Lone Wolf and the Cub

[RiezaFM]

Inilah satu dari dua komik Jepang yang berhasil membuat saya menghabiskan jutaan rupiah hanya untuk mengkoleksi sampai tamat dari mulai volume 1 - 28.

When Lone Wolf and Cub was first released in Japan in 1970 it became wildly popular (some 8 million copies were sold in Japan) for its powerful, epic samurai story and its stark and gruesome depiction of the violence during Tokugawa era Edo period The story spanned 28 volumes of manga, with over 300 pages each (totalling over 9,000 pages in all).

Lone Wolf and Cub was first released in America by First Comics in 1990. Due to lack of interest they discontinued the series before its completion. However, in 2002 Dark Horse comics released the full 28 volume series, and commissioned Matt Wagner to produce new covers for the first several collections.

Dulu menurut kabar yang susah dibuktikan, kabarnya Lone Wolf ini pernah diterjemahkan kedalam bahasa Indonesia, dan terbit beberapa volume, tapi sampai saat ini tidak pernah saya temukan. Saya sendiri membeli komplit seri Lone Wolf ini di toko buku Kinokuniya edisi Amerika bertext Inggris.

Lone Wolf and Cub (known in Japan as Kozure Ōkami 子連れ狼) is a well-known gekiga or manga created by the writer Kazuo Koike and the artist Goseki Kojima.

Lone Wolf and Cub chronicles the story of Ōgami Ittō, the Shogun's executioner, who was disgraced by false accusations from the Yagyū clan and has been forced to take the path of the assassin. Along with his three-year-old son, Daigoro, they seek revenge on the Yagyū clan and are known as "Lone Wolf and Cub".

A formidable warrior, Ōgami Ittō had become the Shōgun's executioner, the Kogi Kaishakunin, a position of high power used by the Tokugawa Shogunate (along with the Oniwaban and the assassins) to enforce the will of the Shogun over the daimyo or domain lords. For those samurai and lords ordered to commit seppuku, the Kogi Kaishakunin would assist with their deaths by decapitating them to relieve the pain of cutting their own stomachs.

Shortly after Ōgami Ittō's wife's childbirth with Daigoro, Ōgami Ittō returned to find his wife, Asami, and their maidens brutally murdered, with only the newborn Daigoro surviving. They were ostensibly murdered by three men to avenge a lord who was executed by Ōgami Ittō. However, the entire matter was designed to disgrace Ōgami Ittō by setting him up as the murderer and placing an ihai (funeral tablet) with the Shogun's name on it in Ōgami's family shrine (in the story this symbolized Ōgam's wish for the Shogun's death). This would make Ōgami a criminal and thus forfeit his post. The set up was planned by Ura-Yagyū, Yagyū Retsudo, leader of the Yagyū clan, in order to seize Ōgami's post for the Yagyū clan.

Disgraced, Ōgami Ittō and his now infant son, Daigoro, become a powerful assassin team, vowing to eventually destroy the Yagyū clan to avenge his wife and his disgrace.

Before his final duel with Retsudo Yagyu, Itto Ogami was attacked by the last of The Grass, elite ninja of the Yagyu clan. His sword was tampered with earlier with a visit from a sword polisher who also happens to be a member of The Grass, causing Itto's longtime Dotanuki sword to finally break against The Grass's final assault. He was inflicted with wounds that would ultimately be his demise against his battle with Retsudo. After eliminating each and every ninja, Itto and his broken sword were finally met with Retsudo and his spear.

Dalam setiap volumenya kita selalu diperlihatkan - buku ini bukan untuk anak-anak - adegan kekerasan bersimbah darah , sadis sekali. Tapi setiap pembaca akan takjub dengan tokoh anak kecil Daigoro ini. Bahwa dalam seusianya Daigoro sudah mengerti akan hakikat menjadi petarung Samurai dan jalan kematian menjadi pembunuh bayaran yang diambil oleh bapaknya.

Dijamin dalam setiap volumenya, minimal dada kita selalu akan sesak membaca bagaimana Koike meng ekploitasi sedemikian rupa romantisme dan sentimentalisme para pembaca sehingga tanpa disadari pembaca akan selalu merasa berlinang airmata setiap menyelesaikan volume kisah Ogami Itto dan Daigoro anaknya ini.

Bahkan, terus terang, saya sendiri harus menangis ketika selesai membaca volume final, volume ke 28 nya.


Salam.

[Masarcon]

wah, ini thread tentang lone wolf and cub yang bagus banget. api kok sepi yah huehehehehhee

by the way, aku baru dapat juga kubikiri asa. kayaknya nyambung deh ama lone wolf and cub.