A shōnen manga by Keiichiro Ryu, Tetsuo Hara and Mio Aso (Translation: Andrew Love)
Spoilers! Spoilers!
CHAPTER 1 (book 1 of 18): The Sanctioned Kabukimono
This is the story of Maeda Keiji (inspired by real-life samurai Maeda Toshimasu (1543-1612)), an eccentric, invincible Kabukimono, the illegitimate son of Takigawa Masuuji（1527-1635?) who was adopted by Maeda Toshihisa (1537-1587), the older brother of Keiji's uncle, Maeda Toshiie (1538-1599).
It is the Azuchi–Momoyama period (the late Sengoku period of feudal Japan).
The soldiers of Takigawa Kazumasu (1525-1586. Military commander of Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582)) encounter a gigantic wild horse.
Furuya Shichirobei (a General of Hojo Ujikuni (1541-1597. An homage to actor Kyusaku Shimada) failed to domesticate the monster steed.
Keiji (who is also a Kōga-ryū ninja) tames the feral stallion in only ten days and christens it Matsukaze.
Keiji defeats Furuya Shichirobei, Furuya kills himself to motivate his troops.
CHAPTER 2: Blade of the Roaring Beast
Keiji's uncle visits the the most powerful man in Japan, Hashiba/Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598. An homage to actor Tsutomu Yamazaki from Rikyu (1989 film)).
Yotsui Shume (leader of the Kaga ninja forces of Keiji's uncle. An homage to actor Jack Nicholson from Batman (1989 film)) wants to gift his master Toshiie with Keiji's stallion, he sends Arai Gankibo to kill Keiji.
Keiji slices Arai Gankibo the ear-slicer in two and frees Ofu (Gankibo's assistant).
We learn that Honeh/Bone (the masterless, skeletal, diminutive shinobi master of disguise) of the Takeda clan also desires to kill Keiji.
CHAPTER 3: Scars of Loyalty
Sassa Narimasa (1536-1588) has allied himself with Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), this makes Keiji's uncle, who is loyal to Hideyoshi, nervous.
Keiji and Murai Jakusui must guard Oda Nobunaga’s suit of armor (gifted to Keiji's uncle by Hideyoshi).
Yotsui Shume and his ninja warriors attempt to destroy the armor, Keiji cuts Shume's right forearm off.
CHAPTER 4: A Man's Blood Boils!
Yotsui Shume is given a bladed prosthetic (an Enter the Dragon (1973 film) homage).
Keiji is in love with his uncle Toshiie's wife, Maeda Matsu (1547-1617)!
The Siege of Suemori (1584) has commenced. Keiji defeats Yotsui Shume once again and to please Matsu, he decides that he will ride to Suemori to fight the forces of Sassa Narimasa.
CHAPTER 5: The Late Bloomer
Murai Jakusui remembers the Battle of Kiyosu Castle (1552-1554).
Jakusui, Yosui (Jakusui's son) and some of Toshiie's soldiers are on their way to Suemori... disobeying Keiji's uncle's direct order of staying put.
Keiji (disguised as the recently deceased Oda Nobunaga) saves the disobeyers from an ambush.
CHAPTER 6: The General's Lament
Keiji slays the top soldiers of Sassa Narimasa. Preferring to face Narimasa on the battlefield, Keiji lets him live.
CHAPTER 7 (book 2 of 18): Oath of the Wild Chrysanthemum
Keiji notices that the commander of Suemori Castle, Okumura Sukeemon (Keiji's closest friend who impressed Shibata Katsuie (1522-1583) and who is also love with Maeda Matsu) is dying from blood loss.
Keiji and Sukeemon saved Matsu's life when she was little, they were both given chrysanthemums as a reward.
Keiji and Sukeemon stop Sassa Narimasa's soldiers from breaching Suemori Castle.
CHAPTER 8: To Live or to Die
Waiting for Toshiie’s reinforcements to arrive, Yosui (Jakusui's son) thinks of deserting. We get the origin of Jakusui's facial scar.
CHAPTER 9: The Mighty Worrier
Matsukaze (Keiji's war horse) tramples the soldiers of Sassa Narimasa.
Keiji, Yosui (wearing a black Horo cloak) and Jakusui (wearing a red Horo cloak) lead the charge against Sassa Narimasa's army.
Sassa Narimasa remembers his youth when he was the leader of the Black Mantle group and Keiji's uncle was the leader of the Red Mantle group.
Honeh informs Narimasa that Nobukatsu (1558-1630. Son of Oda Nobunaga) has agreed to a truce with Hideyoshi and that Tokugawa Ieyasu has withdrawn his troops.
