History Manga / SamuraiExecutioner

''Samurai Executioner'' is a spin-off manga series from ''Manga/LoneWolfAndCub''. It focuses on the encounters and experiences of one of Itto's opponents (Yamada Asaemon), the Shogun's sword-tester and executioner.

* WeaponOfChoice:
** For Kasajiro, there's his hook and rope.
** Asaemon has his personal sword, Onibocho, which he uses for his executions (as well as fighting in general).
** Finally, all police rely primarily upon their jitte, which makes sense, as jitte are designed for disarming and subduing criminals and are pretty much a policeman's badge of office. Shinko actually steals their jitte as a means of blackmail.

** A Buddhist nun who was raped by the spoiled and dissolute son of a wealthy and influential sake brewer forgives her rapist and begs Asaemon to spare his life, saying that she "provided temptation," an argument which in the modern age would be considered as essentially "blaming the victim."

* ActionGirl: Shinko the Kappa starts out as a criminal [[spoiler:successfully stealing jitte and swords from officers in an attempt to get the government to revoke her father's execution, though she ultimately fails. Even after she ultimately ends up HappilyMarried with Kasajiro, she's still a force to be reckoned with, to the point she actually joins him on the police.]]

* CripplingOverspecialization: Subverted: Because Asaemon's job is to kill people in no position to defend themselves or even dead bodies, his opponents think he has no chance in real combat. They are very quickly proven wrong.

** Allowing prisoners to be killed in prison, so that they save on the expenses incurred during executions.

* TheDreaded: Asaemon, full stop. A group of rioting prisoners aren't worried about a small army of police surrounding the prison because of the hostages they have. But the moment Asaemon shows up is a mass OhCrap moment for the lot of them.

* NeverTrustATitle: Half-averted. Asaemon ''is'' an executioner. However, he ''isn't'' a samurai.
** He does however, *execute* Samurai from time to time.

* SuicideByCop: Some penniless and out-of-work warriors slaughter a household and make no effort to hide their identity so they can make a point.

* WeaponOfChoice: For Kasajiro, there's his hook and rope. Asaemon has his personal sword, Onibocho, which he uses for his executions (as well as fighting in general). Finally, all police rely primarily upon their jitte, which makes sense, as jitte are designed for disarming and subduing criminals and are pretty much a policeman's badge of office.

* TakeAThirdOption: Yoshichi the plasterer gets the name of the beatified first Tokugawa shogun - Tōshō Daigongen, better known as Tokugawa Ieyasu - tattooed on the back of his neck, ensuring the executioner can't decapitate him without committing blasphemy. Asaemon cuts out the tattoo in a single stroke without damaging it, then decapitates him.

* HighConcept: Much like the series that spawned it, ''Samurai Executioner'' serves as an exploration of Buddhist concepts and how they are practiced by the samurai and warrior class of Japan. It especially focuses on the concepts of compassion, as well as crime, punishment, and repentance. It also focuses on the purpose that justice and the law serve in the Edo era.

* GoOutWithASmile: Many of the condemned, if Asaemon fulfilled their LastRequest or otherwise made them feel comfortable before he brings down the sword.

* ValuesDissonance: What was acceptable to the authorities in Edo Japan included:

* ScoobyDooHoax: Shino's kappa tattoo on her back causes her victims to think there's an actual kappa when she's out swimming.

* CripplingOverspecialization: Suverted: Because Asaemon's job is to kill people in no position to defend themselves or even dead bodies, his opponents think he has no chance in real combat. They are very quickly proven wrong.

* TakeAThirdOption: Yoshichi the plasterer gets the name of the beatified first Tokugawa shogun tattooed on the back of his neck, ensuring the executioner can't decapitate him without committing blasphemy. Asaemon cuts out the tattoo in a single stroke without damaging it, then decapitates him.

* TheDreaded: Asaemon full stop. A group of rioting prisoners aren't worried about a small army of police surrounding the prison because of the hostages they have. But the moment Asaemon shows up is a mass OhCrap moment for the lot of them.

* GoOutWithASmile: Many of the condemned, if Asaemon fulfiled their LastRequest or otherwise made them feel comfortable before he brings down the sword.
* HappilyAdopted: Subverted somewhat as Asaemon officially adopts Shinko in order to to make it easier for Kasajiro to marry her.

* SlapSlapKiss: Kasajiro and Shinko have a serious case of this, to the point that they get into legitimate fistfights before reaffirming their love for one another.

* TakeAThirdOption: A criminal gets the name of the beatified first Tokugawa shogun tattooed on the back of his neck, ensuring the executioner can't decapitate him without committing blasphemy. Asaemon cuts out the tattoo in a single cut, then decapitates him.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: When Kasajiro [[spoiler: pretended to have died from a wound sustained during an investigation]] to pull his wife's leg, even Asaemon found it funny.
* ActionGirl: Shinko the Kappa starts out as a criminal [[spoiler: successfully stealing jitte and swords from officers in an attempt to get the government to revoke her father's execution, though she ultimately fails. Even after she ultimately ends up HappilyMarried with Kasajiro, she's still a force to be reckoned with, to the point she actually joins him on the police.]]

* ForegoneConclusion: Readers of LoneWolfAndCub know that, unfortunately, Asaemon is ultimately destined to perish in his duel against Ogami Itto due to the interference of the Yagyu.

* ActionGirl: Shinko the Kappa starts out as a criminal successfully stealing jitte and swords from officers in an attempt to get the government to revoke her father's execution, though she ultimately fails. Even after she ultimately ends up HappilyMarried with Kasajiro, she's still a force to be reckoned with, to the point she actually joins him on the police.

!! ''Samurai Executioner'' provides examples of:

* ZenSurvivor: Asaemon again.