History Manga / RyusPath

''Ryu's Path (リュウの道)'' is the first entry of Creator/ShotaroIshinomori's ''Ryu Trilogy'', after ''Anime/PrimitiveBoyRyu'' and before ''Banchou Wakusei''. It was serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine (Kodansha) from 1969 (issue 14) to 1970 (issue 52). Unlike it's successor, it never received an anime adaptation.

* OneHundredPercentApprovalRating: [[spoiler: In the final chapter, Ryu, who is now the leader of the town, works on turning Earth habitable with the full backing of his subjects, many of which include his former adversaries]].

* ReligionOfEvil: The cult thrives on oppressing outsiders and deliberately censors history and scientific knowledge to benefit their own goals. They also routinely abuse mutants.

* SavageWolves: Mendor, [[spoiler:the final ArcVillain of the manga]], repeatedly attacks Ryu for trying to get close to the crystal. [[spoiler: And after his death, he bemoans the fact that he had to fight Ryu and mentions that if this another life, they could have been friends]].
* TooDumbToLive: Ryu derides the ape/human beatsts as this and says they are a burden to carry. Hearing this, the apes resolve to help Ryu and do better.

* WarIsHell: Before meeting Maria, Jimmy, Peki and Isaac, Ryu curses that humanity has destroyed itself in a foolish war.

* CrapsackWorld: Unless you're with Ryu or luky enough to meet him, chances are you'll starve to death, be killed by murderous machines, be killed by mutants (if not turned into one yourself) or oppressed by the ReligionOfEvil.
* CreatorThumbprint: It's not a Creator/ShotaroIshinomori story without the government being evil, scummy or involved in a cover-up of sorts. Do note that in real life, outside of his writings, he was a noted critic of the Japanese government and it's corruption.

* HopeSpot: All the remaining, non-mutated survivors see Ryu as a messiah who can potentially turn back the dial of ruin and save their world.

* TheLeader: Condor led the mutants outside the town where Ryu was to settle. [[spoiler: After his HeelFaceTurn, he reforms as the "Chief Civil Commissioner'' and adopts a protector role towards the town's inhabitants]].
* MechanicalAbomination: One city Ryu stumbles upon is protected by bloodthirsty robots.

* WarIsHell: Before meeting Maria, Jimmy, Peki and Isaac, Ryu curses that humanity has destroyed itself in a foolish war because they believed that their ideals mattered more than their lives.

* ActionGirl: Maria wields a needle gun in battle. She's ready to use it on Ryu until she realizes he's not a threat.

* AliensAmongUs: [[spoiler: Ryu Shibata is an alien who woke up from cryo-sleep aboard the spacecraft Fuji 1. When Ryu goes outside, he realizes that the planet Fuji 1 landed on is Earth, which has changed after the extinction of humanity.]]
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Did we mention that part of Ryu's SuperpowerLottery includes this? It's what he uses on Condor.]]
* BadFuture: The manga is set in 2038, and it's revealed that Earth is an apocalyptic wasteland by then.

* ChildrenAreInnocent: Jimmy is naive, child-like, and looks up to Maria. He also as a {{Fanboy}}-like view of Ryu, and quickly befriends Peki.
* CoolBigSis: Maria is a badass astronaut and knows how to wield guns. She's been fighting off mutants to protect her little brother Jimmy ever since the two were rendered the sole survivors of the rocket accident.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Maria was one of the crew members of a rocket that escaped to space to avoid a nuclear war that occurred on Earth. However, a large part of the crew members died due to an unknown space deceased, while the rest died died to accident during landing or attacks by from mutants that currently inhabit Earth. By the time the story began, she believed that she and Jimmy were the only survivors left and humanity was on the brink of extinction.

* GlassCannon: Ryu has many powers and is a skilled gun user, but still passes out from hunger and blood loss like ordinary humans do.
* TheGunslinger: Both Ryu and Maria use guns - Ryu's is a ray gun and Maria's is a needle gun.

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Both Condor and Medor[[note]]the talking dog that Ryu encounters in front of the crystal[[/note]] note that in trying to defend his friends, Ryu has become just as violent as those who he claims to fight against. Even Ryu agrees to this.
-->'''Ryu:''' "Monster"....Condor said the same thing. You're right, Medor, it's true. Without realizing it, I've turned into a monster. I didn't want this...I just wanted to help my people.

* HumanPopsicle: Ryu was in cryostatis for years before he arrived to Earth.
* ImAHumanitarian: When Ryu & Co. encountered Mutumbai, he was eating the corpse of a mutant.
* Killer{{Robot}}s: Robot City is protected by hordes of murderous machines that are willing to destroy children as well.

* MessianicArchetype: [[spoiler: Ryu has an insane number of skills, can communicate telepathically, assembles a group of loyal followers, proclaims that he will fight the wicked and protect the weak, and is hailed by many survivors as their hope for the future and an actual messiah]].
* OfficialCouple: Ryu and Maria eventually fall in love and get married.

* RobotBuddy: Ryu's gang includes him, two humans (Maria and Jimmy), a monkey/human beast (Peki) and a robot (Isaac).
* ShoutOut: The robot is named Isaac, after Creator/IsaacAsimov. Asimov was known for writing sci-fi novels and popularizing many tropes pertaining to it such as TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture and RobotBuddy.
* ShownTheirWork: In chapter 27, the manga explains in detail how the
* TheSmartGuy: Ryu has many skills including bilingualism, knowledge of martial arts and gun usage. He is hailed as a supernatural being by many he meets.
* SanitySlippage: Condor wasn't born evil, but due to his infliction, he was AxCrazy by the time Ryu met him. Thankfully, he was able to restore his sanity and even [[spoiler:brought him back from the dead to support his future missions]].
* SoleSurvivor: Maria and Jimmy were the sole survivors of the rocket accident gone wrong.
* TokenHeroicOrc: While most mutants are dangerous, Ryu & Co. are aided by a monkey/human mutant named Peki. They also later befriend Mutumbai, and Condor after undoing his SanitySlippage.
* WarIsHell: Before meeting Maria, Jimmy, Peki and Isaac, Ryu bemoans that humanity has destroyed itself in a foolish war.
* WarRefugees: Maria and Jimmy attempted to escape Earth during a nuclear war, but after many things went horribly wrong, they were left as their crew's {{Sole Survivor}}s.

* BigDamnKiss: Ryu and Maria [[https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%AA%E3%83%A5%E3%82%A6%E3%81%AE%E9%81%93-5-%E7%AB%B9%E6%9B%B8%E6%88%BF%E6%96%87%E5%BA%AB-%E7%9F%B3%E3%83%8E%E6%A3%AE-%E7%AB%A0%E5%A4%AA%E9%83%8E/dp/4884759974 on the cover of an issue]], no less.

* HumansAreBastards: Humans routinely attack one another for supplies, throw their friends under thus bus for power, and Ryu once encounters a human who disrespects Mutumbai and calls him a "four armed freak" even though he's just a child. Ryu becomes really angry upon hearing this and demands he stop.

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Both Condor and Medor[[note]]the talking dog that Ryu encounters in front of the crystal[[/note]] note that in trying to defend his friends, Ryu has become just as violent as those who he claims to fight against. Even Ryu agrees to this.

* ShownTheirWork: In chapter 27, the manga explains in detail how the

!!The manga has examples of.

* BadFuture: The manga is set in 2038.

* KillerRobots: Robot City is protected by hordes of murderous machines that are willing to destroy children as well.