Keiichiro Ryu (1923–1989)

A samurai warrior with a devil-may-care attitude and an outlandish sense of style runs roughshod over the real people, locations, and events of Japan in the 1580s. He's a superman who towers over everyone else and can cut half a dozen men in half with one swing of his sword. And, like Bugs Bunny with a body count, he vexes the lords and ninja who constantly jockey for his assassination with his campy and dismissive antics.

I requested this from NetGalley because I recognized the illustrator show more as the creator of the delightfully over-the-top Fist of the North Star series. What I didn't realize at the time was that I had already read the chapters in this book in a serialized format more than twenty years ago in the short-lived manga anthology magazine, Raijin Comics.

The pages are visually memorable, but the tangle of political intrigue and lack of tension due to Keiji's uncanny luck and overpowered skill set bores after a while. Having gotten a taste of the opening chapters twice now, I'm not motivated to continue on for the remaining eight volumes in this series.

Disclosure: I received access to a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.com.

FOR REFERENCE:

Omnibus collecting material originally published in tankōbon manga form as Keiji volumes 1-2.

Contents: Chapter 1. The Sanctioned Kabukimono -- Chapter 2. Blade of the Roaring Beast -- Chapter 3. Scars of Loyalty -- Chapter 4. A Man's Blood Boils! -- Chapter 5. The Late Bloomer -- Chapter 6. The General's Lament -- Chapter 7. Oath of the Wild Chrysanthemum -- Chapter 8. To Live or to Die -- Chapter 9. The Mighty Warrior -- Chapter 10. The Warrior's Vow -- Chapter 11. A Tearful Drinking Battle -- Chapter 12. The Fight of Suemori -- Chapter 13. Hotaru the Kunoichi -- Chapter 14. The Tragic Crest -- Chapter 15. The Coldhearted Kunoichi show less

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for an ARC of this comic. All thoughts are my own.

It wasn't a bad story by any means but an asshole male character that is only redeemable because he happens to save some people is not my thing. If you're looking for a classic male power fantasy where the male is always incredibly lucky, gets all the girls, and good and bad characters are ridiculously easy to tell apart, this is gonna be the book for you.

I was heart broken when I saw his obituary on the newspaper which he had his serial publication up until 2 days before. On the brighter side to see ... it is nice to read his unpublished final draft. RIP

Slo-o-o-o-o-ow