Across both manga and Euro comics, I've never seen electric-pastel covers like these before!
On the whole, this series seems to have some BD-influences, such as cinematic storytelling, experimental and 'sketchy' artwork, as well as tight, historically-driven scenarios. It makes me wonder if there was some cross-fertilisation going on between manga and BD during this period (60's to 80's). For example, I could easily imagine figures like Moebius, Jodo, and Osama Tezuka borrowing ideas from each other.
Anyway, about the manga itself? It's one of my favorites, altho dated. [SAMPLES] I like it because there are fascinating themes of discovery, danger, and sacrifice that you rarely quite see in BD's & GN's.
One thing I've noticed about manga is that the writers commonly love to 'go for it.' For example, one of the main samurai - heroes, and a highly sympathetic one at that, gets badly disfigured whilst escaping a firebombing which took out most of his clan. So for the rest of the series he's sort a chilling 'no-face,' whilst remaining exactly the same principled character. It creates an interesting kind of tension, in that we typically associate heroes with handsome, virile-types, and not maimed, disfigured characters. Which perhaps hearkens back to Shelley's Frankenstein, in which the suave scientist is the villain, and the monster, the real hero.
Final thoughts? This is a super-good, nuanced, humanistic series, with plenty of action & drama. More HERE, and there's also an animated series, which doesn't seem terrible. [YouTube]
