Summary: Usagi fights and kills a samurai in a duel.
Gen stumbles into the aftermath. We learn
Gunichi was a samurai who had betrayed Usagi's
Lord Mifune. Usagi proceeds to tell Gen the story, beginning with the start of his samurai training.
Usagi's father sent
Kenichi and Usagi off to the
Dogora School to learn the ways of the samurai. Along the way, they saw
Katsuichi, whose fencing school had been disbanded, confronting Dogora students. Katsuichi easily felled his accosters. Impressed, Usagi decided he wanted Katsuichi for a teacher. Kenichi laughed at the choice. Only after proving his determination did Katsuichi accept Usagi as a student.
Katsuichi's training is unorthodox. He has Usagi doing chores for a year, all the while occasionally hitting Usagi with a bamboo stick. Only when Usagi finally blocks a blow does Usagi get his bokken. After a year of training with the bokken, Usagi lands his first blow against Katsuichi.
Katsuichi brings Usagi to his first tournament, held by the Dogora school. He is only reluctantly accepted and the head of the Dogora school instructs his students to cripple Usagi. Nonetheless, Usagi is undefeated in the tournament. As is his old rival Kenichi. Kenichi promises to defeat Usagi or leave the school. Usagi wins. Usagi is rewarded by Lord Mifune, who was a spectator, with his first swords:
Aoyagi and
Yagi No Eda.
Usagi goes into seclusion in the mountains to familiarize himself with his swords. There he is challenged to a duel by Gunichi. Their duel is interrupted by attackers from the Dogora school, whom they team up to fight, agreeing to call the match a draw.
On the way to his home village, Usagi encounters a drunk Kenichi and learned he had been forced to leave the Dogora school after his defeat. He has been ashamed to return home and remained a drunken nuisance at the inn. But news of a band of brigands shakes him from his stupor. Both thinking of their homes (and
Mariko), Usagi and Kenichi go to save their village.
Bandits at the village demand supplies, and Usagi's father stands up to them. They take the supplies anyway, and kidnap Mariko. Usagi and Kenichi come to the rescue and the bandits are fought off. Usagi informs Mariko that he will be leaving soon to serve Lord Mifune.
Three years later, Usagi has become a personal bodyguard to Lord Mifune. One night, the
Neko Ninja attack. Usagi and Gunichi save their lord, but his wife and child are killed. He knows the ninja were sent by
Hikiji.
Soon, they are at war, with the final battle at Adachigahara Plain. The battle is going well until
General Toda betrays Lord Hikiji. When it is clear the battle is lost, Gunichi abandons Lord Mifune. When Mifune dies, Usagi severs his head, and buries it in a secret spot.
Usagi vowed to kill Gunichi for his betrayal, and finally has.
Thoughts: This is the first extended story arc in
Usagi Yojimbo. Two previous stories (
Lone Rabbit and Child and
Homecoming) had been told over two issues, but as these were in anthologies, the total story length was only about a single issue. This clocks in at 82 pages, spread over 4 issues, and broken into 8 chapters.
In terms of structure, this is a detailed account of Usagi's back story, filling in the time from the beginning of his childhood samurai training until the battle at
Adachigahara Plain, an impressive span of time. We had seen snippets of his past here and there, but this is pretty comprehensive. The story is told with a framing sequence, with the conceit that Usagi is narrating his own story to Gen.
As is often the case with such framing stories, it is an awkward fit. In particular, Usagi starts telling Gen the story out of nowhere. Gen had asked who Gunichi was and Usagi went all
David Copperfield (or perhaps
How I Met Your Mother) on him. It is particularly awkward due to an odd sentence flow to bring us into the flashback. "His name is Gunichi and he betrayed my Lord Mifune. It was years ago when I was still a child." A transition into the story is missing, because that "It" needs a better antecedent. What was years ago when Usagi was a child? Not Gunichi's betrayal. That was years after Usagi's childhood. Heck, Usagi begins the story 4 years before he met Gunichi.
But we accept the somewhat awkward transition from framing sequence to main story as we do in many stories, and focus on the story of Usagi itself.
The first chapter, from
Usagi Yojimbo #1, begins with the duel with Gunichi, and then has Usagi begin his tale of the past, taking us through Katsuichi accepting him as a student.
The duel itelf consists of only a single charge. Usagi and Gunichi run toward and past each other, each getting in one swing of the sword along the way. They then both pause. Gunichi soon drops to the ground dead and Usagi is triumphant. This will be the common format of Stan's depictions of such duels. Lasting past that first lunge will be extremely rare. I take it for granted that Stan knows a thing or two about samurai swordfights. I do not. Anybody with expertise on sword duels who can shed light on if they tended to last more than a couple seconds care to weigh in? As simple as the duel was, the storytelling was beautifully dramatic. The emotion of the build-up in the characters faces; the striking moment from each character's perspective; the identical panels depicting time passing as we await the outcome; the striking image of Usagi discarding the bloodstained cloth ending the battle.
From Usagi's father, we learn a bit about the samurai swords, the
katana and the
wakizashi, the soul of the samurai. We see more of the childhood rivalry between Usagi and Kenichi, fleshing out their conflict.
