Samurai Deeper Kyo, vol. 22 (Akamine Kamijyo)

Happiness! This one was well worth the wait. Vol. 21 was a little slim for me - mostly just a lot of fighting as Shinrei squared off first against Kyo and then against Hotaru. This time, there was a lot of emotional payoff of all kinds: angst, reconciliation, and several different flavors of humor. We also find out some more about what's happening with Oda Nobunaga's severed head and Kyo's missing body. And last but not least we meet two important new characters: the last of Kyo's old allies, the Shiseiten (usually translated as the "Four Emperors" - although for some reason they became the "Four Kings" last volume) and, in a nifty bit of parallelism, the last of the Mibu high officials, the Taishirou (the "Four Elders").

( Read more ... very VERY long, with spoilers! )