Lone Wolf and Cub 7: Cloud Dragon, Wind Tiger

Rating:
Summary: A world in ever finer detail
Review: As most reviews of this series will contend, this is a story that cannot be put down once you start. Volume 7 has two particularly good stories. This is not to say that the other three are mediocre. Far from it.

"Dragnet" - awesome story of how the Yagyu clan manipulates the shogunate into rounding up all criminals just to catch the one ronin they want. The world of Edo politics is really the heart of this story.

"Cloud Dragon, Wind Tiger" is another great story depicting the world of the samurai, more than that of our hero. In this case, the loyalty of a samurai is examined -- seen from many points of view -- Ogami Itto's inevitable winning duel becomes less important about the survival of our hero than for the metaphor of the death of the virtuous retainer and the code he embodies. The moral at the end of the story explaining "Cloud Dragon, Wind Tiger" is perfectly rendered.

Vol. 7 seemed to represent a shift in the storytelling. We still care about Itto and Daigoro -- but what really appeals to the reader is their world: a thriving decadence and a disintegrating ethos. When Itto has to use his trick gun, you know it's the samurai who have really lost. 4/5 stars here just to reserve my right to rave about the perfect 5 stories out of 5 later.

Rating:
Summary: The tradition continues....
Review: Following in the footsteps of the earlier editions, Ogami Itto continues in his slow but unfaltering quest to reveal the crimes of the Yagyu. And the Yagyu are aware... In this issue Itto and his son Diagoro face a Yagyu dragnet, a lone samaurai from an execution past, a young woman willing to give her life to avenge her family, and Diagoro witnesses the murder of a princess. Amid the varying side plots the intensity continues to build - how should a lone man and a young child with no material resources continue against the odds of a clan, luck and life pitted against them ? This is again, a fabulous book....

Rating:
Summary: Lone Wolf gives the stage over to other characters
Review: The striking cover art by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley for Volume 7 of the Lone Wolf and Cub manga epic is one of his best, but I have to think it would have been more appropriate for Daigoro to be on the cover because in "Cloud Dragon, Wind Tiger," two of the five stories focus on the Cub rather than Lone Wolf. Kazuo Koike continues to provide a few additional details about the quest Ogamii Itto has taken along the assassin's road, but the emphasis has become a bit more about character than violence at this point in the tale. Furthermore, those characters being studied are now, more often than not, others besides the title characters. "Cloud Dragon, Wind Tiger" offers up five more episodes:

(34) "Dragnet" has the Yagyu clan trying to find a way to kill Ogamii Itto without seeming to break their promise not to do so as long as the ronin stays out of the Edo Funai. Their plan is to have the police round up the Lone Wolf as a common criminal. But, of course, Ogamii rises to the challenge, seeing it as the perfect die to die.

(35) "Night Stalker" is the first of the volume's two Daigoro stories, in which the youngster becomes enthralled by a lumber center while waiting for his father to return. In his explorations Daigoro stumbles up the handiwork of another assassin. This story relies primarily on Goseki Kojima's artwork as the dialogue, as you would expect, is rather minimal.

(36) "Cloud Dragon, Wind Tiger" provides us another glimpse into the past life of Lone Wolf as the assassin encounters a man he had met in his former life. The title story is about a duel that has been a long time coming and serves as a fitting reminder that Lone Wolf is not the only former samurai of honor. Certainly a worthy story for providing the title of this volume.

(37) "Inn of the Last Chrysanthemum" is another classic story in which Lone Wolf and Cub are essentially minor characters. This is really the story of Oi-Chan, one of the "Put-Out Girls" at the Inn. She persuades father and son to spend the night at the Inn, although she has been promised to another that night. Eventually we learn the story of her family's disgrace that has forced her to this position (which involves several scenes of sexual violence), and how Oi-Chan now has an opportunity to exact her revenge. (The cover art is for this story.)

(38) "Penal Code Article Seventy-Nine" basically says that age is no excuse for breaking the law. This Daigoro story has the three year old once again waiting for his father to return and going off to investigate something of interest: this time a festival. Also there is "Quick Change" O-Cho, the famous pickpocket and her bag man. Pursued by the police, she gives a wallet to Daigoro and "If you keep this for me, I'll give you a Mon, okay? Promise...?" Of course, neither the thief nor the police can understand the importance of those words to a son who has observed that once hired, you did what your client orders to the last. We will also learn that Daigoro knows another word besides "Papa." Another extremely moving story from Koike and Kojima.

The three "guest stars" of the last three stories are all extremely well drawn characters and you become so captivated reading about their lives that you forget they are but incidental characters, never to be seen again after the tale is done. You know, I am going to stop counting how many times I think that I have just finished reading the best volume in this series. I am just going to continue reading one episode a night and savoring them. Just do not explain why I have waited this long to start enjoying one of the classic "comic book" stories of the 20th century.