Usagi Yojimbo Review on Livejournal by Johnathan Ender

[Steve Hubbell]

http://johnathan-ender.livejournal.com/49477.html

RYYYYYYYAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!


You know, I've been having this lingering feeling this past month and I can't put my finger on it. Until just a couple of minutes ago.

Guess who finally reached 100 issues...again?



I say "again" because UY's history goes through three different publishes (Fantagraphics, Mirage, and Dark Horse), so in theory Usagi hit the big triple-digit back in Issue #46 of the Dark Horse Comics (Volume 3) run. But then when you put that into context, we have a comic that's pushing a total of...carry the one...154 issues. And for a comic that's been written and drawn by one person over the course of 20 years, that is pretty damn swanky.

But let me get into my usual flamboyance...

You all know I am a huge fan of everybody's favorite "rabbit-ronin;" I've enjoyed the series since some time in the mid-90's when Mirage was running their latest incarnation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This was during the Erik Larson run, which I am sure most of you comicbook lovers know about. Right. This was the "ballsy-turtles," where characters were routinely slaughtered.

Now as a 12(?)-year old, this was pretty cool...but unfulfilling. One day, I picked up said TMNT comic up at my comicbook store, flipped through it, and put it back down. That's when I noticed Usagi's book sitting right next to Turtles.

My first reaction was that rabbit dude from the cartoon got his own book? I was an idiot. Usagi had actually been around BEFORE the teenaged terrapins tore through televisions. I didn't know this at the time, but I picked up regardless.

Ever since then, I have never stopped loving this book. And it has quickly become my favorite comic of all time.

The story behind Usagi Yojimbo--the hook, the gimmick--is simple, one we've seen in countless mediums. Miyamoto Usagi is a yojimbo ("bodyguard"...why am I bothering to translate that?) who wanders the Japanese countryside on a warrior's pilgramige during the 1600's. Simple. Fast. jordan_baker would be proud. ^_^


Of course, post-feudal Japan is not a nice place...even when you're a goddamn, samurai rabbit. Brigands and highwaymen litter the roads, corrupt merchants and politcal figures slime their way through various social structures, the power-mad are still power-mad, and toss in an occasional demon here and there--kappas, and tengu, and hanya, oh my!--and a couple of ninjas and you've got one helluva good time.

I know one of the first thing people detract from this book "their samurai! but their rabbits! that's implausible!"...this from people who enjoy shows about 14-year old bird-priestesses being lusted after by no less than seven effeminate men...

There is nothing terrible about the athropamorphic characters in this book. It is no different than a Warner Bros., Disney, or Don Bluth production. However, the added sense of Japanese mythology (there are samurai...demons...demon samurai...) and eastern flaire give this series a wonderful sense of adventure. The rabbit was always seen as a trickster/wily character in most stories, so if anything, Miyamoto Usagi adds to the already broad tapestry of myths and legends.

As Usagi wanders through Japan, we get to learn more about his character: who he is, where he's from, what scars he carries--at one point, he tells a bounty-hunter about his life as a retainer ("...the hardest day for any samurai is the day he goes ronin"), his relationships with other characters. And what characters! Like Usagi, the rest of the cast takes on the shape (and sometimes characteristics) of their respective animals.

Let me share a few of my favorites: Gennosuke "Gen," the gruff, Toshiro Mifune-like, rhino (he even has a broken horn! badass) bounty-hunter, whose desire for money clashes with Usagi's sense of bushido . Tome Ame, the head female retainer for the young daimyo, Lord Noriyuki; she may or may not harbor feelings for Usagi, I think a recent story arc involves her wedding (!? or does it?). And Jei, a demon-man who claims to be an "emissary of the gods." There are several others, Sasuke the demon-queller, father and son samurai Lone Goat and Kid, the Dick Tracy-esque Inspector Ishida, the monstrous daimyo Lord Hebi, Chizu the kashira of the Neko Ninja, Zato-ino the blind swords-pig, etc. etc. etc.

The world of Usagi works well with it's characters. Again, there is a weird sort of perspective that displays ancient Japan as a land rich with culture and prone to (sometimes fantastic) danger. For example, some stories feature Usagi coming across some part of Japanese culture that very few of us as outsiders can understand but grow to accept during the course of these stories. In one adventure, Usagi encounters a village of seaweed farmers, in another he comes across a sword-testing performed on the corpses of dead criminals (only criminals convicted of murder of course), and in some such cases there is a higher realm of fantasy mixed in with the (un)familiar.

