Reviews for Lone Wolf and Cub, Volume 11: Talisman of Hades

The average rating for Lone Wolf and Cub, Volume 11: Talisman of Hades based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-12-28 00:00:00 Lorant Veress Truly they were a family with no tomorrow, their future denied them by cruel destiny The series has made me reconsider the term 'epic' and to be more careful where I apply it. I guess every future big adventure, historical or science-fiction, I embark on will be judged by the high standard set in this classic Koike-Kojima saga of medieval Japan. From economic struggles, secret plots for power, religious musings, social structures, honor code and many, many battles to the death, each album adds up to the panoramic view of a whole culture in turmoil, as the shogunate tries to consolidate its power against local daimyo and as countless secret guilds fight a shadow war for a bigger piece of the pie. Exiled from the highest honor of serving the Shogun as his personal swordbearer after a plot by his archenemy Retsudo Yagyu, samurai Ogami Itto becomes a wandering ronin, taking paid assassination jobs as he plans his revenge. He is accompanied by his three year old son, his cub Daigoro. At the end of volume 10, father and son are separated after a direct confrontation with Retsudo and his cohorts of assassins. There is little hope for a reunion, but father and son continue on their road to Hell. Talisman of Hades shows how Ogami Itto is ready to risk his own life in order to have a chance of finding his son, as he leaves behind a paper trail with the little trademark cart that has become an iconic emblem for the whole series. The key to the story is how the obsession of both Itto and the Yagyu is affecting bystanders, as a group of young students in the martial arts witness Ogami Itto killing a fake monk and challenge the unbeatable Lone Wolf to a duel. Will Itto summarily dispatch them as a minor annoyance along the way? or is he still bound by the bushido in protecting the innocents? Ailing Star shows the parallel journey of Daigoro, drifting by accident into a local peasant drama, where a village confronts a very old lady who lives under a crumbling bridge and refuses to be sent away before it collapses over her head. We have noticed before the cruel treatment of women in this harsh environment, and the case of the old beggar lady is no exception. In the absence of his father, Daigoro must use whatever inner strength and silent form of protest to remind everybody that life is precious and honor demands sacrifices. Thirteen Strings is the longest section of the album, and it is like a whole movie script all on its own power. Ogami Itto drifts into a domain beset by famine after a long drought. The local lord is hoarding supplies and wants to force the peasants to work for free in land management. His daughter is adding fuel to the flames as she rides a wild horse on the narrow pathways. Itto is hired to accompany the village elder to the daimyo castle, to present a petition in the name of the villagers, knowing very well that such flaunting of authority is usually punished by death in the shogunate. Complications and powerful speeches come from every direction, but the culmination of these encounters finally brings father and son back together, right from the brink of the abyss. A Poem for the Grave is a return to the main storyline, as Ogami Itto is still trying to unlock the mystery of the Yagyu lettter he stole a couple of albums back. The price the Lone Wolf has to pay is an assassination job of a runaway samurai who is alleged to have proved himself a coward in fighting a fire at the local castle. The ending, while predictable, is a reminder of the basic tenet of bushido of searching for a honorable death in battle in order to clean the family name. >>><<<>>><<< Onward to book 12!

Review # 2 was written on 2015-11-20 00:00:00 Shawn Bay This series touches my heart every time I read it. It flows so gently and yet so poignant. How does Koike manage to create so many wonderful stories? Each one so unique and with a beautiful or sometimes dark message. If I could only take one comic series with me to a desert island it would be this.