2011-02-09

Lady Snowblood　修羅雪姫


Lady Snowblood


Lady Snowblood (修羅雪姫 Shurayuki-hime?) is a manga written by Kazuo Koike and illustrated by Kazuo Kamimura, and serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Playboy. It was translated into English and published in four volumes by Dark Horse Comics between 2005 and 2006.
Lady Snowblood centers around the title character, an assassin who seeks vengeance against the bandits who raped her mother and murdered her father, often using her sexual appeal as a weapon.
The manga was adapted into a live-action feature film of the same name starring Meiko Kajiin 1973. It was followed by Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance in 1974. In 2001, the manga was reimagined as the science fiction action film The Princess Blade, starringYumiko Shaku and Hideaki Ito.

Title

The Japanese title Shurayuki-hime is a pun on Snow White's Japanese name (白雪姫Shirayuki-hime?, "Princess Snow-White"). The Kanji characters 修羅 (shura?) are used for a word meaning "carnage". The title was translated as Lady Snowblood because the character is connected to the terms shura-no-chimata (bloodshed) and shuraba/shurajō"scene of carnage".[1]

[edit]Plot

Lady Snowblood Oyuki is given a task of vengeance to kill those who killed her family and raped her mother. Tokuichi Shoei was stabbed to death by Oyuki's mother. Oyuki's mother was sent to jail for that crime and had a child in prison to exact retribution of the other three perpetrators. Okono Kitahama was set up by Oyuki to lose all her assets and was framed as a murderer. Gishiro Tsukamoto discovered Oyuki's plan and used Miyanara as bait but was still killed by Oyuki. Hanzo Takemura begs her forgiveness, however is still assassinated by Oyuki for honourable retribution.

Characters

Lady Snowblood - Oyuki
Lady Snowblood
Oyuki is a seductive and beautiful woman, with formidable skills in using a blade hidden in her umbrella. She has been entrusted with the task of vengeance by her mother to kill the three people who murdered her brother and father.
Miyanara San
A writer who pens the Oyuki's story in an effort to draw the final two tormentors out in the open. Although antagonistic at first, he comes to treat Oyuki as his daughter even risking his life to assist in her quest.
Matsuemon San
The leader of a band of beggars who assists Oyuki in discovering the location of her kill list in return for Oyuki stealing a hojicho for him.

[edit]Production

Originally published in Shueisha's Weekly Playboy in the early 1970s. It was translated and published in English between 2005-2006 by Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse Comics published the English version into 4 separate volumes. Within each volume there are separate episodes, although each episode is usually a self contained arc, it is also a continuation of the larger story.

External links