Shisengumi are almost inevitable in Japanese fiction, and I fully admit that most of what I read about them in manga and visual novels falls within the shoujo genre – the Hakuouki series and especially Kaze Hikaru is one of a kind. But there are certainly more than just those two, and they all have different approaches to the subject matter, regardless of the intended audience.
The Blue Wolves of Mibu is a male-oriented approach. However, it still shares some similarities with the female versions, specifically the focus on Hijikata, Okita, and an unusually beautiful supporting character, a white-haired teenager named Nio. (Apparently, there is a rule that all author-created characters participating in the Shinsengumi have a beautiful and feminine appearance, regardless of their gender.) For the most part it follows the trends of the genre hey, with Nio meeting Hijikata and Okita, joining the group when they were still called Miburoshi, and learning the true nature of the force behind this history.
Nio is a relatively easy character to fall behind. He is serious and well-intentioned, and at the same time intellectually curious enough to want to understand where the gap between Miburoshi’s reality and its reputation lies. His main motivation is to ensure the best possible future for Japan, largely inspired by the kindness he has experienced. Orphaned at a young age, Nio was first raised at a temple and then adopted by an older woman along with another child. Raised primarily by the woman in her restaurant, he is very conscious of his unusual appearance and how well his grandmother and sister treat him. When Hijikata and Okita witness his physical skills, they invite him to join Miburoshi, an invitation he accepts. He moves to the group’s headquarters and meets other familiar names such as Harada Sanosuke, Nagakura Shinpachi and Isami Kondo.
The focus of this episode is on introducing the characters and situations. It is framed as a story told by an old man long after the Shinsengumi ended. The story purports to tell the story of members forgotten by history, despite the fact that a rookie named “Hajime” might risk a bit of a lie about that, as Saito Hajime still has not appeared yet. It’s mostly set up and completely fine–it’s not much different from other similar works, establishing the leading players, how the group works, and enjoying plenty of action. These sections are divided into three distinct categories: training, escapes, and actual battles, with the middle section having the most page time. That’s most likely intended to ensure that we understand the characters and their relationships; hanging out together is a shortcut to projecting a good-natured atmosphere within the group, in contrast to both the characters’ subsequent actions and Miburoshi’s reputation in Kyoto and its environs. It also allows Nio to start thinking about who and what to trust, something we can see happening as he both gets involved and takes over things just by eliminating a newcomer a group has been formed.
The art is reasonably comfortable with the setting, characters and action scenes, the only real problem is the art for the faces; they feel overdone, to the point of making them stand out uncomfortably from the rest of the artwork. That’s not to say that the backgrounds and clothing (key signs of the period setting) aren’t detailed, but there’s something much more organic about the way they’re drawn. On the contrary, the faces mostly feel like the artist is trying a little too hard to make the main character stand out. Color art is much more pleasing, and it’s a shame there isn’t more of it.
Overall, the first episode of The Blue Wolves of Mibu was okay. It might sound like disparaging it with faint praise, but the reality is that at the beginning, it’s not much different from any other historical fantasy manga about the Shinsengumi. That makes it a safe choice for fans of the sub-genre, and I think it will quickly start to differentiate itself from other similar books where the introduction is concerned. But if you’re not a Shinsengumi fan, you should check this out before making a decision.