 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | DEL REY | | | ▪ | AUTHOR / ART: | | MASAKI SEGAWA | | | ▪ | FORMAT: | | JAPANESE / B&W | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 224 | | | ▪ | RATING: | | M | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 11/24/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 12/02/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | SCOTT CAMPBELL |
The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls – Revenge of the Hori Clan is a really entertaining ninja epic set in feudal Japan. It’s a great setting with lots of possibilities, and a favorite genre of many to delve into. This has got to be the greatest vengeance story since The Count of Monte Cristo - it's very intense, and chockfull of action and searing fights. The Hori Clan rebels against the Brutal lord Kato Akinari, but the revolt is crushed. Kato sends his seven elite soldiers - The Seven Spears of Aizu - to hunt down and kill the survivors. The Spears track the survivors to a convent, where women from the Hori clan are hiding among the nuns. They kill most of the nuns, but seven of the Hori women elude death. Trained by the master swordsman Yagyu Jyubei Mitsuyoshi, they resolve to kill the Seven Spears one by one, and then eliminate Kato himself to end his brutal reign. In volume seven, all hell breaks loose! Revenge is sweet – even for the nuns of the Hori clan who have sworn to avenge their slain sisters. Trained in the lethal samurai arts, they have taken down all but three of the terrible Aizu Seven Spears who were responsible for the slaughter. The women have tracked one, Katô Akinari, to his hideout – but he’s called in some serious support. A deadly showdown is imminent! You just have to love the premise of this story, and the way the characters grow as they advance through the story – it’s one of the most attractive parts of this story. So we have seven women who are completely unskilled in the art of combat versus the Seven Spears, trained and hardened killers who have never known defeat. They obviously cannot defeat the Spears through skill, so they will need all their cleverness and guile in order to win. Lord Kato and the Seven Spears are truly the most despicable villains you will have the pleasure of reading about in a while – their characterization and plot is done up perfectly. Yagyu Jyubei is just awesome – he makes a great leader, and actually gives us hope that these seven women can get the job done even though they lacked training before they met him. This manga is full of memorable characters, intense battles, and a rapidly twisting plot. It has something for everyone, and the art is unique and professional at a level that is much higher than the average manga out there. The fight scenes are of course very good, and the art style lends well to bringing the action to life. This is a M rated series too, so the violence is high, but not unnecessary – it’s just the right amount to make this series exciting and gruesome enough for the age group it’s selling to. If you liked anime like Ninja Scroll or manga like Path of the Assassin, Yagyu Ninja Scrolls should be right down your alley – check it out!
IN SUMMARY:
The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls – Revenge of the Hori Clan is a great action series with well-developed characters and a fast moving plot. Fans of Ninja and Samurai epics should check this one out for sure! |