Our first glimpses of Katsuichi are interesting. He is presented as skilled in the beginning, but not necessarily wise. I have difficulty reconciling the opening scene with my impression of him. I normally think of him as a violence-last-resort type of guy, but he seems to goad on the Dogora students by insulting them, when he could have tried to ignore them. In a story a few issues later, he will be advising Usagi that a true samurai does not look for fights, but tries to avoid them. He instead basically challenges these children to a fight and then slaughters them. While they insulted him first, he insulted them right back. Rather than being disturbed by this slaughter, Usagi decides he has found his teacher.
Katsuichi's first test is well-handled and better matches the character I understand. He seems to reject Usagi until Usagi has stood waiting over a day and through rain. His gruff exterior is betrayed by a smile only the reader can see. A clever touch by Stan Sakai. Followed by Katsuichi calling Usagi a fool and telling him to fetch firewood.
The first issue of Usagi continues with the second chapter. I consider this chapter a thing of beauty. Essentially a training montage, two years pass over the course of 10 pages. We get insights into the ways of the samurai, into what aspects besides swordsmanship are stressed. We get the pleasure of seeing Usagi learn to defend himself, and the energetic panel breakdowns leading to Usagi's first strike against Katsuichi.
The first issue also features a backup story by
Dennis Fujitake.
Issue 2 opens with Chapter 3, as Usagi enters his first tournament. This is a key chapter in Usagi's story. Here we see that he really is one of the best swordsmen, at a young age. We see the rivalry with Kenichi get meat. Sofar we've seen childhood antics, but now we see a humiliating loss of Kenichi in a tournament, while at the same time seeing that Kenichi himself is a great swordsman. Just unable to accept being second best. We meet Lord Mifune.
And, in probably the most notable and powerful moment of the chapter, we learn how Usagi received his swords. We are told their names and meanings, and we see the pride in Usagi's face as he wears them. They are an honor he takes very seriously. We will learn more of the origins of his swords in a later series in a story called
Daisho. The pride of the moment evident in a single panel is necessary for the reader to understand and to truly appreciate that story and the importance of these swords, the soul of the samurai.
The issue continues with Usagi's first meeting with Gunichi. Here, they have a duel that continues though several clashes of swords. A sharp contrast with the duel we see at the beginning of the story.
There is then a backup story by
Dave Thorne.
Issue 3 brings us Chapters 5 and 6, where Usagi and Kenichi team up to save their village. This issue is very reminiscent of
Homecoming, both in terms of Usagi's father standing up for the village supplies, and Usagi and Kenichi putting aside their differences to work together to save the village. This issue has strong character-revealing work for Usagi. Kenichi is his rival and being a jerk. But Usagi seeks only to help, and to heal.
The depiction of the relationship between Usagi and his father is interesting. This is presumably the first time they have seen each other in years, since Usagi went off to train with Katsuichi. Their reunion is not under the best circumstances, given the big battle. They exchange pleasant and formal greetings during the scuffle. This single exchange is all we see. Usagi will stay in the village a few weeks and then never see his father again. What we are to deduce about their relationship then comes mainly from this single panel. But we get a lot. We get the sense of a positive relationship, if not a sentimental one. They are men, men who know their duty and focus on what needs doing. You can imagine the pride Usagi's father feels in seeing who his son has grown into, and seeing how well he handles himself in this moment of crisis. But you mainly see him focus on the task at hand.
The issue also serves to give us more insight into the triangle with Usagi, Kenichi, and Mariko, underscored when Usagi and Kenichi share a thought for her when they learn the village is in danger. You can feel the palpable tension when the three of them meet and Usagi informs Mariko he will be leaving soon, while Kenichi is staying. You can almost see Usagi's heart break at the choice. But he will go where honor leads.
This issue features a backup story by
Don Dougherty.
With the final issue in the saga, we finally see Usagi in the service of Lord Mifune. We see two tragic tales from these days. In the first, Mifune's family dies. In the second, Mifune himself dies. The second story is a story we mostly know. The only added details are about Gunichi's betrayal. However, the battle is expanded here from the account in Albedo, and Sakai does a commendable job illustrating the war in this retelling.
This issue features a backup story by
Gary Kato. I have not actually read any of these backup stories, and am curious to hear opinions.
I thought the stories thus far from Albedo and Critters were on the whole pretty good. This story is great. That said, I feel it's still shy of being a masterpiece. Sakai will need another year or so to perfect his craft. That said, I am having trouble pointing to specific examples of imperfections. I mentioned story nitpicks up above. In terms of art or storytelling, it's hard to take apart. I just know in my bones it can be better.
Notes:- Shows how Usagi got his swords whose names mean "young willow" and "willow branch".
- Introduces Mifune's wife, Lady Kazumi, and son Prince Tsuruichi. Both are killed by Neko Ninja serving Lord Hikiji.
Continuity note: The first issue was published the same month as Critters #14. In-story references tell us Critters #14 takes place first.
The collected editions expand the story of Samurai to 9 chapters, including an expansion of a story called "The Test" from issue 6 as Chapter 3.
Grade: A+
