Colored
Color of Rage

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Colored or Color of rage is another great historical manga written by Kazuo Koike, the man behind "Lone wolf and cub".

The story, set in Edo period Japan show the adventures of two escaped slaves by name of George and King, African and Japanese, and their encounters with injustice and brutality of the era. Being former slaves themselves, they rush to help to those in need, sometimes they succeed in their efforts, but sometimes they fail because in reality, you can't save everyone alone.

The story shows how peasants and generally weak people were treated by the more powerful, strong people. The treatment of the humans is ... very harsh and this is the main theme of the manga-humans are free and given free will. Why should you bow to some one and (literally) eat mud just because he is richer than you? given that the main characters were slaves, this theme plays hard early on, about struggles of men to become free, to fight injustice of rich and successful people who use them, and to eradicate evil.
The story is also very immersive, fans of lone wolf and cub know it already but the author has a way to suck the reader in the era by using simple stuff like way of speaking and particular manners of the time.

As for the characters, we have two main ones. The first is George, a Japanese man that became a slave and escaped. He is very knowledgeable about the culture of Japan and how you should behave in situations, he is the more calculated of the two, and he is also a skilled sword fighter. George can appear to be more cold hearted, but this is the only more realistic approach to life-this is the way things are, and you can't always do something about it, especially when it's way bigger than just yourself. But in the end, he is always kind and helpful to his friend.
His friend is the African King. Being a foreign man in strange land he has a lot of troubles understanding the culture and the way things are. This theme could be played a little bit better, but the great effect from it is the way King affected from it. He is showing his personality, kind and hateful towards injustice. Suffering a lot in United states himself and huge discrimination against his kind he passionate about helping the weak and the innocent, and against all form of slavery.

The relationship of the two is very interesting as they are good friends bound by hard circumstances and painful past.

The art is good. Very good even, and fit the manga perfectly. I was surprised discovering that the artist is different from "Lone wolf and cub" as it so similar. Sure, there are same-face people over the manga, but the art itself is good, and the character design of the main characters is excellent.

In conclusion, the more I think about the manga the more I realize how much I enjoyed it and wished for it to be longer. There are several problems about it, like unsatisfying ending as it just... ends. We could see more about the treatment towards blacks beside the first chapter, and if we knew more about the past of the two we could understand and connect them better. The real problem is that it's simply too short, and I wish for more. I recommend you to read this wonderful manga, it won't take a lot of your time, and if you enjoy historical stuff, I think you would enjoy it.

Color of Rage is a piece of work that comes around very rarely, a piece of fiction that, simply put, is close to perfection. If you've read any of the author, Kazuo Koike's work, you'd know he makes absolutely peak historical fiction, and this story is like no other. I genuinely teared up in practically every chapter.

The story details the brutality of the glorified Edo period and the crimes committed against the peasants and slaves highlighting the typical "the strong prey on the weak" mindset. This is further amped up with the fact that the black man, King- a Yasuke-like character, roams Edo Japan ... with his closest friend George- a resourceful Japanese man that has intricate knowledge on the customs and traditions of the Japanese.

The dynamic between the two characters is truly incredible and one of the best parts about the entire story. Even in the span of a few chapters, they feel like genuine comrades that have been through hell and back together. Its quite reminiscent of the relationship between Thorfinn and Einar from Vinland Saga (another 10/10 which you should read), with King and George desperate to find a paradise where they can once again live like free men, and if that doesn't exist, they will build it together. Their personalities are very nicely juxtaposed against one another with King being a naive, idealist that tries to save the innocent no matter what the cost be, while George is a cunning pragmatist that will do whatever it takes to survive, even if he has to grovel at the feet of the wicked. However the one thing that remains constant in the both of their personalities is the willingness to do whatever it takes to protect each other even if it costs their lives. The two of them are strong and can handle themselves against the dangers of the era with the police and even yakuza after them, with King taking a monstrous brute role and George being an extremely capable swordsman. However they are merely human, not immortal killing machines.

The story is quite grounded, aside from a few instances where they're cutting down more men than they should be able to. That is one of the gripes I have with this manga. For a narrative this grounded, it would've helped to make it so they couldn't fight their way out of everything. However in one of the chapters this is kind of resolved? So I suppose it's only partly an issue.

Moving on to the art, while seemingly unrefined, feels extremely gritty and very seinen-y. All the double spread panels look absolutely gorgeous and in general the manga is really pretty. Certain panels may be a little hard to follow action wise, however it really shouldn't be an issue if you've read a few other manga and are used to the black and white. The character designs are wonderful and feel like real people.

Now to a concept that was explored that felt extremely unique- the concept of King as a character. A black man roaming a country that has never seen a man of color makes for a very interesting narrative. King is unable to understand the customs and traditions or even the language of Edo Japan and in many occasions is ostracized, beaten and even feared as a demon clad in all black. As such George, teaches him the ways and guides him as a native of the land. The story also delves into the discrimination that King goes through not just in Japan but also back home in the deep south and America, and the injustices that his people have faced for years. King is a gentle soul that yearns for freedom and equality. In his eyes, even the peasants and prostitutes are no better than slaves and wishes to free them.

The story pulls no punches with King and George rushing to protect the ones in need and save the innocent, many times without success. They aren't robin hoods or saviors, they are mere men attempting to right the wrongs they've done- to create even a semblance of a world with balance, a world with no slaves or peasants- a true paradise. They are desperate to survive and must navigate through the treacherous lands with practically everyone against them. The concept of paradise is very lightly explored and that feels right in this narrative with the focus being on survival first.

Every chapter feels connected and creates a cohesive story rife with rich storytelling and realistic characters. Other than that, the biggest crime that this story has committed is being a mere 8 chapters long with chapter 8.5 being a one shot disconnected from the story. I beg you, dear reader, it's barely 8 chapters long and will take barely under an hour to finish. It is a masterpiece from start to finish and I believe everyone should get the opportunity to consume a godlike narrative such as this.

I didn't care for this story. It wasn't anything terrible. But for me...it just didn't really have too much going on. I get that George and King escaped slavery, and now try to right the wrongs of the terrible cruelty of mankind. But I just feel that the story could have told and be explored more. The art style was passible, and quite nice. Everything else just didn't capture my attention. Also, I've never really been a fan of blood and gore - at least not when it's just...plain. The idea was interesting, but it was a swing and a miss for me. I guess ... if the story was like a young slave who washed up on the Japan shores, and was taken in by a ronin, maybe that would have made it something. Although it might have given people sort of "Yasuke" vibe. And I would have minded seeing the Japanese women become enamored by King.