Screenshot : koikekazuo

Kotaku East East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am. Prev Next View All

Earlier this month, Lupin III creator Kazuhiko Kato passed away. This week, Kazuo Koike, who created such landmark manga as Lone Wolf and Club and Lady Snowblood, has died.




The Lone Wolf and Club manga was adapted into movies that made a cinematic superstar of Tomisaburo Wakayama and the film version of the Lady Snowblood manga influenced Kill Bill.

Koike’s other notable manga include Crying Freeman, which also got a film version and cop manga Mad Bull 34, among many others.


Over the years, Koike worked with Marvel a couple times, writing Hulk: The Manga in the early 1970s and a story in X-Men Unlimited in 2003. The following year, Koike was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame.

According to Yahoo! News Japan, Koike died from pneumonia on April 17. That same day, Koike tweeted about manga creator Kazuhiko Kato’s passing, saying he loved Lupin III and wishing him the best in the next world.


A tweet earlier today from Koike’s official account announced his passing and that he had been hospitalized. He was 82.