2300 years ago China was divided into seven battling kingdoms. A monastic order known as the Men of Bokk, self-declared enemies of war, come to the defense of besieged cities. Using their battle skills and tactical brilliance, these men are a formidable force feared across the seven kingdoms, sworn to defend the defenseless.

But when a dumpy, bald man of Bokk comes to the small city of Ryo to defend it against an army of thousands all by himself, a series of events are put into motion that will impact China for centuries to come.

Bokko is stunning historical fiction, winning the 1994 Shogakukan Manga Award (I love a lot of what makes that list). It’s a sweeping adventure with a meticulous attention to detail that never gets tedious or confusing, even to someone who possesses little familiarity with ancient Chinese history, like myself.

Bokko was originally published in Big Comic, a seinen anthology most distinguishable for serializing Golgo 13 all these years. It’s adapted from a Japanese novel by a capable artist named Hideki Mori. Mori never fails to omit the requisite dirt and grime necessary for the time period, and renders his characters in a style that is reminiscent of nineties Ryoichi Ikegami, though his lines are yet to be as sure of themselves. Mori grows as an artist over the eleven volumes making up this series, incorporating more elaborate hatching and dynamic compositions to his work. It’s a similar trajectory to what you will find in Hitoshi Iwaaki’s Historie, another historical fiction manga: the artist’s basic style remains the same, but it’s used to better effect with each passing volume.

I’ve been in a bit of a manga slump recently, reading titles here and there because they were officially licensed in English, and getting bored as a result. Bokko is exactly what I needed to remind myself of how gripping manga can be. Even with an exceptionally interesting anime season (I’m watching two different shows! Two!!), comics still remain a more accessible and vital medium for me. But you should be aware–Bokko is only available in English scanlated from the French edition (of course it was published in France… a recurring theme you’ll find in a lot of the manga I talk about).

So there we have it, Bokko: historical fiction at its best, with a heartfelt anti-war message at its core. I found it impossible not to love.

We’re only a few days away from Easter, so I thought it appropriate to talk about the triumphant return of a savior. And this time, it isn’t Kenshiro!

Toki, as drawn by female mangaka Yuka Nagate for "Shirogane no Seija: Toki Gaiden."

As the Fist of the North Star: The Legends of the True Savior anime pentalogy was airing (2006-2008), Weekly Comic Bunch magazine printed a bunch of FotNS tie-in manga. The synchronicity makes sense: original FotNS editor Nobuhiko Horie was both running Coamix, the company that owned Comic Bunch, and North Stars Pictures, the company working on the new anime with TMS Entertainment.

While the new anime was well-received by fans, reception to the manga effort was mixed. Instead of mostly covering the events of the original series like the anime did, the manga consisted of sidestories about supporting characters. They weren’t directly drawn or written by the original team, either.

The most popular was a series about fan-favorite character Raoh, which would be adapted into its own thirteen-episode TV show: Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story. In addition, a six-volume manga about the supporting character Rei did reasonably well. There was also a one-shot chapter about Kenshiro’s adoptive father Ryuken, a one-volume manga about Kenshiro’s lover Yuria, and a two-volume series about Kenshiro’s scarred brother Jagi. I’d prefer not to talk about the awful Juuza series.

Juuza, what did they do to you???

There was also a Toki manga! Shirogane no Seija: Toki Gaiden lasted six volumes, and was the most similar to the original FotNS in style and spirit, for two reasons. First: of all the characters to have their own manga, Toki is closest in personality to Kenshiro. Second: Yuka Nagate’s drawing style, while not bearing an overwhelming similarity to Tetsuo Hara, captures a lot of his sentiment and aesthetic.

And his penchant for quasi-religious symbolism, though not in a vague tangential Evangelion sort of way.

Toki Gaiden is about Toki’s life after nuclear apocalypse but before he is rescued from prison by Kenshiro, a period not covered in the original story. While being adept in the Hokuto Shinken fighting style like his brothers Kenshiro and Raoh, Toki is also an expert at using it as a healing technique. In the nightmare of the post-apocalypse Toki has no shortage of work to do, with no shortage of villainous brutes getting in the way.

Toki encounters other Fist of the North Star characters over the course of this series, but these encounters aren’t forced and make perfect sense in the larger story, such as when he meets Amiba, a jealous foil turned impostor, and Juuza, a reticent ally who’s taken to skirt-chasing and boozing.

It’s decent comics, perfect reading to get yourself in the Easter spirit. The only bad news is The Gospel According to Toki is only available scanlated, and incompletely at that. But hardy souls dedicated to the eschatology of Fist of the North Star are working on it.