Anime Fix

The story begins with a down and out medicine peddler,Mibu Kyoshiro. He meets a beautiful bounty huntress named Shiina Yuya. Discovering that he has a warrant for skipping out on a bill, she captures him. Meek and clumsy she has him trust-up like a Christmas goose in short order. She soon discovers that looks can be deceiving, as when confronted by a foe, another side of the hapless peddler appears. It seems that Kyoshiro harbours the spirit of the infamous Demon-eyes Kyo, killer of a thousand men. There is a sizable bounty on Kyo’s head and dollar signs lead Yuya to follow Kyo/Kyoshiro as the two via for control of the body they share.
We discover that Kyo and Kyoshiro were involved in a great battle. Kyoshiro defeated Kyo, took and hid his body, but Kyo resides within Kyoshiro. When in control, Kyo seeks to find his body, reclaim it and…of course, kill Kyoshiro. Along the journey, we encounter a myriad of characters, fights insue and the band of travelers grows, each with his or her own agenda. Yuya, while hoping to collect the bounty on Kyo, also seeks to find the man who killed her brother; a man with a cross shaped scar on his back.
Ultimately, Kyo finds his body, an epic battle is fought and….[I'll not spoil it ]
CHARACTERS:
Mibu Kyoshiro: the other side of Kyo, who has hidden kyo’s body. He has turned away from violence and become a mild mannered medicine peddler.

Demon-eyes Kyo: Said to have killed a 1,000 men, he is considered to be the strongest samurai. His eyes burn with a crimson light,earning him the name of ‘Demon-eyes’. He wields an incredibly long katana that was crafted by the famous weapons maker Muramasa. Kyo searches for his body…and his revenge.

Shiina Yuya: A bounty hunter who searches for her brothers killer. she grows to become split in her loyalties to Kyo/Kyoshiro.

Sanada Yukimura: a samurai of the Sanada clan. He is obsessed with power and seeks to overthrow the current ruler,Ieyasu. While coming off as happy-go-lucky, he is a deadly swordsman and Kyo’s equal.

Benitora: A spearman, who joins the group. His real name is Hidetada and is the 3rd son of Ieyasu. He also comes off as happy-go-lucky, though more serious and straight forth in his loyalites to the group than Yukimura. He lends a bit of comic relief to the story when it comes to relationship with Yuya.

Izumo-no-okuni: A beautiful spy who follows Kyo, her intentions seem to waver between ally and enemy.

Sakuya: A mysterious woman who has ties to Yukimura, Kyo and Kyoshiro. She is not a main character, but an important one, plot wise.

[ I enjoyed the anime eventhough it vastly departs from the manga.]
There were a number of ‘filler-ish’ side stories, but they seemed to serve to better fill out the minor characters. Kyo’s battles grow in intensity and difficulty, but not in the ‘Bleach-like’ way. we know from the start that Kyo is considered to be the strongest samurai, but he is not in his true body nor is he in total control of the body he inhabits and thus, he runs into complications. The plot is well conceived and progresses in good order. A number of twists and revelations bring one to ponder just who is good and who is not…or perhaps it is that we grow to see them as more grey.