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Kazuo Koike: A Retrospective On The Architect of Modern Manga

Kazuokoike

It’s always sad when someone who enriches your life dies. Kazuo Koike is no exception for me or anyone. This gensakusha along with mangaka Goseki Kojima are the first Japanese people to enter the Eisner Hall of Fame. His works such as Lone Wolf and Cub remain some of the most influential series of all time; they are even some of the first manga to get translations. But who is Koike?

Kazuo Koike is not his Real Name?!

That’s right, before the pen name there comes Senshu Tawaraya. Born in the Akita Prefecture, he spends most of his childhood reading in a storehouse. To be honest, little Senshu has a pretty simple life in the times of WWII. But as a result, he doesn’t have too many friends.

In his high school and college years, Senshu goes through a period of self-discovery. In college he studies under Kiichiro Yamate to be a novelist, but he gives up. Next he tries to be a lawyer but can’t pass the bar exam. After which Senshu goes through different jobs including a Mahjong parlor clerk. He also becomes an avid golfer.

A new chance however comes in 1968 when Shonen Magazine begins recruiting authors. Senshu sends a manuscript in; mangaka Takao Saito likes it so much he hires Senshu. As a result, he has an early hand in decades spanning franchise Golgo 13. After a year or so, he graduates from Saito to publish his own works.

The Birth of Kazuo Koike

Taking on the pen name, Koike would meet with many artists including Lupin III creator Monkey Punch. One of the most influential is the second half of the Golden Duo, Goseki Kojima. Through Kojima and Koike’s own experience of jidaigeki through Kendo and the Yamate village comes Lone Wolf and Cub. Combining with Kojima’s gekiga art-style and the screenplay-like writing creates this cinematic tension. Heck, Koike even wrote the screenplay for an adaptation of Lone Wolf and Cub.

Unlike other manga of the time, gekiga is a more alternative form of the mainstream magazines from Shueisha. As such the general public does not see this style often. The time with Golgo 13 helps influences Koike’s decision to create these more realistic stories. By going into the “Manga Action” magazine, Koike and his collaborators introduce public seinen stories. Acting much like America’s Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns; more mature and realistic stories take hold.

The Golden Duo’s Golden Years

Most of the co-productions with Kojima have a similar feeling to woodblock printing, especially ukiyo-e. A simple wide-screen panel displays this cinematic style of atmosphere and movement. The works of the Golden Duo highlight the political climate of Japan in the 70s; a time of political activism against establishment. As a result many characters defy expectations; the Ogami family refusing to commit seppuku to save their honor and instead seek revenge. Why die for something you did not do anyway? But the life of a ronin is far from glorious, it’s rife with danger and the feeling of being outcast. Which is what makes it so surprising when a ronin becomes a high-level sword tester.

It’s a shame about the divorce

The characters however do not always become better or worse off. Most of the time they feel so estranged from the outside world that things turn bad. A common theme with the primary characters is that they are bad with women. While almost none of them treat women with disrespect, they are unable to show love and affection. As a result of this stoicism and lifestyles, they feel like empty shells. Long before reexaminations of the Jidaigeki settings, the Golden Duo play this era straight.

Kazuo Koike: The Avenging Assassin

With Koike’s past in jidaigeki exposure and kendo, samurai culture seems to come naturally. Even without Kojima, series like Goyo Kiba (Hanzo the Razor) and Lady Snowblood deal with the Edo period. Goyo Kiba made with Takeshi Kanda seems out of place since it deals with a policeman. But Koike has this phrase he likes to use, “It’s important for manga to have its own character”. This means that Koike while not in writing, sees himself as a character who goes through arcs as well. With Goyo Kiba’s publishing alongside Lone Wolf and Cub, this presents another angle of Koike. Sometimes you have to confront a problem from different angles.

Goyo Kiba has doshin Hanzo Itami come to blows with a corrupt bannerman. Hanzo however is far from a traditional hero; he’s enthusiastic about his role but he is very intimidating. In fact his nickname of Hanzo the Razor comes from how he interrogates women. As such, he is a very flawed character with a muddy reputation. But with how bad things get, Hanzo’s the best the people have. His methods even bear fruit in the form of the Tenpo Reformation. Hanzo unlike many other Koike characters prefers to try and solve issues from inside the system.

Putting Aside Pride

This puts Koike’s work with Kazuo Kamimura in stark contrast to his other content. Koike doesn’t usually allow much wiggle room in his work. Kamimura however is an exception being one of the only people who makes changes to the original plan. Rather than stick with more macho men and with the Women’s Liberation movement in Japan, the character and story of Shurayukihime comes to form. Lady Snowblood deals with similar themes to Koike’s other works, but one of the primary themes is change.

The Inspiration of Quentin Tarantino

The title character Oyuki gets exposure to living in the Edo Period’s stance on women since before her birth. Her mother is a victim of rape and manages to kill a tormentor; but the blame falls on her. In prison, Oyuki is born to avenge her mother as an assassin. Sounds a lot like other Koike characters. But Oyuki is as much as Kamimura’s character as she is Koike’s. Koike adopts the methods of assembling stories to showcase the artist’s individuality. To complement Kamimura’s more surreal art-style, Oyuki’s origin is more ambiguous. It is uncertain if Oyuki’s father is her mother’s late husband or one of the men she seduces in prison. As such, unlike the movie character Oyuki has this presence of intrigue as much as fear.

