Sequential Art

47 Ronin

47 Ronin

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-03-31 11:11:59
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Mike Richardson
  • ISBN：1506717993
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Japan's enduring national legend comes to comics！ The tale of the 47 Ronin and their epic mission to avenge their wronged master epitomizes the samurai code of honor， and creators Mike Richardson and Stan Sakai have done justice to their story！ Meticulously researched and beautifully illustrated， this collection of the acclaimed miniseries recounts this sweeping saga of honor and violence in all its grandeur。 Opening with the tragic incident that sealed the fate of Lord Asano， 47 Ronin follows a dedicated group of Asano's vassals on their years-long path of vengeance！

* From Mike Richardson （Star Wars: Crimson Empire） and Stan Sakai （Usagi Yojimbo）！

* Tons of bonus art and behind-the-scenes extras！

If you're a fan of the samurai genre then this is a no-brainer。。。 if you've never given it a chance then this is the perfect gateway book to the genre。 --Comic Bastards

Stan Sakai makes Japan all the more exciting with this comic， and Richardson's narrative builds an epic tale reminiscent of Kurosawa's greatest films。 --Graphic Policy

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Reviews

OmniBen ，

（Zero spoiler review） 4。25/5A simple tale， simply told， and one that I simply loved。 I didn't know a thing about the 47 Ronin before opening the pages of this book。 I've been on a bit of a Japanese culture trip of late。 What with the Samurai series on Netflix being supremely interesting。 Ghosts of Tsushima taking the video game world by storm， as well as the increasing amount of manga I've been dipping in and out of。 It's fair to say， I have a growing soft spot for Japanese history， with this st （Zero spoiler review） 4。25/5A simple tale， simply told， and one that I simply loved。 I didn't know a thing about the 47 Ronin before opening the pages of this book。 I've been on a bit of a Japanese culture trip of late。 What with the Samurai series on Netflix being supremely interesting。 Ghosts of Tsushima taking the video game world by storm， as well as the increasing amount of manga I've been dipping in and out of。 It's fair to say， I have a growing soft spot for Japanese history， with this story being a rather wonderful accoutrement to that growing list of stories。 There is on flashy language。 No fancy writing techniques， and Stan Sakai's art is sublimely simple and whilst perhaps an acquired taste， once you are used to it， it certainly suits the method of storytelling rather well。 The simple nature of it all really comes across like a children's fairy tale。 Despite the occasional grim nature of the story， there is very little shown in the way of violence， which certainly made me wonder why it received the mature rating it did。 Not only this， but I really felt there was enough story here to o a sixth issue， as the last segment of the final issue seems a tad rushed。 Like there was more story left on the tale to be told。 That aside， there really isn't much here to prevent you sharing this with all but very young children。 The distinct lack of blood at times to accompany the sparse violence was a little disappointing， but wasn't enough to detract from this delightful little tale。 It certainly inspired me to look deeper into this true tale， and learn a little bit more about it， which is yet another feather in the cap regarding the strength of 47 Ronin。 Do check it out。 4。25/5OmniBen。 。。。more

Adam M ，

A re-issue of the Mike Richardson/Stan Sakai book from 2012。 In the liner notes Richardson talks about the 20+ years it took to actually get this book written。 He was going to have someone else adapt it， he was looking for a different illustrator， there were a lot of "others" that may have taken place before we got this version。 For the record， I'm not sure what a different author may have brought to this， but it's clear Richardson really wanted to tell this story and invested himself heavily in A re-issue of the Mike Richardson/Stan Sakai book from 2012。 In the liner notes Richardson talks about the 20+ years it took to actually get this book written。 He was going to have someone else adapt it， he was looking for a different illustrator， there were a lot of "others" that may have taken place before we got this version。 For the record， I'm not sure what a different author may have brought to this， but it's clear Richardson really wanted to tell this story and invested himself heavily in researching it and doing it justice。 The art from Stan Sakai is immediately and unmistakably his tone and texture。 I think having him on art duty actually opens this story up to a wider audience as he's not one for graphic violence and blood is kept to a necessary minimum。 I know that Richardson wanted the inspiration for the art to come from woodblock prints of this story and I think that's achieved here。 This is a pretty quick read and an interesting retelling of a very historic Japanese event that has seen different iterations over the years。 An easy to get into primer for those unfamiliar。 。。。more

