The charm of Kaze Hikaru is the slow burn romance seeing how Sei fares well in a maledomineering environment. I am glad that Sei reiterates that her being a girl doesnt matter as she can be a bushi on par with men that she does not have to be what is expected of women in that time. Although I initially have qualms about her character as a bushi in the end still being revolved around a man the good thing about KH is it dislodges heteronormativity. To Soji and even to Saito Seis gender identity truly didnt matter much. There is also plentiful of iterations in the manga about normativities in sexual preferences though mostly between men I have read that sapphics were not much accorded the same way sadly. And I have yet to read a sapphic manga occurring during the same era please if you know some recommend them to me... during Edo period. Through Sei we can see a lot of the constraining and dismantling the patriarchal gender structure as she climbs her way up to stand amongst Shinsengumi which is domineered by mostly men. She has earned her way up and is seen as a bushi on equal footings and even better than most. Through all these she constantly hears and deals with archetypal misogyny and sexist remarks how being Feeling and Emotive is considered as a girly thing and how she always has to grapple with herself by being a man because what she is doing is not womanly enough or what she is doing is still inadequate because she will always be a woman at the end of the day. This all falls on the rigid social dichotomy that is founded in patriarchy. This manga doesnt weather down how barbaric this period can get it instead reminds us many times that deaths were inevitable no matter how unjust people die and people kill. Its so bittersweet yet it manages to keep a balance by showing us how there are found joys bonds in their quotidian lives which I really loved and stayed for. Love Kaze Hikaru for how unhurriedly progressive the characters are how the story takes its time to venture into such a fractured era mostly how passionate the mangaka is to chronicle historical events. The authors comments are definitely one of the most helpful and engaging in sifting through information from Edo period. Lastly on Sei and Soji: a profound love that has a pressing desire to be selfish but resists that very selfishness instead endures all that is fencing their togetherness for each others sake. They cant find themselves to gather this selfishness of wanting to be with each other as lovers because they want their happiness more than anything and that happiness is mirrored by their shared longing of being by each others side. Kaze Hikaru is nowhere near perfect and I can totally understand that its not for everyone but it is still a wonderful manga that deserves more audience. Please read it and lets hope for a more consistent volume release although Im aware that the annual onevolume release is a huge reason why people dont read Kaze Hikaru.