Buso Renkin, Vol. 1

武装錬金 [Buso Renkin] #1

by Nobuhiro Watsuki

High school students heroic act turns into epic human vs. monster sword fight!

Buso Renkin is the story of teenager Kazuki Muto, who dies trying to save a girl who was being attacked by an eerie monster. The next morning, however, Kazuki is left wondering whether it was all a dream. Lo and behold, the girl, the monster, and his death are all real! The girl, Tokiko Tsumura, was actually trying to slay the homunculus (a beast that can take the form of humans, and whose main source of food is people), but Kazuki got in her way. To revive Kazuki, Tokiko replaces his heart with a "kakugane," an alchemic device that allows him to summon a lance with which to fight the monsters. It turns out that Tokiko is a member of the Alchemist Warriors, an organization sworn to protect the world from the diabolical creatures. Soon, Kazuki joins Tokiko in her quest to terminate the sinister being that creates and controls the homunculus.

Talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time! High school student Kazuki Muto had no clue what he was in for when he rescued damsel in distress Tokiko from a monster known as a "homunculus." Disguised as humans--who actually eat humans--homunculi are malevolent creatures that affix themselves to people's brains, and once fully grown, the only thing that can annihilate them is a weapon called Buso Renkin !

Follow the adventures of Kazuki after he discovers that it was actually Tokiko who saved his life by implanting a kakugane --an alchemical device that transforms into a buso renkin--to replace his heart!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Shonen, Comics, Action, Urban Fantasy

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Watsuki Nobuhiro (和月伸宏) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for his samurai-themed series Rurouni Kenshin. He once worked as an assistant for his favorite author Takeshi Obata.

Reviews

[Ace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kazuki tries to save a girl from a monster but ends up getting killed in the process -- and his new life is anything but ordinary. The plot of this volume bumbles along, drawing on numerous shonen stereotypes, and after reading it, I couldn't quite remember it, because it reminded me of so many other things that I'd read. Like the male character thinking about how small the girl was. Why is this in so many things? Why does this matter?

The most notable for me is Tokiko, because of her scar. Normally heroines are intensely beautiful, perfect, etc etc and I really liked that she had a scar on her face. I also liked that the scar wasn't a big deal, that the other characters didn't focus on it constantly as if she was lacking something for having it. Yay!

Unfortunately, the rest of the series just didn't hold up for me. Everything felt contrived, there were no serious consequences because Kazuki magically solved everything, and I felt very distant from the characters. I have the next two volumes lying around, so I'll read those, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to read more of this series after that. Not my cup of tea.

[Antonio Heras · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me ha encantado. El dibujo y la historia. Tiene acción, comedia y personajes con carisma. Quiero seguir la serie.

[Kate (Looking Glass Reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

If there is one genre of manga and anime I love above all else it’s shonen. Recently, I began Buso Renkin, Vol. 1 by Watsuki Nobuhiro, a series I know through the anime but have never read.

The story begins with Kazuki Mutou being mortally wounded when saving Tokiko, a teenage girl he’s never seen before, from a monster. He’s granted a new life by Tokiko with the power of an alchemically made object. Now, Kazuki finds himself in Tokiko’s world – fighting homunculi and able to use a Buso Renkin, a great alchemical weapon that’s uniquely his own.

The anime follows the manga pretty closely, something that can’t always be said about adaptations. Volume 1 portrays what happens in the first several episodes more or less exactly. I can’t say yet if this will continue through the entire series, but, thus far, the anime has proved to be a rather exact adaptation.

What makes this manga a bit hard to get into isn’t the plot, necessarily, but the terminology used. Alchemy and homunculi don’t follow traditional, conventional paths. This can lead to some initial confusion. Everything is fully explained, though these sections can border on being info-dumpy. However, everything is explained.

Despite certain sections having a bit of an info-dump, the plot moves fast. A lot is gotten through in only a few chapters. There isn’t fighting all the time. Kazuki is shown in quieter moments with his friends in the dormitories or in school. However, the plot gets moving along right away – a very good thing for those who don’t like slower first volumes.

