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子連れ狼 [Kozure Ookami] #20
Lone Wolf and Cub, Vol. 20: A Taste of Poison
A quest for vengeance wouldn't be complete without a little poison. Having tired of his retainer's futile attempts at reining in the unstoppable samurai, the shogun himself sends Abeno Kaii, a master of poison, to join the Yagyu in their hunt for ronin Itto Ogami and his little boy Daigoro. Armed with a sack full of poison and a network of streetwalking spies, Abeno creeps ever closer to the father and son. Soon Ogami and Daigoro find themselves surrounded on all sides, facing deadly secret agents, murderously seductive prostitutes, and a river of poison flowing all around them! The Eisner and Harvey Award winning series rolls ever onward with five more stories of intrigue and intensity.
322 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1995
9 people are currently reading
310 people want to read
About the author
Kazuo Koike
563 books297 followersKazuo Koike (小池一夫, Koike Kazuo) was 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. Koike and Kojima became known as the "Golden Duo" because of the success of Lone Wolf and Cub.
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.
Kazuo Koike started the Gekika Sonjuku, a college course meant to teach people how to be mangaka.
In addition to his more violent, action-oriented manga, Koike, an avid golfer, has also written golf manga.
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. Koike and Kojima became known as the "Golden Duo" because of the success of Lone Wolf and Cub.
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.
Kazuo Koike started the Gekika Sonjuku, a college course meant to teach people how to be mangaka.
In addition to his more violent, action-oriented manga, Koike, an avid golfer, has also written golf manga.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
April 18, 2022
[9/10]
After meandering through medieval Japan for nineteen albums, pushing his signature wooden cart containing his three-years-old son Daigoro, Ogami Itto has finally managed to return to the capital city Edo. He is not back to his old job as the Shogun’s executioner, but to seek revenge against the man who plotted his downfall, Retsudo Yagyu.
By this point in the series, the Lone Wolf has battled individual samurais, armed daimyo troops, secret assassin organizations, bounty hunters, even the guns of a major ship of the line. Itto has won so far by a combination of martial skill and the bushido code of honor, something most of his adversaries have subscribed to. Retsudo has run out of family members, retainers and allied clans to send against the Lone Wolf, so it’s time maybe to try something a little different: poison.
Album twenty also marks a slight departure from the episodic format of the previous albums, by the fact that all five stories included are part of the same main plot sequence, without any detours into cultural and social background.
Good Fortune, Ill Fortune marks the entrance of the Shogun on the battlefield between Itto and Yagyu. An unofficial role, still manoeuvering from the shadows, but nevertheless a direct action. Every year, in his fortified palace in Edo, the Shogun invites all the daimyo at his court to celebrate one of his early battles for control of Japan, a victory he attributes to good fortune granted by the gods of a remote temple. So, on this day, the chief offers home baked cookies to his followers like a mob boss, signalling his approval of their actions and his good will.
Retsudo Yagyu, once his first adviser, is left for last and without any cookie because he has been a Bad Boy and he has embarrassed his master by losing every battle against Ogami Itto, including those where he made use of the shogun’s own assassins or the shogun’s own battleship. Instead of a good fortune cookie, Retsudo receives a powerful smack with the empty tray and an ultimatum: he has ten days to dispatch Itto, or else ...
To facilitate the removal of this pesky ronin the Shogun offers the services of his own master of poisons, Abe-No-Kaii.
Lair of the Nighthawks
The kuchiyaku were the tasters for the shogun family. They were called ‘kuchiyaku’ or “official mouths” because they checked for poison with their own tongues. Abe-No-Kaii or Abe Tanoshi is their chief, renowned as Japan’s greatest poisoner. Due to his powerful position in the castle’s kitchen, the man has access to his own spy network among the cooks of the great houses and the food market sellers. Abe is thus better positioned to find the elusive Itto than the mighty Yagyu.
These spies track down Lone Wolf among the ‘nighthawks’ or street women who sell their bodies along the marshy shores of Edo. Abe Tanoshi sends his best killer among the nighthawks with a plan to infiltrate them, hook the night women to a powerful drug named kizami, and attack the weak point in the Lone Wolf’s armour: his son Daigoro, considered an easier target.
