Samurai 7 Volume 1 [Paperback]

Mizutaka Suhou (Author), Akira Kurosawa (Author)

Book Description

Series: Samurai 7 | Publication Date: March 24, 2009

Honor Against Thieves

Threatened by plundering cyborg bandits, an innocent village defies its inhuman enemies with the help of mortal men born to do battle and bound to die for honor: humanity’s champions, the seven samurai. This thrilling manga is based on the classic film by Akira Kurosawa.

Includes special extras after the story!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up—Kubo has based her story on Kurosawa's film Seven Samurai and given it a steampunk-type update. In feudal Japan, the world is at war, with the samurai using high levels of technology, including robots, to fight. As the story begins, it is evident that the samurai are not winning and are not thought of very highly. Into this scenario enters Kirara, who is hoping to find a samurai who will stand up to the people who are attacking her village. She meets Kambei Shimada, and with his help they build the group of seven samurai. Among them are a young man who hopes to be a samurai, a cyborg head, and an engineer with a sword twice as big as any regular sword. This volume ends with the seven and Kirara heading to the village. The exceptional artwork, while black and white, is evocative of the film style of Kurosawa; the sharp lines and minimalist backgrounds allow readers to focus on exactly what is important. From decimated cities to bowls of rice, nothing is lost to readers' eyes. A must for most manga collections.—Valerie Davis, Campbell County Public Library, Newport, KY
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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (March 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345501837
• ISBN-13: 978-0345501837
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 0.7 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,038,452 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Manga a la Samurai Seven, March 27, 2009

By 

Tim Lasiuta "Comic Fan 42" (Red Deer, Alberta) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Samurai 7 Volume 1 (Paperback)

55 years ago, the "Seven Samurai" appeared in theatres across Japan. Akira Kurosawa's landmark presentation told the story of a small village that hired 7 samurai to protect their crops and village from roving bandits.

As the Manga states, "Based on Samurai Seven", Gonzo and Mizutaka Suhou give modern readers a re-imagining of the original concept. Instead of bandits, and a rural village, there are cyborgs (Nobuserti), and thoroughly modern urban scap, Katsushiro, that contains the same battle.
I love the intro to the book that sets the stage so beautifully for readers who have not seen Samurai Seven. Unlike other manga, this book is a compelling read. It compares well to the best 'western' in a non traditional setting by writers such as Johnny Boggs, or Jeff Marriotte.

As for the action after the intro, it is cinematic in a true adventure way. This could be a Star Wars Jedi plot, or a Glenn Ford western as well. It could be a gang banger film too. I will read volume 2!

[...]

Tim Lasiuta

4.0 out of 5 stars Good manga, but not as goof as original movie or even the anime, February 21, 2011

By 

dbw08a - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Samurai 7 Volume 1 (Paperback)

The Samurai 7 manga is fun to read, drawn well and based on one of the most influential films (and one of my favorite anime of all time), however the story is very different then the anime and even more distant from the original film. This however does not make this manga not good. It's very enjoyable, but if you're looking for the same experience that you encountered from the movie or anime, you probably won't find it here.

4.0 out of 5 stars First came the movie..., July 2, 2009

By 

Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Samurai 7 Volume 1 (Paperback)

The Seven Samurai. Than, came the anime series. Now there is the manga, based on the anime series. Yet the story line, character design and art work is different, not as different as the anime was from the moive, as the manga uses the same future setting as the anime, but there are major changes. The manga seems to be going at a much faster pace - many of the characters are already together before the end of the book - and we are getting a lot of backstory also. There are also translation notes and a preview of volume 2, still in Japanese!
Get it used if you find yourself interested in it. I liked it but it isn't a reread and I don't see myself suggesting others go out of their way to get it.