Sean michael wilson is a comic book writer from scotland, living in japan. In this, as in all the versions with which im familiar, its a moving tale of honor, revenge, justice, nobility and sacrifice. From ancient japans most enduring tale, the epic 3d fantasyadventure 47 ronin is born. The 47 ronin is a famous story from the history of feudal japan.
The tale of the 47 ronin and their epic mission to avenge their wronged. Scripted by chris morgan and hossein amini from a story by morgan and walter hamada, the film is a work of chushingura the treasury of loyal retainers serving as a fictionalized account of the fortyseven ronin, a reallife group of masterless samurai under daimyo asano naganori in 18thcentury japan who avenged. Nov 02, 2012 resident evil and silent hill producer samuel hadida talks wolfenstein and onimusha movies. Among the bestknown tales in japanese history, the legend of the 47 ronin and their epic mission to avenge their disgraced master epitomizes the samurai code of honor. They, of course, are samurai out to get revenge for the death of their master. Rensch will undoubtedly amp up the swordclashing battles and bloodshedding in his 3d take on 47 ronin, which hopefully wont go overboard on the stuff flying out at the camera gimmick.
Meticulously researched and beautifully illustrated, this collection of the acclaimed miniseries recounts this sweeping saga of honor and violence in all its grandeur. If you dont know stan sakai at all, or his previous work, but are looking for a. The man in hollywood behind the resident evil and silent hill video game adaptations is looking to expand his horizons. In feudal japan, lord asano rules his province with fairness. And both films were devastating failures at the box office. Its hard to deny that the bullettime fight sequences from the matrix would look all that much cooler if they couldve been seen in 3d. While there are other depictions of the story in manga form, this version stands out as being the most accurate and most compelling. The japanese werent fond of this movie, among other things for having rinko kikuchi on it she is unpopular in her country, as they consider her an upstart who got cheap fame abroad and for being a bit of the theme park version of the original legend anticlimax boss. Keanu reeves stars in the 3d actionadventure epic, 47 ronin.
There are obviously numerous western comic and japanese manga adaptions, some of which are more faithful to different aspects of the 47 ronin story than others. Ronin is then taken to a river by the kingpins two henchmen and shot in the head. Readers not familiar with events will find the foreword helpful. He has had many books published with a variety of us, uk, and japanese publishers, such as the book of five rings, and edited the critically acclaimed ax. Keanu reeves stars as an outcast who joins a group of samurai warriors on a quest to reclaim their homeland. The foreword by stephan turnbull lays out the history of the events the book covers. Watch the 47 ronin motion comic prequel the way of the warrior dec 12, 20 discover how the ronin were left masterless and battled giant beasts to. To help build interest in the 47 ronin film starring keanu reeves, trailer park digital. Scripted by chris morgan and hossein amini from a story by morgan and walter hamada, the film is a work of chushingura the treasury of loyal retainers serving as a fictionalized account of the fortyseven ronin, a reallife group of masterless samurai under daimyo asano naganori in 18th. Oishi is by far the more compelling character as well as the legends legitimate protagonist, and sanada gives the films most nuanced performance. Resident evil and silent hill producer samuel hadida talks. Ronin uses spidermans own webshooters to leave the high school, and takes the youth to the kingpin to interrogate at the kingpins hideout. Framestore had a huge hand in it all, with christian manz supervising the vfx for the whole show, the art department designing many of the creatures and the vfx film department delivering more than. Opening with the tragic incident that sealed the fate of lord asano, 47 ronin follows a dedicated group of asanos vassals on their yearslong path of vengeance.
A graphic novel and millions of other books are available for. With keanu reeves, hiroyuki sanada, ko shibasaki, tadanobu asano. It obvious that the story of the 47 ronin has been a subject of adaptation and revision for hundreds of years, so the 2014 dark horse adaptation is in tremendous company. Despite the japanese tale being embellished with fantastic elements magic, witches, mythical beasts, superpowers and monsters its slow. This 47 ronin graphic novel is a faithful adaptation of the narrative. Retold through the ages, the legend at last comes to comics in a meticulously researched and beautifully illustrated miniseries from mike richardson, stan sakai, and editorial consultant kazuo koike. Ronin formally written as ronin is an american comic book limited series published between.
