You could say they are an integral part of the world the author is depicting. Well, unlike Elfen Lied the violence and barbarity in Shigurui don't serve only as shock value. It's not for all readers, though, and the first few pages of volume 1 will allow you to determine whether or not its for you. Unlike "Koroshiya Ichi" the gore isn't really gratuitous per se, and it's not "all blood, all the time" "Shigurui" just doesn't pull any punches when it comes to showing what happens when motivated killers swing extremely sharp blades into soft, pink human bodies. It's bloodier than "Koroshiya Ichi" (the basis of Miike's infamous "Ichi the Killer" movie). This series is graphic, with stomach-churning anatomic detail. The story is compelling, with intriguing characters and dramatic events, but it's the art that really stands out with this series.
Seigen and Kogan become mortal enemies, and each have fairly understandable reasons for wanting to see the other dead. Without giving away too much, Seigen and Kogan have a brutal falling out and Seigen is expelled from the dojo. Talented Seigen becomes a favored student of Kogan himself (a genius swordsman, but dangerously senile), even surpassing loyal Gennosuke in terms of respect and status. We learn that Gennosuke was one of the major figures in the Kogan-ryuu school of fencing and that Seigen attempted to defeat the Kogan-ryuu students before eventually joining the school as a pupil himself. Just as the match is about to get underway, the story rewinds several years to show just who these characters are and how they got their grievous wounds. The lucky contestants turn out to be one-armed Fujiki Gennosuke and his blind opponent Irako Seigen. Tired of the Suruga martial arts tournaments and eager to see some blood, Dainagon Tokugawa Tadanaka orders his men to host a sword dual to the death for his enjoyment. The series starts in the 6th year of Kan'ei. "Shigurui" is ostensibly based on the first chapter of Nanjo Norio's novel "Suruga-jou Gozen Jiai", but it's been so expanded and re-written that most folks tend to agree that the manga has become something else entirely.
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