Kaze Hikaru v 34 by Taeko Watanabe

Kaze Hikaru v 34 by Taeko Watanabe

Finished August 5, 2026

So I have been reading this series for a loooong time. Partly because, back whenever it was I got caught up to current, Viz/Shojo Beat decided to only release ONE VOLUME A YEAR. I bought the entire series in Japanese because I was pretty sure that I would be dead before Viz finished releasing it all in English.

And not to get horribly off topic but when I see the inevitable licensing debate online and publishers don’t pick up long-running series saying “they don’t sell” I think, “Yeah, who wants to get into a 30+ volume series when it takes 30 years to read it?” I get that there are more factors than that but still. I think it’s tragic that this series didn’t get more love when it’s so freakin’ good but there’s no incentive for new readers to pick up a series they can’t fucking finish. I was reading the author’s note on the final page and there’s a cute little
*Author’s note originally published in Japan in 2013.
at the bottom.
2013!!!

Alright, enough of my bitching about how I’ve been waiting a million years for each volume. In the process of waiting, I have re-read this series many, many times…though I will admit I re-read it less often now because Soji, true to history, is getting sick and even knowing how everything ends, it still makes me sad every time lol. Don’t die, Soji!! 😭

So I did pull some screenshots because after reading The Song of Achilles this part really stood out to me:

When Sei insists Kondo & Hijikata must be told about Soji’s illness and that he has to be removed from duty and focus on rest, Soji says fine but you tell them my secret (I’m dying sick) then I’ll tell them yours (that you’re a girl)

I had to limit myself and not post more screenshots but immediately after this, Sei remembers how she told Soji (and anyone else) “If I die protecting sensei, it would be a dream come true” and “I’d never have joined the Shinsengumi if I wanted to live a long life.” Sei wanted to live and die as a bushi. Ideally she would live happily ever after with Soji but if that’s not an option, dying protecting him would be the next best thing. She was always extremely annoyed by people around her that didn’t respect that decision.

And so realizing her hypocrisy, she promises not to tell Kondo and Hijikata about Soji’s illness, as long as he promises to listen to her and fight to get well. (We all know how that’s going to go—on both fronts—but still.)

So yes, I sat there for a moment thinking, “Sei—an actual woman—is more of a ‘man’ that Patroclus was.” And it’s not just being manly or a woman or whatever…it’s about letting a person die beautifully, in the way that makes them happiest. And we know that dying in bed, coughing up blood is not really beautiful and not particularly happy (…though now I want to go watch Shura no Toki...) but she is at least doing her best to let Soji live as himself a little longer.

Maybe it’s best that I’m gone before this series ends; just fumbling through the Japanese volumes made me cry and I know I’d cry again reading the final volume in English. Fucking Shinsengumi always gets me.

Rating: Even in the midst of impending doom, Hijikata is gorgeous. 5 stars.