Kazuo Koike (Japanese: 小池 一夫, Hepburn: Koike Kazuo; May 8, 1936 – April 17, 2019) was a prolific Japanese manga writer, novelist, screenwriter, lyricist and entrepreneur. He is best known for his violent, artful seinen manga, notably Lone Wolf and Cub (with Goseki Kojima, 1970–6), Lady Snowblood (with Kazuo Kamimura, 1972–3) and Crying Freeman (with Ryoichi Ikegami, 1986–8), which – along with their numerous media adaptations − have been credited for their influence on the international growth of Japanese popular culture.
Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance
Yuki Kashima is surrounded by policemen on a beach. She fights and kills several of them but is overwhelmed. She is quickly tried and sentenced to death by hanging, but suddenly rescued by the mysterious Seishiro Kikui, head of Secret Police. Inside his headquarters, he propositions Yuki to spy on an "enemy of the State", the anarchist Ransui Tokunaga. Ransui is in possession of a critical document which Seishiro seems quite obsessed with, deeming it highly dangerous to the stability of the government. If Yuki can obtain and deliver the document to Seishiro, he will grant her immunity from her charges. Yuki infiltrates Ransui's home posing as a maid, and sets about looking for the document. But the more she observes Ransui, the more she questions the path Seishiro has put her on. When Ransui confides in Yuki, knowing full well who she is, asking her to deliver the document to his brother Shusuke, Yuki will be forced to decide her allegiance.