Dannii Elle ，

Mike Richardson， Stan Sakai， and Lovern Kindzierski worked together to bring one of Japan's most infamous legends to vivid life。 This graphic novel depicted feudal Japan and reworked this story of bloody politics and bloodier honour。I have seen the movie of the same name， a long time ago， but have never read any original text or other version of this story。 I had forgotten much of the contents and so found this emotional， harrowing， and engaging throughout。 Despite the limited text I managed to Mike Richardson， Stan Sakai， and Lovern Kindzierski worked together to bring one of Japan's most infamous legends to vivid life。 This graphic novel depicted feudal Japan and reworked this story of bloody politics and bloodier honour。I have seen the movie of the same name， a long time ago， but have never read any original text or other version of this story。 I had forgotten much of the contents and so found this emotional， harrowing， and engaging throughout。 Despite the limited text I managed to gather the full scope of the story， even if the style of illustration was not my personal favourite。 。。。more

M。 Thomas Apple ，

Every 忠臣蔵 （Loyal Retainers） story is slightly different， because the total truth remains unknown。 The first version was actually a kabuki play many years after the actual accident。 The first English versions got a lot of the story wrong， but as each version came out， a new version of the legend was born。 As the creators of this version note， the legend is more important in the end。 Symbols are more meaningful than reality。

Alexander Peterhans ，

A new edition of Mike Richardson's and Stan Sakai's book originally published in 2008。 The story takes place in feudal Japan， and it shows how 47 Ronin avenged the wrongful death of their master。The story is well paced， and has the lingering smell of dread hanging over it - at least for me， who sees the imagined trap of honour as a special kind of human-devised hell。Stan Sakai's art is almost European in flavour， and he handles action scenes well。（Kindly received an ARC from Dark Horse Books thr A new edition of Mike Richardson's and Stan Sakai's book originally published in 2008。 The story takes place in feudal Japan， and it shows how 47 Ronin avenged the wrongful death of their master。The story is well paced， and has the lingering smell of dread hanging over it - at least for me， who sees the imagined trap of honour as a special kind of human-devised hell。Stan Sakai's art is almost European in flavour， and he handles action scenes well。（Kindly received an ARC from Dark Horse Books through Edelweiss） 。。。more

Pablo Bueno ，

Historia que resulta especialmente estremecedora al saber que está basada en acontecimientos reales。Además creo que arroja una reflexión obligada no solo acerca de la tenacidad de que es capaz el ser humano， sino de la vileza que pueden alcanzar los sistemas sociales y de hasta dónde es posible （¿y aceptable？） llevar el honor， la lealtad y otras virtudes antes de que se conviertan en otra cosa。

Rolando José Rodríguez De León ，

This is a great comic。 started as a 5 part series and now is all in a single book， just what I love。The art is very good， I had doubts at the beginning when I saw the covers of the comics， but after having this in digital form， read it and enjoy it， I will be buying the paper version。 It's a must for comic lovers and Japan lovers。I also did a spanish review here:https://pananime。com/LeAn/Entries/202。。。 This is a great comic。 started as a 5 part series and now is all in a single book， just what I love。The art is very good， I had doubts at the beginning when I saw the covers of the comics， but after having this in digital form， read it and enjoy it， I will be buying the paper version。 It's a must for comic lovers and Japan lovers。I also did a spanish review here:https://pananime。com/LeAn/Entries/202。。。 。。。more

Michael Anderson ，

I had never heard this story before。 Apparently it’s famous in Japan， and I read it as a moralistic fairy tale， which strikes me as the best way to do it， since I was fascinated by its straight forward exposition and found it hard to put down。

Carey Healy ，

I really loved the story， but I feel the book fails as a comic。 I just couldn’t get behind the art， and I found differentiating between characters was very hard at first。A lot of my confusion between characters was a result of how the story is introduced and framed。 It opens with a samurai paying tribute to the dead。 Not knowing the story， whenever a new character was introduced I felt I needed to reference the opening character， but he is completely irrelevant to the plot and plays a minimal ro I really loved the story， but I feel the book fails as a comic。 I just couldn’t get behind the art， and I found differentiating between characters was very hard at first。A lot of my confusion between characters was a result of how the story is introduced and framed。 It opens with a samurai paying tribute to the dead。 Not knowing the story， whenever a new character was introduced I felt I needed to reference the opening character， but he is completely irrelevant to the plot and plays a minimal role。 Also， the primary antagonist was distinguishable by a scar mid-book。 However， I could not see the scar in his depictions at the end of the book。 I thought this might be a plot twist， but it wasn’t。Also the art and coloring didn’t work for me。 The line work is too loose for my preference and the coloring isn’t dramatic。 Additionally， many of the environments and coloring from panel to panel don’t vary enough。 The layouts are good and so is the word-to-panel ratio。Overall， I can see why the story is timeless， but the comic is not。 。。。more

comicssioner ，

I respect the research that went into adapting this story for a graphic format。 but to me， this telling is a diluted version of one of the most known and loved Japanese folktales。 a lot of talk about honor， but told in one-dimension。 I came away feeling like bushido was for the blinded and silly。