Blighted Leaves is probably a reference to to tobacco laced with kizami drugs that Tanoshi and his yakuza thief O-Toshi use to enslave their acolytes. O-Toshi, a beautiful woman with a full body tattoo of a spider on her back, is herself controlled by Abe-No-Kaii with the help of this laced tobacco, but she is less successful when she tries to lure Daigoro to eat poisoned cookies. Her boss feels then compelled to involve himself directly in the hunt for the Lone Wolf.
Abe-no-Kaii is a fat, ugly, repulsive man but also a cunning and ruthless adversary of a sort that Ogami Itto has been spared until now: Tanoshi has no scruples about any code of honour or about using and discarding any innocent person he meets. Not even the loyal retainer of Retsudo, a shinobi named Jinnai who is send to secretly follow the poisoner and report to his master, is safe from the drugs and the betrayals of Abe Tanoshi.
Meanwhile, the poisoner has disguised himself into a mendicant and, accompanied only by O-Toshi, he tries to lay a trap for Itto by scattering a carpet of makibishi caltrops in his path at night. These sharp needles are all covered with a powerful poison and are practically impossible to notice in the dark.
A Taste of Poison continues to follow the duel at a distance between Itto and Abe Tanoshi, with Daigoro still the main target, and still lucky to escape two further attempts on his life, one involving poisoned toilet paper, the other a mass poisoning of a major waterway that threatens massive collateral damage, not that Tanoshi cares one way or another.
The outcome of the duel between samurai and poisoner is delayed for the next volume, but two major resolutions can be drawn by the end of this one. First, even in his defeat, Abe-No-Kaii has gained useful information about his adversary, something he hopes to put to good use in his next nefarious plan:
... we found the wolf’s weakness!
he refuses to sacrifice others on his quest
Secondly, the poisoner’s plan to make Jinnai a double agent who will betray the Yagyu backfires when the retainer chooses to commit seppuku rather than losing his honour, with a last warning to his master Retsudo that there can be no true victory without bushido – this last being the guiding force behind the whole series.
>>><<<>>><<<
A bit of a cliffhanger ending, but this is in sync with the approach to the finish line for the long journey on the Road to Hell. Bring on album twenty-one.
After meandering through medieval Japan for nineteen albums, pushing his signature wooden cart containing his three-years-old son Daigoro, Ogami Itto has finally managed to return to the capital city Edo. He is not back to his old job as the Shogun’s executioner, but to seek revenge against the man who plotted his downfall, Retsudo Yagyu.
By this point in the series, the Lone Wolf has battled individual samurais, armed daimyo troops, secret assassin organizations, bounty hunters, even the guns of a major ship of the line. Itto has won so far by a combination of martial skill and the bushido code of honor, something most of his adversaries have subscribed to. Retsudo has run out of family members, retainers and allied clans to send against the Lone Wolf, so it’s time maybe to try something a little different: poison.
Album twenty also marks a slight departure from the episodic format of the previous albums, by the fact that all five stories included are part of the same main plot sequence, without any detours into cultural and social background.
Good Fortune, Ill Fortune marks the entrance of the Shogun on the battlefield between Itto and Yagyu. An unofficial role, still manoeuvering from the shadows, but nevertheless a direct action. Every year, in his fortified palace in Edo, the Shogun invites all the daimyo at his court to celebrate one of his early battles for control of Japan, a victory he attributes to good fortune granted by the gods of a remote temple. So, on this day, the chief offers home baked cookies to his followers like a mob boss, signalling his approval of their actions and his good will.
Retsudo Yagyu, once his first adviser, is left for last and without any cookie because he has been a Bad Boy and he has embarrassed his master by losing every battle against Ogami Itto, including those where he made use of the shogun’s own assassins or the shogun’s own battleship. Instead of a good fortune cookie, Retsudo receives a powerful smack with the empty tray and an ultimatum: he has ten days to dispatch Itto, or else ...
To facilitate the removal of this pesky ronin the Shogun offers the services of his own master of poisons, Abe-No-Kaii.
