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Kazuo Koike

Kazuo Koike

Writing

Biography

Kazuo Koike (Japanese: 小池 一夫, Hepburn: Koike Kazuo; May 8, 1936 – April 17, 2019) was a prolific Japanese manga writer, novelist, screenwriter, lyricist and entrepreneur. He is best known for his violent, artful seinen manga, notably Lone Wolf and Cub (with Goseki Kojima, 1970–6), Lady Snowblood (with Kazuo Kamimura, 1972–3) and Crying Freeman (with Ryoichi Ikegami, 1986–8), which – along with their numerous media adaptations − have been credited for their influence on the international growth of Japanese popular culture.

Known For

Crying Freeman
7.4

Yo Hinomura was an ordinary Japanese potter when a run-in with a Chinese mafia changed his life forever. Now an assassin for the 108 Dragons, Yo is the perfect killing machine. As a sign for remorse over his victims, he sheds tears after eliminating his targets. Because of this, he is infamously known by the Dragons and every crime syndicate in the world as the "Crying Freeman."

Crying Freeman

1988
Mad Bull 34
6.1

Rookie beat cop Daizaburo "Eddie" Ban buddies up with "Sleepy" John Estes, a veteran cop whose over-the-top tactics have earned him street name "Mad Bull". From his first day on the force, Eddie has his hands full protecting New York City's 34th precinct from street thugs, keeping the mafia at bay, and keeping a lid on Mad Bull's unprofessional instincts.

Mad Bull 34

1990
Lone Wolf and Cub
8.1

Ogami Itto is a master swordsman who holds a position of high power in the Tokugawa Shogunate. Highly trusted by the Shogun, he serves as the official decapitator, assisting lords and samurai who have been ordered by the Shogun to commit seppuku. One day, Itto’s wife and members of his household are brutally murdered by a clan seeking to avenge their lord’s execution, which had been carried out by Itto. In the wake of the attack, two items are left in Itto’s home: his unhurt infant son, Daigoro, and a symbol meant to signify Itto’s betrayal of the Shogun. Disgraced by the false symbol, Itto is labeled a traitor and forced to forfeit his position. He becomes a ronin, wandering the country with his son, searching for the men who killed his wife, seeking to clear his name and avenge her death.

Lone Wolf and Cub

1973
Crying Freeman
6.4

A lethal assassin for a secret Chinese organisation, who sheds tears of regret each time he kills, is seen swiftly and mercilessly executing three Yakuza gangsters by a beautiful artist. She is captivated by the grace of his kill and later falls in love with him. An intense power struggle for the leadership of the Yakuza Clans ensues as they seek vengeance for the death of their leader.

Crying Freeman

1995
Lady Snowblood
7.5

Yuki's family is nearly wiped out before she is born due to the machinations of a band of criminals. These criminals kidnap and brutalize her mother but leave her alive. Later her mother ends up in prison with only revenge to keep her alive. She creates an instrument for this revenge by purposefully getting pregnant. Yuki never knows the love of a family but only killing and revenge.

Lady Snowblood

1973
Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight
6.5

A Ronin with a death wish reluctantly joins the Clan of the Forgotten Eight, a nasty crew of ronin who are wrapped up in a clan war over local prostitution.

Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight

1973
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril
7.3

Ogami Itto is hired to kill a tattooed female assassin and battles Retsudo, head of the Yagyu clan, and his son Gunbei.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril

1972
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades
7.1

Ogami Itto volunteers to be tortured by Yakuza in order to save a prostitute and is hired by their leader to kill an evil chamberlain.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades

1972
Bohachi Bushido: The Villain
6.5

The Bohachi Clan, the most vile, corrupt organization with ties deep in the Shogunate, have controlled the flesh trade in Japan for generations. When threatened by a competitor, they employ Saburai, a nihilistic ronin on the verge of self destruction. Blood gushes and limbs fly for anyone who stands against Saburai as he instills the Way of the Bohachi.