The art is clearly Watsuki’s. Character designs are varied, weapons are very unique and quite interesting. Tokiko can sometimes look a little too much like Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin, something the mangaka comically mentions in a bit of a self-depreciating author’s note. However, some of the fighting scenes were not quite as clear as they could have been. What exactly was happening was muddled in some places, with the action being a bit unclear.

I will definitely be continuing with this series. While I enjoy the story, I’m glad I watched the anime first, as I feel I would have gotten just a little bit lost in certain sections otherwise. Still, if you enjoy shonen manga, Buso Renkin Vol. 1 by Watsuki Nobuhiro may be one to read if you have time and subscribe to Shonen Jump.

This review is originally found on the blog Looking Glass Reads.

[melhara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is part of a personal challenge to: 1) read more French books; 2) improve my French; 3) read all the French manga novels from my mom's manga collection. Seeing as I read this book in French, the actual review will be in French (duh).
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Cette critique fait partie d'un défi personnel: d’améliorer mon français!

Buso Renkin est une série shonen sur les guerriers et les monstres alchimiques. L'histoire commence avec la mort de Kazuki Muto qui renaît immédiatement grâce à l'alchimie. Sa renaissance inclut des pouvoirs pour vaincre les "homoncules" (les monstres qui mangent les humains et qui sont créés par l'alchimie).

Ce livre était un shonen très générique et ressemblait à une version "gender-swapped" / moderne de Rurouni Kenshin (qui est aussi du même auteur). Je le recommande pour les fans de Rurouni Kenshin.

----------------------------------------------
Note moyenne de la série: 2.7/5
Critiques pour le reste de la série:
Tome 1 | Tome 2 | Tome 3 | Tome 4 | Tome 5 | Tome 6 | Tome 7 | Tome 8 | Tome 9 | Tome 10

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

A terrible Bleach knock-off (I don't even like Bleach) from the man that brought us Rurouni Kenshin, one of the greatest mangas I ever read.

I will, however, say that the character of Papillon Mask was fucking awesome. If he had been the main character...

[Jordan 2018 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this manga ok. Some of the parts dragged on. They do a good job of explaining what a Humunculos is but it falls a little flat. I like the characters too. It is just a typical shounen Manga, nothing special

[SSJKailan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buso Renkin is a shonen manga about a teenage boy called Kazuki Muto. After impulsively "saving" a teenage girl who is being attacked by a monster, Kazuki is drawn into a fight between alchemical warriors and monstrous homunculi, while also living a normal life as a high school student.

It's a pretty fun story, but not amazing. Kazuki is a likable character, and the girl he attempts to rescue at the start, Tokiko Tsumura, is a cool and tough supporting character (she actually saved him, not the other way around :D).

I'm not completely sure what's going on in some of the fight scenes and the information about the homunculi and the kakugane (alchemical weapons used by the warriors, Kazuki has a lance and Tokiko a kind of scythe/skirt hybrid) at the start is given to you in infodumps.

I had fun reading this, but there are a lot of better shonen manga out there.

[Shin Donghae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buso Renkin adalah seri shonen tentang prajurit dan monster alkimia. Cerita dimulai dengan kematian MC, Kazuki Muto yang langsung terlahir kembali berkat alkimia. Kelahirannya kembali mencakup kekuatan untuk mengalahkan "homunculi" (monster yang memakan manusia dan diciptakan oleh alkimia).

Setalah sukses dengan kisah semi histori romansa meiji, kali ini Watsuki sensei mencoba beralih ke dunia modern dengan penggambaran scifi futuristik. Awal yg cukup menarik tidak terlalu menonjol dsn istimewa. Namun utk fans Rurouken saya merekomendasikannya.

[G a r e b · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un buen inicio de historia. La trama es bastante ágil y divertida presentación de los personajes está acertada con los sucesos. En esta obra el autor se ha re inventado pero sigue con sus toques característicos.

