Die Wergleder is true to its lurid and exploitative roots and the series seems to be self-aware of that. Women and men, although to a somewhat lesser extent, are brutalized and degraded both sexually and physically throughout the story. (Träne’s dark long coat, wide-brimmed hat, and tale of vengeance would appear to be a direct reference to the Female Convict Scorpion films in particular.) Likewise, Die Wergelder contains fairly extreme content, including gratuitous sex and explicit violence. More specifically, Samura is taking cues from Toei’s Pinky Violence series of films. Shinobu does have the guts and brash attituded needed to survive, but that’s also a large part of why she’s in such trouble to being with.ĭie Wergelder is heavily inspired by or at least influenced by 1970s Japanese pink films-theatrical releases steeped with eroticism, nudity, and sex. And then there’s Jie Mao, an opposing bodyguard whose deadly combat skills make her a formidable foe. The world of organized crime is fraught with danger and made even more so with the appearance of Träne, an assassin hellbent on revenge against those who have done her tremendous wrong.

She’s more or less forced into accepting and so suddenly finds herself embroiled in the schemes and rivalries of multiple groups. Normally Shinbou would likely have been killed without a second thought, but her background happens to make her uniquely qualified for a job that Ro’s boss needs done. After attempting to run way with a low-ranking yakuza member, along with a rather large sum of his syndicate’s money, the two of them are caught and Ro’s boss isn’t particularly happy with them. Shinobu has made a mistake that may very well cost her life. The first installment of Kodansha’s English-language edition of Die Wergelder, also published in 2015, collects both of those volumes. The second volume was released two years later in Japan in 2015. As Blade of the Immortal was drawing to a close in Japan, Die Wergelder was just beginning, the first volume being published in 2013. I’ve also throughly enjoyed Samura’s two short manga collections that have been translated, Ohikkoshi and Emerald and Other Stories. At the time, I actually didn’t know much about the manga series beyond the fact that it was created by Hiroaki Samura, but that was more than enough to capture my attention-Samura’s long-running, award-winning series Blade of the Immortal was one of the first manga that I ever read and it remains a personal favorite. I was very excited when Kodansha Comics announced that it would be releasing Die Wergelder in English.

Shigurui manga chapter 1