Kurogane: Volume 2

by Kei Toume and Cleo Qian

"First published in Japan in 1996 by Kodansha Ltd., Tokyo"--T.p. verso.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345492048
• ISBN13: 9780345492043
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Del Rey Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.1" x 7.5"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 and higher

Customer Reviews

Cyborg Samurai Adventures

This manga is outstanding! It's heavily influenced by old samurai movies, but unique enough to feel original and inspired. Jintetsu is a wandering assassin with a tough, stoic exterior, but a heart of gold. His only companion in his travels is his talking sword (seriously.) Oh, and he's also a cyborg. Somehow, this doesn't entirely destroy the feel of this story taking place during the Edo period of Japan. The author has the robot parts constructed like a clockwork doll and somehow it fits right into the overall plot and setting. The artwork is very well done and appealing. It has a lot of life to it. If you like old samurai movies you will like this series.

THE WANDERING CYBORG SAMURAI

Kei Toume's Kurogane Vol. 2 continues the adventures of the cyborg samurai Jintetsu of steel with three separate stories concerning the drifting, somewhat tragic character of Jintetsu. The plot of the wandering samurai is somewhat overused in Manga & Anime so it's really up to the writer to offer some sort of variation on this theme to make it fresh and I think that Toume has managed to do just that. In the opening tale, "Caged Bird" Jintetsu has wandered into a town where a local and popular boss has been murdered mysteriously. As a drifter, Jintetsu is immediately suspected and questioned by Master Shinbe's men but is released. As he travels out of town he meets a young girl named Osaya who had been adopted as Shinbe's daughter. The girl seems to be in a hurry to get out of town and tells Jintetsu about her sheltered life as Shinbe's daughter. Could this tiny, innocent girl have committed murder? The second tale "Man with a Child's Eyes" Jintetsu meets a brother and sister out for revenge on the assassin who killed their father two years earlier. The assassin turns out to be Jintetsu's sometimes friend and partner Renji the Firewalker. The brother, Shirou, doesn't care that Renji's killing of his father was a mere accident and now Jintetsu finds himself caught between the assassin and the overmatched young man with vengeance on his mind. The last story, "Colors" has Jintetsu meeting up with an old friend from his youth who has heard about the assassin's deadly reputation. Ryujiro is about to become the boss of his clan but in order to do so, he must kill the man who killed the clan's former master...Renji the Firewalker. Ryujiro wants to hire Jintetsu to kill his fellow assassin. I found myself really enjoying the episodic adventures of Jintetsu. He's a complex character and not only because he's a cyborg, but also because of his feelings of guilt and isolation. It's a much deeper story personality-wise than most Manga. Toume's art is also exceptional as well. Reviewed by Tim Janson