Usagi Yojimbo

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Usagi Yojimbo is a comic series by the American cartoonist Stan Sakai . The name comes from Japanese and literally means "hare bodyguard ".

The series tells the story of an abandoned samurai ( Rōnin ) named Miyamoto Usagi, who travels through early 17th century Japan and has various adventures. The figures in the series are anthropomorphic animal figures . The series takes up many themes from Japanese history, literature, mythology and film history, such as Godzilla , Okami , Zatoichi and Akira Kurosawa's films .

Important characters

Over time, Sakai has developed a variety of characters for the series, some based on well-known characters from Japanese history and mythology, but also from popular Japanese films and television series. However, some keep appearing and play an important role in the series.

Miyamoto Usagi
Miyamoto Usagi, the main character in the series, is an anthropomorphic rabbit. Sakai based his character on Miyamoto Musashi , a famous samurai of the 17th century. Trained as a samurai by his teacher Katsuichi, as a young warrior he became a follower and bodyguard of Prince Mifune. In a battle against Prince Hikiji, Mifune was killed and Usagi lost his master. Since then he has been wandering through Japan as a Shugyōsha and has had many adventures. Usagi is an excellent swordsman who no longer looks for the fight, but still gets involved in conflicts. The samurai's code of honor, the Bushidō , is the primary guideline for his actions on his adventures.
Katsuichi
Usagis Sensei , a lion, lives as a hermit in the mountains and has developed his own fighting style there, which besides Usagi he has only taught very few students. In flashbacks, individual stories are told again and again from Usagi's apprenticeship, at the end of which Katsuichi appears to perish. Only years later does Usagi discover that his teacher is still alive. Usagi's son Jotaro also becomes Katsuichi's pupil.
Murakami Gennosuke (Gen)
Gen, an anthropomorphic rhinoceros, is a bounty hunter . Born the son of a famous samurai, his family was thrown into poverty by the murder of their prince and the subsequent search for the guilty traitor. Gen has become a cynical loner through these events and is more interested in money than honor; nevertheless, he and Usagi become friends over time.
Lord Noriyuki
Usagi saves the life of the young prince Noriyuki, a daimyo from the house of the Geishu, portrayed as a panda. He is particularly threatened by Prince Hikiji, who is targeting the Geishu province. Usagi is therefore always a guest of Lord Noriyuki, and the geishu consider Usagi to be a trusted friend.
Ame Tomoe
The figure of Ame Tomoe (an anthropomorphic cat) is based on Tomoe Gozen , one of the few female warriors in medieval Japan. The excellent swordsman is a bodyguard and advisor to Lord Noriyuki. Together with Usagi, she tries to counter the intrigues of her master's opponents. A connection that goes beyond friendship develops between Usagi and Tomoe.
Jotaro
Jotaro is Usagi's son; However, he only finds out about this after years, because Mariko, his mother, does not marry Usagi, but his rival Kenichi. Nevertheless, a trusting relationship soon emerges between Jotaro and his real father. Usagi assumes, however, that Jotaro does not know who his real father is, and conversely, Jotaro says that Usagi again has no idea of ​​his fatherhood.
Lord Hikiji
As the only character in Usagi Yojimbo , Prince Hikiji is drawn as a human. Hikiji strives for the office of shogun and thus the supreme power in the country; this is an open secret, but Hikiji knows how to cover his tracks. Again and again, however, the effects of his intrigues can be felt, for example through assassinations by the Neko Ninja who work for him. Sakai based this character on Date Masamune , an important daimyo of the 17th century.
Prince Hebi
A serpent and Prince Hikiji's loyal vassal, who always acts as a middleman in his intrigues to protect Hikiji's plans.
Yeah
Jei is a recurring enemy of Usagi. He is a demonic-appearing wolf whose main weapon is a yari with a pitch-black blade and who apparently kills people at random, supposedly on behalf of the gods who speak to him; it is not known whether he is simply insane, possessed by a demonic power, or really commissioned by the gods. However, Jei has the ability to come back from the dead again and again and continue his mission in its present form as a spirit taking possession of other people. One of the strange things about Jei is that he took a young girl named Keiko under his wing after her last relative was murdered by bandits and that she has a close mental connection with him.
Zato-Ino
A blind pig and a sword master who holds a particular grudge against Usagi after he cut off Zato-Ino's nose in self-defense. Since then, Zato-Ino has been wearing a pinewood prosthesis, which is nowhere near as effective as his original nose, and he is also responsible for Gennosuke's later losing his nasal horn. Although grouchy, he longs for tranquility and true friendship, and finally finds his long-awaited refuge in a remote village. This character was created on the model of the fictional character Zatōichi ; the suffix "-Ino" is the Japanese word for wild boar .
Kitsune
A young vixen who makes her way as a street artist and thief. Although she is devious and uses every opportunity to get her money off of those who can afford it, Kitsune is a good person at heart, and although Usagi does not approve of her thieving nature, he helps her out when she is in trouble device. In addition, a romantic relationship seems to be emerging between her and Gen. Later in the series, she also takes on a little thief named Kyoko and teaches her her craft.
Chizu
A female ninja and former leader of the Neko (cat) clan. Her brother Shingen once worked with Usagi against Prince Takamuro when he was trying to dominate Japan with new firearms ("The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy"). She is in love with Usagi, but her sense of duty to her clan initially prevented her from following him on his path. However, since an upstart from her ranks betrayed her to Hikiji in order to be able to take over the leadership of the clan herself, she is now, like Usagi, condemned to a life as a wanderer and refugee.
Inspector Ishida
A hard-nosed but justice-loving and honest police officer in a larger city whose friends include Usagi. This character is based on a real person, a Hawaiian police officer named Chang Apana, who also served as the model for the detective fictional character Charlie Chan .
Sasuke
A professional demon hunter who roams the land in search of supernatural evil spirits. In addition to the art of swords, he also masters sorcery. Although he allies himself with other fighters (including Usagi) in times of need, he is a loner.

