Since we all read UY as it's released issue by issue, it can be difficult to pick up on the cumulative vibe of an entire arc. However, after I read MOTHER OF MOUNTAINS in paperback form, I couldn't ignore how...vicious...much of the story is. I could be mistaken, but I haven't seen a UY arc yet that featured so many characters that were thoroughly hateful, from Noriko to Lord Horikawa to One-Eye, right down to the samurai guarding the mining operation and the bullies who tormented Motokazu. The sheer nastiness of it all even pushes Usagi to his limit (check out the KILLER look he gives one of the guards in the fourth panel on pg. 104).
The clouds continued to gather from there - very slowly, of course. There are still moments of relief, of course, but they seem to be coming in smaller and smaller quantity with each issue. I had a few personal problems with #95...not so much with the story or characters themselves, but rather the seemingly fatalistic message behind it: Shizukiri is destined to an assassin's life, and Haruye is destined to a prostitute's. The moment they attempt to struggle against their karma, they're "punished". Correct me if I'm wrong here, and I really do hope that I am, but the whole gist of this story seems to be: "Invisible forces have determined that you'll die in a gutter with your money stolen, your wife raped, your belly sliced open, and your Game Boy broken. Oh, and don't try to put up a fight, you'll only make it worse for yourself."
Maybe Sakai-san was trying to paint Shizukiri as a tragic character, but the nihilism at work in this particular issue really hits a nerve. In the context of the plot and Shizukiri's final fate, it was probably needed. Most of my reaction stems from my own personal beliefs. However, I wouldn't have minded #95 so much if it weren't for the stories that followed. Mayumi, one of the few good-hearted characters Usagi has come across in a long time, is brutally dispatched in #102. Heck, in an alternative ending, she's knocked off AND revealed to be another assassin!
As we all know, Jei's origin comes next. Don't get me wrong here; I've been anticipating Jei's return as much as the next schmoe, but hot on the trail of Shizukiri's tale and Mayumi's death, this only doubles the aura of gloom that's begun to surround the title. In a similarly fatalistic story, Jizonobu tries to prevent an act of great evil, only to end up perpetuating it himself. On top of that, we have Tomoe's impending marriage, and Usagi's "premonition" of becoming a demon! I mean, holy cow! Nurse, double my prozac medication stat!
Maybe I'm reading too much into this; I've done it before. Maybe this is just Stan building up walls of brick around the readership to make us believe there isn't the slightest chance of escape, only to throw us a sledge-hammer at the pivotal moment. I certainly hope so. Even Jei needs to lighten up sometimes.