Ariano ，

Even if I already knew the story （thanks a lot Dan Carling） I almost cried reading it。 An amazing and powerful tale wonderfully told in this great work。

Shaun Meyers ，

Going into this graphic novel， I didn't realize that 47 Ronin was based on a real event that took place in 1700s Japan。 I also didn't realize that it was so highly regarded in Japan， or the fact that it's Japan's national legend。 I learned quite a bit from this graphic novel and I find it quite fascinating。47 Ronin tells a tale of honor， and revenge but it takes the time to give its character's a human side as well。 The story first follows a Daimyo named Asano who， while visiting Edo Castle， is Going into this graphic novel， I didn't realize that 47 Ronin was based on a real event that took place in 1700s Japan。 I also didn't realize that it was so highly regarded in Japan， or the fact that it's Japan's national legend。 I learned quite a bit from this graphic novel and I find it quite fascinating。47 Ronin tells a tale of honor， and revenge but it takes the time to give its character's a human side as well。 The story first follows a Daimyo named Asano who， while visiting Edo Castle， is goaded into attacking a despicable man named Kira after Asano refuses to pay him a bribe。 Asano is sentenced to death and his chief retainer Oishi and 47 of his most loyal retainers vow to get revenge on Kira to restore their Daimyo's honor。The story is a very entertaining one and it's only complimented by the art of Stan Sakai （Creator of Usagi Yojimbo）。 The graphic novel is beautifully drawn， and colored， and it compliments the excellent writing of Mike Richardson， who does a superb job in retelling the story。 This graphic novel has impressed me greatly and it actually makes me want to watch the many classic films that are based on it （Of which I've never seen either）。 47 Ronin has easily become of my favorite historical graphic novels， and I can't recommend it highly enough。 This one gets a 5 out of 5 stars from me， excellent all around。 。。。more

75338 ，

AmazingWell written and illustrated retelling of one of Japan’s and indeed the world’s， greatest based-on-truth legends。 Mad respect to the authors。

Pipo ，

Fine rendition of the story of the 47 samurai who were turned ronin by a great injustice done to their master。 The artwork， which seems inspired by block print technique， is interesting and the story telling is adequate。 The characters are sadly underdeveloped and unidimensional leaving the reader to spectate more than feel emotionally involved，

Reyes Medellin ，

Excelente dibujo， muy buena trama y personajes donde el honor es lo más importante debido a la época de los sucesos， con bastante fidelidad y respeto a la leyenda en qué se basa， y como refiere el autor conocer esta historia es conocer Japón

Aaro Salosensaari ，

It is okay， but also slightly unnecessary retelling of the legend。

Alena ，

Oh， come on。 すごい。Tohle mě rozsekalo。 Jakože ze zásady u knih nebrečím （leda tak zoufalstvím）， ale tady jsem se teda hodně musela držet （mezi lidmi f tramvaji）。I když je příběh založen na skutečné události， autoři přiznávají， že ho trochu vylepšili。 Rozhodně to bylo ku prospěchu věci。Mé první setkání s legendárním Stanem Sakaiem， navíc poměrně jasně vysvětluje princip bušido a celkem dost toho odhaluje o japonské nátuře。 Takže velký dobrý。

