I realise, like I said earlier, that there are toxic aspects to the culture of the Edo period of Japan/the Samurai/Bushi and it's not perfect, but at the same time, there are moments that have been written here, in this series, that are at once epic and completely grounded, not straining my WSD for a second and I can't help but feel those moments are an exclusive product of that culture。Don't own the last two :/ I realise, like I said earlier, that there are toxic aspects to the culture of the Edo period of Japan/the Samurai/Bushi and it's not perfect, but at the same time, there are moments that have been written here, in this series, that are at once epic and completely grounded, not straining my WSD for a second and I can't help but feel those moments are an exclusive product of that culture。Don't own the last two :/ 。。。more
Víctor Segovia,
excelente entrega
Christian,
Shit is poppin’ off at a furious pace。
Chris,
Intense。
Ill D,
With a seemingly uncountable number of moving parts clicking their gears against one another, it would seem a miracle that such a miracle that such an epic tale could ever have been pulled off。 Not a problem it would seem for the stellar work of Koike and Co。 Darning together as much the past as the foreseeable future, numerous open loops are finally writhing toward their deserving closedness unto a rapprochement deserving of a resounding finale。 Whether it’s the lurid undertaking of Tonoshi, th With a seemingly uncountable number of moving parts clicking their gears against one another, it would seem a miracle that such a miracle that such an epic tale could ever have been pulled off。 Not a problem it would seem for the stellar work of Koike and Co。 Darning together as much the past as the foreseeable future, numerous open loops are finally writhing toward their deserving closedness unto a rapprochement deserving of a resounding finale。 Whether it’s the lurid undertaking of Tonoshi, the unseen work of a thousand blades of grass (Shinobi), or the recondite saintliness of Ogami Itto, every part shines with its internalized glares of gem encrusted excellence。 Yet, truly as an exposition of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, the equation adds up unto something far more incredible than a simplistic rationalist analysis would entail。 Deeply drenched in the storied history of the Japanese, the preparation for the end of all things has been laid down with torrents of uncoagulated blood and saturnine emotion。 。。。more
TJ Shelby,
Great final chapter in this volume。
Paul Goodman,
The greatest manga of all time。
Ashley,
"Abe-no-kaii, as sinister as his poison。 Yet, somehow, impossible to hate。"Neither were we meant to like him, but he was an impressively developed character。 Consistent, brutally honest, tenacious to a fault, and reflective - he was a mirror examining the class system of Edo-period Japan。 "Abe-no-kaii, as sinister as his poison。 Yet, somehow, impossible to hate。"Neither were we meant to like him, but he was an impressively developed character。 Consistent, brutally honest, tenacious to a fault, and reflective - he was a mirror examining the class system of Edo-period Japan。 。。。more
Jedi JC Daquis,
This doesn't top the list as my favorite volume so far, yet this gave me the most satisfying feeling ever in the series。 Farewell Abe, you pathetic fool! You deserve such a fate, a painful, pitiful end for sych a character who does not know even a morsel of respect and bushi。Ogami Itto is now inside the Edo castle, dressed as a true samurai, ready for the battle four years in the making。 And Retsudo Yagyu, his clan forever shamed and tainted with his own doing, waiting for him, for killing the W This doesn't top the list as my favorite volume so far, yet this gave me the most satisfying feeling ever in the series。 Farewell Abe, you pathetic fool! You deserve such a fate, a painful, pitiful end for sych a character who does not know even a morsel of respect and bushi。Ogami Itto is now inside the Edo castle, dressed as a true samurai, ready for the battle four years in the making。 And Retsudo Yagyu, his clan forever shamed and tainted with his own doing, waiting for him, for killing the Wolf is the Tigers only hope for restoring the name of his clan, the Yagyu honor。This is a manga where I felt it had really happened sometime in Japan's history。 It is oozing with authenticity and bushi badassery that I personally wanted to see what happened there real time (and hope not to be killed, heh heh)。Two volumes left。 I am ready。 My sword is ready。 。。。more
