Anna Daniels
Most Lone Wolf and Cub stories revolve around Itto, but occasionally, the focus switches to the young Daigoro. For example, there’s “Tragic O-Sue,” when Daigoro is imprisoned for fighting back against a bully while his father endures a deadly fever. The boy’s resolve in the face of hunger and beatings stuns his captors, convincing them he’s more than he appears. In a later story, “Parting Frost,” a samurai is so impressed by what he calls Daigoro’s “swordsman eyes” that he’s convinced Daigoro is as much a warrior as himself.
More heartbreaking are stories that show us how much Daigoro yearns to have a normal life. There’s “Black Wind,” when Itto and Daigoro spend a relatively peaceful interlude planting rice in a farming community. Ultimately, we learn Itto is doing this as part of a quest, but regardless, Daigoro hopes his father has decided to finally set aside their bloody journey.
But more than any other chapter of the series, “Hunger Town” is sure to make you angry cry. Itto is hired to murder a despotic lord who’s known to hunt dogs for sport. In order to lure him into the killing zone, Itto trains a puppy that Daigoro quickly falls in love with. Itto’s target kills the puppy when it’s inches away from Daigoro’s arms, and when Itto murders the lord, it’s the first time in the series we see Daigoro joyful at one of his father’s kills.
Written by: Looper
