Path of the Assassin, Vol. 12: Three Foot Battle

半蔵の門 [Hanzou no Mon] #12

by Kazuo Koike, Goseki Kojima

The march continues as Japan's future shogun moves to the center of Japan to claim it as his own. But along the way he'll have to deal with intense and complicated politics, strange and sometimes perverted fighting techniques, and a rapidly changing samurai culture in old Japan. And often the history of Japan all rests on the wiles of shogun-to-be Ieyasu's clever and loyal ninja, Hattori Hanzo.

Lone Wolf & Cub creators Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima are experts at weaving an intense and sometimes oddly sensational yarn, and this quasi-historical tale of a young man's rise to the top of samurai politics doesn't pull any punches.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Japan

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 9, 2008

About the author

Kazuo 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.

Reviews

[Jedi JC Daquis · Rating 4 out of 5]

By now I'm pretty sure that readers who have reached this far in the series are invested in finishing it for there are just three more volumes to go. Three Foot Battle is very entertaining and action-packed, cinematic as if I'm watching an epic battle scene from the movies.

This is not just a straight-up army versus army volume. The battles are full of strategy and politics. Just as I thought that the formidable Tokugawa-Nobunaga alliance is unbeatable, opposing forces come up and you won't know who will win until the battle has concluded.

I would also like to commend the fact that the story becomes more focused with Hanzo now who is after all, the main protagonist in the series. His battles against fellow suppa are as equally entertaining as the larger wars.

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Battles, assassins, and lots of weird sex stuff. The story is starting to focus more on Hanzo which I like. I really just want him to do more assassin stuff.

Although I enjoy the strategy Koike talks about during the battles I do get confused when the characters start throwing around all the names of leaders and castles.

What was the editor doing when Koike was proposing all these weird sex scenes? It really detracts from the whole experience.