Post by shaxper on Feb 9, 2016 21:52:45 GMT -5
Finally got a chance to read Stan's return to Usagi in 2015 tonight, and WOW! I am in love with this story.
First off, some here might recall that for years at the original Dojo, I would explain to anyone who would listen why I never liked Kitsune (I've even done it once here already!). That officially ended with this story. Stan plays her and Kiyoko off of each other so well here that it's impossible not to find the two adorably incorrigible. There were so many priceless panels as well, with laugh-out-loud facial expressions. While I'm still not a big fan of Chizu, Stan used her well as the straight-man to the pair, exacerbating their comedic potential in contrast.
And, speaking of art, that panel where Usagi rushes in and smacks Chizu while she hurls the sword at Kitsune! How did she not kill him for that??
There were fine details in this issue that impressed me too. Stan has come so far in his research of Feudal Japan. I remember years ago I asked why, in one story, Usagi asks someone to wait one half hour for him, because I was pretty sure they didn't measure time in that way back then. Since that time, Stan's usage of authentic Japanese time-telling has grown more sophisticated, first with the "hours" of the day that were used back then, and now"nezumi-mitsu-doki" (the third quarter of the hours of the Rat: 12:00-12:30 am). Wow.
And kissing was foreign to the Japanese? It had never occurred to me that kissing could be a cultural thing. I always assumed it was instinct. Mind = blown.
It's GREAT to finally be getting caught up with modern Usagi after going back to re-read everything with the release of the Saga editions. Stan certainly came back to Usagi on the right foot!
First off, some here might recall that for years at the original Dojo, I would explain to anyone who would listen why I never liked Kitsune (I've even done it once here already!). That officially ended with this story. Stan plays her and Kiyoko off of each other so well here that it's impossible not to find the two adorably incorrigible. There were so many priceless panels as well, with laugh-out-loud facial expressions. While I'm still not a big fan of Chizu, Stan used her well as the straight-man to the pair, exacerbating their comedic potential in contrast.
And, speaking of art, that panel where Usagi rushes in and smacks Chizu while she hurls the sword at Kitsune! How did she not kill him for that??
There were fine details in this issue that impressed me too. Stan has come so far in his research of Feudal Japan. I remember years ago I asked why, in one story, Usagi asks someone to wait one half hour for him, because I was pretty sure they didn't measure time in that way back then. Since that time, Stan's usage of authentic Japanese time-telling has grown more sophisticated, first with the "hours" of the day that were used back then, and now"nezumi-mitsu-doki" (the third quarter of the hours of the Rat: 12:00-12:30 am). Wow.
And kissing was foreign to the Japanese? It had never occurred to me that kissing could be a cultural thing. I always assumed it was instinct. Mind = blown.
It's GREAT to finally be getting caught up with modern Usagi after going back to re-read everything with the release of the Saga editions. Stan certainly came back to Usagi on the right foot!
