@saintly1337 why would you buy multiple cheapo swords... a single quality one is a way better investment. bet those amazon wallhanger katanas would fall apart after one or two hits on anything more solid than paper.
@welcome2atlantis because it's probably nothing but superstition and having a shot-proofed horse for war will be a huge advantage (think of dragoon cavalry of the napoleonian era for example)
@Serapheid i'm suspecting he didn't mean that the author of this manga in particular died, i think he invokes "Death of the Author" which is the modern approach to interpretation of (mainly literary) work.
What "Death of the Author" means is basically you don't examine the author's intentions...