Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

I've been reading Usagi from its begining, and I've only gotten to the VERY beging (haven't yet started) of book FOUR the Dragon Bellow Conspiracy. However, I recently bought a copy of the poster with all the characters flying kites and... I noticed something. The characters look different. Specifically, they look almost like they're based on ACTUAL Japanese people (Specifically, Katsuichi no longer just looks like a lion, he now looks like a japanese man made up to look like a lion. It's not exactly easy to explain.) Anyway, what I want to know is: Have the characters been changed so that they look more realistic? Are they now actually based on real people? I just can't quite place my finger on it, but I know they look more like PEOPLE than animals in relation to what they used to look like (Usagi in the first trade was VERY rabbit-like with only a hint of human in him. Now it's the other way around) My head hurts. Aspirin? Prescription? Explanation would be better.

The characters have changed as my art has changed and I've grown more accustomed to them. It's a natural progressiona of almost any characters drawn by the same artist over a period of time. Take a look at Groo. Sergio's drawn him for about two hundred issues now, but if you compare his early appearances with his present incarnation, there is a huge difference. Not only physically, but he's also gotten dumber as well. (Incidentally, a new Groo trade, Death & Taxes, is now out from Dark Horse.)