Lair of the Nighthawks
The kuchiyaku were the tasters for the shogun family. They were called ‘kuchiyaku’ or “official mouths” because they checked for poison with their own tongues. Abe-No-Kaii or Abe Tanoshi is their chief, renowned as Japan’s greatest poisoner. Due to his powerful position in the castle’s kitchen, the man has access to his own spy network among the cooks of the great houses and the food market sellers. Abe is thus better positioned to find the elusive Itto than the mighty Yagyu.
These spies track down Lone Wolf among the ‘nighthawks’ or street women who sell their bodies along the marshy shores of Edo. Abe Tanoshi sends his best killer among the nighthawks with a plan to infiltrate them, hook the night women to a powerful drug named kizami, and attack the weak point in the Lone Wolf’s armour: his son Daigoro, considered an easier target.
Blighted Leaves is probably a reference to to tobacco laced with kizami drugs that Tanoshi and his yakuza thief O-Toshi use to enslave their acolytes. O-Toshi, a beautiful woman with a full body tattoo of a spider on her back, is herself controlled by Abe-No-Kaii with the help of this laced tobacco, but she is less successful when she tries to lure Daigoro to eat poisoned cookies. Her boss feels then compelled to involve himself directly in the hunt for the Lone Wolf.
Abe-no-Kaii is a fat, ugly, repulsive man but also a cunning and ruthless adversary of a sort that Ogami Itto has been spared until now: Tanoshi has no scruples about any code of honour or about using and discarding any innocent person he meets. Not even the loyal retainer of Retsudo, a shinobi named Jinnai who is send to secretly follow the poisoner and report to his master, is safe from the drugs and the betrayals of Abe Tanoshi.
Meanwhile, the poisoner has disguised himself into a mendicant and, accompanied only by O-Toshi, he tries to lay a trap for Itto by scattering a carpet of makibishi caltrops in his path at night. These sharp needles are all covered with a powerful poison and are practically impossible to notice in the dark.
A Taste of Poison continues to follow the duel at a distance between Itto and Abe Tanoshi, with Daigoro still the main target, and still lucky to escape two further attempts on his life, one involving poisoned toilet paper, the other a mass poisoning of a major waterway that threatens massive collateral damage, not that Tanoshi cares one way or another.
The outcome of the duel between samurai and poisoner is delayed for the next volume, but two major resolutions can be drawn by the end of this one. First, even in his defeat, Abe-No-Kaii has gained useful information about his adversary, something he hopes to put to good use in his next nefarious plan:
... we found the wolf’s weakness!
he refuses to sacrifice others on his quest
Secondly, the poisoner’s plan to make Jinnai a double agent who will betray the Yagyu backfires when the retainer chooses to commit seppuku rather than losing his honour, with a last warning to his master Retsudo that there can be no true victory without bushido – this last being the guiding force behind the whole series.
>>><<<>>><<<
A bit of a cliffhanger ending, but this is in sync with the approach to the finish line for the long journey on the Road to Hell. Bring on album twenty-one.
August 29, 2020
Looks like Yagyu is running out of one-time villains and thugs that are killed at the end of their chapter. In this book we - at long last - get another recurring villain, someone that goes through the entire volume and still does not die. And, funnily enough, among all of them he's also the one I'd have wished to die. He's a real piece of work.
The volume also finally demonstrates the use of poison, and makes it clear why no one likes it or the people using it. The very idea of poison being used would put everyone on edge. No one could trust anything anymore. As soon as it's on the table, the entire nation would fall into even greater evil.
The volume also finally demonstrates the use of poison, and makes it clear why no one likes it or the people using it. The very idea of poison being used would put everyone on edge. No one could trust anything anymore. As soon as it's on the table, the entire nation would fall into even greater evil.
December 10, 2018
In this volume an intriguing new foe takes centre stage in the Yagyu’s attempts to destroy their mortal enemy Ogami Itto. The figure of Abe Tanoshi is equal parts beast and mastermind (think the Baron Harkonnen in feudal Japan) and his methods of trying to eliminate the wily assassin and his cub prove to be very inventive and like nothing we have yet seen unleashed by the more martial Yagyu.