[Ashleigh Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I watched this as an anime and I enjoyed it so much I wanted to read the manga as well. It’s been a little bit since I’ve watched the anime, but it jogged my memory quite a bit, so I do believe the two are very closely related. It is fast-paced with a very protective MMC and a cool-headed FMC.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one is kind of hard to follow as the art and plot are kind of all over the place, interesting ideas though.

Book 5 of my personal #OWLSreadathon2018 finished. Potions class prompt.

[Kurtis Burkhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the creator of Rurouni Kenshin, This series is definitely far from the greatness of that manga! The plot and art was all over the place, Great at times and hard to stay with it at times... 👌😁💕

[Isabella · Rating 1 out of 5]

honestly? this is a
VERY
GENERIC
SHOUNEN

NOTHING here has impressed me so far

[Pranta Dastider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just an okay start.

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun and entertaining start to a fantasy manga that promises some epic battles between these monsters (known as homunculus) and alchemist warriors! I’m looking forward to reading more~

[Alexis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was so fast paced and disjointed that I barely understood what was going on.

[Rho · Rating 2 out of 5]

This manga doesnt do any one thing particularly bad, but i cant say it does a single standout thing either.

[Risa Koizumi solo manga e fumetti · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 boh....

[Cristiano Campione · Rating 4 out of 5]

Storia: 8
3= remake fatto malissimo di una storia già fatta
4= remake fatto male di una storia già fatta
5= storia già fatta piu volte con niente di positivo
6= storia classica senza ne pregi ne difetti particolare
7= storia classica con qualche pregio particolare
8 = storia nuova con parametri classici
9= storia nuova con parametri innovativi
10= storia nuova con parametri rivoluzionari
10lode= invenzione del genere o dello stile

Sviluppo: 8
3= non riesci nemmeno a finire di leggere il primo capitolo
4= interrompi
5= lento da voler solo che finisca
6= lo concludi
7 = va migliorando anche se un po scontato
8= va migliorando con qualche colpo di scena
9= colpi di scena e cambi di impostazione
10 = game of thrones. Non riesci a inquadrarlo

PERSONAGGI
Vengono descritti in base al tipo di manga. Personalità (psicologia,Carattere,sviluppo), Ruolo, qualita,

Primari: 7,83
2=potrebbe essere un albero
3= le caratteristiche del personaggio danneggiano gravemente l'intera storia
4= personalità antipatica data la sua incoerenza con il manga, principi morali discutibili, sviluppo quasi inesistente,danno manga
5= il personaggio non riempie pienamente il ruolo di primario
6= ha una personalità coerente con lo stile/ambiente/situazione del manga senza pregi, classico
7= personalità coerente e classica ma che soddisfa le condizioni del manga valutandolo positivamente
8=personalità coerente con caratteristiche particolari da visualizzarlo immediatamente,presenta un buon sviluppo.
9=personalità dinamica positiva con pregi e ottimi sviluppi con una psicologia propria/realistico
10=personalità spiccata ad amarlo con caratteristiche innovative/realistiche ,rispetta alla perfezione il ruolo di primario con numerose qualità. Personaggio dinamico positivo e fedele ai suoi principi

Kazuki Muto= 7
Tokiko Tsumura= 8
Capt. Bravo= 8,5

Secondari: 6,5 Il ruolo cambia in base al tipo di manga e la situazione. Può andare in aiuto al protagonista come per alleggerire la nostra lettura.
3: Idem
4:non svolge in nessun modo il ruolo di secondario
5: Svolge il ruolo da secondario che non influisce in nessun modo con la storia
6: Svolge il ruolo secondario senza ne pregi ne difetti particolari
7: Svolge il ruolo con pregi che danno un buon proseguimento
8: Pregi e personalità particolari che danno valore al manga
9: Presente spesso nel racconto con personalità e pregi che valorizzano il manga
10:svolge il ruolo da secondario perfettamente e ha una personalità cosi ben riuscita da metterlo in confronto al primario.

