It is supposed that whoever becomes the world’s greatest samurai will govern it in the grim world of the swordsman. Additionally, only No. 2 may take on No. 1.
Afro Samurai has taken on the role of No. 2 and is seeking retribution on No. 1, the shooter who shot and killed his father many years ago. But killers are everywhere, trying to deprive Afro Samurai of the No. 2 spot. Can Afro live long enough to get his just desserts?
Takashi Okazaki is the author and artist of the manga Afro Samurai.
The first edition of Afro Samurai appeared in the independently published Nou Nou Hau djinshi magazine. The djinshi version was first released between September 1999 and October 2000, starting with issue 0.
Takashi Okazaki remade the original djinshi after the anime version was released. Although the original manga was recreated in Japan, two tank-bon volumes of it were originally released in the US by Seven Seas Entertainment and Tor Books.
Thumbnail-sized excerpts from the original djinshi were presented as a special add-on at the conclusion of the first book. The first book released by Tor Books and Seven Seas under the newly established Tor/Seven Seas banner was the manga’s English translation.
Beginning on April 9, 2009, the manga was also made available in Italy by the Planet Manga subsidiary of Panini Comics. On December 18, 2009, the manga was published in Japan as a single volume. All of the issues of the original djinshi were included in a separate volume with the limited edition.
| Publisher | Tor/Seven Seas |
| Author | Takashi Okazaki |
| Magazine | Nou Nou Hau (dōjinshi) |
| Publication date | September 2, 2008 |
| Volumes | 2 |
| Chapters | 10 |
| Genres | Action, Adventure, Drama, Seinen, Martial Arts, Mature, Violence, Tragedy |
| Age category | 16 and above |
| Language | English |
Plot and Storyline of Afro Samurai Manga
It is stated that the person who wears the Number 1 headband is the best warrior in the world and would have god-like abilities in a medieval yet modern Japan. Some think it makes them immortal, while others think they got their headbands directly from the gods. The current wearer must be challenged and defeated in battle in order to receive the Number 1 headband.
In contrast, anyone can challenge the Number 2 headband, but only the holder of the Number 1 headband can dispute the Number 2. The Number 2 can therefore endure. Rokutaro, Afro’s father and the bearer of the Number 1 headband, is fought and killed by Justice, the outlaw who currently wears the Number 2 headband.
Witnessing the altercation, a young Afro swears revenge on Justice, who advises him to find him when he is “ready to combat a god.”
Afro continues to don the Number 2 headband years later. He eliminates a bunch of mercenaries, assassins, and criminals sent by the Empty Seven Clan to get the headband.
Afro visits Mount Shumi to confront Jinno, a fellow samurai and childhood buddy who accuses him of killing their lord after remembering his tragic past (who had the Number 2 headband). After defeating Jinno, he finds Justice, who informs him that there are additional headbands—up to an undefined greater number—in existence.
Justice confesses that he slaughtered all headband wearers and decorated his safe house with corpses, despite his claims that he wants to utilise his influence as the Number 1 to bring peace to all of humanity. Justice is killed, and Afro takes the number one headband. While Jinno, who has since claimed all of Justice’s headbands, returns to exact retribution, Afro takes over as the new No. 1.
Both the Number 1 headband and Rokutaro’s body are stolen by Jinno and his sister Sio. Afro challenges the revived Rokutaro, who murders the siblings, after slaying Shichigoro and claiming the Number 2 headband. Rokutaro is defeated by Afro, who then hands Kotaro, Shichigoro’s son, the Number 2 headband while calmly retaining the Number 1. A different guy encounters the revived Justice elsewhere.
Where to read the manga for free?
There are numerous options available to read the manga and graphic novel. You may purchase a print version of the book from one of the online stores here: BookShop, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, BAM, Walmart etc.
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There are a few websites that allow users to read the manga for free. You may try here or here. Pages are available as scanned images in high quality.
Chapters and Volumes in Afro Samurai Graphic Novel
By killing the former Number One and stealing his ceremonial headband, someone becomes the new Number One. The only restriction in this realm is that the “Number Two” (also identified by a sacred headband) is the only one who may engage in combat with the “Number One.”
This has the drawback that anyone (and usually everyone) can challenge and attempt to murder the Number Two in order to advance and confront the Number One. Until he was challenged by a gunman named “Justice,” who was then Number Two, and defeated in a duel to become the new Number One, Afro Samurai’s father held the position of Number One. Afro had only been a youngster when the gunman questioned his father.
Right in front of the young Afro, the shooter severed his father’s head.
Afro Samurai, a master swordsman who is now an adult and the current Number Two, traverses the highway in search of Justice, the Number One, to exact revenge. The story is told in the present with an adult Afro travelling to the mountaintop keep of the “Number One” to duel Justice whereas at the same time the mystical cult recognised as the “Empty Seven Clan” sends various agents to murder Afro and steal his Number Two headband.
The story is told in the present with an adult Afro travelling to the mountaintop keep of the “Number One” to duel Justice.
The series contains 2 volumes and 10 chapters in total.
Volume 1: Nothing personal…it’s just revenge.
Afro with the No. 2 headband decides to exact revenge on Justice after seeing his father dead. He runs into and defeats a number of enemies along the route.
It contains 5 chapters, translation notes and supplemental materials.
Volume 2: Death isn’t the end…it’s only the beginning.
Afro challenges Jinno after murdering Justice while wearing the No. 1 headband.
It contains 5 chapters, Honorifics Guide, Translation Notes and Creator Interview.
Characters from the manga
Following are some of the important characters in the manga.
