For decades, the Three Kingdoms period has been a popular topic in Japanese comics, but Souten Kouro stands out in various ways. The highly positive portrayal of its main character, Cao Cao, who is traditionally the antagonist in not only Japanese manga, but also most novel versions of the Three Kingdoms period, including the original 14th century version, Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, is one significant difference. Another notable variation from others is that the tale relies heavily on the authentic historical record of the era, Records of Three Kingdoms by Chen Shou, rather than the aforementioned Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel, as a basis. By doing so, Liu, the classic hero of Romance of the Three Kingdoms,