The art, action, and characters are all great in this series, but eventually it does become fairly rudderless as it becomes clear there isn't any greater arc to the series anymore. Some of the individual arcs are absolutely fantastic. Koyama has plots and set pieces which are very engaging and entertaining, but the narrative is clearly focused on Azumi and despite her development we never really get a pay-off. Azumi's inability to truly escape her lot in life is a clear theme, but instead of progressing in any substantive way it just turns into a beat that gets acknowledged and moved past.