Mahiro Muto= 6
Gota Nakamura= 7


Antagonista (8,4)
3: Idem
4: In nessun modo fa la parte dell'antagonista
5: Non lo fa pienamente
6: Antagonista senza pregi e difetti classico
7: Pregi che migliorano il ruolo e il proseguimento
8: Pregi e personalità particolari che danno valore al manga
9:Presente spesso nel racconto con personalità e pregi che valorizzano il manga
10: svolge il ruolo da antagonista perfettamente e ha una personalità cosi ben riuscita da metterlo in rivalità al primario.

Papillon= 9,5
Shisui Hayasaka & sister= 7
Victor Powered= 10
Moonface= 7
Sekima Hiwatari= 8,5

Disegno: 7
Stile= 0-3 (2)
Desing =0-3 (2)
Inchiostratura = 0-2 (2)
Paesaggi= 0-2 (1)

Scontro: 8
Combattimenti = 0-5 (3)
Effetti = 0-5 (5)

Rapporti: 6,5
Dialoghi=0-3 (1,5)
Relazioni =0-3 (2,5)
Paesaggio= 0-3 (1,5)

Finale: 8

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is for the entire series (1-10), but I don't really spoil much. Unless you click spoiler tags.

I don't think I ever quite finished reading this Watsuki series at all, and I admittedly had to force myself to complete all ten volumes this time. I am, of course, a fan of his Rurouni Kenshin, Vol. 1 series. I also enjoyed Gun Blaze West , Vol. 1 and was disappointed when it ended so briefly. But I could never get into Buso Renkin. The drawing style just seems so minimalist and compared to RK, it didn't stand out. Which is sort of the same thing that seemed to happen with Anzai re: Flame of Recca, Vol. 01's evolution to MAR, Vol. 1. Anyways.

I did like Tokiko, possibly more than Kaoru. Tokiko was a brutal and harsh fighter whose weapon could have been designed into something much more interesting than a buso renkin that had little octopus legs. Although the dismemberment scenes were quite...frightening. Her relationship with Kazuki was cute and I did like how she also performed in the mentor role.

Kazuki himself felt too stereotypical shonen and he powered up too quickly for my taste. But oh well, he still was a funny character but I wanted more from him. Maybe more back-story or...some flashbacks about how he became the sort of person he is in the story, someone willing to fight to save his enemy's life and who believes in the importance of life.

I flip back and forth between liking Papillon and being highly disturbed by him. He's entertaining and yet very odd. I'm not sure if he fit with the rest of this generic shonen manga sort. But I did like him as an anti-hero. The rest of the bad guys and homunuli were rather blah.

The plot itself was what felt lacking, which is why I don't think I really could get into it. It could just be that my RK bias is working (although I did like GBW and that little short story about the boy who gets a meteor stuck in his head), so I may just try Embalming: Une Autre Histoire De Frankenstein tome 1 and see if I like that more. But I am glad I finally finished this series.

So, interesting characters, a bit too stereotypical shonen to me, as if Watsuki felt like he had to do a school manga with fantastical elements, but the plot was rather weak. But still it was entertaining and the expressions and humor worked well.

[MC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buso Renkin is a manga, and later anime, from the creator of the Rurouni Kenshin series, Nobuhiro Watsuki. The story is a simple one. The alchemy that was abandoned in Europe centuries ago, the stuff of Nicholas Flammel and the search for immortality, secretly did produce results. There were two types of alchemical discoveries, the homunculus and the Buso Renkin.

The homunculus is a plant and animal hybrid type of organism that takes control of a victim and eventually kills them, coming to life in their brain and nervous system, thus taking over their bodies. The Buso Renkin, on the other hand, is a weapon used to defeat such creatures. The homunculus eats different things, but mostly eats people, and so you can see where this is going.

To say that the above premise has some elements in common with modern vampire myths would be an understatement. All you need to do is replace “homunculus” with “vampire” and “blood” with “entire body”, and you have the same concept. And then you have the vampire hunters....

