Lone Wolf & Cub is a manga series written by Kazuo Koike & illustrated by Goseki Kojima. There are 28 volumes available in total, and the very first manga was published way back in 1970 (in Japan). All of these volumes have been translated into English. Some of the earlier manga stories were adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama and produced by Katsu productions in Japan. Here is a brief review of all 6 films and the American version of the story called Shogun Assassin. Hai.
(1) Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (Kenji Misumi, 1972)
Iito Ogami is the Shogunate’s executioner, a highly gifted swordsman and all ‘round badass. Framed by the corrupt, scheming Yagyu clan (and double-crossed by virtually everyone he meets), Iito’s wife is brutally murdered, so Iito flees -with his young son in tow- and begins to wander around Japan as a Ronin (masterless samurai). He vows to destroy the Yagyu clan in revenge for his wife's death. Extreme bloody carnage ensues.
The first and best of the series. Iito Ogami is one tough bastard! Great soundtrack.
1H23m40s
(2) Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at River Styx (Kenji Misumi, 1972)
Ogami is being followed by a gang of tough female ninjas. On top of this, Ogami is paid to wipe out three assassins known as the three masters of death. Nice!
Now that we’re up and running, this second movies has lots of spurting blood and limbs-a-flyin’. The plot is all over the place, though, and can be a bit incoherent at times. Weak in comparison to the first film, but the end fight scene in the sand dunes is fantastic!
1H21m30s
(3) Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (Kenji Misumi, 1972)
More carnage here, and an awful lot of rape going on here… This one plays more like an Italian western. Very high body count, and a very funky soundtrack. The subtitles on this movie are quite poor, though.
1H29m20s
(4) Lone Wolf and Cub: Babycart in Peril (Buichi Saitô, 1972)
Another sequel that’s all over the place, but in a much better way than at River Styx. It opens with a bloodied naked (female) breast for cryin’ out loud! The breast belongs to the beautiful Michi Azuma, who plays a tattooed, mostly topless kick-ass O-Yuki. Ohhhh Yuki! (sorry). This film is more like a pinky violence exploitation film, and is all the better for it. After the first film, this is my second favourite, and could easily be a direct sequel to the first film. The cool funky jazz soundtrack adds to the ambience of the film, and In Peril can be watched as a stand alone film. A good one!
1H21m
(5) Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (Kenji Misumi, 1973)
Kenji Misumi returns to directing duties, and ramps up the elaborate, artistic deaths! Some of the deaths are very creative indeed, which makes Demons another good film in the series. It also serves as a direct sequel to Peril in terms of continuity. A handsomely-mounted production with terrific scenes of violent death!
1H29m30s
(6) Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell (Yoshiyuki Kuroda, 1974)
In the sixth, final and weakest of the series, Ogami Itto confronts the Yagyu clan head-on… in the snow! More of the same really… perhaps a slaughterfest too far? Poor ending. A funky shaft-style opening track though!
1H24m
USA: Shogun Assassin (Kenji Misumi, Robert Houston, 1980)
American producer/directors etc.. Robert Houston & David Weisman got the rights to the Babycart series and edited parts one and two together to form Shogun Assassin. It’s mostly made up of River Styx to be honest. But it got a new synth soundtrack and a well-produced English dub. This one became a cult classic, due in part because the original Japanese versions of the Babycart series never made it to English shores. We all saw Shogun Assassin long before any of the Japanese versions.
Although (much like the original River Styx source) it’s very disjointed, the bloodlust & high body count was truly a sight to see in the early days of video! Us Westerners had never seen anything like this before! Wow!
Of course, these days I much prefer the originals, Tomisaburô Wakayama’s voice is tremendous, and the English dubbed voice will never do him justice. It’s a decent, well-produced attempt, but ultimately the films are so Japanese that they all must been seen in original form.
1H25m
These films are well presented by Criterion (the subs on Hades are a bit of a wobble, though). They are unique and beautiful period pieces that good (and sound) great in HD. Some good extras as well. Really recommended!
