Kozure Ookami

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Lone Wolf and Cub

Japanese: 子連れ狼

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 28

Chapters: 142

Status: Finished

Published: Sep 1970 to Apr 1976

Genre: Action

Themes: Historical, Samurai

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Manga Action

Authors: Koike, Kazuo (Story), Kojima, Goseki (Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.63¹ (scored by 7,668 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #89²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #359

Members: 49,276

Favorites: 1,579

Resources

Wikipedia

8.63

Ranked #89Popularity #359Members 49,276

MangaManga ActionKoike, Kazuo (Story), Kojima, Goseki (Art)

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Volumes: /28

Chapters: /142

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Synopsis

Ittou Ogami has very little left to live for. Though once the Shogunate's chief executioner, his name is left in ruins after being framed for treason by the treacherous Yagyuu Clan, seeking to steal his position of power. His misfortune does not end here, however; they culminate in the brutal murder of his entire family, including his wife Azami, with only his child Daigorou still left alive.

With dishonor upon his head and his beloved wife in the grave, Ittou takes up a new mantle as an assassin for hire. Alongside his young son, Ittou wanders the country in search of revenge, with only the complete destruction of the Yagyuu Clan on his mind. As he travels the land, the number of his successful assassinations quickly grows, and soon the moniker of "Lone Wolf and Cub" becomes infamous across the land as the choice assassin to get the job done right.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Kozure Ookami was published in English as Lone Wolf & Cub initially by First Comics in 1987 as a monthly comic book-sized series featuring cover illustrations by many renowned comic book artists such as Frank Miller. Each issue contained around 64 to 128 pages, but publication was canceled at 45 issues after the company's shutdown in 1991. Dark Horse began republishing the series in traditional tankoubon format from September 12, 2000, to December 24, 2002; as well as in 2-in-1 omnibus volumes from May 22, 2013, to April 26, 2016. In 2001, Dark Horse's edition won the Eisner Award for the Best U.S. Edition of International Material. The manga was also published in Brazilian Portuguese by Panini Comics from December 2004 to April 2007.

The series has been adapted into multiple live-action films, television series, and stage plays.

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Characters

Ogami, Ittou

Main

Ogami, Daigorou

Main

Yagyuu, Retsudou

Main

Yamada, Asaemon

Supporting

Abe no Kaii

Supporting

Reviews

Apr 2, 2024

darkpixelftw

Recommended

TL:DR
Initially episodic and a little repetitive at the start but then gets really, really good half way through.

Story: 7/10
The manga is inseparable from the era it was written in: a spate of terrorist attacks, rampant political corruption and student protests. This manga makes a point to emphasise that Itto is one of the last ‘true samurai' (multiple people are moved to tear by this), how the rest of society has forgotten bushido, the lords are corrupt or have forgotten their duty, etcetera and I don't think it's a big leap to suggest the manga is the author's reaction to the world around them.

The first 70% ... of the manga are episodic, unconnected stories with little relevance to the overarching plot except a few that builds on Itto's backstory or the machinations of his nemesis. However, they do build up the characters and some of Itto and Daigorou's backstory. They also cover the pair's philosophy and show us how our protagonists react to the world. They are not bad, individually interesting but they're fairly repetitive and feel a little aimless.

This is not aided by the fact that the majority of fight in the early manga are entirely uninteresting. They are extremely short (not usually more than a page or two), not very visually interesting and there is hardly ever a single moment where the reader believes that Itto could lose a fight. And if he does lose? Well, it was actually on purpose you see. Yeah, the fights are not that interesting to begin with.

Then we get to the latter 30% of the manga, and it goes from decent to absolutely amazing. When the author gets serious with the overarching plot, I couldn't put the manga down it was so intense. I was flying through the volumes, I simply had to see what was next. I wish we got here sooner but reading this manga was worth it for this.

Character: 7/10
Itto is less a real personality and instead the idealised personification of bushido. He is not exactly complex, he simply does whatever the most ‘samurai’ thing it is possible to do in the situation. As a modern westerner, it is interesting to see how one was supposed to live the complicated Bushido way of life.

Daigorou is the least realistic depiction of a child I can think of. Actual child soldiers are more child-like than this. I think it fits the themes of the manga but the way he behaves is almost distractingly unbelievable.

Retsudo is quite similar to Itto but I actually found him more interesting though I won't spoil it.

The one-off characters in the episodic episodes are more hit or miss. Sometimes they'll be interesting but they re-use the same archetypes a lot.

Art
Absolutely phenomenal for the most part, the character design, the facial expressions, nearly everything.

Overall: 8/10
Good but sort of dissapointing considering it's reputation. If it had gotten to the real meat of the story sooner instead of all the episodic fluff then I think this could easily be a 9. However, I do recommend this manga for the real story in the latter half of the manga, it's spectacular. I'm not saying that the episodic stuff is bad, I enjoyed my time with the first half of the manga but the final arc is just so good that it makes the rest look kind of dull.

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Jan 3, 2019

snappytomdory

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (19/142 eps)

I have tried to like this manga, I have tried to force myself to keep going because I know it's a classic. A part of me is even disappointed in myself for dropping this series but I have to be honest with myself, nothing can please everyone.

I respect this manga. I respect the art, it's fantastic. I respect the themes, not everything is as simple as good and bad. I respect the amount of research that was done to create an authentic feudal japan setting.

My biggest issue with this series is the episodic format. I understand this is a completely subjective thing and from ...

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Feb 15, 2025

Tokyo-Brain

Not Recommended

Preliminary (26/142 eps)

This manga is actually a compilation of dozens of very short and completely independent stories that only share the same protagonists (in fact, you can read the chapters in any order you want, it doesn't matter). That means that there is no progression in the story at all, the author could have ended it at chapter 10 and it would be the same as ending it at chapter 100, it's just adding more of the same.

Also, the adult protagonist is pretty dry and impassive, the drawing style makes it difficult to differentiate some characters, and in general it can get repetitive (after all, each ...

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Poll: Kozure Ookami Chapter 128 Discussion zomik - Apr 13, 2020	3 replies	by Ochimusha »» Mar 7, 11:57 AM
Poll: Kozure Ookami Chapter 20 Discussion FMmatron - Feb 5, 2019	4 replies	by Ochimusha »» Jan 28, 10:59 AM
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Kozure Ookami
Lone Wolf & Cub
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Lone Wolf & Cub
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