Lone Wolf and Cub
A disgraced samurai and his son seek vengeance on the Yagyū clan.
Lone Wolf and Cub (Kozure Ōkami, or "Wolf taking along his child") is a Japanese manga series by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. It ran in Futabasha's Weekly Manga Action from September 1970 to April 1976, with its chapters later collected into 28 volumes. The story follows Ogami Ittō, the shōgun's executioner who wields a dōtanuki sword. After being framed by the Yagyū clan, he is disgraced and forced onto the path of an assassin, traveling with his three-year-old son Daigorō to exact revenge. The series is considered one of the greatest and most influential manga ever, inspiring six films, four plays, and a television series.
Quick Facts
- Ja Romaji
- Kozure Ōkami
- Genre
- Adventure · Epic
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
On meifumadō ("The Road to Hell"), Ogami and Daigorō encounter and slay all of Yagyū Retsudō's children and the entire Kurokuwa ninja clan. The shogunate proclaims them outlaws with a price on their heads. The last duel between Ogami and Retsudō runs 178 pages. Toward the end, Ogami's dōtanuki sword is tampered with by a Yagyū ninja, and the sword breaks, giving Ittō fatal wounds. Deadlocked with Retsudō, Ittō dies. Daigorō picks up Retsudō's broken spear and charges; Retsudō allows Daigorō to drive the spear into his body, embracing him and naming him "grandson of my heart," closing the cycle of vengeance. Many stories are written in non-chronological order.
Reader's Guide
Lone Wolf and Cub is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential manga series of all time. Critics have praised Koike's storytelling and Kojima's cinematic artwork, while noting the series' graphic violence, sexual content, episodic structure, and treatment of samurai culture. It has been cited as an origin of the trope of a man protecting a child on a journey from constant danger, inspiring numerous books, comics, films, television shows, and video games. The manga sold 8.3 million copies in Japan and 11.8 million worldwide as of October 2006. Its epic scope, detailed historical accuracy, and brutal depiction of bushido ethos have made it highly regarded. The series was initially released in North America by First Comics in 1987, with covers by Frank Miller and others, but sales fell as the company declined.
More in Japanese film series 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced