Even though I’ve enjoyed the earlier volumes of Kaze Hikaru, it is these three volumes—which expertly combine romance, humor, character development, and historical events (with exciting bits of foreshadowing)—that have secured my undying love for the series.

We begin in the summer of 1864. The Shinsengumi is waiting for the Bakufu government to take a stand regarding exclusionism and is growing frustrated with the hesitant leadership. Instead of protecting the shogun, they’re being used to round up members of the radical Choshu clan. At one point, we see Vice Captain Hijikata torturing one of these fellows for information. I love that Watanabe-sensei doesn’t shy away from depicting these characters doing unheroic things (although I do weary of Sei objecting every time and showing no deference to authority) while managing to make them sympathetic anyway; it’s not as if Hijikata enjoys torturing someone, but he takes up the role of the hardass villain so that beloved Captain Kondo doesn’t have to.

The intelligence obtained by the torture indicates the Choshu clan will be gathering at an inn called Ikedaya to discuss an attack on Kyoto, which leads into one of the most awesome scenes in the series so far. Sei and Okita head out into battle together, and when he appears to’ve been killed, she is transfigured by fury and turns into quite a competent fighter. Further awesomeness occurs when, after seeing Okita safely to the infirmary, she doesn’t linger by his side but instead leaves him to return to the fray where her brothers are still fighting. It’s wonderful to see Sei so thoroughly exhibiting the qualities of a bushi, and I also love how much the Ikedaya incident will continue to influence the story from here on out.

One consequence of Sei’s impressive performance at the Ikedaya is that Captain Kondo wants to adopt her as his heir, an honor Sei must decline on account of her gender but without giving either a full explanation or offense. She wonders why Okita, who has essentially been raised by Kondo since the age of nine, isn’t the heir, and it is revealed that Okita has vowed to commit seppuku when Kondo dies. This explains a lot about Okita and his undying devotion to Kondo (further fleshed out in volume eight), and appearance of maintaining a carefree life. He can’t think about things like love, even though it appears at one point that he has begun to see Sei as something other than a child, because his life is not truly his to do with as he wishes. What a great reason for keeping two leads apart!

Meanwhile, two members of the Shinsengumi, Vice Captain Yamanami and Assistant Vice Captain Todo, receive a lot of attention in these volumes. Yamanami wasn’t able to participate in the Ikedaya incident due to illness, so he doesn’t receive the bonus pay that some men get and proceed to spend on whores. They feel sorry for him and lend him some money, and when he goes to the red light district, he meets Akesato, the lady with whom Sei stays three days a month while menstruation is in progress. Yamanami is a simple and kind fellow, and he and Akesato end up falling in love, but he’s reluctant to pursue it because it’d be a betrayal of his friend. Akesato finally admits Sei’s secret, so that makes two members of the Shinsengumi who know it now.

This development of Yamanami makes sense when, after a huge battle (Kinmon no Hen) ravages the city with fire, he and Todo (the sick members of the group who’ve been left behind to guard headquarters) think to head over to the nearby prison to help with evacuation. When they arrive, they find the magistrate in the act of murdering the prisoners rather than release them and react with hostility to his actions. While they await being sentenced to seppuku for their disrespect, Todo seeks out the source of rumors that the Shinsengumi was responsible for the atrocity and ends up falling in love with a prostitute. I guess no proper ladies want anything to do with these rowdy fellows.

I really don’t have any complaints. The historical moments are positively riveting, and though the slice-of-life aspects are understandably less so, they’re still quite good. I am kind of sad, though, that Okita’s backstory includes a scene where he runs into Sei as a child. What a shojo trope that is; I’m always kind of annoyed wherever it turns up, even when it’s in a great series like this one. And, make no mistake, it is great.

Tominaga Sei, a teenaged girl who has assumed the male identity of Kamiya Seizaburo in order to join the Mibu-Roshi and avenge the deaths of her brother and father, has achieved her revenge. As volume three begins, her mentor and unrequited love, Okita Soji, is urging her to leave because she has accomplished her task, but Sei doesn’t want to go and demands acceptance as a man. They engage in a wager in which Okita agrees that she can stay if she manages to score one hit on him. The way she manages to do this is rather underhanded, and I can’t cheer her methods, but I do like that Sei chooses a life of honing her skills in order to be able to protect the one she loves rather than returning to her original gender, even if it would mean a better chance at living a romantic life with him.

After this entertaining but uneventful start, I was unprepared for the utter awesome that comes next. It begins when Serizawa, a drunken hothead who nonetheless deserves much of the credit for the Mibu-Roshi’s existence, is visited by the beautiful wife of a merchant to whom he is indebted. He’s enchanted by her loveliness and is initially content to just moon about over her. When Sei finds out that the woman is actually not the wife but a mistress, and therefore available, she thinks she’s doing the right thing when she encourages Serizawa to go for it. Of course, his behavior only worsens from that point on, further sullying his reputation with the public. These events coincide with the Mibu-Roshi earning the name Shinsengumi (for their bravery during a coup attempt) and an order from on high to rid the group of troublesome elements.

Matters come to a head in volume four. If I had been a better student of this period of Japanese history, instead of barely able to grasp the political maneuverings, I would’ve known what was going to happen, but in this case I can firmly attest that ignorance is bliss! With this storyline, Kaze Hikaru shows its real power to be dramatic, moving, and brutal, and has seriously hooked me for the long haul. The recurring theme of the series seems to be “Sei gets more than she bargained for,” and that idea is front and center here as she has serious problems with the way discipline is being carried out, though she comes to see the necessity for these new rules—and enforces them—after a condemned man, to whom she was inclined to show mercy, kills another during his escape attempt.

After the dark days in volume four, the story shifts into more lighthearted territory, featuring chapters that reveal more about some other Shinsengumi members. Despite encountering certain grim truths—and unpleasant revelations upon the nature of men—Sei manages to remain her optmistic self, a quality which prompts the laconic Saito Hajime to develop feelings for her. He fights his attraction, which could not be more unrequited, as Sei continually confuses him with her older brother, whom he apparently resembles greatly. This is a recurring thread throughout volume five, which also features tales about the captain, Kondo Isami, who the men think has been going out whoring; details about Okita’s past; a woman seeking revenge against vice-captain Hijikata for the death of her brother; Sei trying to learn a new sword technique that’s too advanced for her; and the appearance of a man who proclaims his love for Hijikata before promptly absconding with his valuable katana.

All in all, this was an excellent trio of volumes to read together, as they exemplify all the things that Kaze Hikaru does well. The balance between human interest stories and historical drama is well-maintained, aided by beautiful art and likeable characters. If I could be said to have a problem with the series, it would be that Sei frequently raises objections to matters decided upon by the leaders and has to be shown by Okita how she is wrong. He almost always manages to do this without being patronizing, but I’d like to see her grow into a more hardened warrior. Now that I’ve seen the darkness of which the series is capable, this seems at least somewhat possible.