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半蔵の門 [Hanzou no Mon] #3
Path of the Assassin, Vol. 3: Comparison of a Man
Koike and Kojima's story of the famed ninja, Hanzo Hattori and his trials and tribulations protecting the shogun-to-be, Tokugawa Ieyasu. Each page builds upon the relationship between the two warrirors and the women they love. Path of the Assassin, printed in the same size format as Lone Wolf and Cub and Samurai Executioner, this title is a wonderful addition to the Koike and Kojima samurai collection. · Published in the original Japanese format and unretouched which keeps the art intact. · This is a fifteen-volume story starring the legendary ninja and Kill Bill reference Hanzo Hattori. FOR MATURE READERS.
312 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2014
7 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
Kazuo Koike
562 books296 followersKazuo 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 1, 2024
Another excellent volume, this may be the best yet.
I really love how Koike presents conflict. He shows the game theory that each side is operating within, all the different strategies and opportunities that presents themselves but also how each side knows how the other side will react.
The young future Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu continues to surprise everyone with his cunning - but he's not ruthless like so many of the people he gets in conflict with. Koike did such a good job in the first volume of making Ieyasu seem too weak and too young to make a great impact.
Hanzo Hattori meets his future wife another assassin... and proceeds to rape her. I don't understand Koike's obsession with this trope, it's a bit disturbing and I could see it turning people off the book completely.
I really love how Koike presents conflict. He shows the game theory that each side is operating within, all the different strategies and opportunities that presents themselves but also how each side knows how the other side will react.
The young future Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu continues to surprise everyone with his cunning - but he's not ruthless like so many of the people he gets in conflict with. Koike did such a good job in the first volume of making Ieyasu seem too weak and too young to make a great impact.
Hanzo Hattori meets his future wife another assassin... and proceeds to rape her. I don't understand Koike's obsession with this trope, it's a bit disturbing and I could see it turning people off the book completely.
February 1, 2015
On this volume, the star is Ieyasu/Motoyasu. He showed his wisdom from the beginning up to the last chapter.
August 21, 2016
I am currently in volume 14 now, but while checking my past reviews about Path of the Assassin, I skipped reviewing this one. Now this volume still lets us peek through the younger days of Hanzo and Motoyasu. I'm telling you, this friendship will go deeper as the story progresses. The soft porn element will persist through each book so better be warned than be surprised with such. Nobunaga will be part of something bigger so better watch out for him as well.
March 11, 2023
4.5 - Really enjoyed this one!
May 26, 2019
Problematic
Lone Wolf and Cub is one of the absolute best manga series is have ever read. It’s a shame that this is really problematic.
While roles for women were not great in the first collaboration, Path of the Assassin seems to revel in the sexual assault of characters using them both as comic relief and the gateway to romantic attachment for characters. This is the 3rd such case in as many volumes.
I’m going to continue reading because i in my haste and love of the other series bought the entire set, but this is very disappointing
Lone Wolf and Cub is one of the absolute best manga series is have ever read. It’s a shame that this is really problematic.
While roles for women were not great in the first collaboration, Path of the Assassin seems to revel in the sexual assault of characters using them both as comic relief and the gateway to romantic attachment for characters. This is the 3rd such case in as many volumes.
I’m going to continue reading because i in my haste and love of the other series bought the entire set, but this is very disappointing
October 25, 2017
The story of the two teens, one who would be a future great ruler and the other who serves him in the dark, continues. This time it is Hanzo who learns a few life lessons, including what is like to be a horse to the woman you love.
The story may be too slow moving for some audiences who crave a battle every other page, but I find the pacing just right. It reads like a saga that is slowly unfolding, and I can't say that about many manga these days.
The story may be too slow moving for some audiences who crave a battle every other page, but I find the pacing just right. It reads like a saga that is slowly unfolding, and I can't say that about many manga these days.
May 10, 2022
Great art and parts of the story are fantastic. Violence towards women is graphic.
