The Lone Wolf is now in Edo but the Yagu is the least of his worries.

The Shogun gives the Yagu its poisoner and he is a most contemptable creature that one finds one cheering for the Yagu against him. He is ruthless, cunning, controls the peasants for miles and is willing to kill thousands just to test out Ito.

As a rule the Lone Wolf and Cub series once one gets past the first few books young kids should stay away this issue is even more so. It crosses some lines that if it wasn't for the quality of the series I would object more.

High quality, can't wait for the rest.

When at the end of the previous volume Ogami Itto and Daigoro "walked on the Moon" and entered Edo, I was prepared for a new chapter in the quest of Lone Wolf & Cub. But Volume 20, "A Taste of Poison" finds Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima surprising us again, as this is far and away the most thematic collection to date. "A Taste of Poison" is basically a novel with the epic manga series, although as such the story within the story does not end here. The Shogun has endured the pathetic attempts of Retsudo Yagyu and his retainers to kill Lone Wolf long enough and loans the head of the Yagyu clan the services Abe-no-Kaii, the head of the Kuchiyaku. As the "official mouths" of the Shogun, the Kuchiyaku were the tasters who check food for poisons. Abe-no-Kaii is a master of poison and this entire volume is devoted to this sordid man and his efforts to kill Lone Wolf & Cub.

WARNING: This manga was never a story for children and that has never been truer than it is with regards to this volume. There has been strong sexual content in previous stories, but Abe-no-Kaii's depravity extends well beyond such things.

(98) "Good Fortune, Ill Fortune" introduces us to Abe-no-Kaii and finds the Shogun ordering Retsudo Yagyu to bring him the Wolf's head in ten days. The master poisoner explains his plan to bring Ogami Itto to bay by poisoning Daigoro. However, neither Abe-no-Kaii nor Retsudo Yagyu trusts the other, and each has murderous plans for when Lone Wolf and Cub are dead.

(99) "Lair of the Nighthawks" refers to the prostitutes who walk the streets of Edo by night. Into their world comes the Yakuza thief O-Tsohi, the "Silk Spider." Addicted to Abe-no-Kaii's kizami narcotic, she becomes a key part of his plan to poison Lone Wolf & Cub.

(100) "Blighted Leaves" tells of how Ogami Itto and Daigoro are finally spotted and Abe-no-Kaii's plan is put into motion by O-Tsohi. Clearly we have entered a realm where Lone Wolf's sword may not be able to defend him and his son.

(101) "Abe-No-Kaii" finds the master poisoner taking a more active role in the effort to kill Ogami Itto and Daigoro. Along the way, he captures a ninja assassin sent by Retsudo Yagyu, which ups the ante on their conflict as well. But the emphasis here is on the series of traps set for Lone Wolf and Cub.

(102) "A Taste of Poison" shows the ruthlessness of Abe-No-Kaii in trying to kill Daigoro, as he puts his most dangerous poison in a river just to achieve his goal, without caring about the consequences for everybody else who lives downstream. Meanwhile, the ninja assassin he captured becomes an unwilling pawn in the struggle between the master poisoner and Retsudo Yagyu.

By this point it is no longer surprising that even as we cross the 100th episode mark that Koike and Kojima continue to raise the level of their epic story (compare with what happened to Spider-Man when his comic hit issue #100). Not since father and son were separated for several stories have we had a similar "novel." With the introduction of Abe-no-Kaii and O-Tsohi we finally have a couple of supporting characters playing major roles in a series of stories instead of the long stream of one-short appearances we have been seeing for the most part. But behind Abe-no-Kaii and Retsudo Yagyu, there is the Shogun (who we finally see in this volume) and who may well be the final obstacle in Ogami Itto's guest along the Assassin's Road.

A taste of poison is aptly named. The Yagyu are diminished, yet not defeated. Having exhausted his personal retainers, staff and any others under his direct control - Retsudo is directed by the Shogun in a previous volume to eliminate Lone Wolf at any cost. He is now given access to the Shoguns own retainers, in this case - a master poisioner.

Thus far all of those tracking Lone Wolf have had some sense of dignity, honor... but this is an all new character. The sense of loathing and vileness is exemplified in may aspects both the obvious (such as the character himself) and the less obvious (the way in which the story manifests its self). It would be a mistake to lable the graphic nature of this issue as being harsh or out of character... on the contrary - it's brilliant in being able to introduce new feelings at such a late point in the story line.

Fabulous - all LW&C readers will enjoy.

Like most people who couldn't read Japanese, I got the English translation of Crying Freeman. The first book of the series, Portrait of a Killer was promising in that the story was sort of believable. A Taste of Revenge follows up on two minor characters from the first book. Being the enemies of Freeman, both Kimie Hanada and Det. Nitta wanted revenge. How the story finally turned out was a surprise. Mixed into the revenge story was a plot of a certain cult to take over Japan. Compared to Portrait of a Killer, this story was mildly preposterous. As usual, the hero was practically invincible, and sexy. And I'll leave it at that. The artwork was beautiful as usual.

Ryoichi Ikegami, a Japanese Gekiga illustrator known his fluent and sexy paintings. Men and women he paints are beautiful, realistic and sexy. I love them! A young and promising Japanese ceramist is kidnapped by HongKong mafia and made up to be an assassin. After the long and tough training, he becomes an expert assassin and the leader of the family. Once he was seen his killing by a Japanese woman and try to kill her, but they fall in love and get married. This story is about the adventure of violence and love. Sometimes Ikegami's works go too far to the extent of losing its realism, but in this series, well maintained.

"Offered" is an excelent title with a bizzare yet
appealing story line that follows the exploits
of a star athlete, his goofy but beautiful science
teacher, and a couple of hitmen. A dark story
of lies and ancient frozen semen, you're bound to
be suprised (and maybe a bit confused) by how the
plot turns and twists. With a bit of hummor and
gratuitous nudity to keep things lively, "Offered"
is worth checking out if you like your manga mature
and cute-free. ComicsOne produces a very high
quality product for a very good price so it's worth
the money if you're curiosity is peaked.

I prefered others in the Freeman series but this is still great if you like Ikegami's style and the story. Good for violence though. Those people who've got the whole lot should enjoy this. Not really good if you've not read any others.

As the razor sharp distinction between what is good and what is evil blurs the closer we get to y2k, a new type of hero has emerged from Japan who is not James Bond or John Wayne.Crying Freeman is an assassin, an anti-hero, but he is so good at what he does that the reader is rooting for him to win in the end.He is, after all killing others of his own kind.The story captures the imagination because it is realistic and the key ingredients are very similar to a book written by Jack Trevanian called "Shibumi".In that book, an assassin named Nicholas Hel dispatches his targets with an obscure martial art that could only be translated as "naked kill". He is also very well versed in the art of seduction. I wonder if the author of Crying Freeman ever read that book? Shibumi is a Japanese word to describe the art of "effortless perfection", a quality amply displayed throughout the manga.In any case, if you're bored with the clean-cut goodygoody heroes of the past and are looking for something grittier, then Crying Freeman is for you.

Portrait of a Killer was probably the best of the Crying Freeman series, understandably since it was the first. This book however, is not up to the standards set by that first book. The artwork as usual is incredibly realistic and stylized. The story is however pathetic. The villains turn out to be nothing short of perverts who like to kill and masturbate. It's still some fun to read, but in the end it is probably one of the worst Crying Freeman books ever made. If anything, get it for the artwork alone.