that's it. the wolf prevailed against all odds and cut down his enemies, but left the cub to finish the job.

holy crap, I have no words to praise this manga enough. Goseki's art is out of this world, every panel is a masterpiece. he sets the scene with the huge spreads of nature, buildings, people, then shifts to fast paced action that you can follow every move of the fight. like others pointed out his style feels very cinematic, like the "camera" panning around or having hexagon shapes like a lens flare on some panels. he's also incredibly creative with the presentation, like those flashbacks scenes that fade in and out appear floating on the characters heads or the maps appearing when someone is traveling. I love it so much, it's awe inspiring.
koike's writing was very surprising, from the premise alone I didn't expect it to pull so many punches. itto's tough stoic stance contrasted so well with daigoro trying to imitate him but still being just a little kid, and it's delightful when that facade broke down a little. my favorite stories are those anthologies with random characters that are affected by lw&c in some way or another, you never knew if the ending was going to be happy or soul-crushing. also the attention to detail and the historical anecdotes were really fun to read. I love that the translators left so many unchanged words that you had to refer to a glossary to understand what was going on, I just really like this sort of stuff.
there were a few moments I felt it dragged on a little too much, like when they enter edo and have to deal with retsudou and abe for much longer than expected. but this feeling goes away as soon as the gears shift towards concluding the plot and it does it in such a strong fashion. this manga feels truly monumental, its influence is felt all around the world.

anyway, what did you guys think? thanks for reading along this crazy ride, may we yet meet somewhere in the six paths and four lives...