Ahmad Sharabiani,
Lone Wolf and Cub, Vol。 26: Struggle in the Dark (Lone Wolf and Cub #26), Kazuo Koike, Goseki Kojima
James T,
26 down。。。2 to go。 Bye bye Abe。。。
Helmut,
Bekämpfe nicht dein Schicksal。。。 deinen Tod。"Tales of the Grass: Nindo Ukon"Der Wille zur Tarnung der Shinobi ist so groß, dass sie sogar Freunde betrügen, um in aussichtsreiche Positionen in einem auszuspionierenden Haushalt kommen。 Doch das Wolfsfeuer macht alles zunichte - es gibt wichtigeres zu tun, als zu spionieren。"Struggle in the Dark"Abe kämpft im Dunkel; er kommt einfach nicht dahinter, wie Yagyu Retsudo so lange gegen Gift und Hunger aushält。 Der alte, listige Fuchs kennt alle Schlich Bekämpfe nicht dein Schicksal。。。 deinen Tod。"Tales of the Grass: Nindo Ukon"Der Wille zur Tarnung der Shinobi ist so groß, dass sie sogar Freunde betrügen, um in aussichtsreiche Positionen in einem auszuspionierenden Haushalt kommen。 Doch das Wolfsfeuer macht alles zunichte - es gibt wichtigeres zu tun, als zu spionieren。"Struggle in the Dark"Abe kämpft im Dunkel; er kommt einfach nicht dahinter, wie Yagyu Retsudo so lange gegen Gift und Hunger aushält。 Der alte, listige Fuchs kennt alle Schliche, und er hat geheime Helfer。"Song of the Spirit"Die Zeit des Versteckens ist vorbei。 Itto kann sich einfach nicht in den Palast schleichen, ein Samurai würde das nicht tun。 Also geht er offen vor aller Augen mit der größten Selbstverständlichkeit an den Wachen vorbei hinein。 Seine Würde und die Authorität, die er ausstrahlt, lassen ihn ungehindert passieren - die Verkörperung des Samurai zieht alle, vom kleinsten Torsteher bis zum erfahrenen alten Priester in den Bann。"Great Reversals"Das Feuer, das den Palast verunreinigt, zieht mehr nach sich als nur den materiellen Schaden。 Abes Stunden sind nun gezählt: Er ist verantwortlich und soll daher Seppuku begehen。 Als er Itto nocheinmal begegnet, versucht er einen letzten Schachzug, um dem Unausweichlichen doch noch zu entkommen。"Scarlet Summer, Silver Fall"Ein ehrenvoller Tod - für Samurai war Seppuku vielleicht eine Möglichkeit, einen Fehler zu korrigieren。 Für alle anderen normalen Menschen, und Abe gehört trotz seines Halbwahnsinns dazu, ist es einfach nur ein grausames, auferzwungenes Mordritual。 Und so kommt es dann auch, dass sich der lebenshungrige Abe nicht einfach so selbst richtet, wie es für seine Vorgesetzten bequem wäre。Tatsächlich spürt man nun, wie langsam die Musik zum Finale ansetzt。 Die Protagonisten werden immer überlebensgrößer, ihre Schatten verdunkeln den Himmel。 Sie nehmen die Leinwand komplett in Beschlag, und der grausame Tod Abes, der nur durch Ittos Anwesenheit noch erträglich wird, ist dabei nur ein Sinnbild für die monumentale Ausstrahlung, die die einzigen übriggebliebenen wahren Krieger auf die zu Zuschauerpositionen verdrängten anderen Personen haben。 。。。more
Pedro,
Finally the end of the probably greates enemy in the story。 Incredible volume。 The samurai path is truly something that is hard to understand, but easy to admire。
Terry ,
4-4。5 starsWe are finally approaching the end of the saga of Lone Wolf and Cub, there are only two volumes remaining! (Not that I’m anxious for it to end as such, but it has been a long tale。) After four years of exile and working towards his goal, it appears as though Itto may finally be near his final confrontation with Retsudo。 This volume also sees the final resolution to the Abe Tanoshi storyline, leaving only Yagyu Retsudo standing against our intrepid assassin。 ‘Tales of the Grass: Nindo 4-4。5 starsWe are finally approaching the end of the saga of Lone Wolf and Cub, there are only two volumes remaining! (Not that I’m anxious for it to end as such, but it has been a long tale。) After four years of exile and working towards his goal, it appears as though Itto may finally be near his final confrontation with Retsudo。 This volume also sees the final resolution to the Abe Tanoshi storyline, leaving only Yagyu Retsudo standing against our intrepid assassin。 ‘Tales of the Grass: Nindo Ukon’: The story of Nindo Ukon, a member of ‘the Grass’。 It is a tale of betrayal, as well as loyalty, as we see how the life of a sleeper agent can be complicated not only by his current plans, but the fact that all of the Grass have been called in to help Retsudo in his final confrontation with Itto。 Nindo comes across as a surprisingly sympathetic character, despite the often repugnant things he must do in the name of loyalty to the Yagyu。 ‘Struggle in the Dark’: A battle of wills between Abe and Retsudo ensues as the former tries to push his program of starving the old samurai which thus far has had no apparent effect。 We see that despite his cage Retsudo still has some tricks up his sleeve and it seems that he may drive Abe mad with fear and consternation as he thwarts the wily poisoner at every turn。 ‘Sons of the Spirit’: Itto evades the surveillance of the Shogun’s police and hatches a brazen plan make use of a festival to walk directly into the lion’s den。 ‘Great Reversals’: Faced with the order to commit seppuku due to the trap set for him by Retsudo, Abe panics and blindly struggles for a way out of his fate。 Meanwhile, Itto walks calmly into the Shogun’s compound in order to have a chat with Retsudo。 ‘Scarlet Summer, Silver Fall’: The day on which Abe is to commit seppuku has arrived and the samurai tasked with attending him are disgusted by the non-bushi gibbering and panic he exhibits。 When they try to take matters into their own hands, however, Abe finds the courage he previously lacked and rampages against the samurai who hope to ‘help’ him in his suicide。 Only the arrival of Itto, with a pithy statement about the wheel of life, resolves the situation and allows the poisoner to meet his fate at the hands of the kogi kaishakunin himself。 A few general thoughts: I am intrigued by how these stories seem to tread a line between glorifying and vilifying the fabled Way of the Samurai。 Itto himself is generally held up as the paragon of all that a samurai ought to be, while many others fall short of this high standard。 We seem to see in Abe Tanoshi the example of a non-bushi getting above himself, but I’m not sure if the issue with him is his class, or the way he approaches his upward mobility。 Perhaps Abe’s error is in thinking that to be a bushi all that is required is power。 Based on the example of Ogami Itto, the paragon bushi of the story, not only singleness of purpose, but also an overriding sense of honor are required…as well as the equanimity to accept his fate, whatever it may be。 This still makes me wonder about Retsudo, the villain par excellence of the piece。 He also appears to be a ‘true’ bushi in many respects, but he is not above sacrificing others to attain his goals…and ultimately it can be argued that his primary goal from the seems to have been solely the attainment of power。 Is he really that different from Abe (aside from his lack of cowardice)? Is brazen bravery all it takes to make a ‘true bushi’? I’m not quite sure how to parse Retsudo, though the key likely lies in his apparent belief that without him the Tokugawa shogunate, and the entire society founded upon it, would fall into ruin。 It could certainly be opined that Retsudo is the wall of order standing against the chaos unleashed upon Japan by the actions of Lone Wolf and Cub…but it is equally clear that this chaos was only unleashed when Retsudo decided to seize power by destroying Ogami Itto’s life。 They are an intriguing pair。 。。。more
Jason,
Though experts say that most graphic novels today contain manga elements, this felt to me more like a true manga than anything I've read in ages。 I appreciated the metaphors throughout the storyline。 I was impressed with the crisp artwork and the amount of shadow in what appeared to be pen or pencil drawing。 But, all in all, I wasn't wowed by this as I expected myself to be。 Though experts say that most graphic novels today contain manga elements, this felt to me more like a true manga than anything I've read in ages。 I appreciated the metaphors throughout the storyline。 I was impressed with the crisp artwork and the amount of shadow in what appeared to be pen or pencil drawing。 But, all in all, I wasn't wowed by this as I expected myself to be。 。。。more