LONE WOLF AND CUB

'''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. Its story led to the creation of six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series, and much more.
''Lone Wolf and Cub'' chronicles the story of Ogami Ittō, the Shogun's executioner who uses the Dotanuki battle sword. He was disgraced by false accusations from the Yagyu 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".

Contents

Story

Manga

Manga titles

Films

Television series

Influence

Video game

External links

Story

A formidable warrior and a master of the ''suiō-ryū'', 'Ogami Ittō' (拝 一刀), 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 ''daimyō'' 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 Ogami Ittō's wife's childbirth with 'Ogami Daigorō' (拝 大五郎), Ogami Ittō returned to find his wife, Asami, and their maidens brutally murdered, with only the newborn Daigorō surviving. They were ostensibly murdered by three men to avenge a lord who was executed by Ogami Ittō. However, the entire matter was designed to disgrace Ogami Ittō by placing and then revealing an ''ihai'' (funeral tablet) with the shogun's name on it in Ittō's family shrine (representing Ogami's wish for the shogun's death). This would make Ittō a criminal and thus forfeit his post. The set up was planned by Ura-Yagyū, 'Yagyū Retsudō' (柳生 烈堂), leader of the Yagyū clan, in order to seize Ogami's post for the Yagyū clan.
''.]]The 1-year-old Daigorō was given a choice by his father: a ball or a sword. Had Daigorō chosen the ball, his father would have killed him, sending him to be with his mother; however, the child crawled toward the sword, and reached for its hilt. This signified that he would take the path of a ''rōnin'', living with his father as "demons" – the assassin-for-hire team that would become known as ''Lone Wolf and Cub'', vowing to eventually destroy the Yagyū clan to avenge his wife and his disgrace.
On ''meifumadō'' ("The Road to Hell"), the cursed journey for vengeance, Ogami Ittō and his son, Daigorō, encounter numerous adventures, encountering Yagyū Retsudō's children and eventually Retsudō himself.
Before his final duel with Yagyū Retsudō, Ittō was attacked by the last of the elite ''ninja'' of the Yagyū clan, the "Grass". His sword was tampered with earlier by a visit from a member of the Grass disguised as a sword polisher, causing Ittō's longtime ''dōtanuki'' sword to finally wear down and break during the Grass's final assault. He was inflicted with wounds that would ultimately be his demise against his battle with Retsudō. After eliminating each and every ''ninja'', Ittō and his shattered ''dōtanuki'' were finally met with Retsudō and his spear. His will to end the Yagyū flowed through his soul, but his wounded and exhausted body would eventually leave Ittō to his fate. In the middle of the battle Ittō's spirit left his body after a lifetime of fatigue and bloodshed. Ittō was unable to destroy his longtime enemy and his walking of ''meifumadō'' had ended. The story finishes with Ittō's son, Daigorō, taking up Retsudo's spear and charging in fury. Retsudō opens his arms, disregarding all defense, and allows Daigorō to drive the spear into his body. Embracing Daigorō with tears Yagyū Retsudō names him, "Grandson of my heart", thus concluding the epic.

Manga

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 Japan. The story spanned 28 volumes of manga, with over 300 pages each (totaling over 8,700 pages in all).
''Lone Wolf and Cub'' was initially released in North America by First Comics in 1987, as a series of monthly, square-bound prestige-format black-and-white comics containing between 64 and 128 pages, with covers by Frank Miller, and later by Bill Sienkiewicz and Matt Wagner. Sales were initially strong, but fell sharply as the company went into a general decline. First Comics shut down without completing the series, publishing less than a third of the total series in 45 prestige-format issues. However, in 2000, Dark Horse Comics began to release the full series in 28 smaller-sized trade paperback volumes, completing the series with the 28th volume in 2002. Dark Horse reused all of Miller's covers from the First Comics edition, as well as several done by Sienkiewicz, and commissioned Wagner and Guy Davis to produce new covers for several volumes of the collections. Mike Ploog, Ray Lago and Vince Locke also contributed covers to the English translations of the series.
In 2002, a "reimagined" version of the story, ''Lone Wolf 2100'' was created by writer Mike Kennedy and artist Francisco Ruiz Velasco with Koike's indirect involvement. The story, a post-apocalyptic take on the tale featured a few differences, such as a female cub and the setting, which ranged across the whole world. The story of Daisy Ogami, daughter of a renowned scientist; and Itto, her father's bodyguard and subsequent protector as they attempted to escape from the Cygnat Owari Corporation's schemes was not received as well as the original stories.
Dark Horse announced at the New York Comic Con that they have licensed ''Shin Lone Wolf & Cub'', Kazuo Koike and Hideki Mori's follow-up to ''Lone Wolf and Cub'', starring the famous child in the baby cart after the original revenge epic.
The release name for the series, which might be New Lone Wolf and Cub, and format, whether it will be released in the 6.0" x 4.3" dimension of the original Lone Wolf and Cub, are still being considered. Hideki Mori takes up the job of illustrating the epic from the late Goseki Kojima. Mori employs an art style and vigorous, organic brushwork which is strongly reminiscent of Kojima's, but he brings his own individuality to the task.
Koike begins the new "Lone Wolf and Cub" manga right where the original ended, with Daigoro amidst the aftermath of his father's revenge. A mysterious samurai appears at the seashore and forms a new bond with the boy.
Volume 1 will also contain an essay by Koike about his return to the manga epic after almost thirty years, and his thoughts on the international popularity of the story, including its influence on the graphic novel and film ''Road to Perdition''.

