RESULTS ARE IN: The Best Usagi Stories of the 1990s
Mar 8, 2021 18:46:21 GMT -5
thwhtguardian and usagigoya like this
Post by shaxper on Mar 8, 2021 18:46:21 GMT -5
Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, we present to you...
THE BEST USAGI YOJIMBO STORIES OF THE 1990s
as selected by the members of the Usagi Yojimbo Dojoboard
1. "Circles" (Usagi Yojimbo v.1 #28-31)
shaxper writes: "Circles turns the early series on its heel, reexamining the simple origin story Usagi once related to Gen and complicating Usagi into a character who isn't always the hero and isn't always right. Prior to this storyline, Usagi was the perfect and seemingly infallible exemplar of the bushido code. After, he was a far more interesting and complex character, on a path of personal growth and evolution that still hasn't stopped three decades later."
2. "A Promise in the Snow (Usagi Yojimbo v.3 #8)
usagigoya writes: "Over the years, Usagi has had a lot of encounters with yurei (ghosts) during his travels, but for first time readers, A Promise in the Snow does not reveal itself as a ghost story until the very end, and when it does, it seriously punches you with emotion….."
3. The Duel (Usagi Yojimbo v1 #26, January 1991) /
The Gambler, the Widow, and the Ronin (Usagi Yojimbo v2 #8, June 1994)
usagigoya writes: "Stan Sakai has a way of telling stories with endings that really grab you by the heart, and the ending of The Duel is one of those stories. Kuniyo has a heart breaking role in The Duel, but she gets her revenge three and a half years later in The Gambler, the Widow, and the Ronin."
Honorable mentions:
Space Usagi: "White Star Rising" (Space Usagi volume 2)
"The Way of the Samurai" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.1 #23)
"Momo-Usagi-Taro" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.3 #25)
"The Wrath of the Tangled Skein" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.3 #3)
Usagi’s Ark (Usagi Yojimbo vol.1 #22)
"Grasscutter" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.3 #13-22)
"Lightning Strikes Twice" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.3 #6)
"Black Soul" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.2 #13)
"The Courtesan" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.3 #28-29)
"Gen" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.1 #34-36)
"The Bridge" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.1 #25)
"Shades of Green" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.2 #1-3)
"My Lord's Daughter" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.1 #27)
"Broken Ritual" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.1 #33)
"The Inn on Moon Shadow Hill" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.3 #31)
Thanks so much to everyone who participated!
THE BEST USAGI YOJIMBO STORIES OF THE 1990s
as selected by the members of the Usagi Yojimbo Dojoboard
1. "Circles" (Usagi Yojimbo v.1 #28-31)
shaxper writes: "Circles turns the early series on its heel, reexamining the simple origin story Usagi once related to Gen and complicating Usagi into a character who isn't always the hero and isn't always right. Prior to this storyline, Usagi was the perfect and seemingly infallible exemplar of the bushido code. After, he was a far more interesting and complex character, on a path of personal growth and evolution that still hasn't stopped three decades later."
2. "A Promise in the Snow (Usagi Yojimbo v.3 #8)
usagigoya writes: "Over the years, Usagi has had a lot of encounters with yurei (ghosts) during his travels, but for first time readers, A Promise in the Snow does not reveal itself as a ghost story until the very end, and when it does, it seriously punches you with emotion….."
3. The Duel (Usagi Yojimbo v1 #26, January 1991) /
The Gambler, the Widow, and the Ronin (Usagi Yojimbo v2 #8, June 1994)
usagigoya writes: "Stan Sakai has a way of telling stories with endings that really grab you by the heart, and the ending of The Duel is one of those stories. Kuniyo has a heart breaking role in The Duel, but she gets her revenge three and a half years later in The Gambler, the Widow, and the Ronin."
Honorable mentions:
Space Usagi: "White Star Rising" (Space Usagi volume 2)
"The Way of the Samurai" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.1 #23)
"Momo-Usagi-Taro" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.3 #25)
"The Wrath of the Tangled Skein" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.3 #3)
Usagi’s Ark (Usagi Yojimbo vol.1 #22)
"Grasscutter" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.3 #13-22)
"Lightning Strikes Twice" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.3 #6)
"Black Soul" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.2 #13)
"The Courtesan" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.3 #28-29)
"Gen" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.1 #34-36)
"The Bridge" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.1 #25)
"Shades of Green" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.2 #1-3)
"My Lord's Daughter" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.1 #27)
"Broken Ritual" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.1 #33)
"The Inn on Moon Shadow Hill" (Usagi Yojimbo vol.3 #31)
Thanks so much to everyone who participated!