Takeki Ryusei

Takeki Ryusei (猛き龍星) is a manga by Tetsuo Hara, serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in 1995 and collected in three volumes. Hara handles both the art and the script here, making it one of his rare entirely personal works. A contemporary action story set in the world of youth gangs, the series was conceived as a tribute to the classic Otoko Ippiki Gaki Daisho by Hiroshi Motomiya.

Synopsis

At sixteen, Ryusei Kato rose to lead a vast federation of gangs in the Kanto region, before suddenly disappearing, leaving behind nothing but rumors and legends. Gifted with extraordinary, almost supernatural luck, he seems destined to leave his mark on the era.

Two years later, Ryusei returns to the city to lead a peaceful life alongside his sister, his only family. But the one who succeeded him at the head of the federation has allied with the yakuza, letting order crumble amid dirty money. Unable to remain a bystander, Ryusei throws himself into a fight that will take him far beyond the streets of Japan.

A tribute to Gaki Daisho

According to the presentation on Tetsuo Hara's official website, Takeki Ryusei was conceived as a reinterpretation of the famous Otoko Ippiki Gaki Daisho by Hiroshi Motomiya, a foundational work in the gang leader genre. The work carries on its spirit, the rise of a charismatic young leader, while showcasing the graphic energy distinctive to Hara. A stylistic peculiarity marks the story: the word designating "man" is systematically written with the valorizing ideogram for warrior rather than in its common form.

The project proved difficult to sustain over time, however. Hara himself would admit, in the author's comments included in the volumes, his difficulties in reconciling his original intention with the story as it took shape. Ranked at the bottom of the magazine's table of contents, the series was cut short after three volumes, its initial ambition remaining largely unexplored.

A personal work by Tetsuo Hara

Created between the grand historical epics adapted from the novels of Keiichiro Ryu, Takeki Ryusei holds a unique place in Tetsuo Hara's career, as he handled the writing entirely on his own. It features a vein of virile action and a sense of combat reminiscent of his most well-known works, this time transposed into a contemporary Japan.