Under him were a number of regional lords, the daimyo, each of whom employed a contingent of samurai warriors. To help build interest for 47 ronin,starring keanu reeves, trailer park digital worked with universal to tell a standalone backstory through an original motion comic47 ronin. Meticulously researched and beautifully illustrated, this collection of the acclaimed miniseries recounts this sweeping saga of honor and violence in. In the film, keanu reeves portrays kai, a halfbritish halfjapanese outcast who is called upon by oishi, the leader of the 47.
Ronin disambiguation ronan the accuser, another marvel character. The writing of mike richardson, teamed with the art of stan sakai, beautifully depicting the story of the 47 ronin in graphic novelcomic book form. If the pacing is off or the story is slow, a 119minute movie can drag. Ronin marvel comics, a marvel comics character ronin hood of the 47 samurai, a story combining robin hood and the 47 ronin. Action, adventure, graphic novels, martial arts, scifi. Beyond the fact that this typically results in higher. Oct 04, 20 the 47 ronin is a famous story from the history of feudal japan. To be ronin is to be banished from every city, to be despised by japanese society, to know humiliation without end.
Ronin drives a school bus into midtown high school and starts firing a gun to get spiderman to fight. After repeated delays and much speculation, the historicallyinspired fantasy feature 47 ronin has at long last come to. Keanu reeves stars in the actionadventure epic, 47 ronin. Mar 04, 2014 my first introduction to 47 ronin by the way of the film produced by keanu reeves.
I havent watched the movie yet but this was certainly a better to get acquainted with the story of japan, as they say to know this story is to know japan. The tale of the 47 ronin is one of the most famous in japanese history, and it is a true story. The way of the warrior is a short animated film produced with universal pictures in conjunction with trailer park as part of the marketing for the release of 47 ronin starring keanu reeves. In order to infiltrate the services of the kingpin, ronin proves himself by retrieving spiderman. But the kingpin then attacks ronin, revealing that the kingpin already knew of ronins true identity. But if you were too busy being dazzled by the colorful, fantastical cg effects to pay attention. My first introduction to 47 ronin by the way of the film produced by keanu reeves. Each issue is about one marvel character reimagined as living in feudal japan. On saturday, may 11, 20 usagi yojimbo comic series creator stan sakai and videogame company. In japan, the story of the 47 ronin is so central to the countrys national identity that a special word exists for the act of retelling it. On this date in 1703, japans most renowned epic of bushido vengeance reached its endgame with the condemned ronin who had avenged their executed master forced to commit seppuku so compelling an allegory of conflicting loyalties could hardly have been so skillfully constructed. The story of the 47 ronin is a japanese national legend, one that has been adapted into just about every conceivable medium innumerable times since the historical events it is based on occurred at the dawn of the 18th century. Since weve yet to catch the convert old movies to 3d fever, the upcoming samurai epic starring keanu neo reeves, 47 ronin, will have to satisfy our need to see multidimensional martial arts action on the big screen.
Keanu reeves leads the cast as kai, an outcast who joins oishi. After a treacherous warlord kills their master and banishes their kind, 47 leaderless samurai vow to seek vengeance and reclaim their honor. In the 47 ronin, sean michael wilson has created a historically factual portrait, enhanced by evocative and often lyrical drawings by akiko shimojima. The trailers for cark rinschs samurai epic 47 ronin have not been short on action or spectacle. Such is the case with 47 ronin, but it feels like its due to poor editing. Dec 06, 20 47 ronin bluray 3d, bluray and dvd release april 1, 2014 feb 20, 2014. Oishi wanders for several years but realizes that he must turn to kai keanu. In 2016, his book lafcadio hearns the faceless ghost and.
Animated prequel for 47 ronin explains how the 47 ronin. The story illustrated the battles and intrigue of the 47 samurai as they faced their apex, striking out on their own. The writing of mike richardson, teamed with the art of stan sakai, beautifully depicting the story of the 47 ronin in graphic novel comic book form. The story also takes place during the time of tokugawa tsunayoshi 16461709. It was once again moved to a final release date of december 25, 20 in order to account for the reshoots and postproduction.
I have been a big fan of comic books and in fact when i started looking at video games, theyre. To optimize your experience with your screen reading software, please use our flixster. Jul 02, 2015 rage virus in 28 days, weeks and months later explored effects of rage chemical on neural pathway duration. The tale of the 47 ronin and their epic mission to avenge their wronged master epitomizes the samurai code of honor, and creators mike richardson and stan sakai have done justice to their story. The ultimate marvel equivalent of ronin is an alternate personality of marc spector. If you know usagi yojimbo, a graphic novel written and illustrated by stan sakai, then you already know youll love this book. The true story has generally been embellished and elaborated upon heavily in previous japanese theatrical and cinematic adaptations, so a bigbudget hollywood treatment seems almost. It has been said, to know the story of the 47 ronin is to know japan.
