The cover to issue 101

[Tounian]

Is it just me, or does the cover for UY 101 bear a VERY striking resemblance to Sword of Doom? Kind of like the Criterion Collections cover, but with Usagi's front as opposed to Ryunosuke's back.

[Stan Sakai]

It is a very nicely designed cover. I like the mood projected by the light fog.

A large part of UY 101's cover is seeing Usagi's face.

[Ben]

It is a very nicely designed cover. I like the mood projected by the light fog.

A large part of UY 101's cover is seeing Usagi's face.

Stan, I think I can safely say without exaggerating that #101's cover is among the coolest you've ever done for the entire series. The entire UY fandom released a collective "OH. MY. GOD." upon seeing Usagi's Jei-ified features.

Never has the anticipation for an upcoming issue been so nerve-wracking.

[Gaffey]

The entire UY fandom released a collective "OH. MY. GOD." upon seeing Usagi's Jei-ified features.

Have you seen the "Jei-ified" pinup of Usagi in Travels with Jotaro?

[Ben]

Have you seen the "Jei-ified" pinup of Usagi in Travels with Jotaro?

Indeed I have. At the time, of course, that was just a sketch Stan did at a convention (presumably) and didn't have anything to do with regular continuity. But the pinup did suggest a really cool idea; unlike Keiko, I don't think Jotaro would turn a blind eye to Usagi/Jei's murderous activities, but would have to stay with his possessed father nonetheless to keep him out of trouble. Jei would be unable to kill Jotaro without the risk of awakening Usagi's spirit, and so the two of them would frequently butt heads during their travels together.

Back to the topic at hand: Todd implied the black sword in Usagi's hand was a major clue. We all know that the sword is supposed to reflect a samurai's spirit, and traditionally this concept has always been connected with Jei. But in this case, what if it's supposed to mean something else? I'm familiar with the plot of SWORD OF DOOM: an "evil blade" supposedly corrupts a noble samurai to murder and bloodshed (although I've heard you can have different interpretations about the sword in the film). Does anyone else remember how Jei has always accused Usagi of his "true nature"? The one thing that always discredited Jei's claim of being an emissary of the Gods was his belief that Usagi was evil. Is there any truth to Jei's perception of Usagi? Maybe we'll find out in this issue!

[Ivan_Dragoon]

Well Usagi fathered a child out of wedlock could be considered a sin.

[Ben]

Well Usagi fathered a child out of wedlock could be considered a sin.

Perhaps...on the other hand, that's more of a violation of the law, and not of the soul. I just don't see Jei getting huffy over that. But then again, it's the only so-called "sin" Usagi's done that would still fit his character.

Or maybe we're still missing something...

[Cosmo]

Well Usagi fathered a child out of wedlock could be considered a sin.

I don't think the 17-th century Japanese would consider an illegitimate fornication and birth as a sin, as Christians would do. They certainly wouldn't even consider this as a major fault, unless it violates social hierachy.

As Mariko and Usagi are roughly from the same background, we can assume that their act of love was innocent. But Usagi has certainly something else on his conscience.

[Thomas Froehling]

But Usagi has certainly something else on his conscience.

Well, something in your logical conclusion troubles me: if, and I think we all agree to that at least, if Jei is a demon, he would be evil by our standards; so, something he declares as being evil (e.g. Usagi) mustn't necessarily be evil; "Evil" just means something diametrically opposed to one's moral alignment.

So, what Jei detects in Usagi as "evil" isn't naturally something we (being the sane people) would call evil as well...

But I agree, Cosmo: what ever Jei declares as evil in Usagi, I doubt it is his extramarital son Jotaro.



I still haven't read UY 83 ff, so please excuse me if my arguments may be out-dated; I hope for a shipment of comics every day now, just to keep up with all of you...

[Cosmo]

There's an hypothesis about Jei I haven't seen formulated till now. Here it is.

- Jei is evil (no need to argue about that, right ?),
- He is an emissary of the gods,
- Therefore the gods are evil.

That's a frightening assumption, but think about it. Doesn't evil seem to dominate in this world ? How could God be infinitely good with all that chaos around ? Couldn't there be an omnipotent, omniscient evil God who would let his creatures do good things, for just the pleasure of seeing them soiled and destroyed ?

In this context, Jei's existence shouldn't be a big surprise. Everything can happen.

P.S. Don't worry, Thomas, I still have myself many issues to catch up on.

[Tounian]

Nice Socratic induction, Cosmo, but there is just one little problem with that. Jei is a self proclaimed emissary of the gods, right? I don't remember any real proof that he is, indeed, an emissary of the gods. But I've been out of the Usagi loop since issue 76, so I could haev missed sonething...

[Ben]

That's a frightening assumption, but think about it. Doesn't evil seem to dominate in this world ? How could God be infinitely good with all that chaos around ? Couldn't there be an omnipotent, omniscient evil God who would let his creatures do good things, for just the pleasure of seeing them soiled and destroyed ?

Holy crud. USAGI VS. GOD.

Mmmmmmmmm...

...naaah.

[Thomas Froehling]

There's an hypothesis about Jei I haven't seen formulated till now. Here it is.

- Jei is evil (no need to argue about that, right ?),
- He is an emissary of the gods,
- Therefore the gods are evil.

That's a frightening assumption, but think about it. Doesn't evil seem to dominate in this world ? How could God be infinitely good with all that chaos around ? Couldn't there be an omnipotent, omniscient evil God who would let his creatures do good things, for just the pleasure of seeing them soiled and destroyed ?

Nice line of thought; but here's something else:

There's more than one God in Japanese pantheon; remember "Sumi-e Part 1"? The vile Katsushige No Kyogoku struck a bargain with the kami of evil.

So, Cosmo, that induction is right up to a point: Jei is an emissary of an evil deity; but that doesn't mean they are the only Gods up there (In this fantasy world, that is).

Maybe it will come to something like Usagi (and allies like Sasuké) as emissaries of the benevolent Gods vs. Jei (in whatever body he conquered until then) as emissary of the Kami of Evil.
And maybe this duel will take more than one issue to be fought and it sure as Enma's hell it will be fought with any means available and/or necessary; it could get very nasty, indeed...

[Thomas Froehling]

Jei is a self proclaimed emissary of the gods, right? I don't remember any real proof that he is, indeed, an emissary of the gods.

Well, there is no proof, but he sure has some unusual abilities:

he's been hit by lightning and mysteriously disappears but survives (Blade of the Gods);

he is stabbed in the chest with his own spear, falls off a high cliff into a stream and survives (Circles 3 and Nature of the viper);

he single-handedly kills three brigands, obviously without touching a weapon. Afterwards he just grabs a spear to "consecrate [it] to the Gods" and it instandly turns black . Pretty unusual for steel to be tarnished so fast.... (Black Soul);

Finally, in "Grasscutter I" we see his full potential of unusual abilities: he not only kills people, but rips their souls out of their body, so even non-lethal wounds bear on the victim. Again he is stabbed in the chest, this time with a sacred blade and his exit is really something to be noticed, even from far away. But even this does not stop the (evil) spirit who was the essence of Jei to find shelter in Inazuma, gradually taking her over;


So, these may not be proof, but strong evidences...
He may not be seen as an emissary of the Gods by some, but surely he is invested with enormous powers, something any God would not grant just everybody...

[steven hubbell]

You have provided some great arguments for Jei San actually being an emmissary of the gods, Thomas, as well as some interesting possibilities for future stories.

Even in today's world, one man's god can still be considered another man's devil.

PS,
I found myself a cool new signature image!