What is Lady Snowblood about? Vengeance. Pure and simple, this is a revenge story.
Yuki was named as a child of hell by her mother. Yuki's father was killed by a group of men who conspired to use him to start an uprising; they then brutalized her mother. Her mother subsequently killed one of her attackers and ended up in jail, where Yuki is born. Yuki's mother was serving a life sentence; there was no way she could escape and continue her revenge. Consequently, she concocted a plan which included seducing the guards in order to produce a child who could pass beyond the prison walls.
Dying in childbirth, Yuki's mother impresses upon a friend the importance of imparting to her infant daughter the necessity of her revenge--the grudge that she could no longer carry, but which she passed to her daughter. The friend agrees to do so, and Yuki ("snow," so named for her snow-white skin) is trained to become the instrument of her mother's vengenace.
Twenty years later, Yuki is a skilled assassin. For the price of 1,000 yen she will perform murderous miracles, often proceeding through trickery, deceit, and the assumption that as a woman she poses as little threat to the criminals she is often dispatching.

Daizaburo Edi-Ban, a Japanese-American, joins New York City's toughest precinct, the 34th. On his first day he is partnered up with John Estes, called Sleepy by his friends and Mad Bull by his enemies, a cop who stops crime with his own violent brand of justice. Mad Bull makes no qualms about executing common thieves with shotgun blasts if they even pose a minor threat to him or anyone around them. Mad Bull also often steals from prostitutes and does incredible amounts of property damage while fighting crime. Mad Bull's unpoliceman-like behavior often puts him in hot water with his partner Daizaburo and the 34th precinct. However, despite how reckless or illegal these acts are, a good cause is always revealed (For example, Sleepy uses the money he steals from the prostitutes to fund a venereal disease clinic and a home for battered and raped women). Perrine Valley, a police lieutenant, joins Daizaburo and Sleepy later on to help them tackle more difficult cases involving the mafia and drug-running.
(source: mangaupdates)

In the feudal era of Japan, Ogami Itto is the elite executioner for the Shogun until the ruthless Yagyu clan frames him in an attempt to gain the position. His name dishonored and his wife murdered, Itto and his infant son Daigoro wander Japan as an assassin for hire, named Lone Wolf and Cub. Ultimately, Ogami Itto strives for revenge against the Yagyu clan.

Olympic track star. MIT whiz-kid. Adored by the beautiful co-ed's. Revered by classmates and teammates alike. Yu was sitting on top of the world.

That is, until the evil seductress Payetta, leader of an outlaw gang of boozers and brawlers, kidnaps Yu at knifepoint and steals him away to her hideout. He learns he's actually the son of Gilgamesh, the legendary founder and ruler of the ancient yet highly advanced civilization of Agartha.

The history lesson doesn't stop there, though. Payetta claims to be the granddaughter of Adolf Hitler and wants to share her maniacal dreams with Yu and the new dystopia she plans to create!

Yo Hinomura was an ordinary Japanese potter when a run-in with a Chinese mafia changed his life forever. Now an assassin for the 108 Dragons, Yo is the perfect killing machine. As a sign for remorse over his victims, he sheds tears after eliminating his targets. Because of this, he is infamously known by the Dragons and every other crime gang as "Crying Freeman."
(Source: ANN)

Lady Snowbload returns after a 20 year long hiatus! Ikegami Ryoichi takes over the art while Kazuo Koike continues to deliver the same writing that made Lady Snowblood a hit originally. This volume contains three stories that take place after the original series. A politician and his wife try to lure Yuki out of retirement to exact their vengeance. A Buddhist nun tries to escape her sisters and bring the true teachings of her sect to the populace with a stolen mandala. She is rescued by Yuki but terribly wounded in the process. A police official tries to get Yuki to assassinate another assassin.

Two slave free themselves from a slave ship, one a Japanese man, the other an African American. After escaping they find themselves on shore in Edo-era Japan, a society with a strong caste system, isolated from the world. How will the Japanese people perceive this giant black man, how will they survive? But first things first, how will they get these shackles off their feet?
(Source: Dark Horse)