Lone Wolf and Cub, Vol. 2: The Gateless Barrier

A ronin and his son chops dudes and serve 'tudes.

A better volume than the first, thanks to some running themes and a clearer authorial vision. This volume had a lot of stories about punishing the evils that the aristocracy casually do. Still, I was disappointed that a character from one story seemed to join the cast but then just totally disappeared from the book. The art is stunning and I had three different moments where I stopped reading to show my wife how good it is.

On reading the first volume, I said that it was a bit Scooby Doo in the predictability of its plotting. Either I judged it wrong or I judged it too soon - volume 2 is great.

I continue reading this series as I am able to get my hands on it. This second volume in the series does not disappoint, and it continues the excellent saga of the lone assassin and his cub. We find stories that will amaze the reader by their intricacy and some that are moving and even poignant. One of my favorites in this volume has to be the one of the widow's revenge who goes to great lengths (to put it mildly) in order to hire Lone Wolf and Cub. As always, once you pick these volumes up, you have to read until the end. Highly recommended.

This book was just as beautifully illustrated as the last Lone Wolf & Cub book. Unfortunately like the last book, it was mostly focused on his adventures with very little character development until the last chapter. We do get to see a lot more of Daigoro in this book, who is without a doubt absolutely adorable, even though he is also incredibly dangerous. Another complaint about this series is that there is often no closure to the adventures. In one adventure they rescue a girl who has helped Daigoro, but after the rescue, you never finds out what happens to her. I think I might be done with this series. It has it's high points but they just aren't for me.

This book was just as beautifully illustrated as the last Lone Wolf & Cub book. Unfortunately like the last book, it was mostly focused on his adventures with very little character development until the last chapter. We do get to see a lot more of Daigoro in this book, who is without a doubt absolutely adorable, even though he is also incredibly dangerous. Another complaint about this series is that there is often no closure to the adventures. In one adventure they rescue a girl who has helped Daigoro, but after the rescue, you never finds out what happens to her. I think I might be done with this series. It has it's high points but they just aren't for me.

This book was just as beautifully illustrated as the last Lone Wolf & Cub book. Unfortunately like the last book, it was mostly focused on his adventures with very little character development until the last chapter. We do get to see a lot more of Daigoro in this book, who is without a doubt absolutely adorable, even though he is also incredibly dangerous. Another complaint about this series is that there is often no closure to the adventures. In one adventure they rescue a girl who has helped Daigoro, but after the rescue, you never finds out what happens to her. I think I might be done with this series. It has it's high points but they just aren't for me.

This book was just as beautifully illustrated as the last Lone Wolf & Cub book. Unfortunately like the last book, it was mostly focused on his adventures with very little character development until the last chapter. We do get to see a lot more of Daigoro in this book, who is without a doubt absolutely adorable, even though he is also incredibly dangerous. Another complaint about this series is that there is often no closure to the adventures. In one adventure they rescue a girl who has helped Daigoro, but after the rescue, you never finds out what happens to her. I think I might be done with this series. It has it's high points but they just aren't for me.