| Samurai Crusader | |
 Firsttankōbon volume cover | |
| 王立院雲丸の生涯 (Ōritsuin Kumomaru no Shōgai) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Adventure,historical[1] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Oji Hiroi |
| Illustrated by | Ryoichi Ikegami |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | Shōnen Sunday Comics Special |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Sunday |
| English magazine | |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | July 3, 1991 –March 11, 1992 |
| Volumes | 3 |
 Anime and manga portal | |
Samurai Crusader: The Kumomaru Chronicles (Japanese:王立院雲丸の生涯,Hepburn:Ōritsuin Kumomaru no Shōgai) is a Japanesemanga series written byOji Hiroi and illustrated byRyoichi Ikegami. It was serialized inShogakukan'sshōnen manga magazineWeekly Shōnen Sunday from July 1991 to March 1992, with its chapters collected in threetankōbon volumes. In North America, the manga was licensed byViz Media, which serialized it in theirManga Vizion magazine in 1995.
The story follows Kumomaru, a Japanese samurai who travels to Europe during the 1930s and becomes embroiled in a plot to steal the legendary Japanese swordKusanagi. While in Europe, Kumomaru befriendsErnest Hemingway andPablo Picasso and attempts to stop Major General Kamishima and hisNazi allies from conquering China.
Samurai Crusader is written byOji Hiroi and illustrated byRyoichi Ikegami. It was serialized inShogakukan'sshōnen manga magazineWeekly Shōnen Sunday from July 3, 1991, to March 11, 1992.[2] Shogakukan collected its chapters in threetankōbon volumes, released between February and May 1992.[3][4]Media Factory re-released the manga in twobunkoban volumes on April 5 and May 2, 2003.[5][6] Media Factory released a complete edition on December 22, 2006.[7]
In North America, the series was licensed byViz Media, which serialized it in their magazineManga Vizion in 1995.[8] Viz Media published the three volumes of the series between August 5, 1996, and December 6, 1997.[9][10]
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | February 1992[3] | 978-4-09-123701-9 | August 5, 1996[9] | 978-1-56931-130-1 |
| 2 | April 1992[11] | 978-4-09-123702-6 | April 5, 1997[12] | 978-1-56931-164-6 |
| 3 | May 1992[4] | 978-4-09-123703-3 | December 6, 1997[10] | 978-1-56931-236-0 |
InManga: The Complete Guide, authorJason Thompson wrote: "Author Hiroi Oji (Sakura Taisen) delivers a satisfying, big-scale historical adventure story that reads like a mix between anIndiana Jones movie and a 1980s Hong Kong film. Artist Ryoichi Ikegami is in fine form throughout, with great action scenes and precise period detail. Seasoned Ikegami readers who’ve been through the torrid likes ofCrying Freeman andOffered will notice that the thrills here stop just short of a PG-13 level of explicitness. Still, it’s nice to have a straightforward Ikegami adventure yarn that doesn’t require hiding the pages from plain sight from time to time."[1] Katherine Dacey ofThe Manga Critic praised the series for its art, stating: "No detail goes overlooked; even the most inconsequential characters’ clothing is meticulously rendered, and the street lamps in every city are drawn with such care as to distinguish a Parisian boulevard from a Shanghai corner." Dacey however, criticized the series for its dialogues, explaining that they "feel more like policy discussions than real arguments, despite Ikegami’s best efforts to stage the scenes as dramatically as possible." Dacey concluded: "Perhaps the best way to summarizeSamurai Crusader‘s appeal is to say that it has all the virtues ofCrying Freeman andWounded Man — crazy action scenes, sexy leads, mustache-twirling villains — without the copious nudity and sexual violence that can give even the most committed manga fan pause."[13]
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