Anyways, our story begins when our young hero, Kazuki, stumbles across a girl about to be eaten by a monster, and tries to save her, getting brutally killed for his trouble. Unbeknownst to Kazuki, and the monster for that matter, the girl was an “alchemic warrior”, a holder of a Buso Renkin. She was luring the monster out so she could kill it and save the local human populace from being eaten.

The girl, feeling both sorry and touched by Kazuki's unnecessary, but noble, death, brings him back to life with a Buso Renkin. Upon discovering what happened to him, Kazuki vows to join the girl, named Tokiko, in battling the monsters of his city.

Buso Renkin is a very different comic than Rurouni Kenshin. While Kenshin had it's share of fantastical stories, to be sure, it was grounded in a thoroughly non-fantasy world. Everything was shonen, or kick-ass and manly man, but it was still within the bounds of a non-fantastical setting. This is a thoroughly magical, fantastical story.

The only part I didn't like was that the tale has none of the moral components that Watsuki put in the Kenshin stories. Instead, it was a typical fantasy story, at least until the second volume which I am currently reading, but this is a review of the first volume so that is irrelevant for now.

All in all, I enjoy the second volume more than this first volume being here reviewed, but it was still a fun story, though not as good, in my opinion, as Rurouni Kenshin.

[M.D. Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something to enjoy, but not as great as I remember

I went on the journey of rereading some of my favorite childhood manga. I started with Rurouni Kenshin, Volume 01 My favorite as a teenager. I was very well pleased with the level of quality and it was a very tasteful jump back into the lazy nostalgia river of my past. I thought, well, I remember also loving Buso Renkin by the same author! Let's jump into it!

Unfortunately I didn't get the same impression with BR. And I'm not saying it's bad. I definitely have seen and read worse than Buso Renkin. However, my rose tinted glasses are a little less tinted and I found myself not overly enjoying the very choppy dialogue as well as humor that just didn't really strike anymore. (Honestly, it may never have. Humor wasn't really what I would say a 15 year old judges.)

But what about the art? Well, at least in Volume One. We're left with just alright art. Of course the curse of weekly shonen magazine probably played a part. But as far as locations, as far as setting. There isn't a whole lot to offer here in comparison to just about any other manga set in a high school. Again, it's not bottom of the barrel here. It just doesn't do anything overtly more exciting or unique. The outfits are fine. The designs are fine. The weapons (Buso Renkins) are the coolest part. And honestly, Nobuhiro acknowledges that.

I think Nobuhiro is a pretty well craftsman when it comes to telling story. However, Buso Renkin wasn't his passion and I'd be willing to bet that it took him a bit to figure out where exactly he wanted to take this story. The introduction is very vanilla. It doesn't really introduce any compelling characters and the monsters and villains are very much simple villain of the week starts for Kazuki to learn to become a Alchemic Warrior.

Buso Renkin seems, at least from rereading the first volume like a run of the middle Shonen. Where, it has a lot to enjoy. However, it doesn't try to be unique or use anything that is wildly new. I think Nobuhiro definitely finds his stride with this series later on. (or I at least hope, my rose tinted glasses were wrong before.) Currently, I give Volume 1 more of...idk, 6/10. It's pretty meh. Some cool weapons and action, but nothing great and nothing I'd say is must-see.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

Not having read Watsuki's more famous work, Rurouni Kenshin, I came into this first book with a clean slate. And I have to admit, I was fairly underwhelmed. The story fails to find any new ground: a bog standard 'shounen' type of power up story but without the worldbuilding that made series such as Bleach so enjoyable. The villain is kind of silly and Watsuki himself admits in the first chapter that he was going for a more 'fun' type of series with more humor. Unfortunately, the 'humor' here feels forced and there's not many laughs to be found around a vapid airhead main character and some really silly 'weapons'.

