Samurai: Executioner

Author: Kazuo Koike
Artist: Goseki Kojima
Publisher: Kodansha
English Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Review Type: Manga
Status: Completed
Genre: Seinen, Drama, Historical
Volumes: 10
Vintage: 1972-1976

Synopsis

The story is set in the Edo period of feudal Japan. The manga chronicles Yamada Asaemon, a ronin who is appointed as the official sword tester for the shogun. Nicknamed Kubikiri Asa (neck-chopper Asa, or decapitator Asaemon), he tests the swords made for the shogun by way of conducting executions on death row prisoners of said era, hence his morbid nickname. Yamada Asaemon's character is based on real life sword testers who served the Tokugawa Shogunate up to the early 19th century.


While the story revolves around Asaemon, the focus is not on him, but more on the people he meets in the course of his work. The stories rather tend to focus on the prisoners that Asaemon executes, and the consequent events that led up to the point where they actually meet him upon facing execution, and most are told as their final words before receiving the fatal stroke. As with his meeting with Ogami Itto (Lone Wolf of Lone Wolf and Cub fame, another manga written and illustrated by both Koike and Kojima-san) such encounters often give Asaemon time to reflect and think, on his life in general.

Although the characters themselves are fictional throughout the course of the manga, each story is written with precise historical accuracy, giving the reader a clear picture of how feudal Japan was during the Edo period, from its laws to monarchy to even its architecture, prompting the English publisher Dark Horse to provide a glossary to help define the many Japanese terms to keep the stories authentic.


Chibi's Kubikiri Comments

When I first came across Kazuo Koike-san's work it was on Crying Freeman way back in 1991, probably about the time when Viz, then still a budding company, started publishing the title under it's small plethora of manga brought stateside. I was instantly hooked by the concept of the story, where an assassin weeps for the victims he kills, and eventually falls in love with one target, making her his wife in the process. I then came across the immensely popular Lone Wolf and Cub, the series that immortalized Koike-san as one of the best manga writers ever, and his resume also included being classmates with one Rumiko Takahashi during his art school years (she's famous for Ranma, Urusei Yatsura, and Inu Yasha). After learning that Dark Horse has published the mini-tankobons (or mini-mangas) for easy reading on both Lone Wolf and Cub and Samurai Executioner, I decided to give this series a shot.

Putting a little thought into it, it does make marketing sense to associate both Lone Wolf and Cub and Samurai Executioner on Dark Horse's part. Yamada Asaemon was featured in Lone Wolf and Cub to be Ogami Itto's (Lone Wolf's protagonist) equal at the sword. This prequel (Asaemon encounters Ogami after his sword testing days) even features the same samurai culture, historical references and even the extremely graphic monochrome blood squirting violence that made its sister title so popular. However, delving deeper into the series, I discovered the two protagonists could not be further apart, and in some ways makes Samurai Executioner a better read.


Samurai Executioner, as explained in the synopsis is a series of loosely connected stories centered on Yamada Asaemon, a third generation O-tameshiyaku (official sword tester) for the shogun. The duties of the O-tameshiyaku is to perform the O-tameshi, or official cutting, to test the sharpness and cutting prowess of the swords forged for the use of the shogun, and also extended to other feudal lords or daimyo, and anyone else Asaemon sees fit. The textbook definition of a samurai, Asaemon is adept at martial arts, unnaturally skilled with the sword, and is extraordinarily conflicted about his job. In order to inherit the job from his father, Asaemon had to murder him as his first practice of O-tameshi on a live target, and with tears running down his cheeks, a son grants his father's final wish. This in turn sets the stage for many Bushido morality plays throughout the series.

The first book already shows us three examples of Asaemon's conflicted nature in graphic detail, and much like its sister manga Lone Wolf and Cub, this series is not for the faint hearted, and not exactly violence junkies' cup of tea either. Each of the short stories are musings on codes of honor, ancient morals, and lots and lots of blood and body parts, putting even some of the more graphic horror comics to shame.

Unlike Lone Wolf and Cub's 'high-concept' idea to keep the plot moving, Samurai Executioner is a complete paradox to the concept. Asaemon is not out to avenge his clan by seeking out its destroyers, and readers of Lone Wolf and Cub would know Asaemon's final fate. This manga is in some ways, how Kubikiri Asa got to that point.


In conclusion, Samurai Executioner is an extended character study, where in this world of violence we are introduced to a character essentially the equal to Ogami Itto, who puposely follows a different path. Where Itto teaches his son the ways of murder by bringing him along in his travels, Asaemon refuses to have a family, hoping that the long line of violence and murder in his bloodline would end with his death. While his honor ensures that he performs his duties above and beyond the call, his heart prevents him from passing the 'curse' of the O-tameshi to anyone else. Koike-san's flair in provoking deep thought from reading this series is exemplary, and i do recommend this manga to not only fans of Lone Wolf and Cub, but readers wanting to immerse themselves in ancient Japanese cultures and traditions. Not your standard manga entertainment, but entertaining nonetheless.



Chibi's Review

Storyline: 4/5
Character Development: 3/5
Art: 4/5
Originality: 3/5