Samurai Executioner

Kazuo Koike

Dec 2005 · Samurai Executioner Vol 7 · Sold by Dark Horse Comics

About this ebook

As Samurai Executioner continues moving into its own world of crime and punishment, honor and bushido, we are beginning to learn more about the characters and situations involved in Edo-era justice. We're learning about Kubikiri Asa, the Shögun's decapitator, and his stoic life. This man's joyless existence is backed by stories of his past as a child, and how they reflect on his current day. But we also learn more about the peace officers of the era. In particular, there's the character "Catcher Kasajirö," the charming young man who uses a hooked rope and chained cudgel with such great skill. With these two characters, one with the guilt of many generations, and one bearing the naïveté of a young buck, bring an odd sort of tenderness to a world of pain, death, and quirky kink.

About the author

Kazuo Koike is a prolific Japanese manga writer, novelist, and entrepreneur. Early in Koike's career, he studied under Golgo 13 creator Takao Saito and served as a writer on the series. Koike, along with artist Goseki Kojima, made the manga Kozure Okami (Lone Wolf and Cub), and Koike also contributed to the scripts for the 1970s film adaptations of the series, which starred famous Japanese actor Tomisaburo Wakayama. Another series written by Koike, Crying Freeman, which was illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami, was adapted into a 1995 live-action film by French director Christophe Gans.

Goseki Kojima was a Japanese manga artist known for his collaborations with Kazuo Koike. The team was often referred to as the “Golden Duo.” Kojima’s best-known work was Lone Wolf and Cub. Other titles attributed to Kojima are Samurai Executioner and Path of the Assassin. In 2004, Kojima won an Eisner Award.