Bohachi Bushido: The Villain

1974
Hanappe Bazooka
6.1

When trickster demons give him the power to seduce any woman he wants, a high school pervert accidentally puts his family, the girl of his dreams, and his very soul on the line.

Hanappe Bazooka

1992
A Tale of Two Truncheons
N/A

Based on Kazuo Koike's extensive manga (over 110 volumes), this Edo-period drama follows an unlikely pair of law enforcement officers. One is a serious, skilled investigator, while the other is a witty, unconventional problem-solver, creating a dynamic partnership. The series also features the charmingly unorthodox detective Suruyoshi in a notable period drama debut. A memorable and catchy soundtrack complements the engaging stories brought to life by a large and talented cast.

A Tale of Two Truncheons

1984
Electroid Zaborger 7
9.0

Denjin Zaborger, translated as Electroid Zaborger 7, was a Japanese tokusatsu television series that aired in 1974, produced by P Productions, it was their last Tokusatsu series of the 1970s. Denjin Zaborger stars Akira Yamaguchi as secret agent Yutaka Daimon. The robot Denjin Zaborger has no personality at all, its Akira Yamaguchi as the wild warrior Yutaka Daimon who gives the series its heart. A movie remake titled Karate-Robo Zaborgar was released in 2011.

Electroid Zaborger 7

1974
Shogun Assassin
6.9

A Shogun who grew paranoid as he became senile sent his ninjas to kill his samurai. They failed but did kill the samurai’s wife. The samurai swore to avenge the death of his wife and roams the countryside with his toddler son in search of vengeance.

Shogun Assassin

1980
The Dragon from Russia
5.4

A former member of a band of criminals known as the 'Eight-Hundred Dragons' is living in fear in Manchuria as the clan does not allow people to leave alive. However, he is eventually tracked down, and kidnapped along with a young Manchurian, Yao - whose memory is erased so that he can be trained in martial arts. Yao's work as an assassin becomes more complicated, however, when he sees his old lover again and his real memories come flooding back.

The Dragon from Russia

1990
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx
7.3

Ogami Itto battles a group of female ninja in the employ of the Yagyu clan and must eliminate a traitor who plans to sell his clan's secrets to the Shogunate.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx

1972
Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance
7.4

Official Shogunate executioner Ogami Itto has been framed for disloyalty to the Shogunate by the Yagyu clan, against whom he now is waging a one-man war, along with his infant son, Daigoro.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance

1972
Broken Oath
7.1

Lotus never had a chance. Her mother seethed with anger at being unjustly imprisoned for turning her attemped rapist into a cyclops. Mother repeatedly asked her good friend and fellow prisoner, Pickpocket, to urge Lotus to take revenge for her as an adult. Lotus is given to a monastery and grows up there, but twenty years of peace and love make no impression on Lotus, who skips classes to practice pole and sword skills. Joining forces with Pickpocket and Big Rat, Lotus gets her chance at revenge.

Broken Oath

1977
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons
7.2

Ogami Itto is challenged by a quintet of warriors, each armed with one fifth of Ogami's assassin fee and one fifth of the information he needs to complete his assignment.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons

1973
The Princess Blade
5.6

Raised by assassins, Yuki is the last of the Takemikazuchi royal bloodline. A deadly weapon in her own right, she learns the gruesome truth about the death of her beloved mother and joins forces with a mysterious rebel leader.

The Princess Blade

2001
The Scarred Man
N/A

Yuko Kusaka is a Japanese journalist sent to Brazil to do a report on the gold rush phenomenon that seems to be making many people rich from night to day. Rumors say that among the many "garimpeiros" (gold diggers) currently on the Amazon forest, there is a Japanese known as Rio Baraki. Reaching their destination, her crew member is promptly attacked and she is raped as a warning to stop their work and return immediately to their home country. Determined to do her job, she stays and finds out from the attacker that he is none other than Baraki, a white haired muscular man with a large scar on his back. Later she discovers that his real name is Keisuke Ibaraki. Once a promising quarterback, he ended up falsely incriminated by a powerful organization known as GPX.

The Scarred Man

1986