Baramon no Kazoku

Warning: As much as I enjoyed this manga, the series unfortunately got cancelled. It basically ends like this: "Let's head to our final battle guys! YEAH!!" However if you enjoy Fist of The North Star, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Sakigake!! Otokojuku, then you must read this manga. The story introduces The Family of Brahman which utilizes this ancient assassin fist known as The Fist of Brahman. The Brahman's use their martial art as a way to enforce justice from the shadows. Around chapter 7 is where the plot kicks in as the main character, Ryu, must go on a journey to find 7 members of theBrahman family and join forces to defeat a rival assassin bent on creating World War III. Much of the story revolves around martial art battles much like North Star & the author's previous work, Sakigake!! Otokojuku, however the middle of the story contains a road trip much like Stardust Crusaders in JoJo. Other similar traits are the characters as most are basically recycled from Sakigake Otokojuku bearing similar designs and personality such as Momotaro, Toramaru, Date Omito, Akashi Gouji and the obvious Hokuto No Ken references being the Fist of Brahman and a main villain who's basically Raoh. Overall, there are some recycled elements from Otokojuku but manages to bring some new material to the table such as the more detailed uses of the Brahman Fist. It's a shame that the series got the axe as its conclusion was very clearly in reach. The main highlight for me was the journey as it gave the same feel as Stardust Crusaders especially when some comedy would be added due to the large cast of characters. Family of Brahman is definitely a manly shonen which incorporates the spirit of the 1980's with bearing heavy influences of the "Big 3 of Manliness"; Fist of The North Star, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Sakigake!! Otokojuku.