Mushibugyo: A Review

Ancient Japan meets Bug Exterminators in Mushibugyo

There's not a whole lot of chapters available for this series, but from the three chapters I've read it looks really, really good.  And promising too.  There's no anime in the works for this manga, but I can easily foresee one down the road in maybe one or two years. 

The story is basically thus: a young samurai has been enlisted by the feudal government in an attempt to exterminate large, murderous bugs plaguing Edo.  Tsukushima Jinbee is the young, plucky samurai who lives by the sword.  He unwittingly joins the Mushibugyo squad, and quickly has to adapt or die.  Each time he encounters a new bug, he grows in experience and simultaneously unravels a little bit more about the mysterious Mukai.

The action scenes in Mushibugyo are really breathtaking to watch.  You can feel the sheer amount of movement in every frame — almost to a vertigo-inducing point.  The artwork is typical, considering it's aimed toward young males (e.g. occasional bra and panty shots), but what shounen manga doesn't have that? 

I hope more of Fukuda Hiroshi's work gets released.  I really enjoyed the story, and the artwork is a plus, too.  It kind of gives off this Gurren Lagann / 1990's Gainax vibe that's just wacky and easy to ingest.  Highly recommended!

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