Lone Wolf & Cub

Lone Wolf and Cub was my introduction into manga. It was my first and to this day remains my favorite. It showed up one day at my local comic book store in 1987 and the first 10 issues the covers where done by Frank Miller.Well that first publishing only had one chapter per book as opposed to the 4 or five per a Japanese volume and it only lasted 43 chapters. Those 43 chapters were so good I dropped 90% of the American comics I had been reading and went on the hunt for more Manga, it was the start of my love formanga. I had to wait 10 years for Dark Horse to pick it up and then in August in 2000 they started issuing English volumes. This manga was that good, it made me pursue it for 10 years. Keep in mind 1987 was back in the day where internet access was via dial up only and for a lot of people that number was a long distance call too, so the Manga scan culture was not really that big if it even existed back then. By 2000 I had high speed access and there was a manga scan culture and community but it was not nearly as dynamic and large as it is now. Lone Wold and Cub is a fantastic story, and has wonderful art and blew away anything the American comic book shelves had to offer. Frank Miller saw this and even did the first 10 covers a wrote an introduction. This is a classic, if you like action and good art this is a must read.

One of the few masterpieces out there, a very poignant reflection of the harsh realities of revenge and the lengths people go through in order to achieve it. I really thought the art was wonderful and each chapter was as gracefully written as the next. I also thought the fight scenes were superb, the frames were so well tied in with each-other it was very easy to visualize. The story was a simple enough one but beautifully told, and the characters were incredibly complex, it was such a thrilling manga! Irregardless of what I say, this will go down as one of the best pieces ofmanga in history and you have a golden opportunity to be part of it.

TL:DR Initially episodic and a little repetitive at the start but then gets really, really good half way through. Story: 7/10 The manga is inseparable from the era it was written in: a spate of terrorist attacks, rampant political corruption and student protests. This manga makes a point to emphasise that Itto is one of the last ‘true samurai' (multiple people are moved to tear by this), how the rest of society has forgotten bushido, the lords are corrupt or have forgotten their duty, etcetera and I don't think it's a big leap to suggest the manga is the author's reaction to the world around them. The first 70%of the manga are episodic, unconnected stories with little relevance to the overarching plot except a few that builds on Itto's backstory or the machinations of his nemesis. However, they do build up the characters and some of Itto and Daigorou's backstory. They also cover the pair's philosophy and show us how our protagonists react to the world. They are not bad, individually interesting but they're fairly repetitive and feel a little aimless. This is not aided by the fact that the majority of fight in the early manga are entirely uninteresting. They are extremely short (not usually more than a page or two), not very visually interesting and there is hardly ever a single moment where the reader believes that Itto could lose a fight. And if he does lose? Well, it was actually on purpose you see. Yeah, the fights are not that interesting to begin with. Then we get to the latter 30% of the manga, and it goes from decent to absolutely amazing. When the author gets serious with the overarching plot, I couldn't put the manga down it was so intense. I was flying through the volumes, I simply had to see what was next. I wish we got here sooner but reading this manga was worth it for this. Character: 7/10 Itto is less a real personality and instead the idealised personification of bushido. He is not exactly complex, he simply does whatever the most ‘samurai’ thing it is possible to do in the situation. As a modern westerner, it is interesting to see how one was supposed to live the complicated Bushido way of life. Daigorou is the least realistic depiction of a child I can think of. Actual child soldiers are more child-like than this. I think it fits the themes of the manga but the way he behaves is almost distractingly unbelievable. Retsudo is quite similar to Itto but I actually found him more interesting though I won't spoil it. The one-off characters in the episodic episodes are more hit or miss. Sometimes they'll be interesting but they re-use the same archetypes a lot. Art Absolutely phenomenal for the most part, the character design, the facial expressions, nearly everything. Overall: 8/10 Good but sort of dissapointing considering it's reputation. If it had gotten to the real meat of the story sooner instead of all the episodic fluff then I think this could easily be a 9. However, I do recommend this manga for the real story in the latter half of the manga, it's spectacular. I'm not saying that the episodic stuff is bad, I enjoyed my time with the first half of the manga but the final arc is just so good that it makes the rest look kind of dull.

Kozure Ookami, is an all time classic and it has the right to be one.At first I was like ''okay ,I can see why it's a classic,but I'm not impressed'' and assumed that it would be a 5/10.After a little while ,I started liking it more so I thought ''ok maybe a 6'',around the half of the series I said ''okay,in the end I like this manga 7/10'' and then the final arc came and truly I lost my sh*t with how amazing and masterfully it was done. The story is kinda slow in the beginning,but it's still a pretty chill read.At some point in thefirst 10 or so chapters I thought of dropping it ,due to its ''slowness'',but I remembered a thing I heard about it ''Give it a little time and you will be rewarded'' and that's what happened.The story was constantly improving and at the end it became indeed one of a kind.Honestly one of the best conclusions I've seen. The art is unique and beautiful, landscapes were probably my favourite thing in it visually.It's important to mention that the art made the atmosphere mesmerizing.Most fights were kidna messy in my point of view,but I never considered them the main point of the series anyways. The cast was small,but it was more than enough.All of them had their purpose in the story and played it perfectly .Abe is kinda questionable,but he offered a lot of feelings and tension.Itto is probably the most badass character I've seen, he is a man among men.Daigoro is adorable and his solo chapter stories were really enjoyable.As for Retsudo,at first I can't say I was a fan,but as the series progresses he becomes an excellent character and probably my favourite in it. Overall,Kozure Ookami is a classic among classics.Excellent storytelling,with great characters and art.I would recommend it to everyone ,except maybe for those not into the samurai theme,because the story depicts Edo period Japan in a most accurate way