“Good Fortune, Ill Fortune”: Retsudo is at his wits end. After a public humiliation by the Shogun for his inability to capture or kill Lone Wolf and Cub he resorts to accepting the aid of Abe Tanoshi the Shogun’s Kuchiyaku, or poison taster, who, along with the Shogun’s Executioner (formerly Ogammi Itto’s role) and Retsudo’s own shadowy role as the head of the Shogun’s Black Ops forces, holds one of the three primary power roles in the Shogunate. Tanoshi proves himself to be a capable conspirator, a man adept at not only the discovery of poisons, but at their manufacture and use as well. In addition he is in control of the most extensive network of commoners in Edo through his connections not only with all of those that serve and supply food, but (as we will soon see) with the ‘Nighthawk’ prostitutes that are found throughout the city as well. Retsudo agrees to go in league with the wily Tanoshi, but it soon becomes apparent that both men, power hungry schemers to the core, are merely useing the other as a pawn in their greater plans. Who will prove to be the more capable scoundrel?
“Lair of the Nighthawks”: In which we meet the deadly ‘Silk Spider’ O-Toshi, a black widow who preys on hapless johns with her seductive honey trap. Working for Abe Tanoshi, we see how she came under his thrall, and in turn is able to enthrall all of the Nighthawk prostitutes of Edo to his will. We see first hand Tanoshi’s brutish ways and insatiable hunger, as well as the first steps in Retsudo’s plan to overcome his supposed ally when he is no longer of use.
“Blighted Leaves”: Three stories into the collection and we finally see Lone Wolf and Cub make an appearance as more than imminent threats whispered of in the background. Tanoshi makes his initial gambits at taking the lives of Itto and Daigoro, first unleashing his operatives among the green-grocers and restaurateurs in the hopes of easily poisoning first the boy and then his father. When this fails he sends out the Nighthawks, hoping they can entice Daigoro with a sweet treat. When both groups prove unable to penetrate the defenses of Lone Wolf and Cub the master poisoner decides that it is time to take matters into his own hands.
“Abe-No-Kaii”: At first enraged at the failure of his operatives, Tanoshi soon comes to relish the idea of matching wits with Lone Wolf himself. Adopting a disguise and taking with him the ‘Silk Spider’, Tanoshi proves himself a wily foe by first capturing the spy Retsudo has set upon him, and then by showing his patience and wish to take the measure of his foe Itto without rushing in too quickly. His own disgusting hungers lead him to the idea for an ingenious trap for Daigoro.
“A Taste of Poison”: When he tries to kill Daigoro by poisoning the river in which the boy is swimming Tanoshi thinks he has hit upon Itto’s greatest weakness and the thing that will let him kill the seemingly unkillable assassin: his desire to help others. Far from being the inhuman figure on the ‘demon’s road’ of meifumado, Itto proves himself to still retain a human heart…a frailty which the beast-like Tanoshi does not share. Is Itto devoted enough to his cause to see it to completion, or will he become ensnared by his own compassion?
“Good Fortune, Ill Fortune”: Retsudo is at his wits end. After a public humiliation by the Shogun for his inability to capture or kill Lone Wolf and Cub he resorts to accepting the aid of Abe Tanoshi the Shogun’s Kuchiyaku, or poison taster, who, along with the Shogun’s Executioner (formerly Ogammi Itto’s role) and Retsudo’s own shadowy role as the head of the Shogun’s Black Ops forces, holds one of the three primary power roles in the Shogunate. Tanoshi proves himself to be a capable conspirator, a man adept at not only the discovery of poisons, but at their manufacture and use as well. In addition he is in control of the most extensive network of commoners in Edo through his connections not only with all of those that serve and supply food, but (as we will soon see) with the ‘Nighthawk’ prostitutes that are found throughout the city as well. Retsudo agrees to go in league with the wily Tanoshi, but it soon becomes apparent that both men, power hungry schemers to the core, are merely useing the other as a pawn in their greater plans. Who will prove to be the more capable scoundrel?
“Lair of the Nighthawks”: In which we meet the deadly ‘Silk Spider’ O-Toshi, a black widow who preys on hapless johns with her seductive honey trap. Working for Abe Tanoshi, we see how she came under his thrall, and in turn is able to enthrall all of the Nighthawk prostitutes of Edo to his will. We see first hand Tanoshi’s brutish ways and insatiable hunger, as well as the first steps in Retsudo’s plan to overcome his supposed ally when he is no longer of use.
