Lone Wolf and Cub, or Kozure Okami in Japanese, is one of the big success stories of manga. I intend to try to explain why I think this is one of the finest few comic series I’ve ever seen.
I think it’s worth discussing, if only because there seems to be an assumption that Koike & Kojima’s other works are inevitably inferior to their most famous epic, and I honestly think there is far less to choose between them than is generally thought.
This mustn’t be confused with the movie series. I saw one episode of this on a Channel Four Japanese night or week many years ago, and I was thrilled when I found out that these were coming out on DVD.
This epic series is, for me, one of the greatest achievements in comics. It tells the story of Itto Ogami, who starts as the official executioner for the Shogun. The rival Yagyu clan, who had wanted that high position for themselves, attack his family and leave fake evidence to discredit him. He leaves to walk meifumado, the “road to hell”: to work as a hired assassin in an attempt to amass sufficient resources for revenge.