Before I talk about Dan Hipp’s upcoming Tokyopop release Gyakushu!, I’d like to first address a life-long passion of mine--Samurai flicks.
Man, I love me some samurai flicks. I don’t know what it is about grown men and women hacking away at each other with sharp objects, but ever since I saw my first blood-drenched samurai film as a kid, I couldn’t wait for Sunday afternoon Kung Fu/Samurai double features on channel 8 (that is, channel 8 in my North Carolinian neck of the woods). Yep…Sunday morning was for the lord, but Sunday afternoons were for watching people brutally maim each other. Now that’s what you call a balanced day.
But it wasn’t just about the violence. A really good samurai flick is like, well, sex…first you have the slow, steady build-up of tension…gradually the pace quickens, things become intensified…until everything comes to a head, exploding in a release of tension –or in the case of samurai movies--a crescendo of violence. (And yes, I need a date--badly).
Like sex, the best samurai flicks tap into that dark recess of your brain, where the score is settled in a primal flash of steel, and not after months of deadlock in the judicial system. I think many of us secretly yearn to know that feeling, to feel what it’s like to take the law into our own hands, no matter how slippery the slope.
In America the western filled this void…though even here the samurai presence was felt. A Fist Full of Dollars is essentially a remake of the Kurosama’s Yojimbo, and Seven Samurai became The Magnificent Seven. But they all essentially added up to bang, bang, the bad guy that kicked your dog and shot your favorite leg is dead.
But as much as I love westerns, they still lack that mano a mano, up close and personal battles found in the Samurai flick. Sure, it’s no small feet to cap a guy with your colt at a dozen paces, but try getting up-close and personal with a katana blade…so close you can see the lunch stuck in his teeth. Then you will see what type of man you really are.
My favorite films were always the ones featuring the lone warrior seeking revenge. The more you tore down your good guy, the deeper you sank the blade into his guts, the more you destroy everything he holds dear…the greater the satisfaction for him (and the audience) when he/she shows the villain his own liver. Ah, the revenge story…it is a plot scenario that has been copied a thousand times over…but will never grow old. It won’t grow old because most of us will always feel powerless in some degree/shape /or form. Most of us secretly long for the ability to walk into a den of villains and be the only one left standing at the end. Samurai movies are wish fulfillment no less important than Peter Pan’s flying boat at Disneyland.
Which brings me back to Gyakushu!--a glorious lullaby to fans of the blood-soaked samurai flick. And I, for one, can’t wait to unleash it upon the world. Dan’s art is incredible…the character designs retain the fun essence of say, Samurai Jack, all the while maintaining the razor-sharp, square-jawed starkness of Sin City. The Thief, the tragic lead character in this tale, is a bandaged shell of a man who’s sole purpose for living is to kill his way to the ones that ruined his life.
I dare not say much more, because half the fun of Gyakushu! is letting the story unravel, with layer after layer revealing snippets of the past, as well as clues to the future. Dan’s narrative is immersive and engaging, and compliments his art without overwhelming it. Seeing Dan’s story come to life bit by bit, week after week is almost sinful pleasure.
Well, enough of my ranting. I’ll be sure to keep you all updated on Gyakushu! and other cool projects in the lab. And if you’ve made it this far, let me say thank you for wading through this rant…you truly are a glutton for punishment :)