Legend of Kamui – serie

The iconic series that launched the alt-manga bible GARO becomes available in English for the very first time. At long last, manga titan Shirato Sanpei's groundbreaking epic makes its way into English. Celebrated as a watershed of both the Japanese counterculture and dramatic, longform storytelling in manga, The Legend of Kamui serves up clashing swords and class struggle to create a timeless political allegory set in feudal Japan. This ten-volume series is a must-have for fans of samurai and ninja manga and anime, and of other giants of postwar manga like Tezuka Osamu, Mizuki Shigeru, Tsuge Yoshiharu, and Lone Wolf and Cub's Kojima Goseki. It's the 17th century in Japan. Child outcast Kamui lives on the fringes of a miserably stratified society. Fueled by pure grit, rage, and a dash of cunning, his only way out is to take up the mantle of ninja. Follow scrappy peasants, cold-blooded ninja, and disgraced and exalted warriors as they navigate the unforgiving hardships of a violent yet hopeful age. With its vivid and critical attention to social injustice and environmental issues against a backdrop of heart-pounding action and romance, this multilayered gekiga drama not only redefined ninja and samurai fantasy, it also offers astonishing parallels with the modern day. Originally serialised between 1964 and 1971 in the legendary alt-manga magazine GARO, The Legend of Kamui is translated by social historian and decorated academic Richard Rubinger.

More swords, more fighting, more deception... Shirato Sanpei s epic feudal sword drama continues! In Shirato s world, life is hard and every step forward is hard-won. But through that hardship comes strength. The Legend of Kamui: Volume 2 features more action and more intrigue as minor characters step into the light of this sweeping seventeenth-century social tapestry. Deeply embroiled in the deceptive maneuverings of the upper class, the warrior Ikkaku begins to see the betrayal around him. Meanwhile, the genin Shosuke uses his education to better himself and learn to farm all while realizing his education can better the lives of those around him, too. As he gains the skills and intelligence necessary to forge a path forward, he also becomes all too aware that there can, and must, be a better way. Will Ikkaku become a prisoner of his own quest for revenge? Will Shosuke find salvation in leading peers out of destitution? The White Wolf, too, resurfaces and begins to lead a life apart from other wolves until he meets the great One-Eyed Lone Wolf. Will he be accepted or will he be killed, hunted down for his rare pelt? Only time will tell. There is no rest for the wicked, and sinister forces only work against the little guy. Translated by Richard Rubinger with Noriko Rubinger.