“Blighted Leaves”: Three stories into the collection and we finally see Lone Wolf and Cub make an appearance as more than imminent threats whispered of in the background. Tanoshi makes his initial gambits at taking the lives of Itto and Daigoro, first unleashing his operatives among the green-grocers and restaurateurs in the hopes of easily poisoning first the boy and then his father. When this fails he sends out the Nighthawks, hoping they can entice Daigoro with a sweet treat. When both groups prove unable to penetrate the defenses of Lone Wolf and Cub the master poisoner decides that it is time to take matters into his own hands.
“Abe-No-Kaii”: At first enraged at the failure of his operatives, Tanoshi soon comes to relish the idea of matching wits with Lone Wolf himself. Adopting a disguise and taking with him the ‘Silk Spider’, Tanoshi proves himself a wily foe by first capturing the spy Retsudo has set upon him, and then by showing his patience and wish to take the measure of his foe Itto without rushing in too quickly. His own disgusting hungers lead him to the idea for an ingenious trap for Daigoro.
“A Taste of Poison”: When he tries to kill Daigoro by poisoning the river in which the boy is swimming Tanoshi thinks he has hit upon Itto’s greatest weakness and the thing that will let him kill the seemingly unkillable assassin: his desire to help others. Far from being the inhuman figure on the ‘demon’s road’ of meifumado, Itto proves himself to still retain a human heart…a frailty which the beast-like Tanoshi does not share. Is Itto devoted enough to his cause to see it to completion, or will he become ensnared by his own compassion?
April 23, 2016
In my volume 18 review, I said that I hate Retsudo Yagyu so much because of the actions he did, because of the life sacrifices he made just to kill one man. Now there is another character more despicable than him, Abe, the shogun's official tester and a master poisoner. He plays dirty, has no respect for bushido, a pervert, and utterly disgusting. This guy is worse than hell!
So Itto Ogami and eventually Retsudo found a common enemy for the time being. And I would love to see this guy butchered and receive what deserved to get, a slow and nasty death.
Itto Ogami continues to show his human side, contrary to the self proclaimed adherence to meifumado. They now roam the streets of Edo. The Shogun knows it (and yes, his face is ultimately revealed in this chapter) as he gave a hugely satisfying shaming bonanza to Retsudo Yagyu.
The Lone Wolf and Cub gets even more exciting. I can't stop reading this!
So Itto Ogami and eventually Retsudo found a common enemy for the time being. And I would love to see this guy butchered and receive what deserved to get, a slow and nasty death.
Itto Ogami continues to show his human side, contrary to the self proclaimed adherence to meifumado. They now roam the streets of Edo. The Shogun knows it (and yes, his face is ultimately revealed in this chapter) as he gave a hugely satisfying shaming bonanza to Retsudo Yagyu.
The Lone Wolf and Cub gets even more exciting. I can't stop reading this!
January 3, 2024
Ben Yalnız Kurt ve Yavrusu kadar çizgisini bozmadan mükemmel kalabilen seri görmedim. Zehir Tadı'nda sanırım ilk kez Yagyu'nun bir villain'ı bölüm sonunda hakkın rahmetine kavuşmuyor. Bu "kötü"yü de sevdim çünkü insanı diken üstünde tutuyor. Ağını örüyor ve çalıların arkasında saklanıyor.
Tamam, meifumado yolunda yürüyorsunuz ama bak Kazuo sana söylüyorum Daigoro'ma birşey olursa pis kızarım. Neyse ki Daigoro da bu küçücük yaşında güvenmemeyi öğrenmiş ve olumsuz koşullara kolaylıkla adapte olabiliyor.
Her zaman olduğu gibi tarihi arkaplanı, o dönem yaşantısını, kıyafetleri, mevsimleri bile çok iyi yansıtmışlar. Bu ara Netflix'te "Blue Eye Samurai" dizisini izliyorum ve benzer bir incelik görüyorum. Hep söylerim, seriye başlarken siyah beyazdan biraz çekinmiştim ama koca sayfadaki her yüz bu kadar birbirinden farklı olabilir mi? Hani oyunlar için grafikler mi oynanabilirlik mi diye sorarlar ya. Bu seri hem grafik hem oynanabilirlik açısından çok iyi.
