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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
adventurous
I know I may not thoroughly understand the culture that serves as the backdrop for this graphic novel but I'm pretty sure that raping a girl that in turn falls in love with you is taboo in any culture and genre.
One word: gratuitous.
Yet I finished it and in context...no...it was still unnecessary.
One word: gratuitous.
Yet I finished it and in context...no...it was still unnecessary.
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm on the fence about this one. I see a lot of potential for character growth over the course of the series. And they also made one of my favorite series, Lone Wolf and Cub, but there is a rape scene perpetrated by one of the main characters. Worse, it is the kind of story where the rape victim falls in love with her rapist and it is the beginning of their love story. I just don't find it realistic or particularly enjoyable to read about. And it is a major scene and plot point. Now, I get the main character is a ninja assassin type and so is not a good guy, but damn. There had to be a better way to portray that. I enjoyed a lot of the rest of the book, and I will give the next book in the series a read. If there is more of the same there, I will stop though.
Excellent start to a series. The style is sparse enough to flow with the simple illustrations, and yet gives you enough detail to feel you really "know" the characters. Historical Fiction always helps me really remember events and dates, and this is a great example. Koike and Kojima stick with the facts for the bare bones of the plot, but the beauty is in the details. All the little things that happen in everyday life that the history books can't tell or show us.
Hattori Hanzo is the youngest apprentice suppa, something of a specialized ninja. Hanzo proves he is more worthy than the older boys and is given the responsibility of serving and protecting the future Shogun, Takugawa Ieyasu. Hanzo is younger than Ieyasu, his new lord, but much more able to figure things out. He can improvise to perform any task, and as so often happens with teenagers, this causes a bit of jealousy and envy on Ieyasu's part.
When we first meet Ieyasu, he is NOT impressive. He's soft, spoiled, has no knowledge of the outside world, and comes across as a bit of a brat. Because we know who he is to become, seeing him portrayed this way as a teen makes him feel more "real". I can't wait to see what Koike and Kojima write of his and Hanzo's future.
Hattori Hanzo is the youngest apprentice suppa, something of a specialized ninja. Hanzo proves he is more worthy than the older boys and is given the responsibility of serving and protecting the future Shogun, Takugawa Ieyasu. Hanzo is younger than Ieyasu, his new lord, but much more able to figure things out. He can improvise to perform any task, and as so often happens with teenagers, this causes a bit of jealousy and envy on Ieyasu's part.
When we first meet Ieyasu, he is NOT impressive. He's soft, spoiled, has no knowledge of the outside world, and comes across as a bit of a brat. Because we know who he is to become, seeing him portrayed this way as a teen makes him feel more "real". I can't wait to see what Koike and Kojima write of his and Hanzo's future.
Excellent start to a series. The style is sparse enough to flow with the simple illustrations, and yet gives you enough detail to feel you really "know" the characters. Historical Fiction always helps me really remember events and dates, and this is a great example. Koike and Kojima stick with the facts for the bare bones of the plot, but the beauty is in the details. All the little things that happen in everyday life that the history books can't tell or show us.
Hattori Hanzo is the youngest apprentice suppa, something of a specialized ninja. Hanzo proves he is more worthy than the older boys and is given the responsibility of serving and protecting the future Shogun, Takugawa Ieyasu. Hanzo is younger than Ieyasu, his new lord, but much more able to figure things out. He can improvise to perform any task, and as so often happens with teenagers, this causes a bit of jealousy and envy on Ieyasu's part.
When we first meet Ieyasu, he is NOT impressive. He's soft, spoiled, has no knowledge of the outside world, and comes across as a bit of a brat. Because we know who he is to become, seeing him portrayed this way as a teen makes him feel more "real". I can't wait to see what Koike and Kojima write of his and Hanzo's future.
Hattori Hanzo is the youngest apprentice suppa, something of a specialized ninja. Hanzo proves he is more worthy than the older boys and is given the responsibility of serving and protecting the future Shogun, Takugawa Ieyasu. Hanzo is younger than Ieyasu, his new lord, but much more able to figure things out. He can improvise to perform any task, and as so often happens with teenagers, this causes a bit of jealousy and envy on Ieyasu's part.
When we first meet Ieyasu, he is NOT impressive. He's soft, spoiled, has no knowledge of the outside world, and comes across as a bit of a brat. Because we know who he is to become, seeing him portrayed this way as a teen makes him feel more "real". I can't wait to see what Koike and Kojima write of his and Hanzo's future.
I admit, I read this manga with assumption it is a lesser work of Kazuo Koike & Goseki Kojima than [b:Lone Wolf and Cub, Vol. 1: The Assassin's Road|191212|Lone Wolf and Cub, Vol. 1 The Assassin's Road|Kazuo Koike|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327877788s/191212.jpg|184876]. How wrong I am. At least, it is not so easy to say the Assassin is lesser than The Wolf.
I read [b:Samurai Executioner, Vol. 1: When the Demon Knife Weeps|670571|Samurai Executioner, Vol. 1 When the Demon Knife Weeps |Kazuo Koike|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403208559s/670571.jpg|656604] years ago and captivated with the works of Kazuo Koike & Goseki Kojima. Then I read the first volume of Lone Wolf and could see superior in plots and fighting scenes than Executioner (Executioner felt like slice-of-life manga compared to Lone Wolf's tight action stories).
Lone Wolf and Executioner are stories about samurai/ronin. Assassin is a story about ninja and his master. The fighting on the last chapter on the first volume that won me to give 5 star. The fighting style of ninja (on the story, ninja are called "Suppa") described on manga was so unthinkable for me, so different with samurai fighting in Lone Wolf.
I read [b:Samurai Executioner, Vol. 1: When the Demon Knife Weeps|670571|Samurai Executioner, Vol. 1 When the Demon Knife Weeps |Kazuo Koike|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403208559s/670571.jpg|656604] years ago and captivated with the works of Kazuo Koike & Goseki Kojima. Then I read the first volume of Lone Wolf and could see superior in plots and fighting scenes than Executioner (Executioner felt like slice-of-life manga compared to Lone Wolf's tight action stories).
Lone Wolf and Executioner are stories about samurai/ronin. Assassin is a story about ninja and his master. The fighting on the last chapter on the first volume that won me to give 5 star. The fighting style of ninja (on the story, ninja are called "Suppa") described on manga was so unthinkable for me, so different with samurai fighting in Lone Wolf.
A great blend of history, political intrigue and martial arts action. This story stays in keeping with Kazuo Koike's style of storytelling. The main difference is that this story is based on true events.
Also in Kazuo Koike's style, the series runs longer than it ought to but the pace is satisfying in this and the first 7 volumes.
Also in Kazuo Koike's style, the series runs longer than it ought to but the pace is satisfying in this and the first 7 volumes.