Reviews for Lone Wolf and Cub, Volume 7: Cloud Dragon, Wind Tiger

The average rating for Lone Wolf and Cub, Volume 7: Cloud Dragon, Wind Tiger based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-04-10 00:00:00 Richard Turner I find myself reading these albums about twice each: the first time for the story, the second one lingering over the artwork, looking for the best panel, either a duel or a landscape to best capture each story. Something else happens as I pay more attention: I always raise my rating from four stars to five, as the complexity of the story arcs, the monumental scope of the cultural re-creation and the beauty of the black & white lines becomes more evident. This seventh installment in the saga of Ogami Itto and of his son Daigoro is no exception. Dragnet The opening move is part of the main plot of the series and details an attempt by the arch-enemies of Itto, the formidable swordsmen of the Yagyu clan led by Retsudo Yagyu, to arrest the ronin under laws written for vagrancy. The only miscalculation the Yagyu make is in underestimating the determination of Ogami Itto to rather die than compromise his honor. Itto is ready to take on an army in order to prove his point. While the strength of character of Ogami Itto as he walks the 'Meifumado' road to Hell was known from previous episodes, we are presented here with a scene involving several dozen enemies, maybe even hundreds, where usually Itto duels one on one or against a very small number of opponents. Knowing that the series will go on for quite a lot more number of albums, I wasn't very worried about the outcome of the battle, but I was really curious to find out how the authors will manage to extricate Itto from these impossible odds. Night Stalker is one of those world-building episodes that flesh out the economic, social, political and moral landscape of the Shogunate period. Our guide for it is little Daigoro who wanders around a lumber yard at a strategic river confluence, watching longshoremen dance atop rolling logs. Unintentionally, Daigoro stumbles upon an assassination attempt on a local daimyo and must become pretty quick on his feet across same logs in order to escape pursuit Cloud Dragon, Wind Tiger is probably the best story in the present album. Itto has many rivers to cross in his doomed journey as an assassin, but one of them brings him face to face with a solitary samurai who guards the place where his master was once decapitated by Ogami Itto in his role as the Shogun's official executioner. Fate apparently plays a major role in these encounters. The story is really about bushido, the samurai code of honor, and about the lengths some of these warriors go through in order to prove their loyalty. As highlights of the story we have a new weapon in the hands of Itto's honorable adversary: a bullwhip that seems lifted out of the Indiana Jones series, leading to a swordfight in the middle of flowing water. Good stuff, as usual. Inn of the Last Chrysanthemum is also a very strong contender for the best story award. This time Itto plays a secondary role as we learn about the role of comfort women at roadhouses and about the brutal treatment of lesser samurai families by the all powerful lords of the land. The title refers to one of the national past-times that has endured in Japan for centuries: flower festivals, either spring or, in this case, late autumn. Because such traditions are also filled with metaphor and hidden symbols, the last chrysanthemum is also meant to be the beautiful warrior woman who dreams of revenge as she offers her body to passers by. Ogami Itto, as he has done in the past, takes on the mantle of an avatar of divine justice, stepping in to defend lost honor for those who have been wronged by the system. Penal Code Article Seventy-Nine is about punishing minors under the same laws as adults, in certain cases. An overzealous police official from Edo decides to apply the article and his heavy wooden staff to the back of three-year-old Daigoro in order to force the boy to reveal the identity of a pickpocket. Daigoro, who as usual is a person of very few words, shows as much determination and bloody mindedness as his father when it comes to a point of bushido honor, so it is left to the pickpocket to reveal herself if she wants to spare the boy from a grievous beating. I liked in the story the fleeting expressions on the child's face, both in his brief enchantment with the passing amusement fair and in his mute anger against the offending officer. Most of the town, and probably most of the readers, will be on the side of the criminal in here. The story continues with album number eight, and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Soon, I hope!

Review # 2 was written on 2011-09-23 00:00:00 Debbie Maxedon 3.5 - 4 stars "Dragnet": Despairing due to the fact that even his greatest warriors cannot overcome the seemingly undefeatable Ogami Itto, Retsudo Yagyu, leader of the shadowy Yagyu clan that framed and disgraced Ogami hatches a plan to make use of the laws against vagrancy to compel the police to bring in Lone Wolf & Cub. We know Lone Wolf can defeat many foes at once, but can even his sword take down the police force en masse? Could the inherent pride of even the ronin samurai of which Ogami is now one possibly save him from capture or death? If even this tactic fails him what means can Ogami resort to in order to save his life and retain his freedom? "Night Stalker": Once again left to his own devices as his father takes care of his shadowy business, Daigoro witnesses the preparations being taken by a mysterious figure that ultimately lead to the assassination of a noble lady. Discovered by the murderer, Daigoro must evade capture long enough to have the man brought to justice. "Cloud Dragon, Wind Tiger": A ronin samurai is attacked by angry retainers of the local lord, but handily dispatches them with his enviable skill. Desiring only to be left alone to guard a river crossing of special significance, his life is changed when Ogami Itto crosses his path and the actions of his past that led him to this solitary state are brought jarringly back to the present. It appears that fate wants to step in and once again take a hand in the contracts offered to Lone Wolf in order to resolve a loose end from his former life as Kogi Kaishakunin. We also see how those committed to the life of bushido may follow the path of honour to the point of personal disaster as they walk the fine line between obligation to one's lord and obligation to one's honour. "Inn of the Last Chrysanthemum": In Tokugawa Japan many inns made use of female greeters to attract clientele. Of course they weren't just luring in custom with their pretty faces, these 'greeters' were also expected to keep the beds of those they brought to the inn warm at night as an extra 'bonus'. One such woman happens to attract both a venal travelling businessman and the stoic Ogami Itto. While she is repulsed by the former she finds the quiet dignity of the latter attractive. Ultimately we find that her reasons for selling herself to this inn had a motive far beyond keeping body and soul together. When a visiting noblewoman comes to see the last of the season's chrysanthemums flower in the inn's famous garden a plot of betrayal thought long dead is reawakened and the paths of the serving girl and assassin converge on the road to vengeance. "Penal Code Article Seventy-Nine": Tokugawa law allowed minors to be treated as adults in certain cases and Daigoro, once again left alone by his father, runs afoul of this when he unwittingly aids a sharp grifter in her pick-pocketing schemes at a local festival. Will the strange lad who has learned to emulate his father's stoicism suffer the worst the law can dish out to a three year-old or will the con artist find her conscience in time to save him?