Ask John: What’s the Background on Princess Blade?

Question:
The recently released live action movie Princess Blade came from a manga of a different name, and that’s all I know. Do you know anything about the manga?

Answer:
The Japanese name for Princess Blade is “Shurayukihime.” The 2001 film currently in American theatrical release from AD Vision is actually the third Shurayukihime movie. The first two movies, Shurayukihime (1973) and Shurayukihime: Urami Renga (1974) have been released to American home video by AnimEigo under the names “Lady Snowblood” and “Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance.” These traditional samurai movies are direct adaptations of the original Shurayukihime manga while director Shinsuke Sato’s recent film is a futuristic, sci-fi adaptation of the manga.

The original two volume manga was written by Kazuo Koike, the author of Lone Wolf & Cub, and drawn by Kazou Kamimura. Unfortunately, for some reason, the manga’s original publication date is exceedingly difficult to pin down.