece! Many secrets, cool chars, OP situatios, incredible powers, Wisdom Kings, space journey etc. etc. Vote --- (10)

OVERALL --- (10) Samurai 8 has all the right cards to become a future masterpiece!

It feels almost unfair to compare Samurai 8 to Kishimoto's previous work, but, well, when your previous work is one of the most popular manga of all time, comparison is eventually inevitable. As such, Samurai 8's rushed pacing, abysmal power level balancing and visual clutter really reveals what Naruto's editorial oversight protected us from. Conceptually - NEET samurai kids with talking dog-vehicles - very cool! But the series really suffers from an inability to set a coherent tone early on, and so Samurai 8 ends up feeling like a generic shonen series instead within 10 chapters, which is when I decided to drop. Going to go reread the Chuunin exam arc again instead, see ya.

Review from Episode 1 - 17

Story: 8

Why 8? Because, the premise of SCI FI Samurai with a lot of Japanese legends is, itself, very good and very fresh, nevertheless my problem is with the form that the story is being told: too fast. A story as complicated as this one, with an giant new universe , should be told slowly and in lot of episodes BUT this one is rushing into the cool stuff and the mechanics are introduced quickly and is difficult to undersand.

Art 9

Is epic and with a lot of details. Way better than Boruto, tho.

Character: 7

Is a good character yet very common. Plus, the personality switch of the protagonist in the first episode is very contrasting.

Overall is a promising story, looking forward to see more.

- Agus Tidona, Argentina