Samurai of Hyuga Book 6 has been released! Check out its page here!
Believe it or not, I don’t consider SoH to be very anime. I consider it to be a hard-boiled detective story dressed up in a very Japanese aesthetic, written from the perspective, the tastes, and the sensibilities of someone who is very much American.
That said…I don’t think I’m beating the anime allegations on this one!
Taking readers into a high school setting, I couldn’t help but lean into anime tropes here, and I have to say, I enjoyed every minute of it! Our protagonist is challenged in a way they’ve never been before: to be forced to integrate into school life with a bunch of smart, wealthy, and magical priests and priestesses.
For our favorite ronin, that’s about as “fish out of water” as you can get!
Because the story takes place in a sort of self-contained area, I could see how this book could come across as a sidequest, like some sort of filler arc, but in reality, it’s as mainquest-y as it gets. We’re talking about learning what these demons really are—and what exactly The Sword Who Cuts the Heavens is destined to cut down!
Oh, and there’s a fun new Attachment mechanic to play with, too, which I think puts a very flavorful spin on things. You’ll see what I mean once you get there!
To sum it all up, I want to thank you guys for reading, thank my patrons for keeping me in the game this long, and I wish you all the best for the future. Expect the achievement guide in about a week!
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nice to see it finally released but now i have to ask a buddy to gift me the game on steam cause the game probably has no age rating and is thus blocked in Germany
Looking forward to finally playing! Can’t wait for that achievement guide too!
Just finished the game, INCREDIBLE! But with that ending tho now I’m going to be itching for the next one!!!!!!
This was everything I could have asked for and more after the cliffhanger that was Book 5’s ending. Putting the Ronin into the Academy fit perfectly with the themes unique to Book 6’s story, with the Academy practically being a different world entirely. I couldn’t tear my eyes away as I read grinning from ear to ear, witnessing the Ronin engage with a world where her most reliable tool, extreme violence and her skill with a sword, are unavailable to them. It exposed a rarely seen side of the Ronin and Masami, and it was very much a welcome reprieve after the emotional gauntlets that were Book 4 and Book 5.
Book 6 has its own gritty and dark moments of course, a classic flavor the series can’t do without, but Book 6 has a unique taste in its overall lighter atmosphere. The humor of a illiterate ex-assassin being schooled on how to blend in with people she felt a need to protect but whose world she had to experience for herself instead of insisting on a uncrossable divide as per previous books in the series stood out as I replayed Books 1-5 after I couldn’t find my old saves.
I’ve seen Book 6 criticized as filler, but nothing could be further from the truth. It’s a necessary read for exploring who Masami is and their relationship to the Ronin, and one step closer to the Ronin establishing their own identity separate from the legacy of her upbringing as she experiences one that couldn’t be any more different than the one fate granted to her.
I also really like the changes to the attunement system unique to this Book. I can’t say much more without spoilers, so I’ll just state that seeing Toshie smile and joke so much was another highlight for me.
All in all, Book 6 is a excellent addition to the series and I can’t wait for more!