Bu arada Zehir Tadı'nda benim sürekli kendime sorduğum soruyu Yagyü pisliği sormuş. "Ogami Itto kazandığı onca altını ne yaptı kimse bilmiyor". Bence bu gizem bir yerde ortaya çıkacak. Merakla bekliyorum.
Herkese keyifli okumalar!
Tamam, meifumado yolunda yürüyorsunuz ama bak Kazuo sana söylüyorum Daigoro'ma birşey olursa pis kızarım. Neyse ki Daigoro da bu küçücük yaşında güvenmemeyi öğrenmiş ve olumsuz koşullara kolaylıkla adapte olabiliyor.
Her zaman olduğu gibi tarihi arkaplanı, o dönem yaşantısını, kıyafetleri, mevsimleri bile çok iyi yansıtmışlar. Bu ara Netflix'te "Blue Eye Samurai" dizisini izliyorum ve benzer bir incelik görüyorum. Hep söylerim, seriye başlarken siyah beyazdan biraz çekinmiştim ama koca sayfadaki her yüz bu kadar birbirinden farklı olabilir mi? Hani oyunlar için grafikler mi oynanabilirlik mi diye sorarlar ya. Bu seri hem grafik hem oynanabilirlik açısından çok iyi.
Bu arada Zehir Tadı'nda benim sürekli kendime sorduğum soruyu Yagyü pisliği sormuş. "Ogami Itto kazandığı onca altını ne yaptı kimse bilmiyor". Bence bu gizem bir yerde ortaya çıkacak. Merakla bekliyorum.
Herkese keyifli okumalar!
January 27, 2019
I can’t stop praising Lone Wolf. I just can’t. Superb at every level, the intensity only becomes fiercer as Lone Wolf finally enters Edo. Setting the stage for the end game, new ancillaries are presented with excellent character development truly befitting of the stellar talents of Koike & Kojima. With a heaping dosage of political intrigue saturating all, an already wild ride is only going to become wilder.
June 28, 2021
Aqui con Ito ya en Edo, enfrentara un oponente más, aunque uno que intentara atacarlo de una manera distinta, buen avance en la historia.
4 star
SPOILERS
4 star
SPOILERS
July 16, 2023
4.5 stars. Such a great villain in this one!
December 2, 2020
Este tomo rompe la fórmula a la que estábamos acostumbrados de una aventura por capítulo. Todo el tomo se encuentra en la aparición de Itto en Edo y qué hará Yagyu al respecto. Me gustó mucho que en el primer capítulo vemos como Yagyu no es tan querido por el shogun y cómo se está complicando su situación. Además entra en escena un personaje nuevo bastante interesante, perturbador y un digno oponente de Ogami: Abe el monstruo. Este personaje es quien prueba la comida del Shogun para descartar envenenamiento, por tanto es un experto en venenos.
Todos los capítulos es sobre los planes, estrategias y combates entre Abe y Ogami pero también un poco de Yagyu. Este combate deja de ser el enfrentamiento de Yagyu contra Ogami que hemos visto desde el comienzo de la serie y ahora es un enfrentamiento tripartito lo que lo hace bastante interesante.
También aprecié mucho que el autor introdujera el personaje de Abe porque no es un samurai, o al menos no actúa como uno. Es atrero y astuto, busca matar a Ogami envenenándolo no con honor como sus otros oponentes, esto hace que Ogami se vea en aprietos. La inclusión de este personaje cambia la fórmula para bien y al mismo tiempo dinamiza la historia. Además que Abe es un personaje horrendo y repugnante y se nota.
La relación entre Yagyu y Abe también evoluciona a lo largo del tomo lo que lo hace bastante interesante. Sólo hubo una parte con un sirviente de Yagyu que sobrevive a una situación extraña para informar a su maestro de algo. Se me hizo un poco extraño pero era en realidad necesaria para lo que continuará en el siguiente tomo.
También me gustó que este enfrentamiento fuera mucho más lento que los demás y que no se resolviera en un sólo volumen. Va a ser interesante ver a Abe contra Ogami y Yagyu en el siguiente tomo.
