UY #104(Potential Spoilers!)

[morna-san]

just finished reading it. gorgeous! ... pages 4 and 5 are exquisite. No real surprizes in the story but highly enjoyable nonetheless.

nice to see the seasons pin-up from David on the back too!

[Mayhem]

Nice segue into the next few issues on the very last page as well...

Yep I can actually be in with the discussion for once from the start as I picked the issue up today from the local comic shop in the US...

[MikeM]

[spoilers - do not read if you don't want to be spoiled]
















I loved Jei before as a villain. Now I not only love the character, I feel bad for him. He lost his soul trying to do a good thing.
But it in the end it cost him what he was trying to protect.
He ended up killing those he was trying to protect. Very cool scene though with the Lord's daughter.

I love this comic.

[go]

Dear Readers,
Will there be a poster/print of The 4 Seasons on the back of #104?
Best wishes to all!
go

[Ronin-K]

Someone please explain about how he became Jei.

[Mayhem]

I assume that he forfeited his life by making the deal, his life became the property of the Gods. And those Gods determined that they would possess him to carry out their will...

[Ben]

Could somebody PM me about what (vaguely) happens in the issue? It'll be another two weeks before my local comic stop receives #104, and I'm already tearing my hair out.

[morna-san]

ok I'm on it

[shaxper]

Really enjoyed this issue, but it left me with a few questions/concerns:

1. This origin still hasn't explained Jei's warped sense of "innocent" and "evil". I sincerely hope this will be explained, as it's the main question I've had about Jei all this time.

2. It bothers me a bit that the evil gods have such power and direct control over the mortal world (engineering a plague and creating Jei) while a divine or righteous force is suspiciously absent. I hope, somewhere down the road, we'll see a balance struck in the world of Usagi. Perhaps a force of good will eventually empower Usagi as its champion, or at least lead him indirectly to victory.

3. What's the reference to Grasscutter at the end? I missed this.

[Ben]

1. This origin still hasn't explained Jei's warped sense of "innocent" and "evil". I sincerely hope this will be explained, as it's the main question I've had about Jei all this time.

2. It bothers me a bit that the evil gods have such power and direct control over the mortal world (engineering a plague and creating Jei) while a divine or righteous force is suspiciously absent. I hope, somewhere down the road, we'll see a balance struck in the world of Usagi. Perhaps a force of good will eventually empower Usagi as its champion, or at least lead him indirectly to victory.

3. What's the reference to Grasscutter at the end? I missed this.

1. Stan gave a possible hint at this in #103 when Jizonobu discovers the interior of the pumpkin given to him by one of the village children is filled with pestilence and vermin, and Ji says something to the effect of "But it looked so good on the outside." Of course, Ibaraki's presence could have been responsible for the pumpkin's decay, and the Dark Gods could have continued to warp Jizonobu's conception of right and wrong from there.

2. I agree; Stan seems to be lending the Dark Gods an awful lot of omniscience, but there are clues that Jizonobu's persona is beginning to resurface in previous issues (i.e. Jeizuma's weird expression at the temple gate in #98, and her inexplicably leaving Gen and Stray Dog alive). There's an interesting idea, actually; if a host is more innately good-hearted as opposed to being outright evil, would the Black Soul's behaviour start to resemble "Jizonobu's" instead of Jei's?

3. I can't comment on this yet, as I still haven't been able to read the issue.

[Thomas Froehling]

3. Maybe I can: When Inazuma/Jei leave Shansobo's temple at the end of Grasscutter, the whole monastry is slaughtered (Shansobo and two of his fellows survive because they were outside, investigating the scene where Usagi fought Jei). I think the poor guy who had the nightmare is one of the two other survivors, although he look really drained and ragged....

I believe that the demon which possessed Jei had to gain strength again after changing into the body of Inazuma, so he "feasted" on the souls of the monks. Just my 2 pence....

[shaxper]

3. Maybe I can: When Inazuma/Jei leave Shansobo's temple at the end of Grasscutter, the whole monastry is slaughtered (Shansobo and two of his fellows survive because they were outside, investigating the scene where Usagi fought Jei). I think the poor guy who had the nightmare is one of the two other survivors, although he look really drained and ragged....

I believe that the demon which possessed Jei had to gain strength again after changing into the body of Inazuma, so he "feasted" on the souls of the monks. Just my 2 pence....

So then the end of the issue takes place in the present? That makes a lot more sense than what I was thinking...

[Thomas Froehling]

So then the end of the issue takes place in the present? That makes a lot more sense than what I was thinking...

I do think so; the nightmare started in issue #103, page 1, panel 5 and ended in issue 104, page 24, panel 9. Everything before and after that is the present.

