Super Saiyan said:
Yea. It at least seems to have some direction and it’s not as episodic as other things that I’ve read.
Yeah, I'm not sure how it'd be really considered "episodic" after Rei's introduced when each plot point leads pretty smoothly into the next (Rei's motivation leads Kenshiro to find Jagi, Jagi's last words lead him to search for Toki, etc.). The only plot point that would seem to be less essential was the Amiba goose chase, and even that was required pacing-wise for Rei and Mamiya to gather enough intel on where Toki was being held.
It does bother me how quickly things move from one plot point to the next with no transition at all. Suddenly you are immersed into the next mini arc with no backstory.
I wouldn't really say there's no backstory at all from mini-arc to mini-arc, considering each one has the connective thread of what the current objective means to Kenshiro (and, in one case, Rei) and things such as the Hokuto Brothers are set up as overarching elements between them. The only time I'd say this doesn't apply is with the events between Shin's death and Rei's introduction, which was more for exploring some aspects on the state of the world that further drives in the tones of the series or for establishing better what Kenshiro was capable and incapable of.