Hiroshi HirataBesprekingen

The ending was sudden (if this truly is the ending of the series), but I really enjoyed my time with this. Seeing self-immolating, all to simply sell a point, never gets tiring hehe.

This comic series is both manly as fuck, yet mad respectful - "stoic" was a good word I heard someone described this. It's incredible that this is all based in fact, and more so how it is all illustrated in this brutal realism. I love the art and the stories and I can only wish for more.

If you like things like Samurai Executioner and Lone Wolf and Cub, you will probably like this as well. This is a tale of samurai who have fallen into poverty and hard times, and they try to preserve their honor and dignity. Not always an easy task. The story starts fast and graphic (a scene where a convict is to be killed), and the pace pretty much remains fairly quick for the narrative. Like other works in this genre, it is very evocative of the era it presents. The art is very well suited to the story. My only issue is that this volume ends just as the story is picking up an important plot. I hope I can find the next title, though I have learned Black Horse discontinued the series after the third volume. A pity, since this is clearly a good piece of work.

Lu 1 et 2

Lecture un peu roborative. Hirata nous fait suivre le destin d'une femme forte au 16ème siècle au milieu d'un monde dominé par les hommes. Les séquences didactiques et explicatives hachent le récit. Les femmes sont fortes et mastoques. Hirata excelle à nous montrer la force virile, même si les attitudes se répétent, alors qu'il a plus de mal à représenter la féminité.½

Histoire intéressante et scénario bien déroulé, ce gekiga est très sympa mais est nettement pour adulte, par contre on sent la documentation derrière, ce qui est confirmé par la note de fin.