 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | DARK HORSE | | | ▪ | AUTHOR / ART: | | KAZUO KOIKE / GOSEKI KOJIMA | | | ▪ | FORMAT: | | JAPANESE / B&W | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 304 | | | ▪ | RATING: | | 18+ | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 10/24/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 10/12/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | SCOTT CAMPBELL |
In this fictional telling of to-be shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu’s early life, Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima weave an intriguing, sexy, and charming story of young lives passing into very unusual adulthoods – if they can actually live that long that is! The fighting clans of pre-Tokugawa Japan are gathering their arms and are on the move. Classic historical warlords, such as Takeda Shingen, Oda Nobunaga, and a young Ieyasu Tokugawa himself take the field in this quasi-historical graphic novel series. Combining the best of these two great creators’ talents and with the history of a great nation providing the backdrop, Path of the Assassin is a series to collect and read many times over. Volume thirteen is the source of quite a few revelations for this series as a whole. In the politics, struggles, and battles that lead to the birth of a nation, sometimes even good people must die at the hands of allies. And now it's down to only a few warlords of Edo-era Japan. History already tells the story of the victor, but the real guts of Path of the Assassin lie in the characters behind the scenes-the ninja warriors doing the dirty work. Theirs is a story of families and war and intrigue, only far more mysterious and untold. The Oda-Tokugawa allied forces defeated the Azai-Asakura united forces in the battle of Anegawa. Now, after the death of Hojo Ujiyasu, Shingen is ready to take the field. The way things are, Ieyasu will have no future – there is only one thing and one thing alone that can save him. Hanzo must murder Shingen. So advised by Takenaka Hanbei, Hanzo transforms himself into an eighty-year-old man and infiltrates the compound of the Takeda suppa, who are led by Tsukibue Taroza. Prepare to witness Hanzo’s deceptive artistry pushed to its limit. This volume is both truly bizarre, and completely genius at the same time. It’s great fun to see just how Hanzo brings a plan together from nothing, and gets where he wants to go by fooling everyone around him – this time by becoming an extremely elderly man! You can’t really call yourself a ninja until you manage to pull off a trick like this – it’s one of those unwritten rules. As funny as this all sounds, it’s actually intriguing to read as it all unfolds. It’s entertaining to be “in the know” about what is truly going on, and seeing everyone fooled. This volume again proves how good Path of the Assassin is at mixing serious elements with humorous ones, and finding a good balance that is sure to entertain. The art stays to true to how it’s been in previous volumes, and the flow of the story is at a really impressive high this time around especially. This is a great series, and volume thirteen is a great addition to the already awesome story that we’ve read so far.
Moving away from the manga itself for a moment, the author actually has quite an interesting history to speak of, and it’s worth knowing a bit about him if you want to know where Path of the Assassin came from and how it influences other works today. Though widely respected as a powerful writer of graphic fiction, Kazuo Koike has spent a lifetime reaching beyond the bounds of the comics medium. Aside from co-creating and writing such classic tales as Lone Wolf and Cub and Crying Freeman, Koike has hosted the popular Shibi Golf Weekly instructional television program; founded the Albatross View golf magazine; produced movies; written popular fiction, poetry, and screenplays; and mentored some of Japan’s best manga talent. Koike started the Gekiga Sonjuku, a college course aimed at helping talented writers and artists – such as Ranma ½ creator Rumiko Takahashi – break into the comics field. His methods and teachings continue to influence new generations of manga creators, not to mention artists and writers around the world. Examples of Koike’s influence range from the comics works of Frank Miller and Stan Sakai to the films of Quentin Tarantino.
IN SUMMARY:
Path of the Assassin is both humorous, and complexly serious – it manages to be many entertaining things, all within one package, and that in itself is quite a feat. This series gets better with each book – it’s a really great piece of mature work for the mature reader. |