Manga titles

1. The Assassin's Road 2. The Gateless Barrier 3. The Flute of the Fallen Tiger 4. The Bell Warden 5. Black Wind 6. Lanterns For the Dead 7. Cloud Dragon, Wind Tiger

8. Chains of Death 9. Echo of the Assassin 10. Hostage Child 11. Talisman of Hades 12. Shattered Stones 13. Moon in the East, Sun in the West 14. Day of the Demons

15. Brothers of the Grass 16. Gateway into Winter 17. The Will of the Fang 18. Twilight of the Kurokuwa 19. The Moon In Our Hearts 20. A Taste of Poison 21. Fragrance of Death

22. Heaven & Earth 23. Tears of Ice 24. In These Small Hands 25. Perhaps in Death 26. Struggle in the Dark 27. Battle's Eve 28. The Lotus Throne

Films

A total of seven ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama as Ogami Ittō have been produced based on the manga. They are also known as the ''Sword of Vengeance'' series, based on the English language title of the first film, and later as the ''Baby Cart'' series, because young Daigoro travels in a baby carriage pushed by his father. The first three films, directed by Kenji Misumi, were released in 1972 and produced by Shintaro Katsu, Tomisaburo Wakayama's brother, and the star of the 26 part ''Zatoichi'' film series. ''Shogun Assassin'' (1980) was released as an English language compilation for the American audience, edited mainly from the second film, with 11 minutes of footage from the first. Also, the third film, '' was rereleased on DVD in the US under the name '' [1]. The next three films were produced by Wakayama himself and directed by Buichi Saito, Kenji Misumi and Yoshiyuki Kuroda, released in 1972, 1973, and 1974 respectively.

No.	English Title	Year	Japanese	Romanization	Translation
1	''	1972	子連れ狼　子を貸し腕貸しつかまつる	''Kozure Ōkami: Kowokashi udekashi tsukamatsuru''	Wolf with Child in Tow: Child and Expertise for Rent
2	''	1972	子連れ狼　三途の川の乳母車	''Kozure Ōkami: Sanzu no kawa no ubaguruma''	Wolf with Child in Tow: Baby Cart of the River of Sanzu
3	'' aka ''Shogun Assassin 2: Lightning Swords of Death''	1972	子連れ狼　死に風に向う乳母車	''Kozure Ōkami: Shinikazeni mukau ubaguruma''	Wolf with Child in Tow: Baby Cart Against the Winds of Death
4	''	1972	子連れ狼　親の心子の心	''Kozure Ōkami: Oya no kokoro ko no kokoro''	Wolf with Child in Tow: The Heart of a Parent, the Heart of a Child
5	''	1973	子連れ狼　冥府魔道	''Kozure Ōkami: Meifumando''	Wolf with Child in Tow: Land of Demons
6	''	1974	子連れ狼　地獄へ行くぞ!大五郎	''Kozure Ōkami: Jigoku e ikuzo! Daigoro''	Wolf with Child in Tow: Now We Go to Hell, Daigoro!
7	''Shogun Assassin''	1980	-	''[English language release]''	Shogun Assassin

The films are renowned for the incredible amount of onscreen stylized violence. In fact, after the second film, each movie would climax with Ogami slaughtering an entire army single-handedly.
The films closely resemble the comics. Entire panels of the manga are recreated in perfect detail throughout the film series.
In addition to the six original films plus the seventh in 1980, ''Shogun Assassin'', various television movies have been aired in connection with the television series as pilots, compilations or originals. These include several starring Kinnosuke Yorozuya (Nakamura) (see section ''Television series'') but more notably the 1979 film ''Lone Wolf With Child: An Assassin on the Road to Hell'' better known as ''Baby Cart In Purgatory'' where Hideki Takahashi plays Ogami Ittō and Tomisaburo Wakayama as Retsudo Yagyu! In 1992 the story was once more made into a film, ''Lone Wolf and Cub: Final Conflict'' also known as ''Handful of Sand'' or ''A Child's Hand Reaches Up'' (''Kozure Ōkami: Sono chīsaki te ni'', literally ''In That Little Hand''), directed by Akira Inoue and starring Masakazu Tamura, and a Darren Aronofsky film based on the manga will reportedly be released in 2008 (according to IMDB).