The eagerness of the major studios to cozy up to asian markets yields awkward results in 47 ronin, a lumpy 3d epic from universal that fuses japanese historical legend with generic cgiheavy. A corrupt official causes offense which destroys a family. A band of samurai set out to avenge the death and dishonor of their master at the hands of a ruthless shogun. The huge silver samurai is built up to be a tough fight for the ronin and even walks. This band of ronin must seek help from kai reevesan enslaved halfbreed they once rejectedin their ultimate fight for redemption in a savage world of mythic and wondrous terrors. Watch the 47 ronin motion comic prequel the way of the warrior. Rage virus in 28 days, weeks and months later explored effects of rage chemical on neural pathway duration. To promote the launch of the new universal pictures action fantasy starring keanu reeves, we developed a motion comic prequel. Maybe itll shed some light on why keanu reeves is featured prominently in the ads for a. Discover how the ronin were left masterless and battled giant beasts to become the fiercest of warriors. The plans to make 47 ronin in 3d were announced back in 2010, when universal declared the film would be shot in 3d versus postconverted. In fact his realisation of the story, w hich was based on a kabuki play by seika mayama, was so lengthy, it was actually released as two separate twohour films, the 47 ronin, part i genroku chushingura 1, 1941 and the 47 ronin, part ii genroku chushingura 2, 1942. Keanu reeves leads the cast as kai, an outcast who joins oishi hiroyuki sanada, the leader of 47 outcast. Among the bestknown episodes in japanese history, the tale of the 47 ronin and their yearslong mission to avenge their disgraced master epitomizes the samurai code of honor.
After asanos death, his samurai, led by oishi hiroyuki sanada, are forced to live as outcasts. On this date in 1703, japans most renowned epic of bushido vengeance reached its endgame with the condemned ronin who had avenged their executed master forced to commit seppuku. While there are other depictions of the story in manga. Make motion comics with this visual, comic design software meant to animate static imported images with easy export for sharing buy motionartist now. Apr 15, 2015 47 ronin is a fictionalized account that pulls from both history and the famous kabuki play, kanadehon chushingura. The historical event has inspired many writers and artists over the years and numerous fictionalized versions and adaptations have emerged. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage indepth discussion about all things related to books. Traditional mangastyle art enriches the story, bringing japans edo era to life. However, jealous lord kira tadanobu asano fears that the shogun favors asano over him and hatches a plot that ends with asanos ritual suicide. This band of ronin must seek help from kai reevesan enslaved halfbreed they once rejectedin their ultimate fight for redemption in a. During the tokugawa era in japan, the country was ruled by the shogun, or highest military official, in the name of the emperor. The 47 ronin genroku ako incident was a real historical occurrence that took place in 170102 during the tokugawa shogunate aka the edo period.
If you like marvel, there was a cool 5part called 5 ronin. This band of ronin must seek help from kai reevesan enslaved halfbreed they once rejectedin their ultimate fight for redemption in a savage world of mythic and wondrous. Marjorie liu is the author of more than 19 novels and the cocreator and. Very loosely outcast from society and enslaved due to being halfjapanese, halfbritish, a man named kai keanu reeves encounters the eponymous ronin, led by oishi hiroyuki sanada. If you dont know stan sakai at all, or his previous work, but are looking for a great read, get this book. It is sometimes referred to as japans national legend and has a standing in japanese culture perhaps somewhat like thath of joan of arc in france, or the boston tea party in the united states. Dragons, flying cloth, rampaging beasts, teleporting bird warriors, spiders, foxes, huge environments, you name it 47 ronin has it all when it comes to visual effects.
Having worked with capcom and konami game developers in the past, samuel. Dark horse comics is proud to present 47 ronin, a gorgeous new adaptation of japans enduring national legend, from writer mike richardson the secret and artist stan sakai usagi yojimbo, created in consultation with manga giant kazuo koike lone wolf and cub. A graphic novel wilson, sean michael, shimojima, akiko on. Im busy working on our annual top action sequences list and it is officially crunch time. The leaderless samurai must work in secret waiting for their revenge.