Of all of Matsumoto Jiro`s work. Ichigeki is the most grounded. The unhinged, chaotic art style is still here. And as usual, contains copious amounts of sex, violence and madness. Mix that with political intrigue, brotherhood and some of the best fight choreography i`ve seen, and you`ve got Ichigeki. Taking place during the death throes of the Shogunate in the 1860`s (the Bakumatsu). Ichigeki is a story about a group of peasants taken in by pro-shogunate Samurai officials to be trained and used as political weapons against samurais of the Meiji faction. Like Shigurui, it perfectly conveys the madness that comes with the rigid fixation on Bushido, and howinhumanely the Samurai class viewed the peasantry.

Some of the characters and the overall story is based on true(and important) events, so if you`re interested in japanese history make sure you check this out