Empty Seven
A group of quintuplet Rogue Warrior Monks called The Empty Seven is working to seize the Number Two Headband and eventually the Number One Headband so they can become Gods and live forever. The Empty Seven are actually six monks, with the seventh position standing in for God; each number indicates a direction. Compared to some of Afro’s other adversaries, The Empty Seven are very weak and have inferior fighting skills, but they are also fairly wealthy and able to support the growth of The Afro Droid and Kuma.
Oi-Chan asserts that the Empty Seven are the masterminds behind all assassinations worldwide and that they sent assassins for Afro while he served as the Number Two in exchange for enormous monetary prizes using red paper notices.
Afro Samurai
The series’ main character, Afro Samurai, lost his father when he was a young boy and wears the Number Two headband while on a mission to murder Justice and retrieve the Number One. He frequently smoked hand-rolled cigarettes as an adult, drank lemonade, and spoke in a deep, quiet tone.
Otsuru or Okiku
Otsuro is a young woman who enjoys cooking, the healing arts, and fireworks. After Afro lost the Number Two headband as a child, she ran into him in the shrine and brought him to the Sword Master’s dojo. That evening, Otsuru finds herself present as the Sword Master’s students and the remaining assassins are put to death. Otsuru makes it out alive and joins the Empty Seven Clan as a representative of Brother 1.
Ninja Ninja
Afro’s speaking companion is Ninja Ninja, who typically employs a normal voice while Afro declines to participate in dialogues. White-haired Ninja Ninja sports a ninja pattern on his clothing. Ninja Ninja observes Afro’s quest for vengeance as the story goes on.
Afro confronts Justice about midway through the episode after he claims to have seen him lose his “imaginary friend.”
Jinnosuke/Kuma
Jinnosuke is a swordsman who goes by the moniker “Kuma,” and he wears a cybernetic teddy bear helmet. He carries two katanas and is dressed in a black keikogi, hakama, and toe-strapped metal geta sandals. Afro Samurai is also his best friend and a sibling to him. He accuses Afro of killing their master and stealing the headband for Number Two.
Jinno laments the loss of the other members of the dojo, endures his injuries during the Midnight Battle Under the Bodhi Tree, and then plunges off a cliff. Dharman, who gives him a cybernetic body, saves him.
Jinno appears to lose his life support in order to defeat Afro, but he recovers it, attaches it to the rest of the graded headbands as bandages, and watches while Afro battles him while donning the headband.
Dharman
The Empty Seven Clan hired the crazy cyborg scientist Dharman to create the Afro-Droid and their machine-ninja army. He uses his protective “Teddy Bear” helmet to fix Jinnosuke’s body. His resemblance to a Japanese Dharma doll is the source of his moniker. It’s possible that Dharman was the one who reconstructed Afro before he defeated Jinnosuke.
Many people believed that he was Brother #7 because Brother #1 calls him “brother,” but the official website clarifies that this is not the case. In the second-to-last chapter, he makes it clear that he does not want to think of himself as a member of the gang.
Lady Sio
The younger sister of Jinno who appears in Afro Samurai Resurrection is Lady Sio. She begs Jinno to kill Afro, but Jinno declines, referring to Afro as “his brother” of the sword and saying that the two had a closer kinship.
Sio and her brother are orphans, unlike Otsuru, and whereas Afro and Jinno left to train with the Sword Master, Sio appears to live with her affluent and influential foster family that owns a palace and a replacement daughter who treats Sio like a princess.
The comments of her servant, Tomoe, imply that their fields were destroyed in the chaos that follows Afro taking the Number One headband, which means that her family’s passing is not Afro’s fault. Sio dislikes this and learns that when Afro was young, he killed them.
Reviews on Afro Samurai Manga
The person who obtains the magical Number 1 headband, which confers strength far beyond that of normal men, is the finest combatant in this brutal universe, which combines aspects of feudal Japan, cowboy Westerns, and apocalyptic sci-fi. Number 2 is the only combatant strong enough to take on Number 1.
Afro has worked hard to earn the Number 2 spot in an effort to get revenge on those who killed his father, the former Number 1. He battles Number 1’s lieutenants and innumerable assassins as he makes his way toward Number 1’s castle in the opening scene of the novel. Afro’s sidekick Ninja brings some much-needed humour to a sombre plot with his never-ending supply of one-liners and poor rhymes.
Fans of the anime adaptation will recognise much of this story from the manga version. Unfortunately, hardly many flashbacks regarding Afro’s past are present. These elements should be revealed later, as they help to humanise Afro.
The sophisticated artwork of Okazaki, with its expressionist lines and gloomy cartoon faces, works well with the environment he has created. Many people are likely to pick up on this entertaining but realistic experience only based on name recognition.
It is most appropriate for older teenagers because of the violence, gore, and brief nudity.
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Summary
When Afro Samurai was a little boy, he saw the horrible murder of his father, a swordsman known only as “Number 1,” by “Number 2,” a mysterious gunfighter. The rankings of the fighters are indicated by these numbers. Therefore, wearing the Number 1 headband denotes that you are the world’s most lethal warrior. The Number 1 headband has given rise to many legends over the years.
For instance, the rumour that whomever wears it would control the globe or that it bestows immortality Nobody is certain as to whether any of this is true or not. However, that doesn’t stop people from desiring it in any case.
He now desires to eliminate Position 1. It’s unrelated to the influence he would acquire if he succeeds. It’s about straightforward retaliation. He desires to murder the man who murdered his father. However, when you are sporting one of the most popular headbands, there are always people vying for your position.
The additional difficulty of Afro’s being a wanted man. Because some of its number think that even the Number 2 headband possesses some kind of supernatural power, a group of underworld lords called as “The Empty Seven” have put out a contract on Afro.
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