Usagi Yojimbo #137 (April 2011)

[riddler13]

Wow, I was surprised to see so many people asking for more Usagi Yojimbo. Guess there was a demand for his stories after all :)

So, continuing from yesterday's post, it's part two of the "Those Who Tread on the Scorpion's Tail" arc. Recapping: Usagi arrives at a region plagued by the Red Scorpion gang, criminals he had already crossed paths with, and is mistaken for one of them by students of a fencing school. After clearing the confusion, the school's sensei, an acquaintance of Usagi's old master, takes our bunny in. When at the school, Usagi faces off the sensei and lets him win, in order for the old swordsman to "save face" in front of the students.

While Usagi is chilling there, the Red Scorpion gang attacks again, this time kidnapping a magistrate's son. The students and Usagi go off after the boy, while we find out that the sensei and his right-hand puma are up to no good!



(I found this face kind of pathetic and funny at the same time. From the last issue).

The students and Usagi are looking for Maeda's son and bump into the magistrate himself, who recognizes Usagi from reputation only. He becomes suspicious of bunny-san:



And a realization dawns on Usagi:



Meanwhile, Suzuki and Ishii meet at the dojo's warehouse:



Armadillo Jr. recognizes his captors, which is never a good thing:



(I love how Stan conveys violence without being needlessly gory. I felt that blade, man).

So, much to the sensei's chagrin, the boy is dead. And now it is harder to demand the ransom because the magistrate will want proof of life, which cannot be supplied anymore. So Ishii takes the psycho's way out:



Brr...

Usagi heads to the dojo and starts snooping around, putting pieces together and tracking Ishii. Meanwhile, Suzuki takes it on himself to deliver the package to the magistrate. Mad with rage at seeing his son's finger, Maeda vows revenge, but after reading the threatening ransom note, he caves in:



Back at the dojo, Usagi finds the body and is discovered by one of Suzuki's students, who raises the alarm. He faces the students and is left mano a mano with Ishii, who wanted to fight with him last time. Before their much-anticipated duel, however, Ishii throws him such a curveball that... well, I'll show, not tell:



I'll let that sink in for a minute.



Aaaand well, we'll get to the bottom of this story next issue, which I plan to post tomorrow. Before that, let me know what you thought of this ish!

Comments

[tripodeca113]

Like all the other issues of Usagi Yojimbo it's a solid, well told story.

[bradygirl_12]

I'm not a big manga fan, but this interests me! :)

[riddler13]

That's great! I've never been attracted to manga too, but Usagi is addicting :)

[janegray]

Question: does this series have an overarching plot, recurring characters, and/or some ultimate goal for its ending?

Or is it just a row of self-contained stories, without continuity?

[lb_lee]

IIRC, there is no end goal in mind. But I feel Sakai handles the ongoing nature of the story well. And there are most definitely recurring characters! The continuity continues, and plots may come up again, but he rigs it in such a way that it's easy to follow, and keeps it simple enough that you don't get completely buried in backstory.

(Note though that it's been a while since I read Usagi Yojimbo regularly. Hopefully another commenter or OP will be able to answer with more certainty!)

[janegray]

Thank you :)

[q99]

It has continuity, story arcs, and recurring characters, but it doesn't have an ultimate goal or something that can be said to be *the* plot.

Major arcs include the Jei arc, Grasscutter and Grasscutter II (which are epic), and the Jotaro arc.

His relationships with other characters grow and develop too.

[janegray]

Thanks :)

[riddler13]

Yes, it's pretty much what q99 wrote. There is no "end goal", but several characters come and go with a definite purpose, there are some stories that are tied up in bigger arcs, some stories take literally years to pay off (his sensei's duel with Koji springs to mind).

And it's easy enough to jump in anywhere and follow on. Of course, the later you plunge in, the more characters with back stories you'll find. But like lb_lee said, Sakai focus more on the story at hand and less on the past, so you'll enjoy it enough even if you haven't read the previous ones.

But that's something I'll comment on my next post. I've got no ambition to post *every* UY story (it'd take me a lifetime), but I was wondering what should be my focus - character-driven posts, arcs, stand-alone, specials, latest...

[janegray]

Thanks!

For me, continuity is important. If a show/comic follows the Status Quo Is God model, it's pretty much impossible for me to care about it, unless it's a comedy series (for example, The Simpsons). So, I'm glad UJ got it :)

[riddler13]

Oh, there is character evolution, most definitely.

At first, Gen would not mind picking money from dead bodies. Now it is implied he finds it disgusting. Some of Usagi rubbed on him, that's for sure.

Usagi's reaction to Kitsune's antics is another example that comes to mind. Initially he found her thieving and conning "amusing" and never judged her actions. It seems that, although he'll still stick to her through thick and thin, now he's pretty much fed up with her routine.

[lb_lee]

CLIFFHANGER!!!! The agony!

Sakai is just so solid on all levels. Simple and solid. Love it.

[lonewolf23k]

Idiots! Always keep your hostage blindfolded!

[q99]

-(I love how Stan conveys violence without being needlessly gory. I felt that blade, man).-

Yes. The expressions- dying hurts in UY! Pain hurts!

If Usagi gets stabbed or has a broken limb, it's not an, "Grunt, a surge of agony hits me, but I grit and bear it," like some 'badass' characters might. It's much more expressive than that.

[riddler13]

BTW, the only time I can remember he broke an arm was against the kappa on that recent story. Or did he break it before?

I do remember he said something to the effect of "this will affect my swordsmanship ('swordsrabbitship'?) for the rest of my days".

[q99]

That's what's come to mind since it was a really bad injury, but it's not the only time he's been hurt!