The Worst Ronin by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

The Worst Ronin by Maggie Tokuda-Hall. HarperAlley, 2024. 9780358464938 

Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4

Format: Paperback graphic novel

Genre:  Historical fiction / science fiction

What did you like about the book? Chihiro is a budding samurai, itching for some action. But with overprotective parents and Kesi Academy – a prestigious samurai school –  only accepting boys for students, she is stuck training and fangirling over Tatsuo Nakano, a renowned samurai and the only girl accepted into the Academy. Nowadays, though, Tatsuo is a drunk ronin, picking fights with locals and scraping up cash with little dignity left. Fate will bring them together when Chihiro’s father is constricted for service, sent to rid a village of a monster, and Chihiro volunteers to go in his stead. The same village just happens to be Tatsuo’s hometown, and when the two stumble upon each other, Chihiro begs Tatsuo for her help. With great reluctance, the samurai-turned-ronin agrees, and the dysfunctional pair set up on an epic quest with demons, conspiracies, and bloodshed that will force Tatsuo to face her grief-filled past, Chihiro the horrors of war, and both the journey of moving forward to a new day.

The Worst Ronin is a historical science-fiction graphic novel set in feudal Japan, where samurai and smartphones exist simultaneously. Readers will follow our two protagonists: the eager, enthusiastic Chihiro and the grumpy, drunk Tatsuo as they journey to becoming better samurai, facing their troubled pasts and uncertain futures head-on. The juxtaposition between the girls’ well-written external and internal conflicts works well side-by-side. They are both fighting wayward or betraying samurai bent on destroying their homes, but are also fighting the horrors of wars on the inside, Tatsuo with past grief and Chihiro with present loss. Chihiro starts cheery and naive and ends more mature and sensible, while Tatsuo starts negative and hopeless and ends sober and hopeful. Watching the two opposite characters slowly mellow and come closer together in personalities and experience – so that they are less opposite at the end – is a cool way to show character growth. The art is cartoonish and fun, which can be a strange contrast to the seriousness of the story, especially toward the end. This is a YA graphic novel because of the strong language, blood, and violence. Overall, a great read for teens interested is a genre-bending story with samurai, fighting, and Japanese history. 

Anything you didn’t like about it? No

To whom would you recommend this book?  Teens who like historical fiction (with a twist), Japanese history, samurai, and graphic novels. 

Who should buy this book? High schools and public libraries

Where would you shelve it? YA Graphic Novels

Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? No

Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City and State: Laila Carter, Cheltenham Township Library System, Glenside, PA

Date of review: June 24, 2024