Path of the Assassin Volume 1: Serving in the Dark

This story is a four stars - but if you are over fifty, then the type is so small you may find it an uncomfortable read. A bit more real estate on the page would be a big help.

I'm a big fan of the Lone Wolf and Cub series. It tells a story with multiple, multiple layers on morality and honor. Path of the Assassin tells a great story, the relationship of a ninja and his master, whom he must protect "in the shadow" without others knowing his existence. The two are 16, players navigating the traps of the adult political world. While this first book lacks the many layered complexity of Lone Wolf and Cub the stories are high energy and deals with morality issues between the bonds of master and servant. Look for other books in this series to enjoy after this book.

Right in line with Samurai Executioner and Lone Wolf and Cub. Engrossing story, as well as a good view into how Japan was back in the Samurai era.

"Hanzo no Mon" ("Path of the Assassin") is a manga by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima that was originally published in Japan in 1972. Because it is a relatively short series, compared to Kokie and Kojima's "Lone Wolf & Cub" and "Samurai Executioner," Dark Horse is only now getting around to publishing these books now that those other series have both been concluded. We are still talking a Parental Advisory for explicit content, but unlike the previous series it has been oriented in the right-to-left reading format of the original (at at the creator's request apparently). This is the story of Jattori Hanzo, the fabled master ninja whose duty was to protect his master Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was destined to be shogun who would unify Japan and great a modern nation. As told by Koike and Kojima, not only doez Hanzo use his ninja talents to serve the future leader "in the dark," but also forms a close friendship with the young shogun. "Path of the Assassin, Volume 1: Serving in the Dark," is set in the Sengoku period, when ambitious samurai warriors were releasing ninja, called "suppa," to be part of various plots and intrigues. The "suppa" who works for the Matsudaira clan is Hattori Hanzo Yasunaga of Iga, who orders his son Mattori Hanzo Masanari, to serve Matsduaira Jiro Saburo Monotnobu, later known as Ieyasu. When these stories begin, Motonobu, the master is only sixteen, while his servant Masanari is fifteen. This first volume has seven "chapters on relinquishing pain": No. 1: "Suppa Unsheathed" beings with Hattori Hanzo Yasunaga ordering his eldest son to steal a giant vase with a flower and a bird on it, and to do so without being noticed. If the eldest son, Yasutoshi fails, the task will fall to the next brother, Yasumasha. When neither brother can accomplish the task, the youngest son requests the opportunity to succeed. He does with "the skill of an unsheathed suppa," and the brother who was last becomes first and is ordered to "serve our master in the dark." No. 2: "Serving in the Dark" tells of how Masanari introduced himself to his new lord, only to have to do it a second time. The future shogun does not look that impressive, but there is some reason to believe that he is truly samurai. This is really the second part of the first episode in bringing the two characters together. No. 3: "Mizuki" is Japanese for "water princess." Facing his wedding, Motonubu orders his servant to show him what to do with a woman who has a will of her own (a round about way of saying Motonubu is a virgin). Masanari creates a diversion in a fishing village, captures one of the half naked diving girls, and sexually assaults her while his master watches. Fortunately this one takes a couple of major twists and the character does know that he has raped a young woman, but despite the Luke & Laura ending this one is a bit unsettlng, although certainly consistent with the world Koike and Kojima present in their manga. No. 4: "Oppres