Todos los capítulos es sobre los planes, estrategias y combates entre Abe y Ogami pero también un poco de Yagyu. Este combate deja de ser el enfrentamiento de Yagyu contra Ogami que hemos visto desde el comienzo de la serie y ahora es un enfrentamiento tripartito lo que lo hace bastante interesante.
También aprecié mucho que el autor introdujera el personaje de Abe porque no es un samurai, o al menos no actúa como uno. Es atrero y astuto, busca matar a Ogami envenenándolo no con honor como sus otros oponentes, esto hace que Ogami se vea en aprietos. La inclusión de este personaje cambia la fórmula para bien y al mismo tiempo dinamiza la historia. Además que Abe es un personaje horrendo y repugnante y se nota.
La relación entre Yagyu y Abe también evoluciona a lo largo del tomo lo que lo hace bastante interesante. Sólo hubo una parte con un sirviente de Yagyu que sobrevive a una situación extraña para informar a su maestro de algo. Se me hizo un poco extraño pero era en realidad necesaria para lo que continuará en el siguiente tomo.
También me gustó que este enfrentamiento fuera mucho más lento que los demás y que no se resolviera en un sólo volumen. Va a ser interesante ver a Abe contra Ogami y Yagyu en el siguiente tomo.
September 17, 2020
Yes, this one only get four stars. The artwork is still fantastic, but I'm just hating the sudden inconsistency, which I don't feel I've encountered before.
Finally, after 19 books, someone decides that Lone Wolf And Cub could be killed with poison. Suddenly Itto and Daigoro won't take food from strangers, even though we saw Daigoro eating rice from a stranger woman no further back than Volume 19!
It just didn't feel right.
Finally, after 19 books, someone decides that Lone Wolf And Cub could be killed with poison. Suddenly Itto and Daigoro won't take food from strangers, even though we saw Daigoro eating rice from a stranger woman no further back than Volume 19!
It just didn't feel right.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2021
Took a bizarre turn. Somehow the series managed to mature a little and become darker, even after all its been through. After 20 volumes, continues to be worth the journey.
January 20, 2026
A new player enters the game now that Itto and Daigoro are in Edo. We leave the realm of physical strength and sword skills to enter a world of twisted schemes and deadly poisons, with the prize being power in the capital.
There's nothing to say about this part of the plot, which will delight fans of complex stories, power games and various scoundrels from feudal Japan.
But I admit that Koike sometimes goes a little too far with his two protagonists, whose prescience and reactions border on the supernatural. The scene with Itto and the poison in the river, while I fully understand its purpose, is nonetheless a little ridiculous in its execution.
There's nothing to say about this part of the plot, which will delight fans of complex stories, power games and various scoundrels from feudal Japan.
But I admit that Koike sometimes goes a little too far with his two protagonists, whose prescience and reactions border on the supernatural. The scene with Itto and the poison in the river, while I fully understand its purpose, is nonetheless a little ridiculous in its execution.
May 9, 2022
Lone Wolf and Cub are finally in Edo. And we get a recurring villain to take up this entire collection of stories. Retsudo and the shogun's chief poisoner, Abe, ally to kill Ogami and Daigoro. Abe serves as an interesting counterpoint to Retsudo as his tactics are more underhanded and without a shred of Retsudo's "honor." Naturally neither of them trust the other, and its a nice change of pace to see Ogami, Retsudo, and Abe all squaring off. The isolated vignettes have transitioned to a narrative arc.
July 1, 2025
This just became a completely different book. Ogami Itto is in Edo. Yagyu employs the royal poisoner. This guy is like Baron Harkonnen, overweight and every kind of gross. Through drug addiction, he employs a female thief, who, in turn, employs a group of prostitutes. They try different ways of poisoning our heroes, but fortunately Daigoro knows not to accept toilet paper from strangers when wiping his ass.
More swearing, more nudity, more weirdness than usual. And we never find out what Ogami is actually up to in Edo.
More swearing, more nudity, more weirdness than usual. And we never find out what Ogami is actually up to in Edo.
July 1, 2025
Well, this volume was good, if not a little unsettling. Abe is probably one of the most deranged villains introduced in the book so far, which is partly why this volume in particular is quite graphic. However, the speech in the final chapter (and Ogami's action on the water) illustrate the importance of being a bushi in this series and showcases what it would be like had such a code of honor been left out.
