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2 November 2015

Sangokushi v54 (complete)

This sly motherfucker
Vol. 54 is now complete! That last chapter was a thing of beauty with Sima Yi putting on an oscar-worthy performance of hiding how much he wants that seal of command, even going so far as to make Cao Zhen worry about the Wu army even though he just told the Wei emperor that that was just a bluff, all in order to make it impossible for Cao Zhen to not hand over the seal. It is interesting to note that this whole part in the original novel is pretty terse on the description so it's quite easy to miss reading between the lines about where Sima Yi's intentions really lie. In Yokoyama's version, however, this is emphasized via the depiction of Sima Yi's smile in the picture above, an extended conversation between Cao Zhen and Sima Yi, and last but not least, the narration on p.201 explicitly saying Sima Yi wanted the seal all along. Of course, one could always make the argument that Sima Yi is genuinely concerned for Cao Zhen but I don't really buy that.

Download
Sangokushi c382:   Sendspace
Sangokushi v54:   Mega;   Mediafire
All Previous Sangokushi volumes:   Mega;   Mediafire

I'll probably finish v54-56 this month. I'm aiming for a finish by Feb. 2016.
Pride, the root of success and failure for so many men...
It is pretty foolish if you think about it. But then again, maybe they overestimated just how desperate Kongming would be in not wanting to let another campaign end in a disappointing retreat.
How embarrassing.
It's alright, Cao Zhen. We know you were quite capable in actual history.
Flashes of Zhou Yu.
I wonder what would've happened if Wu went full-out on attacking Wei at the same time Shu did.
RIP. It's too bad Hao Zhao didn't live long enough to get more screentime.
At last, let the games begin!

Download:
Sangokushi c374:   Sendspace
Sangokushi c375:   Sendspace
Sangokushi c376:   Sendspace
Sangokushi c377:   Sendspace
Sangokushi c378:   Sendspace
Sangokushi c379:   Sendspace
Sangokushi c380:   Sendspace
Sangokushi c381:   Sendspace
Sangokushi c382:   Sendspace

10 comments:

  1. Anonymous2 November 2015 at 13:28

    Thanks a lot for the release.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ja D3 November 2015 at 21:56

    This has been epic.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Neitan4 November 2015 at 15:37

    Thanks for scanlated this amazing manga!!
    60 volumes is a titanic task!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. matteo5 November 2015 at 00:59

    Thanks a lot from me too!

    I've only read 20 volumes so far, but it definitely is an engrossing manga.

    Hox, do you think that RotK (I mean the novel) might have been a (vague) inspiration for Hokuto no Ken?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hox5 November 2015 at 09:21

      Really? What aspects do you find similar between the two? I've never thought about it myself.

      That being said, RotK isn't just a Chinese classic. It's status is firmly rooted in the greater East Asian cultural literacy, in the way that most Westerners would know generally what happened in Romeo and Juliet or Don Quixote even if they've never actually read them. Hence, it's safe to assume that most writers in Japan will have some elements of these classics in the back of their mind as they create their own works, even if they weren't consciously inspired by them.

      Delete
    2. matteo10 November 2015 at 14:20

      I'm sorry for the very late reply!

      I was just thinking of the facts that some of the major characters in HnK are warlords that rule over different regions, that there are gangs of marauders roaming the land, and of the apparent assonance between the names "Raoh" and "Cao Cao". Although the first two elements are I think obviously inspired by George Miller's Inteceptor, I was wondering if that influence might have been filtered through the author's acquintance with RotK.

      Delete
    3. Hox10 November 2015 at 19:53

      Well, keep in mind that Japan's had its own famously romanticized period of division, the sengoku jidai, named after the Chinese warring states period, as well as a leader who's often compared to Cao Cao, Oda Nobunaga.

      Delete
    4. matteo10 November 2015 at 23:53

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    5. matteo11 November 2015 at 05:56

      I see, thanks. I was wondering if someone else had spotted more substantial elements of similarity between HnK and RotK than the very generic ones I mentioned. :-) Speaking of Nobunaga (who appears in Shirato's "Ninja Bugeicho" that was recently translated into my own language, Italian), would you be interested in translating something by Shirato in the future? "Kamui Den" (if I'm not wrong, there are multiple series) in particular was translated into French, but at the moment it seems the chance that it will be translated into English (or Italian) are pretty slim. "Kamui Den Dai 2 Bu" (I think) was translated into English in the '90s.

      Delete
  5. Haesslich9 November 2015 at 18:24

    "I wonder what would've happened if Wu went full-out on attacking Wei at the same time Shu did"

    No Jin dynasty (I can't see Sima Yi surviving if Chang'an had fallen), and the Han Dynasty would stay dead as Sun Quan fought Shu. More chaos after as I doubt any of the three states would have been intact enough to conquer everyone else... so, basically the Six Dynasties period, extended.

    This assumes that the Tibetan Empire, Khitan, or Jurchen ancestors didn't invade first...

    ReplyDelete