“Let me tell you a little bit about the guy you see here. Hiyakkimaru is one of Osamu Tezuka’s little known protagonists from his short-run manga series “Dororo.” The manga is, I would say, bizarre to say the least considering Hiyakkimaru’s story alone. The guy is a super-psychic-walking-swiss-army-knife of a warrior, whose sole purpose is to defeat the demon’s of Japan who stole his body parts at birth due to a contract his father signed with said demons. Much of the story is his episodic track around the land with a young “boy” named Dororo, through some detective work they usually discover a demon and slaughter ensues. Despite all the qualms I have about this story it’s still a really fun read. If you like shounen stories, samurai stories, or just really weird “superheroes,” this one’s for you.”

Matthew J. Rainwater