Publications

United States

Usagi's first stories appeared in the comic anthologies Albedo Anthropomorphics , The Doomsday Squad and Critters from 1984 to 1986. The first issue with exclusively Usagi stories was the Summer Special # 1 by Fantagraphics Books , which reissued older stories. In July 1987, Usagi got its own series, which reached 38 editions and, in addition to Usagi stories, also contained short features by other authors, for example by Sergio Aragones , Scott Shaw, Peter Laird, Dave Garcia, Tom Stazer, Tom Luth and Martin Wagner. In addition, Fantagraphics Books published the 4 issues of Usagi Yojimbo Color Special Issues from 1989–1992.

In March 1993, Usagi moved to Mirage Comics . The new series appeared bimonthly and reached 16 issues. In contrast to the previous issues, these appeared in color. After an environmental catastrophe in the publishing town that got Mirage Comics into trouble, Usagi switched to Dark Horse Comics , where over 100 issues have now been published. The third volume appears monthly and again in black and white.

Most of the stories were republished in anthologies. Volumes 1-7 of Fantagraphics Books collect the stories from the anthologies and the first volume. From volume 8 the booklets of the second and third volumes and occasionally even older stories (such as those of the Color Special Issues) are published by Dark Horse Comics, but the reprint of the second volume is in black and white.

When inserting the older stories, an attempt is made to find the most meaningful order possible so that continuity is preserved. Even in volume 22 in the story "Doors" on pages 43 and 53, some text changes were made in order to be able to use the story "Sumi-E" from volume 18 as a prehistory. "Doors" originally appeared in Color Special 2 in 1991, while "Sumi-E" only appeared in 2004.

In 2004 the hardcover "The Art of Usagi Yojimbo" was published for the 20th anniversary

Since 1992, nine issues have been published by the spin-off Space Usagi , in which a descendant of Miyamoto Usagi lives in a futuristic version of feudal Japan. In the 8-page story "Hare today, hare tomorrow", the two even meet on a journey through time.

Since the rights to Usagi Yojimbo Stan Sakai and no publisher belong to, stories or short appearances by Usagi in other contexts have appeared over and over again, for example some appearances with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . He appeared in the comic books, both TV series, and the action figure series. As a revenge, the Turtles also appeared once in the Usagi Yojimbo Comics ("Shades of Green" in Volume 8), and in the US animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (from 2003) Usagi and Gen have several plot-bearing guest appearances at the side the turtles.

Germany

In German, the comics have only appeared in anthologies. The first edition started in April 1996 at Carlsen Comics , it comprised six issues. Most of the stories contained followed the compilations of the American anthologies. Volume 6 breaks off in the middle of the story, The Curse of the Dragon, which spans several issues . An announced seventh volume, which should have concluded this long story, no longer appeared.

Even the edition of the series, which began in October 2001 by Schwarzer Turm Verlag , has not yet concluded this narrative. The publisher started with Volume 8, which contains a four-page introduction to the series. The anthologies have so far been published at irregular intervals. In addition to the constant continuation of the American anthologies, the publisher has also started to reissue the previous stories. Volume 1 was published in January 2004. The selection and order of the stories differs from those of Carlsen's volumes, and a new translation has been made.

The series has been published in a new translation by Mannheim-based Dantes Verlag since 2017 . He published the regular series up to anthology 11 at the end of 2018 and added volumes 5 to 7 by 2019, thereby filling the gap that had arisen when it was published in Germany.

Adaptations

In 1988 a computer game called Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo appeared , which ran on the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC systems.

In 1998 a pen and paper role-playing game was released by Gold Rush Games, which was reissued in 2005 by Sanguine Productions.

Awards

The series has already won several Eisner Awards :

  • 1996 Best Letterer / Lettering
  • 1996 Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition
  • 1999 Best Serialized Story for Grasscutter

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Usagi Yojimbo. Accessed November 6, 2018 (German).