Ryuko Vol. 1 & 2 Slipcase Set

by Eldo Yoshimizu

From creator Eldo Yoshimizu comes a stunning manga which tells the tale of Ryuko, a fierce woman of the Yakuza thirsty for revenge. Both Ryuko volumes are now collected into this one must-buy box set complete with three exclusive artcards.

A must for manga fans! Ryuko is a hard-hitting, motorcycle-riding, high ranking member of the Japanese mafia stationed in the Middle-East. After a fierce battle with the government, she becomes embroiled with a mysterious terrorist organisation. But things become personal for Ryuko when her mother is kidnapped...

Ryuko captures all the tropes and typical elements of a Japanese crime thriller and turns it all on its head!

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels

496 pages, Paperback

Published October 26, 2021

Reviews

[Pau Lluis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Misoginia estilizada, entre otros problemas.

[Alexander Engel-Hodgkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.1/5

Eldo Yoshimizu's Ryuko is a manga I've been curious about for a while now, ever since I've been following his progress for its sequel on Instagram. I've been a fan of the Hard Case Crime imprint too, and was surprised and intrigued to see their name attached to this.

Now that I've finally gotten my hands on the slipcase set for Vol. 1 and 2 (which form a complete story), what do I think?

I enjoyed it, despite its flaws, which can be boiled down to two things: the art can sometimes be so heavily detailed that it's difficult and at times impossible to tell what's going in during some action scenes; and the pacing is all over the place. Granted, it's a short read altogether, and a very entertaining one at that, but sometimes Yoshimizu gets a little ahead of himself with the jumps between time periods in the narrative, and the shadows and blacks in the art. That being said, his artwork is gorgeous to look at, grungy, and oozing with style straight outta the 60's and 70's. If it weren't for the appearance of modern tech I'd swear this was a reprint of a decades-old manga.

This set also came with some neat little collectible cards, which are nice things to have. I enjoyed this story, and I'll be looking into his other work.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eldo Yoshimizu graces us with Hard Case Crime's first manga entry: a bloody warpath of karateka, international intruige, secret societies and organized crime spanning generations and exploding across the globe, starting and ending in Japan and all about Ryuko. An amazing entry and I can only hope for more from Yoshimizu.

[Elfo-oscuro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Digamos que 3'5. Tiene un trazo diferente y muy dinamico a lo que puedes haber leido, pero le imprime muy bien ese caracter de acción y la 2a parte mejora bastante. Entonces porqué 3*? Pues pq me parece lioso en personajes y en tiempos, me ha costado entrar y digamos que he seguido pq era de lectura rapida con muy poco guión(tampoco lo necesita)
Recomendable por conocer a Yoshimizu

[Sanne]

Vol. 2 was veel beter dan Vol. 1. De tekeningen waren minder rommelig en daardoor was het verhaal beter te volgen. Er zaten ook wat toffe plaatjes tussen. Verder is het verhaal wat cliché maar dat is oké.

[Clayton Kempf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast paced sometimes too fast paced, crime drama with a web of human connections. Vibes are immaculate and scenes of realization are contrasted beautifully with the rest of the story. An enjoyable short read.

[Highland G · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst drawn manga I have ever seen, almost impossible to follow at times and relies on it’s only asset way to much. Young underdressed women. Thats it.
Dont waste your money.

[21stpear · Rating 5 out of 5]

紙質書。爆美…很多很多跨頁看得爽死了。戰鬥場景，美少女，摩托車，黑幫，龍紋身，雖然故事有點俗套，但是那個線條畫得實在是太棒了。貌似以前出過一次中文版，但買不到了，許願以後能低價收一套。（美版書印刷有點薄薄的，但拿著手感比想像中好很多，還是紙質漫畫有意思啊！）

[Victor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essentially a 90s Hong Kong Triad movie crossed with a 70s Japanes Yakuza movie (and in no ways confusing if you've any familiarity with the tropes of those), with impressive art, if too many obnoxious fan service panels in Volume One. Solid and visually interesting, if not amazing or revelatory.