One such "event"--which is available in trade paperback--was the "Grasscutter" storyline. The story involved the legendary kusanagi no-tsurugi, and Sakai took his time to actually tell the reader what exactly a "kusanagi no-tsurugi" is. In fact, when and I studied for a Kelleher exam, shinibadtzmaru8, shadow_to_light, gracefuldawn and I used that text to remind us of the Genpei War and the Battle of Dan-no-ura. And of course, this sword turned into a wonderfully fabricated tale involving military coups, assasination attempts, supernatural powers, you know, everything that makes a comicbook good.

Sakai's love of his ancestry shines bright, and it can even be seen in his dynamic visuals. I wish I knew how to use a scanner properly, I would have put a few pages here. But it's a style that's simple yet complex, exaggerated but not hyperbolic, clean yet gritty. His pages flow well and keep the reader turning, and he is able to tackle a myriad of genres (suspense, action, drama, romance, it's all there). It's not manga and it's not mainstream comics. It kind of dances the fine line between classic manga (Tezuka in particular) and old-school adventure serials. I have heard comparisons from Herge's Tintin to Carl Bark's Scrooge McDuck. It's true, the storytelling mechanics may be old, but they never seem old. The narration intertwines itself seamlessly with the style.


The styles also seem to borrow heavily from famous chanbara flicks and jidai-geki: Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, Kwaidan, Zatoichi, and in a few really bizarre (yet extraordinarily amusing) parts, Godzilla and Gamera movies, among others, all manage to find some way to influence Usagi's stories. And I have seen Sakai do in twenty pages what takes mainstream writers six issues to tell.

There is also a sense of a larger, more epic story being told amidst the smaller arcs and short tales. Usagi's past comes by often to haunt him, and characters/organizations that were only hinted at are dwelled upon and sometimes become major players in later stories. For example, when Usagi runs into Priest Sanshobo it's only in a passing incident, but issues later, it is shown that their meeting had consequences in determining both their fates in this world. It seems that everytime a path is crossed in one of Sakai's yarns, three more open up leading the characters and the readers to lord knows where.

Perfect for an adventure, I say!

Ultimately, Usagi Yojimbo is a wonderful comic. I know most of you people reading this are all in some sort of creative field, be it writing, drawing, film, whatever, this is definitely a book I can see being enjoyed by all of you out there; it's world-building/myth-making/visual-storytelling at its finest. And considering that this whole comic has been written and drawn by the same person after all these years is unheard of in this industry. I've already gotten kbomber, shinibadtzmaru8, and reikenalscadal into these grand adventures, no shame in giving it a try. I think you all would be doing yourselves a favor.


Much of UY is available in collected trades, and that's normally what I buy. If you would like to read some, I would be more than happy to lend you my copies. I do hold them dear to my hear though, so please try not to mutilate them. ^_^;

Usagi Yojimbo has always been a storng influence on my brand of storytelling, and I always tell myself that one day, I'll be as good as Stan Sakai! And until that day, I'll keep on trying...

And until that day, I'm gonna keep on reading.

Bravo Stan Sakai. Bravo Usagi Yojimbo.

[Cosmo]

Nice review, but...

this from people who enjoy shows about 14-year old bird-priestesses being lusted after by no less than seven effeminate men...

What is this show ? Does it really exist ? Sorry for my ignorance, but they're doing so awful TV cartoons nowadays.

[Lady Keiko_ronin Usagi]

Nice review, but...

this from people who enjoy shows about 14-year old bird-priestesses being lusted after by no less than seven effeminate men...

What is this show ? Does it really exist ? Sorry for my ignorance, but they're doing so awful TV cartoons nowadays.

Yeah, you're right.

[Bryan Stone]

um...I didn't read the entire review but he might be talking about He-Man?

[JohnathanEnder]

Ha ha ha! I'm glad to see my review has received an audience outside of my friends on LJ! ^_^

The show I was referring to was the anime Fushigi Yugi.

A friend/simpleton I know dismissed Usagi because it was about a "talking rabbit." Yet he completely endorsed Fushigi Yugi as a "masterful story and excellent work of art."

I never forgave him for that. But the joke was on him! As more of my friends enjoyed UY than they did FY. ^_^

[Steve Hubbell]

Welcome to the Usagi Yojimbo Dojo, Johnathan!