Samurai/Historical Manga to Look For

[kitsuno]

[Ashigaru]

[Ashigaru]

[Obenjo Kusanosuke]

[kitsuno]

[Tatsunoshi]

[Ashigaru]

Azumi / Koyama Yuu / Shogakukan
あずみ / 小山ゆう / 小学館

Young Azumi was one of ten orphans trained in assassination and the ninja arts at a secret cabin deep in the mountains. Her mentor Jii, a former samurai, devoted years to molding each child into killing machines, ordering each naive orphan to slaughter their best friend as a final test. The survivors learn that their mission is to go forth and assassinate various political and military personalities, allowing Tokugawa Ieyasu (who is painted in a fairly positive light) to consolidate his hold on Japan and put a stop to the endless wars.

This manga is the basis for the two "Azumi" movies starring Ueto Aya. The artwork is a bit on the crude side and character development happens at a glacial pace. A variety of historical personages show up in the series (Katou Kiyomasa, etc.), but they tend to be portrayed in a cartoonish manner (as in "Daffy Duck", not "Ninja Scroll"). So far 40 volumes of "Azumi" have been released, marking it as a popular, successful manga by most standards, but I cannot recommend it. After reading the first six volumes (over a thousand pages; I think I gave the series a fair shot), my advice is to stick with the movies. Ueto Aya is prettier than the bland-faced comic heroine, and the movie characters somehow manage to be *less* cheesy than those in the manga (if you can believe that).
_________________
Meditate upon exile, torture, wars, diseases, shipwreck, so that you may not be a novice to any misfortune.
- Seneca

[kitsuno]

[Baian]

[kitsuno]

[Tatsunoshi]

[kitsuno]

[Ashigaru]

Thanks for the recommendations, shikisoku. Of the series you listed, I had only seen "Sidooh". I'll have to check some of them out.
_________________
Meditate upon exile, torture, wars, diseases, shipwreck, so that you may not be a novice to any misfortune.
- Seneca

[shikisoku]

History manga for girls.

"Hi Izuru Tokorono Tenshi" Yamagishi Ryoko
Story of Shotoku Taishi. These were first published in 80s.


"Kasuga no Tsubone" Ikeda Riyoko
Ikeda Riyoko is famous for her French Revolution manga the Rose of Versailles.



"O-oku" Yoshinaga Fumi
In this manga, Shogun is female, mistresses are male.

[Baian]

[Ashigaru]

[Ashigaru]

Oshitone Tenzen / Yamaguchi Masakazu / Shueisha
おしとね天繕 / 山口譲司 / 集英社

The hero of this series is Sumeragi Tenzen, who serves as plump, dopey Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi's Toko Aratamegata Hittou-ashirai (床与方筆頭会釈), which basically means that he chooses which of the women in the Oh-oku the shogun will sleep with each night. His other duties include recruitment for the Oh-oku (he has the right to undress and examine basically any woman he chooses) and occasionally acting as a sex advisor or instructor when things aren't going as well as they should. His master isn't incredibly bright, and most manga with a premise like this would probably have the protagonist be a lecherous pervert who plays around behind the shogun's back, but Tenzen is loyal to a fault, ultra-competent, and extremely professional.

This series is a guilty pleasure. It's a sex comedy, but a good one. It has a fun, positive attitude to the subject matter, unlike a lot of ero-manga (the series runs in businessman-oriented "Ultra JUMP", so it's fairly adult but far from straight-up porn). There are a lot of historical parodies (including a pretty bizarre send-up of the 47 Ronin), and the art is attractive. Yamaguchi's girls are drawn in a very modern style, unlike a lot of the historical manga I've listed so far.

Five volumes have been released to date, and the series is continuing. The official homepage can be found here.
_________________
Meditate upon exile, torture, wars, diseases, shipwreck, so that you may not be a novice to any misfortune.
- Seneca

[kitsuno]

I have to ask - are there any cool Tarrantino-esque Shinsengumi manga? It's such a fitting genre for some hardcore violence and cool dismemberments. I'd even consider paypaling one of you guys in Japan to get my hands on a good one.

[Ashigaru]

[Obenjo Kusanosuke]

[Tatsunoshi]

[kitsuno]

[ltdomer98]

Don't forget the 18 year old Miko who saves the day in a battle to the death with the stalker, where sword slashes conveniently cut off more and more of her shrine maiden outfit. Oh, and the demon stalker is revealed to be a malevolent fox kami in the form of Iijima Ai.
_________________

The Sengoku Field Manual Blog

[Tatsunoshi]

[kitsuno]