That dreamer seems to be gifted (some may say cursed) with some kind of clairvoyance. Now, one could argue that that could be an intervention of the good gods. I would not say the righteous forces are absent in UY, but they take on other forms, more discreet, indirect.
And that might just be as well: so it's humans (well, ok, anthropomorphic animals, but you know what I mean ) fighting the evil forces, they can rise above their human (anthro....you know ) nature and be heroes to be remembered for generations.

And the evil forces in UY seem to be restricted to warping single individuals; although these can do great harm (just do a body count of Jei's victims, I dare you!), their impact on the population as a whole is pretty small, thanks to the absence of mass media for propaganda or weapons of mass destruction.


Imagine a world where good and evil could battle openly and with all their might: could it still be habitable for humans (or any other creatures not of divine status) ? I think it would be more like a bombed out desert...

[sschroeder]

I loved Jei before as a villain. Now I not only love the character, I feel bad for him. He lost his soul trying to do a good thing.
But it in the end it cost him what he was trying to protect.
He ended up killing those he was trying to protect.

I don't see much evidence that Ji is still in there inside of Jei (whose is grin reminding me more and more of the Joker, or Mr. J, as Harley would call him). Or has much say if he is.

1. This origin still hasn't explained Jei's warped sense of "innocent" and "evil". I sincerely hope this will be explained, as it's the main question I've had about Jei all this time.

2. It bothers me a bit that the evil gods have such power and direct control over the mortal world (engineering a plague and creating Jei) while a divine or righteous force is suspiciously absent. I hope, somewhere down the road, we'll see a balance struck in the world of Usagi. Perhaps a force of good will eventually empower Usagi as its champion, or at least lead him indirectly to victory.

2. I agree; Stan seems to be lending the Dark Gods an awful lot of omniscience, but there are clues that Jizonobu's persona is beginning to resurface in previous issues (i.e. Jeizuma's weird expression at the temple gate in #98, and her inexplicably leaving Gen and Stray Dog alive). There's an interesting idea, actually; if a host is more innately good-hearted as opposed to being outright evil, would the Black Soul's behaviour start to resemble "Jizonobu's" instead of Jei's?

Regarding 1, perhaps Stan is still laying the groundwork there through Jei's actions. It might be more satisfying than just telling us. Jei seems to have little tolerance for those that abuse their authority and those that allow this to happen, even if that is simply through lack of arms, etc.

Those he spares could be either potential pawns of his gods or those that might share some of his thinking. Just speculating. I really need to read more of Jei's apperances to find any trends.

As for 2, I don't know how much the darker agendas control really. People get sick, get rare diseases or infections. And perhaps these are the ones they can most easily take over. They would be almost dead anyway. And having one emissary, in the form of Jei, isn't really taking that much control in the world. But perhaps it is enough! Ibaraki seems more on the servant end of things, carving a temple out of the rocks, and trapping others in the web of the dark gods. Whatever he is getting in return has left him more in tact than poor misguided Ji.

I haven't read Grasscutter II yet, but Usagi had the sword in the first book, so he has been empowered by the Gods at least once. I'm not sure I'd like to see him get supernatural powers though I'm sure it would be handled in an interesting way.

So then the end of the issue takes place in the present? That makes a lot more sense than what I was thinking...

the nightmare started in issue #103, page 1, panel 5 and ended in issue 104, page 24, panel 9. Everything before and after that is the present.

I think the early panels of 103 depict the boy who was ill (also in the past). Notice the differing details of the buildings' rooftops and the ears of the sleepers when comparing to the last page of 104.

The final page, whether in the present or not, is post Grasscutter, making it after the main story of 103-104, gives Stan an out if this origin does not work at some point. Then it was merely a nightmare of Senzo's.

OR, and perhaps more ominously, it lends more weight to Usagi's recent nightmare as foreshadowing. Dreams of past and future are different though, so it remains unclear.

[The Great Wadeboski]

I haven't read Grasscutter II yet, but Usagi had the sword in the first book, so he has been empowered by the Gods at least once. I'm not sure I'd like to see him get supernatural powers though I'm sure it would be handled in an interesting way.

Literature and the visual medium usually has the fight of normal people against pure evil (and whatever Godly/demonic powers the evil people possess). It makes for such a more dramatic story when the characters overcome the odds. Thus I don't believe Stan will ever have Usagi gain supernatural powers.

The only sympathy Jei previously displayed was to the little girl. Stan references this in 104 - but once again doesn't state why - and leaves it to the audience to make up their own minds. I think Stan will reveal rthe little girl's story in a future issue