Vagabond: Setting Up Loose Ends
There's no loose end like a vengeful grandma.
Preface!
I have a serious obsession with Sengoku Era Japan, and it all started with the computer game Civilizations III, which had a specific Sengoku scenario. I spent entire days playing both sides of the Takeda/Uesugi conflict, then trying out the Hojo clan, before finally finding a favorite in Masume Date, the daimyo from Sendai.
This is where my love of Japanese history began, and it has really become such a big piece of my life. So when Vagabond presented itself, maybe I squealed, maybe I didn’t, that’s really not important. What is important, is that this series connects to my actual soul.
I’m not being dramatic.
But, not gonna lie, having a granny character who’s hellbent on vengeance certainly helped. I’ll be referring to her as Osugi, Grandma of Vengeance for the duration of my life.
Preface over.
There’s a very popular book out there by an author I won’t name by name called American Gods. You’ve probably heard of it. Reading American Gods for the first and only time was something of a formative experience, because it taught me so much about follow-through in writing. About what readers want out of a story.
The first half of the book felt like this gorgeous hike up a scenic overlook, culminating in a wonderful, self-realized moment where you can see half the world. The second half of the book felt like I had fallen off that scenic overlook and was frantically grasping at resolutions to all the loose ends the book didn’t take time to tie up.
Translation: First half—gorgeous and exploratory. Second half—awful and culminating in certain death.
It’s a big responsibility to set up a bunch of loose ends, because you have a certain obligation to wrap them all up. Sometimes, particularly in American Gods, you get to the point as a reader where the book is almost over and you recognize that you’ve been duped. All those things you were interested in aren’t going to be tied up at all.
Then I met Vagabond.
Before we get into Vagabond, here’s what you need to know.
Before Miyamoto Musashi was Miyamoto Musashi, he was Takezo, a wild man trained in the woods with fearless eyes and a violent temperament. After escaping the battle of Sekigahara alive, he sets off on a quest to become invincible, but he makes an awful lot of enemies along the way.
And that’s all you need to know.
As of writing, I’m just three volumes in to Vagabond, but this notion of setting up such compelling loose ends was too pressing to not write about, because while the primary objective of the story is under way, there are spirals of side stories that overlap and affect this main quest in such exciting ways that just feel like they’re going to be impacting the story for a long way to go.
When Takezo turns over a new leaf with the help of a wise monk, he becomes Miyamoto Musashi, but just because Musashi has started over, doesn’t mean all those enemies he left behind did.
There are three main “loose ends” that Vagabond opens with, all of which feel integral to resolve in a satisfying way as the story unfolds. Those three loose ends are…
Otsu, the spurned fiancé.
Matahashi, the treacherous best friend.
Osugi, the vengeful grandma.
It’s a compelling enough concept, this notion of starting over, and Musashi is doing that, but these loose ends may still have a lot to say over his ability to do that. For instance, Otsu, Musashi’s lifelong friend and former fiancé of Matahashi is on her own path to coming to terms with her place in this world, and a resolution is pending.
Then there’s Matahashi himself who, as of writing, has just been discovered by Musashi after years of separation. Matahashi, of course, abandoned Musashi and became a drunk coward. There is a lot of resolution needed here to allow Musashi to grow. And Matahashi too, for that matter.
Most of all though, Osugi, the vengeful grandma of Matahashi, who wants nothing more than to see Musashi killed. She simply has to either get her comeuppance, or in some way vindicate herself and her constant attempts to get Musashi killed. She’s also just incredibly entertaining, not just because of how vengeful she is, but because of how evil she is visually depicted. It’s so evil it’s funny. I mean, she’s just a determined grandma, right?
What this really reminds me of is The Lord of the Rings. Amidst the primary quest of destroying the ring, so many loose ends are set up. The plight of Gondor, and how Faramir fits into it. Eowyn and her unrequited love for Aragorn. Gandalf leveling up to white wizard. The political future of Rohan following the death of Theoden. Gollum’s quest for moral resolution.
All of these “loose ends” are inextricably tied to the quest to destroy the ring, just like how every loose end that Vagabond sets up is inextricably tied to Musashi’s quest to become an immortal swordsman. And those three loose ends I mention are just the first three, by the way, there are many more after that, and more surely to come.
The benefit of having these loose ends is obvious—it gives every character an important role to play. Rather than just leaving Otsu, Matahashi, and Osugi, Grandma of Vengeance in the past when Musashi moves on, they open up the potential for future overlap. They are a part of this story, even if they aren’t always present.
The same goes in The Lord of the Rings. Gollum’s quest for moral resolution isn’t always intersecting the main storyline, but when it does, it reminds us of the same—Gollum is a part of this story. So is Faramir. So is Eowyn. Compelling characters that all have their own lives within and beyond the pages of the book.
The other things this provides readers is a way to keep hold of favorite characters. I am 100% invested in the future of Osugi, Grandma of Vengeance, because I love her character. I’m not as invested in Otsu, though I am a bit curious, but plenty of other readers will gravitate towards Otsu finding her resolution and not care so much about Osugi, Grandma of Vengeance.
Giving every character the opportunity to hook readers is so important because you just never know what readers bring to the story and who they may find themselves in. To my wife’s infinite chagrin, I will always see Boromir as the best character in Lord of the Rings, though she will disagree forever and for all time. That’s okay. Actually, it’s better than okay, it’s great. That’s what makes stories linger well beyond their ending.
If all goes accordingly, I’ll be back in a couple of weeks writing Vagabond: Tying up Loose Ends.