Samurai Executioner, Vol. 4: Portrait of Death

首斬り朝 [Kubikiri Asa] #4

by Kazuo Koike, Goseki Kojima (Illustrator)

A frenetic mix of samurai honor, base violence, and the blood of beheading, Samurai Executioner is not for the faint of heart. For those who love blood and guts crime drama, historical fiction, and brutal action, this is right up your alley. The men who brought you Lone Wolf & Cub also created Kubikiri Asa, a young ronin samurai who helps keep the peace by putting the fear of beheading into Edo's criminals. But it doesn't always work, and so he has to. Full of squirting blood, fast paced samurai swordwork, and the drama that comes from human corruption, Samurai Executioner is like no other classic manga.

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

317 pages, Paperback

First published March 9, 2005

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

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meticulous research and kinetically focused art make this my favorite manga series - Yamada Asaemon (山田 朝右衞門) is a rōnin who once held high office (sword tester for the shogun and executioner). Now he travels a path where crime and corruption promise death to innocent and guilty alike. Be warned: extreme graphic representation of tameshigiri (test cutting) on live convicted criminals. My advice is that you look up the term tameshigiri before you buy this book to read it. Highest recommendation.

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series continues the excellent quality that we come to expect of the authors. Personally, the story that really moved me on this volume was the title story, "Portrait of Death;" this one was also the most gruesome in the volume. The short piece about the new straw was a nice little character sketch. Overall, you can't go wrong with this series.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slightly mixed bag of stories about the Yamada Asaemon character and his profession, ranging from the dull (a parable on economic disparity that has to explain the tax system in precise detail, making for a leaden tale) to the beautiful (a sublime short demonstrating the kindness of the character).

As always with Koike and Kojima work it's worth picking up.

[Mohammed Abdikhader Firdhiye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh the horror of only 6 volumes left to read of this historical drama.

[Víctor Segovia · Rating 4 out of 5]

excelente tomo de la obra. Donde, al menos quiero creer, que sé explora un poco la personalidad y pasado de nuestro protagonista.

[Geoff Sebesta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series seems to be everything that I wanted Lone Wolf and Cub to be.

[Jedi JC Daquis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written and easily the most affectionate among the first four volumes of Samurai Executioner, here we see the caring and lighter side of Kubikiri Asa heavily contrasted in a ruthless world where sometimes, death is the only way out.

Of course all the chapters end with tragic deaths since yeah, executioner but how the stories unfold embalms the tragic deaths in the end with beauty and poetry. This volume has successfully conveyed the heavy sadness it brings to its readers. A beautiful sadness. Here you'd see rare and genuine bursts of emotions from Yamada himself from an otherwise expressionless persona.

Let me also commend how historical details are carefully melded into the story, further giving drama instead of being a drag element. I have never skipped reading a word from these interesting snippets of Japan's past.

[Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ball crushing craziness!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has the best marriage proposal in the history of comics. I really love the sense of history that comes with reading this book - the time and page space that Koike and Kojima give to explaining the prison system or the cost of an execution, the way that samurai interact with commoners. It's extremely insightful, and probably among the best historical comics that I've ever read in terms of presenting history unadorned.

I love the full, realistic and lush art, although Kojima's inability to draw more than a few different faces does become problematic at times. And I love Koike's ability to go back and forth between textbook narration, terse, formal dialogue, and rough, illiterate ranting.

Kubikiri Asa remains a bit of a blank slate, a statuesque man of honor, although the story "Portrait of Death" does give some interesting insight into his youth and the satisfaction that he gains from his job. It's a grim, terrifying thing to find satisfaction in, but it does make for some compelling reading.

[Vittorio Rainone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poche storie: S.E. è uno dei più bei manga in circolazione: una mescolanza fra minuziosa ricostruzione storica e storie inventate che hanno la potenza aneddotica di parabole. Asaemon Yamada affronta, in questo volume, altri tre casi: una ragazza che spazza le foglie aspettando il padre, una monaca buddista violentata da vendicare, una donna anch'essa vittima di violenza, legata al suo aguzzino da un rapporto di amore e odio. Tutti e tre racconti bellissimi, per una serie che non sbaglia un colpo.

[Coryke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series continues to exhibit good writing and strong characterization. If anything keeps it from being a five-star read, it is the authors' frequent story endings that leave the implications or significance for the reader to infer. That's not so bad in general, but I'm not sure that I, as an American reader, infer the same thing intended by Japanese authors. Still, it's a very good read.

[Sonic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was amazing in its depth and scope. For a cold blooded executioner, ... these stories convey a great depth of feeling, while existing as well crafted stories, that serve as fascinating historical fiction.

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yamada isn't one for friends, but he is respectful to a fault. His attitude toward a group of samurai, as well as his reputation, earn him an invite to their group. Due to the high prices in this period, most of them can barely make ends meet. The life of a samurai isn't bountiful, especially during peace time. The friendship with Yamada is sadly short-lived. Their poverty forces three of them to resort to murder and theft. They get caught and choose to commit seppuku. Yamada's rank as ronin doesn't normally allow him to witness it, but his superior relents. The three ask for their seppuku sword to be tested, to make sure it's sharp. Yamada offers to test it - on his own leg, no less.

The next story features some philosophy. It discusses the importance of art, of life, of the law, of the right to kill. A female artist ask Yamada for permission to witness a beheading. She intends to use the imagery to reveal the importance of life. Yamada initially refuses, but he reconsiders after hearing the story of her father who was also an executioner and sword tester. During one test his sword was damaged and he was let go in utter humiliation. He became obsessed about finding out how the sword was damaged. He started killing random people, but the police never found him. His own daughter killed him to stop his obsessive ways. Yamada figures out that she has a blood lust that he too has felt right up until his own father forced his hand when he died. He offers to marry her in an attempt to heal her unhealthy desires, but she doesn't feel worthy of him. She throws herself off a cliff.

An accountant reveals that the executions carried out in the prison are costing the government a lot of money. The warden intends to have the prisoners kill off some of their own to save money. It's called the 'set up' - the inmates handle the overpopulation by 'removing' a prisoner when a new one comes. It's much cheaper then to bribe a doctor into writing it off as a death caused by illness. A gang is formed and nobody sleeps well at night. Then the gang boss is overthrown, the guards are bribed into allowing weapons and drink in the cell, the violence reaches inhuman levels. The prisoners soon acquire the tools to take over the prison. The authorities get involved. But worse, Yamada gets involved. He cuts through the prisoners like butter, lifting the siege single-handedly.

[Oscar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cada tomo solo hace mejor esta colección, es adictiva

[Nick Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent, as always