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Reviewed by Craig Johnson Plot: A man, a sword, a baby, loads of violence. Now this is much more like it. Rather than the same-old, same-old set pieces that formed the nine stories in Book One, there are just five stories in this 300-page TPB, all with unique points of interest, and all deviating from the LW&C; hack-and-slash norm. Maybe Koike had to get those nine awful stories out of him before feeling able to stretch his wings a bit, as these stories are as far from those as the FF of Heroes Reborn was from that of Lee and Kirby. In "Red Cat", the Lone Wolf infiltrates a prison and gets banged up on Death Row, how he got there, why he got there, what he does when there, and how he manages to get out of it, are gradually revealed; you suspect it is all a ploy, but aren't really sure until the denouement. In "The Coming of the Cold", Daigoro (the "Cub") is buried in an avalanche, but this doesn't deflect the LW from his mission - to prevent the master of a Han from ruining it financially. In "Tragic O-Sue" a little insight is given into working conditions for household servants in feudal Japan, plus LW's reputation forces a confrontation where none should exist. It is revealed that LW also has a daughter (well, maybe), although she disappears by the start of the next story....where's she gone, we are never told. The best story in this collection. Next up is "The Gateless Barrier", from whence this volume takes its subtitle. LW comes up against a holy man who cannot be killed, his "mu" (sense of nothingness) deflects and prevents all attacks on his person. How can LW complete this contract? The weirdest story in this collection. Finally comes "Winter Flower"; what connects the death of a master and his wife with the suicide of a prostitute? An unusual issue in that LW is hardly in it, this is more a detective story, featuring the investigations into the two incidents, and how the story is pieced together, bit by bit. The art throughout is better than volume one as well, Kojima is obviously relishing his job, the fight scenes (thankfully less prevalent than before) are exciting and action-packed, and almost totally clear in what is happening, the panoramic vistas which set the scene are beautiful (and would be breathtaking in full watercolours). Thoroughly recommended, more so than book one, an indispensable read and great value for money. Comment on this review of Lone Wolf and Cub v2: The Gateless Barrier on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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