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With all the Manga pages here on the web, I was astonished to find little to no
information about Ryoichi Ikegami (1944-) or any of his works. 
Ryoichi is regarded by me as the finest artist
that I have yet to come across. The pains he takes to accentuate even the smallest details
puts today's commercial artists to shame. My first exposure to Manga was at a local comic
store. I was flipping through a discount bin when I came across a couple of comics from
Ryoichi's Crying Freeman series. I leafed through them and while I was impressed
with what I saw, even at 50% off they were out of my price range for a comic medium that I
had not seen before. Also there were 3 copies of Mai, The Psychic Girl which was
more in my price range. Well needless to say, I was hooked. Over the next two weeks I
visited all the nearby shops and had acquired 22 out of the 28 issues. If you are looking
to collect/sample some of Ryoichi Ikegami's works, Viz Comics has collected many of his
past works in graphic novel format. Sanctuary, Crying Freeman, Samurai Crusader, Mai,
Crying Freeman (volume 1-4) and Strain (volume 1-2. volume 3 is scheduled for a February
2000 release) are all available in this form.
Note: Ikegami began his career in 1961 at age 17.
Mai is the story of a 14 year old girl who is endowed with psionic
abilities. She and her father are the focus of a number of agencies which want to control
her and exploit her powers as a weapon.
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Crying Freeman is the story of a potter who is forced to become an assassin for an
organization known as the 108 Dragons. There are 5 story arcs which mix violence, drama
and eroticism together in a stunning account. Currently Viz Comics has released 4 of these
in their Perfect Collection format but has not released Journey to Freedom.
If you like Kazuo Koike's Crying Freeman, check out his work on Lone Wolf and Cub.
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Sanctuary tells the story of 2 Yakuza attempting to wrest control of
the political scene out of the hands of the old men currently in charge.
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Visit the Official
Sanctuary Home Page.
Samurai Crusader tells the story of a young samurai teamed up with
none other than Ernest Hemingway in World War II.
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Strain tells the story of Shingo, an assassin who would kill anybody
for the patry sum of $5. It is a story of brother against brother in modern Japan.
Monthly installments are published in the PULP anthology (monthly from Viz).
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Spider-man Manga was a series of 31 issues released by Marvel Comics and reprints much of the Japanese
Spider-man story. Unfortunately, Marvel cancelled this series due to low sales.
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Follow the link below to view a profile of Ryoichi Ikegami (by Kaya Oakes) taken from Manga Vizion Vol.1,No.6. I apologize for reprinting it without permission, but I sincerely hope that it attracts more interest in Ryoichi's works currently being published by Viz. Peace. Oh yeah, this issue can still be ordered from Viz directly.
Follow this link to see the Ryoichi Ikegami Animerica interview in Animerica Vol.1,No.7 (Introduction by Trish Ledoux and interview by Satoru Fujii). I apologize for reprinting it without permission, but I sincerely hope that it attracts more interest in Ryoichi's works currently being published by Viz. If you get the chance, pick it up. I don't think that Viz has this currently in backstock, but it is worth checking if not for the 8x10 reproduction of the cover of Mai #2 on the cover. Peace.
The following list of Japanese publications has been modified from Ikegami's entry in the Usenet Manga Guide (the modifications have been taken from various articles).
Debuted in 1971 with Aiueo Boy, written by Koike Kazuo. One of the famous and influential realist/violence artists. He has long since given up trying to draw his own stories. Ikegami's art has been especially influential in Hong Kong and Taiwan. (Curiously, Ikegami once drew a version of Spiderman.)
Other major works:
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| Visit the Viz Home Page |
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Last modified December 10, 1999. This page was created by Darren Andrews.