Conan The Great!

Ever wonder why the literacy rate in Japan is so high? (Actually it's about average, but that's not the point.) It's because there are free books at almost every minor train station in the country. In the waiting room, there is usually a bookcase or two of a variety of books for all ages and interest. Sure, these books are way out of date and not even the Used Book stores want them, but still...FREE BOOKS! I had a bit of a wait, so I browsed the shelves and I saw　コナン・ザ・グレート or Konan za Gureto. I assumed it was about Conan the Detective but I looked more closely and sure enough, it was Ahhnold's Sword & Sorcery extravaganza, "Conan the Barbarian" from way back in 1982. The entire text was in unreadable kanji and the B&W pics are fairly grainy, but it did have a few colour photos so I scammed the tome since the price was well within my budget.

Since a remake is due out this summer, I felt it was time to look back at the original. (Hey, the new one features Ron Perlman, so you can add an extra star to the review right now.)

Ever wonder what would happen if Milius had made Conan a musical? That should rest your mind at ease.