Satsuma Gishiden

In the mid-2000s, Dark Horse brought Hiroshi Hirata's classic samurai epic Satsuma Gishiden to English-speaking readers for the first time. This three-issue series, originally serialized in Japan, follows the brutal and honor-bound warriors of the Satsuma domain during the tumultuous final years of the Tokugawa shogunate. Hirata's meticulous, dynamic art and unflinching storytelling make it a standout example of gekiga—the mature, dramatic style of Japanese comics—and a powerful, historically grounded exploration of bushido's cost.