CHAPTER 10: The Warrior's Vow
Keiji's uncle finally arrives with reinforcements! Sassa Narimasa and his soldiers retreat.
Narimasa thinks about the traitor Akechi Mitsuhide (1528-1582) and Oda Nobunaga's death during the Honnō-ji Incident (1582).
Keiji stops Narimasa from committing seppuku.
CHAPTER 11: A Tearful Drinking Battle
Keiji gifts Sassa Narimasa with Oda Nobunaga's armour.
We learn that Maeda Matsu and the women of the House of Maeda forced Toshiie to go into battle!
Jakusui gets ready to commit seppuku for disobeying orders/going to Suemori!
CHAPTER 12: The Fight of Suemori
Suemori Castle. Keiji tricks his uncle in pardoning Jakusui and his son for their crime of disobedience.
Keiji provokes his uncle like Hideyoshi did to Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute (1584).
Toshiie wants Keiji executed for aiding Suemori, but fearing several reprisals from the people of Suemori he spares his nephew.
Keiji and Sukeemon are both given chrysanthemums from Maeda Matsu.
CHAPTER 13: Hotaru the Kunoichi (female ninja)
Keiji's uncle wants Keiji to die in a crime of passion. Yotsui Shume picks Hotaru the Spirit-Drainer for this unusual mission.
Keiji and Matsukaze (Keiji's horse) save Hotaru (who is masquerading as a dancer) from three hoodlums.
CHAPTER 14: The Tragic Crest
The hoodlums were actually hired by Hotaru the Spirit-Drainer of the Takeda clan, she kills all three.
We learn that Hotaru's fiancé was slain by Keiji during the Battle of Nagashino (1575).
Yotsui Shume and his ninjas fail to kill Keiji once again.
CHAPTER 15: The Coldhearted Kunoichi
We learn that Keiji's succession rights were stolen by his uncle Toshiie. Oda Nobunaga appointed Toshiie as the new leader of the Maeda clan!
Yotsui Shume and his ninjas blow up the theatre where Hotaru was performing. Keiji saves Hotaru (who was trying to kill him) from the explosion.
Keiji has fallen in love with Hotaru. Hotaru forgives Keiji.
What I did not like:
The mistreatment of animals and the kiseru smoking.
No mention of Keiji's 35th Anniversary.
The spine of the hardcover does not feature a different illustration of Keiji.
Both tankōbon colored covers should be virgin covers.
The newer covers from the Tokuma Comics kanzenban complete edition are not present inside this first volume.
Full-Color pages do appear, but sadly, not all of them!
What I did like:
The classic tale (adapted from the historical novel "Ichimuan Furyuki" by Keiichiro Ryu (1923-1989)) from Japan's past has returned!
Stunning high-quality hardcovers bound and printed in Canada.
We get 2 (of 18) uncensored tankōbon volumes per hardcover.
Magnificent Bastard is a reference to Patton (1970 film) and Seinfeld.
The demon horse Matsukaze is clearly a clone of Kokuoh from Hokuto no Ken.
Nobody draws ultraviolence, emotions, women, man-mountains and animals quite like Tetsuo Hara.
Hara-sensei's exemplary attention to detail when it comes to clothing and weapons.
The over the top machismo.
Battle of Okehazama (1560) mentioned.
Wajima-nuri lacquerware from Wajima mentioned.
Izumo no Okuni (kabuki founder) mentioned.
Takeda Shingen aka "the Tiger of Kai" mentioned.
Keiji's samurai armour can be seen at the Miyasaka Archaeological Museum in Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture.
Keiji appears in Pokémon Conquest, Sengoku Fubu, Fist of the North Star: LEGENDS ReVIVE and many other video games.
Two afterwords by Tetsuo Hara from July 1990 & November 1990.
Five excellent pages of translation notes.
Nice lettering by Dietrich Premier!
A Samurai epic on steroids!
I give it an 8/10. After more than 21 years of waiting, the best-selling Japanese manga series from 1989-1993, "Keiji of the Flowers/Hana no Keiji: Beyond the Clouds" is back at long last in English!
Fans of the Shōgun TV series, Samurai Warriors, Sengoku Basara, Akira Kurosawa, ninjas and historical fiction will fall in love with these mature, yet slightly humorous tales of heroism.
Highly recommended! Aficionados of the original Fist of the North Star manga and anime, you need to support this series! Purchase it, today!
Bravo, Kodansha USA/Vertical Comics, now I want to see more series from Tetsuo Hara and stuff from Tetsuya Saruwatari and Go Nagai, as soon as possible!
