PART 32 of 52 ONESHOTS in 52 WEEKS
幸村誠の『さようならが近いので』 “Sayonara ga Chikai no de” by YUKIMURA Makoto
Makoto Yukimura debuted with the sci-fi drama Planetes in 1999, which spanned four volumes across five years. Planetes found great acclaim and was adapted to anime before the manga had even concluded, but Yukimura is probably best known now as the author of Viking epic Vinland Saga, which is loved for its engrossing storytelling and characters, alongside its meticulous and expressive artwork.
Vinland Saga makes up the bulk of Yukimura’s career, having begun in 2005 and continuing to this day. In its near 20-year publication, the author has diverted his attention only once, illustrating a 6-page Assassin’s Creed x Vinland Saga oneshot in 2020. This is only his second oneshot, with the first—For Our Farewell is Near—published in the interim between his two series in 2004.
Featuring in Kodansha’s Evening magazine, the oneshot tells of the life and final hours of Soji Okita, a member of the Shinsengumi, which were a special police force commissioned by the military government, active during Japan’s late Bakumatsu period (1860s). The Shinsengumi are featured often in Japanese popular culture and period dramas, with many manga fans likely familiar with the swordsmen through the comedy series Gintama.
The story takes place in 1868 — a time of conflict and great change in Japan, which would ultimately see the defeat of the Tokugawa shogunate and the appointment of the Meiji government. Soji Okita, once a revered captain within the Shinsengumi, noted for his skilled swordsmanship, is forced to lay down his weapons due to illness. While his comrades fight to their last breaths in the Boshin War, Okita looks back on his life, pondering the great raison d’etre.
The oneshot examines external and internal strife, with Okita finding himself in a place of painful apathy, where he is incapable of coming to terms with his position and past actions, lamenting that his birthright, rather than any personal agenda, has led him down a path of futile bloodshed. In juxtaposition to Okita’s indifference and newfound physical limitations are both his allies and enemies, who rage on in the name of ideals, laying down their lives to the sound of rallying cries and steadfast allegiance to the bushido code. The warring imperialists and Tokugawa loyalists, as well as Okita’s dispassion, are all given tactful focus. It’s a meditative and layered take which does well to contextualise a lot of complex history in only a short time. However, it does benefit from the reader having some prior knowledge of the period.
The artwork is closer in detail to Planetes than Vinland Saga, with author Yukimura not yet at the level of expertise seen in his later work. Nonetheless, the author’s sketches and spreads are largely impressive. The skirmishes and battle scenes are vigorous and imposing, with the characters often sporting vivid shading, with a dramatic portrayal of shadow. The backgrounds, however, do sometimes lack depth and detail.
For Our Farewell Is Near is, in many ways, a prelude to Vinland Saga, with author Yukimura continuing to explore conviction, ideals, and the nature of violence in his successive work. It’s a strong entry — all the more impressive as the author’s first and only substantial oneshot. Despite the momentous setting, the oneshot is a brisk 46 pages, which Kodansha USA rather confusingly split into five parts when they included it as extra content across the first five omnibus volumes of Vinland Saga.
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Morning, Roo 