Television series

Two full-fledged television series based on the manga have been broadcast to date. The first, ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' (''Kozure Ōkami'') was produced in a typical jidaigeki format and broadcast in three 26-episode seasons from 1973 to 1976, each episode 45 minutes long. Kinnosuke (Nakamura) Yorozuya played Ogami Ittō, he later reprised the role in a miniseries in the mid-1980s and several related television movies. Yorozuya's portrayal of Ōgami in the series, and the series as a whole, is said to be more faithful to the manga than the Wakayama films. Considering the length and number of episodes this can only be expected. The series was released for the Toronto, Canada market by CFMT-TV (now OMNI 1) in the original Japanese with English subtitles as ''The Iron Samurai''. It has also been aired in Germany dubbed in German.
It has also been aired in Italy dubbed in Italian, as well.
The 26 episodes of the first season were released on DVD in Japan on December 20th 2006, apparently without subtitles. Additionally the first twelve episodes of TV-series has been released on DVD in Germany known as Kozure Okami. Audio is in Japanese and Germany.
The latest television series, also titled ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' (''Kozure Ōkami''), was aired from 2002 to 2004 in Japan. It had Kinya Kitaoji assume the role of Ogami Ittō. This series is not available on DVD.
See also: List of Lone Wolf and Cub episodes

Influence

Because of its immense popularity in Japan and its cult status in the West, both the manga series and subsequent film adaptations have had a lasting impact on popular culture both in Japan and elsewhere.
''Lone Wolf and Cub'' and Kazuo Koike's style have heavily influenced other manga by creating a romanticization of the ''rōnin'', or masterless samurai, the lone wanderer who follows his own code. Similar titles in spirit include Osamu Tezuka's ''Black Jack'' and later Nobuhiro Watsuki's ''Rurouni Kenshin''. It has also influenced American comics, most notably Frank Miller in his ''Sin City'' and ''Ronin'' series and Max Allan Collins in his ''Road to Perdition'' series.
There are also various references to ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' in popular culture:

★ American rock band The Dirty Marmaduke Flute Squad included a song entitled "Lone Wolf & Cub" on their 2007 album "Die Humpin!" The song features lyrics about the characters from the graphic novel and verses written in haiku form.

★ The video game ''Puyo Pop Fever'' features a character named "Kozure Franken", who is a Frankenstein's monster who pushes a baby Frankenstein's monster in a baby carriage.

★ The video game ''Final Fantasy X'' features a Samurai character named Yojimbo, who can be hired to attack the player's enemies. One of his attacks is performed by a sidekick (in this case a dog), which goes by the name "Daigoro".

★ The comic ''Usagi Yojimbo'' also has references to ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' in a pair of characters known as "Lone Goat and Kid."

★ The 2003 ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' cartoon series had an episode called "Lone Raph and Cub" as an homage to ''Lone Wolf and Cub''.

★ The video game ''Kung Fu Chaos/Panic'' features a character(s) named "Chop n Styx", who are a father and son duo samurai, in which the son is a baby named Styx in a basket and the father named Chop carries him on his back.

★ The album ''Liquid Swords'' by rapper GZA contains several samples from ''Shogun Assassin'', including Daigoro's monologue, flute of the fallen tiger, and the choice between ball and sword.

★ The song "Danger! Danger!" by UK punk band Sonic Boom Six contains a sample from ''Shogun Assassin'', from Daigaro's voiceover as Lone Wolf and Cub enter the town.

★ The anime ''Samurai Champloo'' has numeruous references to and cameos by ''Lone Wolf and Cub''.

★ At the conclusion of the 22nd episode of ''Samurai Champloo'', both Ogami Ittō and Daigoro appear when a meteor hits the ground. Daigoro is shown saying, "Look, a mushroom!" referring to the cloud of debris left from the impact.

★ In Episode 24 of ''Samurai Champloo'', while the character Fuu is asking around for Kasumi Seizou, the woman who tells her is seen taking care of Daigoro. It is unknown where Ogami Ittō is during this, or whether his character is still alive by this time.

★ ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' served as the inspiration for Dark Horse Comics' futuristic retelling, ''Lone Wolf 2100'', written by Mike Kennedy, with art by Francisco Ruiz Velazco.

★ In episode XIX of Cartoon Network's ''Samurai Jack'' Season 2, ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' appear in a flashback of Jack's past. It is implied that witnessing Ogami Ittō fight off four basket headed thugs helped to inspire Jack's development as a samurai.

★ Volume 2 of the film ''Kill Bill'' includes a scene in which two characters watch ''Shogun Assassin'' on TV, and Volume 1 climaxes in a elaborate battle scene reminiscent of the ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' films.

Video game

In 1987, video game manufacturer ''Nichibutsu'' released a Japan-only beat-em-up based on the series named Kodure Ookami. Players guide Ogami Itto through an army of assassins while carrying his infant son on his back. A baby cart powerup enables Ookami to mow down enemies with blasts of fire. The game is considered a rarity by the Video Arcade Preservation Society as there are no known instances of the game being owned.

External links

★ Dark Horse Comics: ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' manga

★ About the manga series, covers of the manga

★ "The Shogun Assassin Movies", about the films

★ Website of 2002 TV series (Japanese)

★ Website of 2003 TV series (Japanese)

★ Lone Wolf And Cub manga review at Mangareviewer.com

★ Wolf & Cub, a band with the same name.

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