Oyuki’s Two Fathers

These two sides seem to even clash on a regular basis. In the basic forefront this intrigue attracts predators so Shurayukihime can kill/undermine them. This fearsome persona persists to the point of crossing lines. At the same time though, Oyuki is someone who is willing to help others who suffer from unfairness; one time she even takes pity on a would be rapist for his circumstances. Koike’s never been one to stray from sex and violence but Lady Snowblood takes it to a new level. But what stands out in the series is not Oyuki’s act of both violence and compassion; it is how her actions affect the people around her.

This is perhaps in the best display with Gaikotsu Miyahara. Miyahara is a wandering storyteller who comes across Oyuki and only sees her as another assassin. But after going into her backstory and her exploits afterwards, he sees a tragic figure. Miyahara is consequently the in-story equivalent of Koike making the necessary compromises with Kamimura.

Kazuo Koike: The Ever Collaborator

Before and after Kamimura, Koike continues to work with other artists to produce new manga. Each including Lupin III’s Monkey Punch and Cyborg 009’s Shotaro Ishinomori brings out a unique story. For example one of his non-jidaigeki manga, Kokosei Burai Hikae is a lighter tale that is about love and family. The main cast find themselves in uncertain worlds and futures. Main character Muramasa wants to reconnect with his missing brother but drops out of high school. On his search he meets Kazumi, his brother’s lover who has a terminal illness. The brother himself becomes the leader of his activist group influencing people around him. But these conflicts with the authorities are a backdrop for the growing feelings between Muramasa and Kazumi. The series also gains attention for depictions of sexual situations.

The Limitation Pushers

Which of these two is dirtier?

As such the sexual motifs often compare with Shameless School by Go Nagai. Maybe these risk taking writing methods is what cause these manga creators to meet and collaborate. Here’s a fun fact, Koike’s first time collaborating with Nagai is actually the Mazinger Z anime’s theme song. Yes, he works as a lyricist under the pseudonym Fumihiko Azuma. Koike would collaborate with Nagai again for Hannappe Bazooka, an erotic comedy about a family living with demons.

Meeting Ryoichi Ikegami

At some point, Koike encounters Ryoichi Ikegami, an artist in the gekiga scene. First collaborating in I Ueo Boy, they quickly gain attention from mainstream publishers. Together the pair defy the expectations of their publishers by pushing the boundaries. For that matter Koike pushes for I Ueo Boy for more recognition and succeeds. I think a good way thing to call this duo is the “Silver Pair”; nowhere near as memorable with Kojima but made strides for both parties.

Is this one or two dragons?

The pair’s crowning achievement Crying Freeman is what catapults them to fame outside of Japan. Funnily enough, it all starts in Koike’s manga Duet; a real 108 Dragon’s secret society ask Koike for better representation to the point of bribes. In true Koike fashion, he subverts expectations by making them villainous protagonists. Sex and violence is aplenty; but like the premise, that belies what makes the series great. A brainwashed hitman for a Chinese mafia group falls in love with a crime witness. Her displays of genuine affection and their mutual loneliness is the overall message. For this couple it’s the struggle to regain their humanity after losing their place in the world.

Ikegami continues to be a trusted friend and confidant; to the point of being the new artist for Shurayukihime’s new series.

Kazuo Koike: The Teacher

After many years of making manga, writing screenplays, and song writing; he decides to give to the future as a teacher. In 1977, he opens the Koike Gekiga Sonjuku to teach aspiring writers and artists on how to be creators. One of the first term’s graduates is “Rumiko Takahashi” who goes on to become renown in her own right. She even follows her professor to the Eisner Hall of Fame. All eight terms produce notable creators including Tetsuo Hara and Keisuke Itagaki.

Eleven years later in true Koike fashion, he applies as a professor as Osaka Art University to continue teaching. After which there is some back and forth positions over the years. Tokyo restarts the Sonjuku while the Koike Seminar in Osaka goes through name changes. After years of lecturing, Koike breaks off and decides to independently produce his lessons. Through Ustream, he distributes lessons over the web. Occasionally he would also directly lecture at an actual shooting site for period dramas. Hopefully people from around the globe get the opportunity to learn this man’s lessons.

Kazuo Koike: The Legend

All these achievements, awards from around the world, series that influence fans and creators; Kazuo Koike is many things. More than anything though, he is a man who strives through the toughness of life. He even completes his own philosophy of “being [your] own character”. In his own way throughout his career, he was still that student looking for a piece of the world. He even dipped into tokusatsu; writing the themes songs of Super Sentai Denjiman, Goggles V, and Dynaman. His influence is so great just one of his ideas becomes a TV show, Denjin Zaborger.

But now for the question you’ve probably been asking? How is the title not the ‘Alan Moore of Manga’? For one Moore and Miller come at a later time; heck Koike is one of Miller’s influences. More importantly Moore and Miller tear apart what holds American comics back; Koike reinvents manga. Also of importance is that Koike’s work have this sense of movement and atmosphere; not unlike Akira Kurosawa’s movies. It’s probably one of the reasons he writes Wolverine’s story in Japan.

A true tale of a Samurai

Koike goes across all manners of the creative industry; meeting all kinds of people who influence him and influencing them. To this day he still teaches others how to better themselves and find what makes them tick. Kazuo Koike may be dead but the legend grows.

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