Travis ，

I was already familiar with this story in general， but I thought it might be worth reading when I found a graphic novel version of it while browsing at a different library than my usual one。It is a decent book overall。 Regarding the art， I did find it a bit odd at times how most characters have very simple， minimalist faces， while others have very detailed faces， or even change between simple and detailed depending on how much expression they have in a scene， but I guess that is just the style o I was already familiar with this story in general， but I thought it might be worth reading when I found a graphic novel version of it while browsing at a different library than my usual one。It is a decent book overall。 Regarding the art， I did find it a bit odd at times how most characters have very simple， minimalist faces， while others have very detailed faces， or even change between simple and detailed depending on how much expression they have in a scene， but I guess that is just the style of the artist。 For me a bigger problem just comes down to the nature of historical fiction: it isn't really history， but because we understand things through stories， it seems true。 In this case， in the end material of the book they do a decent job of explaining where the story came from， how this version was developed， and admitting that they played up the good qualities of the heroes and the villainy of the main antagonist。 That last part， the conscious distortion of the details， is particularly problematic to me。 I can appreciate why they would do it， to tell the story they want to tell。 But I just don't really agree with the message of that story。 It is only showing the glory of bushido， and not so much the darker side of it。 I think a story that was more ambiguous would be more interesting as well。 。。。more

Legustafson ，

Engaging retelling of the classic story。

Roland Gustafson ，

A very interesting story with great characters。

ნინო ქერდიყოშვილი ，

ულამაზესი გრაფიკა რომ აქვს， ეგ ცალკე ამბავია， ისე კი კითხვისას დასაწყისშივე ამოკითხული სიტყვები დახეტიალობს გონებაში გამუდმებით: ის， რომ 47 "რონინის"（ბრჭყალების არსს კი მიხვდებით） ისტორიით იაპონელთა კულტურა და ხასიათი ზედმიწევნით წარმოჩნდება。ასეა ეს ამბავი。 ულამაზესი გრაფიკა რომ აქვს， ეგ ცალკე ამბავია， ისე კი კითხვისას დასაწყისშივე ამოკითხული სიტყვები დახეტიალობს გონებაში გამუდმებით: ის， რომ 47 "რონინის"（ბრჭყალების არსს კი მიხვდებით） ისტორიით იაპონელთა კულტურა და ხასიათი ზედმიწევნით წარმოჩნდება。ასეა ეს ამბავი。 。。。more

Ming Wei ，

Excellent graphic novel， high quality hard back cover， really impressed with this book

Iain ，

A four star telling of a classic story with five star art。 Sakai is justly revered by comic fans for his detail， unique style and clarity of storytelling and he does an amazing job here， slightly outside his usual wheelhouse （drawing people instead of anthropomorphic animals）， assisted by some wonderful colour art by Lovern Kindzierski。 The story is well told， touching in places， and clear without stopping to explain every cultural point。 Well worth your time。

Nicholas ，

I enjoyed this。 Solid， engaging story， cute art choice。

Art ，

I enjoyed this book。 The story was compelling and the artwork fit the story well。

Amarnath ，

Really liked the story。 It was the first text I heard about them。

47Time ，

So many 47's！ I love it！ The cartoony artwork is simplistic and might be seen as unfitting for the seriousness of the story， but still manages to be expressive and violent when need be。 As far as I can tell， the swordplay is authentic， so there are no useless flashy moves here， and the clothing and architecture are spot on as well。The respected role of samurai has fallen on dark times。 Individuals who were viewed as examples to be followed are now corrupt。 When a daimyo is provoked into an act t So many 47's！ I love it！ The cartoony artwork is simplistic and might be seen as unfitting for the seriousness of the story， but still manages to be expressive and violent when need be。 As far as I can tell， the swordplay is authentic， so there are no useless flashy moves here， and the clothing and architecture are spot on as well。The respected role of samurai has fallen on dark times。 Individuals who were viewed as examples to be followed are now corrupt。 When a daimyo is provoked into an act that leads to his being forced into seppuku， some of his retainers decide that avenging him is more impotant than their own lives。 Honor was rarely taken so far in a story。 I was never more impressed by violence before， because this time it has a purpose。 At the same time there is focus on interpersonal relationships。 In order to carry out their revenge the retainers must give up their old lives which will bring tears to their loved ones and certain death to themselves。Asano is invited to the shogun's palace for a reception。 There is more pressure on his performance than he realizes。 A poor showing can risk affecting his whole family and he begins on the wrong foot when his gift is seen as too small by Kira Yoshinaka， the court official tasked to teach him etiquette。 Asano refuses to pay more and makes an enemy of Kira who works to sabotage his student。 Asano draws the line at being publicly humiliated by Kira and draws his sword on him， an act punishable by death in the shogun's palace。 The investigator sides with Kira even before questioning Asano to prevent a scandal in his own family。 Asano's unwillingness to defend himself seals his fate: his lands and wealth are confiscated by the shogunate， his family is disinherited and Asano himself is pushed toward seppuku。 It is now that the story truly begins， when Asano's loyal retainers decide how to proceed。（view spoiler）[When the news reaches Asano's castle， Oishi， Asano's chief retainer， sends a petition to the shogun asking for a reinstatement of the Asano name and possessions。 The petition is denied， so the remaining samurai， now ronin， must go into hiding and renounce all their possessions and relationships until they can can have their revenge on Kira， even if it means death in battle if they fail or a certain execution if they succeed。Kira has them followed and， beliving them disbanded， is eventually fooled into a false sense of security。 This is the moment when they strike。 They attack Kira's palace and kill Kira himself who refuses the offer to commit seppuku which would have saved his honor。The retainers turn themselves in to the authorities。 The shogun， their judge， has a hard time deciding on the verdict， given the law on one side， which states they must be executed， and the support of the people on the other side。 They are sentenced to death， but are give the option of hara-kiri。 They all die content that their sacrifice has brought honor to the Asano name。 （hide spoiler）] 。。。more

