imagine my excitement when this finally came in at the comic store. that's right, it's the manga on which the world's most awesome movie was based. it's done by at least one of the guys who did lone wolf and cub, so obviously, it's sweet. there's lots of blood, gore, corruption, and intense violent freak outs. also present: exciting cultural tensions between the east and west (resulting in death!), conflicted feminist undertones (resulting in numerous deaths!!), and a few trips to the japanese yakuza underworld (yes, even more deaths!!!). she's more of a freelance assassin here than in the movie, and there's a nice episodic quality. the chapters also have awesome names, like "dead cherry blossoms and the dance of short sleeve with white blade, part 2."

AND she hasn't even really started taking her revenge, so hopefully this series will have a nice long run.