Samurai Executioner, Vol. 2: Two Bodies, Two Minds [Paperback]

Kazuo Koike (Author), Goseki Kojima (Author)

Book Description

Series: Samurai Executioner | Publication Date: January 4, 2005

In a prison world, there are few good stories, and this is the world of Kubikiri Asa, the beheader and master samurai under the Shogun. It's a world full of vengeance, greed, and violence. A world of depravity and sin. One man can set things straight if he can keep his wits. This is a story of extreme proportions, of sword study thick in tradition and with grim purpose, of blood rivers, agonizing screams, bondage, torture, and the evil prevalent in human failure. Drafted by the confirmed masters of the international medium of manga, Samurai Executioner is a shocking combination of darkness and fire, fine lines and a fine man in the face of human decline.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Koike and Kojima's 1990s manga, Samurai Executioner, finally emerging in English, is essentially a police procedural series set in the Edo period in Japan (1603-1867) and revolving around the title character, Asaemon, whose background was explored in the first story in When the Demon Knife Weeps (2004). In that book's four additional stories, perps and investigators took the spotlight, with Asaemon delivering grim justice in conclusion. Two of the three stories in thise book focus on Asaemon, and in the others, he is more involved than in all but the first Demon Knife story. Each entry in The Hell Stick departs from formulas. In the title story, a lady who possesses a forbidden sword strives to get Asaemon's help, at first and unavailingly through seduction, later and successfully by telling the truth. In "The Mad Sword of Tsukuba Bakush," a man of much lower status challenges Asaemon in an attempt to take over his official duties. "Catcher Kasajir" follows a young man who comes to Asaemon for advice on how to become a better policeman. Slashing violence, convincingly rendered gore, nudity (nonfrontal), and sex (gritty but not pornographic) occur in virtually every story, but what distinguishes all is the dazzling plenitude of angles of vision, the masterly use of shading, and the tremendous energy in Kojima's strictly black-and-white artwork. Koike's dialogue, in which the diction reflects the character's personality and status, burnishes each story's noirish sheen. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (January 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593072082
• ISBN-13: 978-1593072087
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,022,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Decapitator Asaemon waxes philsophical in Volume 2, June 18, 2005

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Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Samurai Executioner, Vol. 2: Two Bodies, Two Minds (Paperback)

If I needed a reminder that "Samurai Executioner" is a manga intended for more mature readers than those who enjoyed Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima's "Lone Wolf & Cub" epic, then that was provided by the fact "Volume 2: Two Bodies, Two Minds" showed up, wrapped in plastic, and carrying a Parental Advisory label warning of the explicit content. But the world of Kubikiri Asa is one where people end up under the sword of the Shogun's executioner, so it is sordid and violent. This volume offers up three stories, each of which is a numbered "cut," in this developing narrative:

(6) "O-Tsuya's Broom" is one of the stories where Decapitator Asaemon character shows up at the end to resolve a unique situation that is brought to his attention. O-Tsuya is a prostitute who becomes mesmerized by the sight of fireworks, and who becomes totally aroused when there is a fire. So she sets one. The boss of the firefighters knows that she is the arsonist and can prove that she is the arsonist, but cannot get her to confess or to believe that she is guilty of her crime. So he goes to the executioner and tells his story in hopes that Asa will help justice to be served.

(7) "Two Bodies, Two Minds" begins with Asaemon setting forth on a journey to train for the Shogunate's O-tameshi. But his training is interrupted when he discovers the brutal rape of a nun at a Buddhist monastery. Two men are taken into custody, but the Executioner knows that they were in the employ of a third man. He is Hashiba Tatsunosuke, the son of Tokube, who brews the Shogun's sake. But this does not matter to Asaemon, who insists that the guilty man must be turned over to justice.

(8) "A Takadaimono for an Irezomotsu" is the best story of the three in this volume, but Dark Horse has a tendency to avoid Japanese names and words in the titles of its reprint collections of these tales. A prostitute shows up at the home of the Executioner hauling a cart filled with muck buckets, which she uses to befoul his house, adding a personal more personal touch to insult Asaemon's name. The locals watch in horror, sure that the Executioner is going to cut her head off. But instead he simply cleans up both the front of his house and the woman who befouled it. What makes this a standout story is that when Asaemon finds out why she has done this, it goes in a new and interesting direction where the Executioner proves that his mind is as sharp as his sword.

The stories of this second volume of "Samurai Executioner" show that Koike and Kojima are not interested in only doing stories when Decapitator Asaemon chops off some heads at the end of the story. Yes, there is a story that ends that way, and there is not decapitation that takes place in the middle of a story, and for that matter there is slicing and dicing that involves more than cutting off heads. But what stands out in most of these stories are the philosophical discussions (in the broadest meaning of "philosophial") that Asaemon has in a couple of these stories. There are larger issues in play here, which would also be a key part of why these cuts are best appreciated by mature readers.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars getting better, June 6, 2005

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Sam - See all my reviews

This review is from: Samurai Executioner, Vol. 2: Two Bodies, Two Minds (Paperback)

This volume of Samurai Executioner is a alot better than the first volume. The stories in here are pretty good. There is one that was very cool about a low ranking samurai who challenges Asa to a duel for his position, of course it gets deeper that that in lw&c fashion. The hellstick story is also real interesting. Maybe there is hope for Samurai Executioner yet.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent work from the creators of Lone Wolf and Cub, February 5, 2005

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Ben Louie (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Samurai Executioner, Vol. 2: Two Bodies, Two Minds (Paperback)

Ok, sanitized Sailor Moon for the American market this is not.

This is a look into the world that existed over 300 years ago in feudal Japan. A world where one's rank in society determined the likelihood of summary execution right in the street for seeming minor offenses such as bumping into the wrong person. Applying our modern day sense of values to this world is senseless and one must appreciate this work for what it is. Whereas in Lone Wolf and Cub we viewed the travels of the Shogun's former executioner of samurai, now we view the life of the Shogun's sword tester; a man who's a ronin. Sword testing was performed on the bodies of the criminals and low-life scum condemned to death for their heinous crimes and this is why Samuai Executioner is more violent and may upset some people. The art, dynamic story telling and the world of 17th century Japan is the same but just viewed from a different perspective. If you enjoyed Lone Wolf and Cub you WON'T be dissapointed in Samurai Executioner - just be aware that you'll see the seedier side of 17th century Japan.