January 17, 2014
Väter und Brüder
Du weißt, was ich machen will - also mache ich genau das, denn Du erwartest, dass ich das Gegenteil mache, um Dich auszutricksen. Kriegsstrategien sorgen für Sieg oder Niederlage, und je besser man seinen Feind kennt, desto höher die Chance, eine solche Logikkette zu durchbrechen und den Feind wirklich zu überraschen. Am größten ist natürlich die Chance, wenn der Gegner denkt, er sei dein Freund - oder sogar so vertraut mit dir ist, dass er Vatergefühle für dich entwickelt. Doch wie sagt Ieyasu so einsichtig über die, die seine Unterstützung wollen? A tiger for a father, a wolf for a brother..
Etwas, das wir weder in dieser Reihe noch in Lone Wolf and Cub je gesehen haben: Der Autor bringt sich als allwissender, rückblickender Ich-Erzähler ein, und spricht stellenweise den Leser direkt an. Ich weiß nicht wirklich, wie mir das gefällt. Da in diesem Band auch Kojima hin und wieder etwas unpassend in die Mangatrickkiste greift (schräge Gesichtsausdrücke und dazu passende Lautmalereien) setzt sich "Comparison of a Man" von den anderen Werken dieses Autorenduos ab.
Letztlich bekommt man aber trotzdem einen einmaligen Einblick in die Sengoku-Zeit und die überaus interessanten, weil so völlig verschiedenen Personen Ieyasu, Nobunaga, Hideyoshi (der diesmal einen größeren Anteil bekommt) und Hanzo. Da man im Gegensatz zu "Lone Wolf and Cub" aber schon weiß, wie die Geschichte weitergehen wird, verlasse ich mich darauf, dass dem kongenialen Autorenduo in Bezug auf Charakterisierung und Detailverliebheit weiterhin soviel einfällt wie bisher.
Du weißt, was ich machen will - also mache ich genau das, denn Du erwartest, dass ich das Gegenteil mache, um Dich auszutricksen. Kriegsstrategien sorgen für Sieg oder Niederlage, und je besser man seinen Feind kennt, desto höher die Chance, eine solche Logikkette zu durchbrechen und den Feind wirklich zu überraschen. Am größten ist natürlich die Chance, wenn der Gegner denkt, er sei dein Freund - oder sogar so vertraut mit dir ist, dass er Vatergefühle für dich entwickelt. Doch wie sagt Ieyasu so einsichtig über die, die seine Unterstützung wollen? A tiger for a father, a wolf for a brother..
Etwas, das wir weder in dieser Reihe noch in Lone Wolf and Cub je gesehen haben: Der Autor bringt sich als allwissender, rückblickender Ich-Erzähler ein, und spricht stellenweise den Leser direkt an. Ich weiß nicht wirklich, wie mir das gefällt. Da in diesem Band auch Kojima hin und wieder etwas unpassend in die Mangatrickkiste greift (schräge Gesichtsausdrücke und dazu passende Lautmalereien) setzt sich "Comparison of a Man" von den anderen Werken dieses Autorenduos ab.
Letztlich bekommt man aber trotzdem einen einmaligen Einblick in die Sengoku-Zeit und die überaus interessanten, weil so völlig verschiedenen Personen Ieyasu, Nobunaga, Hideyoshi (der diesmal einen größeren Anteil bekommt) und Hanzo. Da man im Gegensatz zu "Lone Wolf and Cub" aber schon weiß, wie die Geschichte weitergehen wird, verlasse ich mich darauf, dass dem kongenialen Autorenduo in Bezug auf Charakterisierung und Detailverliebheit weiterhin soviel einfällt wie bisher.
January 24, 2016
Yang namanya historical fiction, setiap pengarang bebas membuat intrepretasi tentang para tokoh sejarah dalam kisahnya.
Karena novel Taiko-nya Eiji Yoshikawa yang lebih dulu kubaca, kusukai, dan terpatri di benak, well, aku lebih suka gambaran Yoshikawa-sensei tentang watak para karakter utama Taiko, terutama hubungan antara Hideyoshi-Nobunaga, yang menjadi contoh loyalitas mutlak.
