A manga written and drawn by AHN Dongshik and published by Shogakukan, Renjou Desperado ("Love Story Desperado") is a cross between a western and a samurai manga, with a little bit of steampunk thrown in. The manga was serialized in Monthly Shonen Sunday from 2015 to 2018, and compiled into six volumes.
Monko is a wandering samurai on a quest to find the perfect husband. Finding him, however, will be easier said than done as Monko frequently encounters dangerous creatures and bloodthirsty bandits on her journey. She also tends to get herself roped into various situations, often under the promise of finding herself a lover. That said, despite all her best efforts her attempts to find love often end up going comically wrong. Nevertheless she continues to follow her in the Way of Love, wherever that might lead her.
Renjou Desperado contains examples of:
- Big Bad: Arthur Tokugawa Jr., the brother of the Shogun who was once scarred by Monko and is the one who put the bounty out on her.
- Giving Them the Strip: Monko does this in order to avoid being shot when she exposes the Subaida clan’s rigging of their casino games.
- Rōnin: Monko is modeled after the typical wandering samurai without a master, with the twist that she's searching for her ideal husband.
- Shameless Fan Service Girl: Being in her underwear doesn’t stop Monko from defeating an entire casino full of goons, as well as the owner’s giant spider monster.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Monko is on the receiving end of one from the leader of the Subaida clan after she had beaten all his men, killed his pet tsuchigumo, and all put destroyed his casino, all to get back a kid he had taken as part of an agreed-upon transaction.