Jack Rose ，

In this enduring Japanese legend， 47 honorable warriors must avenge the death of their fallen master。 Oishi and his fellow Ronin represent an outdated way of japanese values against the changing world。 Kira， a dishonorable court official， represents all the aspects a samurai should not be， and often asks for bribes in exchange for his help。 As a result of Kira’s corrupt ways， Oishi’s master， Lord Asano， is forced to commit seppuku。 The death of Lord Asano brings the harsh reality of the samurai In this enduring Japanese legend， 47 honorable warriors must avenge the death of their fallen master。 Oishi and his fellow Ronin represent an outdated way of japanese values against the changing world。 Kira， a dishonorable court official， represents all the aspects a samurai should not be， and often asks for bribes in exchange for his help。 As a result of Kira’s corrupt ways， Oishi’s master， Lord Asano， is forced to commit seppuku。 The death of Lord Asano brings the harsh reality of the samurais place in society into view。 。。。more

Andrew ，

I had high expectations for this， since I'm a big fan of Stan Sakai， and the story of the 47 Ronin is a classic。 I honestly wasn't sure if Mike Richardson was a good writer or not， but it turns out he's pretty good！ （I've only really known him as a publisher。）It was great to see Sakai's art in color， since we don't get to see too much of that。 （Usagi Yojimbo is usually black & white。） And I don't think I've ever seen him draw humans， so it was fun to see how he handled that。Overall， this was a g I had high expectations for this， since I'm a big fan of Stan Sakai， and the story of the 47 Ronin is a classic。 I honestly wasn't sure if Mike Richardson was a good writer or not， but it turns out he's pretty good！ （I've only really known him as a publisher。）It was great to see Sakai's art in color， since we don't get to see too much of that。 （Usagi Yojimbo is usually black & white。） And I don't think I've ever seen him draw humans， so it was fun to see how he handled that。Overall， this was a great version of the 47 Ronin story。 。。。more

Melanie ，

Sometimes， trying to get kids to read can be a challenge。 My son likes fast books。 He prefers non-fiction， and he’s not ready to jump into chapter books。 He’s read most the the non-fiction books our library has to offer， and is now moved into the world of Captain Underpants。 While I don’t like these books， he reads them， and that makes me happy。He recently discovered books that he doesn’t mind…graphic novels。 So I’ve been encouraging him to check out more of them during the library’s summer read Sometimes， trying to get kids to read can be a challenge。 My son likes fast books。 He prefers non-fiction， and he’s not ready to jump into chapter books。 He’s read most the the non-fiction books our library has to offer， and is now moved into the world of Captain Underpants。 While I don’t like these books， he reads them， and that makes me happy。He recently discovered books that he doesn’t mind…graphic novels。 So I’ve been encouraging him to check out more of them during the library’s summer reading program。 He didn’t want to get his book， but I knew the story， and thought that it would be great for him as well。After finishing a 300+ page book in one sitting， my husband jokingly forbade me from reading， so I read to the kids instead。 We sat down with 47 Ronin by Mike Richardson and Stan Sakai， and read it in one sitting together。 The book is true to the story。 The kids loved the illustrations， and all in all， we had a great hour of time in my chair。If you don’t know the story of 47 Ronin， read the book， check out the movie that’s not as bad as one would would expect。 It’s a great story of honor and loyalty， and one that myself， and my kids thoroughly enjoyed。Read all of my reviews at the-pink-moose。com 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=47 Ronin

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=47 Ronin&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,47 Ronin&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0