Story: Kazuki is your standard happy go lucky kind of school kid who, when he sees a girl in a strange school uniform in trouble, rushes to her aid. He dies, wakes up the next day, and soon discovers that his heart has been replaced by that girl with a buso renkin - a weapon he can manifest. The girl, it turns out, is fighting those who use the technology for evil (they turn a person into man-eating monsters). They will team up to find papillon mask - a fellow student at Kazuki's high school who is changing people who were mean to him.

Although this sounds like a horror manga, there really is very little about death or murders in here, despite the premise being about destroying creatures who are killing people. This first volume pretty much deals with 'monster of the week' as Kazuki has to learn his weapon (a spear) with the help of Tokiko - the mysterious girl who saved his life and gave him the buso renkin. Power ups ensue.

The cast is supposed to be quirky but unfortunately most feel like they were put there to set up an awkward or amusing situation to generate humor. I didn't find any of it funny and it was hard to get into the story with so many 2-dimensional cliche types of characters running around.

I'd have to say that this skews pretty young. We're used to much more sophisticated storytelling and much wilder world building than we're given with Buso Renkin. As such, it just never captured my attention or made me want to read more.

[Dallan Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

SUMMARY: Kazuki Muto is the definition of the wrong place at the wrong time. One night at his high school, he witnesses a teenage girl fighting a giant snake monster, and ends up getting killed trying to protect her. Having pity on him, the girl (whose name is Tokiko), replaces Kazuki's heart with a Kakugane, an alchemy weapon. Little does Kazuki know that this is the start of his new life as an alchemy warrior, who must use his new-found powers to join an organization devoted to protecting the innocent from those who would misuse alchemy's power...

REVIEW: The (second) follow-up to Watsuki's excellently brilliant Rurouni Kenshin series, Buso Renkin manages to capture all the action, energy, intensity, humor, and character that was seen so expertly displayed in Rurouni Kenshin. While this series isn't as deep or intense as Kenshin, it still manages to tell a fantastic story that is reminiscent of some of the best comic books in the industry. If you were a fan of Kenshin, then I highly recommend this series!

[Scott Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one moves fast--starting much more en media res than most Manga series I've actually enjoyed, but it works really well here. The jump into the storyline from page one allows us to get action right off the bat, and Nobuhito handles the action--which focuses exclusively on his two primary protagonists--in such a way as to establish character basics quickly and clearly. The details aren't filled in right away, but the background becomes clear enough fast enough to support the suddenness of the beginning. It felt like the learning curve was gonna be a Steven Erikson style kick to the face, but it wasn't. well-done.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

A shonen manga with every shonen manga convention imaginable. Mind you, I love shonen manga stereotypes (endless power-ups, plucky hero, etc.), but this is just over the top. Everything feels a bit contrived and some of the designs are pretty ridiculous. For example, I hate Tokiko's Valkyrie Skirt. And what is up with Papillon, the butterfly guy? By the time you hit volume 5, seeing a bad guy in a Japanese loincloth and buttless chaps can only make you shake your head. Seems like this mangaka just can't reach the success of his previous hit series, Rurouni Kenshin.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, enjoyable, if somewhat typical, shonen manga. Nobuhiro Watsuki uses most of the standard tropes of the genre but provides a light entertaining read with distinctive looking heroes and villains.

Not high art by any means, but you could do far worse.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently was inspired to re-read the manga series I picked up while in Japan - and Busou Renkin (武装錬金) is one of my very favorites.

In most ways, it is your typical, formulaic Shonen Jump manga: There is an overpowered, super upbeat guy who doesn't afraid of everything and never really loses. He doesn't get sad, he is terrifying when mad.

What makes the whole series?

Chouno.

The end.

[Melina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had Buso Renkin in my library for months but I hadn't read it because Rurouni Kenshin is my favorite manga and I didn't want to be disappointed by Watsuki. I can't say much about it since I have only read V1 but it is very funny and I'm enjoying a lot!

[Sadie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sent this to review and groaned. I'm not into Watsuki's Rourini Kenshin so I didn't think I would like this. But I do! It's funny.