Iya sih, di manga ini boga lakonnya adalah Hattori-Ieyasu, sudah sewajarnya kalau yang dijadikan contoh loyalitas mutlak adalah mereka, toh Hideyoshi-Nobunaga cuma bintang tamu. Tapi tetap saja aku jadi tidak sreg dengan versi Koike-sensei, yang menganggap tidak ada unsur trust antara Hideyoshi-Nobunaga.
Memang seperti di versi Yoshikawa-sensei Nobunaga memanggil anak buahnya dengan vocabulary kebun binatang (tapi anehnya Hideyoshi dipanggil Tikus Botak, bukan Monyet), tapi di versi manga ini ia digambarkan sebagai pemimpin tidak menaruh kepercayaan pada siapapun. Hal yang aneh kalau kita sudah terlalu biasa dengan versi Nobunaga sebagai pemimpin yang sangat mengenal karakter anak buahnya hingga mempercayai mereka (akibatnya blunder untuk kasus Akechi Mitsuhide).
Hal yang jadi terasa aneh di versi manga ini adalah ketika Hideyoshi digambarkan kehilangan respek pada junjungan yang dianggapnya terlalu licik dan omongannya tidak bisa dipercaya. Ih, kalau bicara tentang karakter yang licin seperti belut, di versi Taiko Hideyoshi sendiri lebih parah malah :)). Hideyoshi di versi manga ini persis karyawan perusahaan yang sudah capek dan pasrah dengan kelakuan manajemen yang payah, just endure it dengan berpikir "terserah lu deh mau gimana".
Karena novel Taiko-nya Eiji Yoshikawa yang lebih dulu kubaca, kusukai, dan terpatri di benak, well, aku lebih suka gambaran Yoshikawa-sensei tentang watak para karakter utama Taiko, terutama hubungan antara Hideyoshi-Nobunaga, yang menjadi contoh loyalitas mutlak.
Iya sih, di manga ini boga lakonnya adalah Hattori-Ieyasu, sudah sewajarnya kalau yang dijadikan contoh loyalitas mutlak adalah mereka, toh Hideyoshi-Nobunaga cuma bintang tamu. Tapi tetap saja aku jadi tidak sreg dengan versi Koike-sensei, yang menganggap tidak ada unsur trust antara Hideyoshi-Nobunaga.
Memang seperti di versi Yoshikawa-sensei Nobunaga memanggil anak buahnya dengan vocabulary kebun binatang (tapi anehnya Hideyoshi dipanggil Tikus Botak, bukan Monyet), tapi di versi manga ini ia digambarkan sebagai pemimpin tidak menaruh kepercayaan pada siapapun. Hal yang aneh kalau kita sudah terlalu biasa dengan versi Nobunaga sebagai pemimpin yang sangat mengenal karakter anak buahnya hingga mempercayai mereka (akibatnya blunder untuk kasus Akechi Mitsuhide).
Hal yang jadi terasa aneh di versi manga ini adalah ketika Hideyoshi digambarkan kehilangan respek pada junjungan yang dianggapnya terlalu licik dan omongannya tidak bisa dipercaya. Ih, kalau bicara tentang karakter yang licin seperti belut, di versi Taiko Hideyoshi sendiri lebih parah malah :)). Hideyoshi di versi manga ini persis karyawan perusahaan yang sudah capek dan pasrah dengan kelakuan manajemen yang payah, just endure it dengan berpikir "terserah lu deh mau gimana".
July 29, 2011
Good stuff this one. Everything moves forward to the point of war, while keeping perspective via the human element. the porno aspect that seemed seedy in the first volume has become a rather poignant insight by this one.
I can't imagine anyone reading this volume without reading the first couple. This is definitely one story in 15 parts, as opposed to a series of self contained stories.
I can't imagine anyone reading this volume without reading the first couple. This is definitely one story in 15 parts, as opposed to a series of self contained stories.
October 15, 2024
While I find the story absorbing, I am troubled by the second rape turned into love angle of the series. I am not sure if this is a Japanese trope, or just something of the author. I am hoping that it will not be a continuing occurence as the series continues.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews