shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Aug 7, 2020 19:26:55 GMT -5
 Published: August 2019 Synopsis: Sasuke kills Takagi, but he turns out to be a pawn serving one of the bunraku puppets, who is the true demonic force behind the lives lost; Sasuke destroys the puppets with magical fire. Notes: Discuss the issue and/or post full reviews below! |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 8, 2020 16:17:50 GMT -5
I think this just might be the first time Stan Sakai and his intrepid Rabbit Ronin have ever disappointed me, but that's the rub of it. While I've enjoyed the adventures of Usagi and Sasuke the demon hunter in the past for how they served to enlarge Usagi's world the plot here did none of that. The puppets were simply revealed too early, there was no mystery to them and with out that there was no terror...they were just ordinary. On top of that nothing occurred here that told us anything about Usagi or even Sasuke which makes it all the blander and further at three issues long it's more the pity that so many pages were used to say so little.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,379
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Post by shaxper on Aug 8, 2020 16:57:46 GMT -5
I think this just might be the first time Stan Sakai and his intrepid Rabbit Ronin have ever disappointed me, but that's the rub of it. While I've enjoyed the adventures of Usagi and Sasuke the demon hunter in the past for how they served to enlarge Usagi's world the plot here did none of that. The puppets were simply revealed too early, there was no mystery to them and with out that there was no terror...they were just ordinary. On top of that nothing occurred here that told us anything about Usagi or even Sasuke which makes it all the blander and further at three issues long it's more the pity that so many pages were used to say so little. I'm still waiting on Saga 9 before reading these, but I'm sorry to hear this first outing for IDW was such a disappointment, especially as I'm a huge fan of Sasuke. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 8, 2020 17:41:08 GMT -5
I think this just might be the first time Stan Sakai and his intrepid Rabbit Ronin have ever disappointed me, but that's the rub of it. While I've enjoyed the adventures of Usagi and Sasuke the demon hunter in the past for how they served to enlarge Usagi's world the plot here did none of that. The puppets were simply revealed too early, there was no mystery to them and with out that there was no terror...they were just ordinary. On top of that nothing occurred here that told us anything about Usagi or even Sasuke which makes it all the blander and further at three issues long it's more the pity that so many pages were used to say so little. I'm still waiting on Saga 9 before reading these, but I'm sorry to hear this first outing for IDW was such a disappointment, especially as I'm a huge fan of Sasuke. While my views haven't changed( I just reread these now after transferring my reviews from off the racks) I think my sentiment from elsewhere stands: Just like how there's not really such a thing as bad pizza, just pizza that is better than others; a substandard Usagi story is still a good book in comparison to just about any other book out there on the shelves. I think I just have really high expectations for Usagi books because they are just so constantly awesome |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 13, 2020 20:09:38 GMT -5
Read this in the trade today... I agree it was kinda meh. I would have liked more about the puppets and puppet making (Which was mentioned in the forward, but not really in the story). Seemed like this could have been 1 issue..2 tops. Three was crazy.
I mean, it's still Usagi, and better than most, but definitely not the story they should have started the IDW color series with.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 14, 2020 21:01:57 GMT -5
I mean, it's still Usagi, and better than most, but definitely not the story they should have started the IDW color series with. One thing I respect about Stan is that he doesn't tailor his stories to anniversary issues and such. He tells the story he feels needs to be told. It's frustrating sometimes, especially when we want Usagi to appeal to new audiences, but I respect it too. And he seems to have attracted a swarm of new readers anyway. |
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Post by brutalis on Nov 28, 2020 19:58:41 GMT -5
Totally agree that mediocre Usagi is still miles ahead in entertaining value than much of what else is out there today. The reveal of a demon controlling/guiding Takagi could have been foreshadowed to providing more mystery or horror as "she" was feeding off him for centuries. Also a skilled swordsman like Usagi should have inflicted much more damage to wooden puppets and turned them into wood chips! Sasuke's flaming sword made for too quick a resolution in defeat of a demon who has endured generations.
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,379
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Post by shaxper on May 6, 2021 10:29:35 GMT -5
Finally read this today! The puppets were simply revealed too early, there was no mystery to them and with out that there was no terror...they were just ordinary. I both agree and disagree. I wanted a more complex plot, or at least more about the art of Bunraku (as brutalis had lamented in his discussion of the previous issue), but there was still so much to love about this one, and I absolutely feel there was terror, especially with panels like this one:  Tiny, human but inhuman things attacking? It's Child's Play and the Trilogy of Terror multiplied by seven. I don't think the style of art Stan uses for Usagi is ever going to terrify me per se, but I felt the creepiness for sure. I also really loved the action in general. Some of it felt a little awkward in places (at one point, it looks like Sasuke could easily deal a deathblow to Takagi while he stands there and announces his desire to run away), but at other points it all connected so beautifully. This is a masterpiece of a panel, for example:  The perspective, the layout, and the intricate background detail too. Art students should be made to study a panel like this one. Additionally, this might be the finest coloring we've ever seen Tom Luth do for Usagi. Whereas I wasn't all that impressed with his work on Usagi volume 2 (let's face it: nothing is ever going to compare to Stan's watercolors), this is some of the most subtle digital coloring I've ever seen done. Just look at the light in Sasuke's eye:  So I agree with your later point that there is no such thing as a bad Usagi story. For even if this one came up short in terms of plot, it more than made up for it in execution. Boy do I have to disagree with you here. I feel like a major MAJOR later conflict between them was foreshadowed here. For the first time, I understand why Sasuke and Usagi keep crossing paths:  and how that greater purpose will be resolved is answered by the final lines of the story: Usagi: Where will you go now?
Sasuke: Wherever I am told. What about you? Where will you go?
Usagi: Wherever I want.Wow. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on May 6, 2021 14:49:21 GMT -5
Finally read this today! The puppets were simply revealed too early, there was no mystery to them and with out that there was no terror...they were just ordinary. I both agree and disagree. I wanted a more complex plot, or at least more about the art of Bunraku (as brutalis had lamented in his discussion of the previous issue), but there was still so much to love about this one, and I absolutely feel there was terror, especially with panels like this one: Tiny, human but inhuman things attacking? It's Child's Play and the Trilogy of Terror multiplied by seven. I don't think the style of art Stan uses for Usagi is ever going to terrify me per se, but I felt the creepiness for sure. I also really loved the action in general. Some of it felt a little awkward in places (at one point, it looks like Sasuke could easily deal a deathblow to Takagi while he stands there and announces his desire to run away), but at other points it all connected so beautifully. This is a masterpiece of a panel, for example: The perspective, the layout, and the intricate background detail too. Art students should be made to study a panel like this one. Additionally, this might be the finest coloring we've ever seen Tom Luth do for Usagi. Whereas I wasn't all that impressed with his work on Usagi volume 2 (let's face it: nothing is ever going to compare to Stan's watercolors), this is some of the most subtle digital coloring I've ever seen done. Just look at the light in Sasuke's eye: So I agree with your later point that there is no such thing as a bad Usagi story. For even if this one came up short in terms of plot, it more than made up for it in execution. Boy do I have to disagree with you here. I feel like a major MAJOR later conflict between them was foreshadowed here. For the first time, I understand why Sasuke and Usagi keep crossing paths: and how that greater purpose will be resolved is answered by the final lines of the story: Usagi: Where will you go now?
Sasuke: Wherever I am told. What about you? Where will you go?
Usagi: Wherever I want.Wow. That last line about their paths was pretty amazing, and reading this in retrospect it does read better than I initially thought. It's still not one of my favorites, but there were some really good character moments. |
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