Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

What do you think is the saddest moment in Usagi Yojimbo? For me it was the death of Noodles, which I just read today. It just hit a nerve for some reason. He was only in it for two chapters, but this moment upset me.

A lot of people liked Noodles. It was nominated for an Eisner, and won a Spanish Haxtur.

Stan Sakai wrote:A lot of people liked Noodles. It was nominated for an Eisner, and won a Spanish Haxtur.

It definetly deserved to. You did a great job Stan.

For me it's a toss up between the death of Spot and the ending scene in A Mother's Love.

I'd have to say Inazuma's death got under my skin. The fact that Inazuma led such a profoundly unhappy life, only for it to end in tragedy, was both a daring move and an upsetting one. The final expressions on her face as she's being cradled by her brother make the scene especially painful.

all of the here mentioned scenes made my skin crawl for a moment...but the fate of noodles I have jus read it today, too.....that was pretty sad....
chanoyu the moment I understood what the rock on the stone path meant was a 'gulper' too for me...

I *still* miss Inazuma! Such a tragic story-arc for a character who had really developed a personality, and fans too. Her moment of redemption was brief indeed.
Great story-telling from Stan, its hard to let go of a character who might have done so much more.

Shadowfax

The moment that gets me is when Jotaro reveals that he knows Usagi is his father and yells after him but Usagi is too far away to hear.

^Yeah, the end of the Fathers and Sons paperback did it for me. It wasn't the most tragic moment, but it tugged on the old heartstrings the most.

I didn´t read all the stories, but first story with Mariko , last couple of pages without the wordballons when Usagi shows the piece of Mariko´s hair he cut off long ago and when Mariko is holding Usagi´s knife are just - great.

I also liked the final scene with Noodles, Mother´s love but the one that hit me the most is the following :
Dark Horse TPB #10 (if i´m not wrong), a short story when Usagi is traveling with a monk and monk tells him his story. He was a samurai once, and he and his son were on a journey, together with his lord´s son. Lord´s son accidentaly drops off the cliff and dies, and immediately after that, his own son also jumps from the cliff, thus "evening" the score. Man, i was frozen with my jaw being open for couple of seconds.

P.S.Sorry for my bad english!

The end of "Chanoyu". When Usagi is at the city limits, turns and says 'good-bye, Tomoe', knowing they will probably never meet again.

One of the more touching moments for me was when Usagi learned that he was Jotaro's father, but that he would never have the oppertunity to be a father to Jotaro, that he was fated to be "Uncle Usagi"

I came to post that exact same moment from usagi's old love and new fate....I also liked to feel sorry a little bit for buichi toda the traitor in the very first usagi story in albedo #2...when his wife tells how he tormented himself after not only losing his honor by decieving his lord but then beig beaten, abandoned and forbidden seppuku...I know he was a motherf... for our hero's point of view, yet my heart feels even a little compassion in that pannel rfom so very long ago...
and stan told all this in so few pages.outstanding.

The ending of Gen's Story really got to me...

Seeing Gen cry over his father's death (the second time he's ever cried, by his recollection) was deeply moving.

Man... Stan really captures emotion well in his art... Such a master....

oh boy, that is one comic I haven't read yet and now I read your post....
but I knew some key facts to the story anyway....