On a lighter note, it is a bit fun to see how Ogami uses his new repetition. He felt Batman-esque multiple times in this volume.
On a lighter note, it is a bit fun to see how Ogami uses his new repetition. He felt Batman-esque multiple times in this volume.
November 9, 2018
excelente, simplemente excelente y no es para menos. Agregar un tercer implicado en el conflicto lejos de parecer algo flojo, le funcionó muy bien en esta entrega ya que, finalmente, hay un dinamismo que no se había visto en las entregas pasadas.
Eso sí, el tercero en discordia es un personaje digno de temer ya que si bien no es un Guerrero como yagyu, es un conocedor de los venenos y eso trae como consecuencia una nueva forma de combate
Eso sí, el tercero en discordia es un personaje digno de temer ya que si bien no es un Guerrero como yagyu, es un conocedor de los venenos y eso trae como consecuencia una nueva forma de combate
March 12, 2023
Finale doğru yaklaşıyoruz ve şu ana kadar serideki en ruh hastası villain hikayeye dahil oldu. Abeno Kaii bir zehir ustası ve bu seride pek rastlamadığımız tarzda zalimce kararlar alan bir adam. Kurt ve yavrusunu ortadan kaldırmak için yaptığı planlar yaratıcı ve şeytanice, serinin monotonluktan kurtulmak için böyle bir kötüye ihtiyacı vardı.
Ayrıca yine bu ciltte, pek rastlamadığım şekilde kötü adam hikayenin sonunda harcanıp tarih olmadı. Devam cildine en yakın zamanda başlayacağım.
Ayrıca yine bu ciltte, pek rastlamadığım şekilde kötü adam hikayenin sonunda harcanıp tarih olmadı. Devam cildine en yakın zamanda başlayacağım.
June 3, 2024
Another superb entry in the series that finds a desperate Yaygu turning to a master poisoner to finally deal with Itto Ogami and his son, Diagoro only for it to quickly become a deal with the devil. Koike gives a new turn in the story, actually revealing a villain worse than Yaygu. It is matched by Goseki Kojima's crispy realistic art, whether depicting feudal Japan or the fantastic action. A pivotal moment in this classic manga.
April 20, 2020
This entry introduces us to a very effective new villain. Maybe a little too effective. He’s a very cunning and ruthless enemy. He’s also extremely repulsive and does something in particular that made me want to puke. (If you’ve read this volume, you’ll know what I’m talking about.) Still a very gripping read, nonetheless.
February 6, 2020
This volume of LWaC takes things up a deprave notch with the introduction of the vile, murderous and (spoiler alert) pee-drinking, Abe-No-Kaii Tanoshi. Some of the images in this one are gonna stick with me for a long time.
August 13, 2021
One of the best volumes! Unique and very interesting new adversaries for Lone Wolf and Cub. Instead of fighting against men and weapons, now a fight against poison. Weather it's food, water, trap or trick, they must be warry. Definitely recommend and excited for more.
September 19, 2021
The introduction of the poisoner seemed a bit much to me. He is awful in every way, and too over the top for my taste. With his getting more page time than Lone Wolf or Cub, it just wasn’t terribly pleasant to read these stories.
May 28, 2025
We are finally introduced to a new and interesting character, Abeno Kaii, who won't be just a transient character to have a few flashbacks and then get cut down by ito, but rather a character that moves the plot forward.
February 20, 2020
This is such a great series. I could have done without the opium toward the end, but at least one can’t say that all of these chapters are the same - even if they tend to conclude similarly.
May 27, 2020
A poisoner with no honor that controls all the lowest people in Edo might be Lone Wolf's deadliest foe.
January 29, 2021
A title that fits the volume, and an interesting subject. Another interesting afterword, though there seems to be a printing error and some of the text was lost.
July 15, 2021
Same as the first. Fantastic art, engaging action stories, not much to the characters.
February 27, 2022
İtto nün bushido dışı mücadelesi başlıyor ve bu ciltte bitmiyor.
December 21, 2022
Anyone up for an entire Poison themed Lone Wolf and Cub and why its dishonorable? 🙋🏼
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