- Mangaka : Kishimoto,
- Publisher : Shonen Jump
- Genre : Action, Samurai, Sci-Fi, Shounen
- Published : June 2, 2019
Contains Spoilers
Discussion Time
Samurai 8: Hachimaru Den chapter 4 was a bit of an underwhelming chapter to be completely honest. We won’t say it failed to deliver, but equally, it felt a bit overly simple. This week’s chapter focuses on explaining how 8 keys are needed to essentially save the universe, but the keys aren’t just normal everyday keys. These special keys are linked to samurai and must be obtained before the forces of evil get them and Daruma thinks it’s very likely the only one able to accomplish this task is our newly minted samurai Hachimaru. Our hero’s father though isn’t too keen on sending his son into space and the greater places beyond, but of course, Hachimaru isn’t just going to let this opportunity slip by.
Daruma shows Hachimaru the abilities he could learn but makes it clear that he has only two options. Stay at home with his father and avoid the possible dangers he’s going to face as a samurai or cross the line and join Daruma as well as learn from him. Our samurai quickly makes his choice—the latter—and we end the chapter on the right foot towards a brand-new adventure. The idea of space samurai still intrigues us here at Honey’s Anime, but we do think Samurai 8: Hachimaru Den still isn’t that spectacular. Down below we’ll give a reason why to read this latest chapter and why you might want to skip it entirely.
1. The Adventure Commences
Samurai 8: Hachimaru Den chapter 4 feels like the true beginning towards getting our samurai off the planet and into the stars above. What will await our Hachimaru in the sea of stars? We’re sure some epic space fights and cool samurai battles! Truly one of the best and most redeeming features of Samurai 8: Hachimaru Den is the fact that it’s a genre undone often in the world of manga and that excites us for the possibilities!
1. Rebellious Youth
Hachimaru and his father clearly love one another, but of course, we’ve seen that due to the father’s constant fears, it creates a rift between the two. While it was initially heartwarming, chapter 4 shows more rebellion and that is getting kind of old. We get it, Hachimaru wants to explore the world unknown to him due to his original ailments. Yet, the constant fighting between father and son—which usually ends with Hachimaru realizing he took it too far—needs to end…soon.
2. Where’s the Backstory?
Chapter 3 ended with this feeling that Hachimaru’s dad was going to tell Daruma some interesting facts about his son. What we end up with is learning Daruma isn’t just a talking cat person and that Hachimaru is indeed one of the 8 keys for Pandora’s Box. While learning Daruma is actually something stronger, we had hope to learn something more about Hachimaru to avoid the usual shounen trope of learning backstory at a far later date. Unfortunately, it looks like we won’t learn too much more about Hachimaru anytime soon and that bums us out a bit.
Final Thoughts
Samurai 8: Hachimaru Den chapter 4 feels like the true beginning of our manga but equally wasn’t that impressive or important. We learn Daruma is a powerful spirit, we learn that Hachimaru is possibly one of the 8 keys and we see our samurai trainee make a bold choice to being his journey. That much we enjoyed about chapter 4, but at the same time, the shounen trope feeling we’re getting just makes us worry about the longevity of this series. Are you enjoying Samurai 8: Hachimaru Den as of right now folks? Let us know in the comments below! Be sure to keep stuck to our hive for more reviews of Samurai 8: Hachimaru Den done by us here at Honey’s Anime!
Author: Aaron