One thing that continually impresses me about the Usagi series is his progression as a character throughout the years. I've commented before in these discussions about his evolving morality from 1984 to the present. Keeping that in mind, what do we make of the death of Gunichi all these years later?



In 1987, it was pretty much the coolest beginning to a first issue ever depicted on the comic page. It wasn't just brilliantly cinematic, bold in its absence of words, and ingenious in its building of suspense and mystery; it most importantly framed the entire world of Usagi Yojimbo. Like Gen, we waited five issues to find out what this character could have possibly done to deserve to be killed, especially after learning the friend he had been to Usagi, and the answer was a harsh and shocking lesson that Usagi belonged to a different world than ours, complete with a different morality code and sense of honor.

In many ways, that isn't who Usagi is anymore.

So, if that meeting hadn't occurred so many years back, and the Usagi of today met Gunichi now, would he still fight and kill him? Or would he have walked away, as he did in the Death of Lord Hikiji?



(note: STILL my favorite first issue to a series ever!)