Thread 149712791

I'm about to start reading Book 1. What am I in for?

>>149712791 (OP)
A lot of cursing FEUDAL JAPAN.

Suffering.
Of the feudal japan variety, to be precise.

>>149712791 (OP)
He is only one guy; they can take him.

>>149712791 (OP)
apart from the suffering, very cool How-It's-Made segments

>>149712791 (OP)
Some kino.

>>149712791 (OP)
Meddling. Lots and lots of meddling.

What're we hoping for from the recently-announced Usagi-in-80s-Japan comic?

>>149714223
the what now

>>149714312
Trying to find a better source than "reposting from 4chan" but supposedly at SDCC a couple weeks ago they announced "Usagi Yojimbo 1984"

>>149714468
https://x.com/Jared_Cullum/status/1949242983859323062
>Hey!! The cat is officially out of the bag and i can FINALLY talk about this! Thank you all who attended the announcement at SDCC today and those that made it to the signing for the new book series “Usagi Yojimbo: Kaito ‘84”, new Usagi series coming next year…
man, no one can claim stan is ultra protective of his work by now. at least it looks pretty good, I love watercolor like this.

>>149714580
Ah, thank you anon, only managed to find the Facebook post. Google's being very useful as usual.
I think Stan's still fairly protective, but he also knows he doesn't have long in this world. Hopefully as long as he can, obviously, but he IS an old man. A lot of the decisions in recent years feel to me an old man trying to prepare a legacy so his family can work from it when he's gone- Chibi Usagi for the sake of merch, a line of Usagi reinventions by other authors, etc.

This also reminds me- I saw someone mention in an old thread an "unfinished spinoff about a reporter Usagi". Can anyone give more info on that?

>>149714600
He seems like a nice man. What happened to his wife is the saddest shit ever. He knew her since elementary school. Just so fucking sad.

>>149712791 (OP)
Objectively speaking, how much of Usagi is worth reading?

>>149714789
Genuinely, most of it. It's a very solid episodic series and I think most of the stories stand by themselves. I guess you could skip some of the earliest stories or whatever but it really feels like forcing yourself to HAVE to skip something, at that point.

>>149714789
Yes.

>>149714789
All of it. Its pretty good, and easy to skip if you dont like a specific storyline.

>>149714524
>the A/co/ Incident

>>149712791 (OP)
Cool samurai action, a more primitive style that has that youthful edge from 80s underground comics.

>>149712791 (OP)
It's okay.

I did a custom collection of Usagi stories to send to friends as a sampler of what this comic's about. Used that 40th anniversary collection as a base but changed things a lot. Judge and kill me as needed
>The very first story, with the goblin and the snow and so on
>"Lone Rabbit and Child" to introduce Tomoe and the Genshu and for a more normal, non-supernatural Jidaigeki story
>"Bounty Hunter" to introduce Gen and a more lighthearted story
>"A Mother's Love" because it's a beloved tragic story
>"Blade of the Gods" to introduce Jei and for a more horror action story
>"The Way of the Samurai" for a "bushido is wrong" type story
>"Yurei" simply because it was right there in the scans so I just lazily kept it in because it's a neat little short one
>"The Treaty" for a TMNT crossover that's not too big. Doubled as another Tomoe appearance
>"Kumo" to introduce Sasuké and show another horror story, plus show how the art's evolving
>"Chanoyu" because it's a beloved story, shows that Tomoe and Usagi have a deeper connection, and also serves as an example of a "how it's made" story
>"Teru Teru Bozu" because like "Yurei" it was readily there when I was organising the files, and it also serves to show Jei returns and to show he has a cute girl with him
>"Murder at the Inn" to introduce Inspector Ishida, show that Usagi does these murder mystery stories sometimes, and because it's one of the more standalone Ishida stories
>"The Thief and the Kunoichi" to introduce Kitsune, Kiyoko, and Chizu; Kitsune and Chizu contrasting shows each of their personalities pretty well, it shows a "Kitsune gets Usagi involved in a crime" story format, and the conclusion with the kisses shows these stories include a bit of romance bait sometimes, if Chanoyu hadn't made it clear

>>149716271
>"The One Armed Swordsman" because like a few others, it was just readily available when I was organising files- it's short, it's another reinforcement of a "bushido is bullshit" story too
>The one story about the fucking rock, which seems to be unnamed now I look over it again? Anyway, it's THE biggest "bushido is bullshit" story
>"Death of a Tea Master" to showcase that the stories sometimes deal with foreigners
>"Kazehime" because it was readily available but it's also a nice short story that shows the Bat Ninja
>"The Fate of the Elders" because I think it's another great "tragic short" story
>"Buntori" because it's a good ghost story
>"Adachi" because it's a remake of the very first story and I think comparing and contrasting it is interesting
>"Tabo" because it showcases the current status quo with Yukichi etc, showcases that there's stories about Christianity, and with the added message by Stan about his brother, shows how Stan's life influences the comic
>The Space Usagi story "Under the Same Sky" to show quickly the tone of Space Usagi, being one of the few standalone stories in that range
>"Hare Today, Hare Tomorrow" because it's a goofy crossover
And then a bunch of concept art etc. I realise it does not cover every everything- there's nothing about Jotaro or Usagi's childhood here, but I guess I felt that'd be going too too into the weeds and that I wanted there to still be stuff for anyone to discover by themselves if they decide to read the whole series after this sampler.

>>149716271
>>149716276
I'd put The Patience of the Spider somewhere in there because it's just that cool. but it's a very good list anon. you're thinking about making a custom .cbr to hand out? personally I'd just get hold of a random volume, preferably book 1, and get them to read. most will have at least one story they like.

>>149714223
At least one or 2 good shootouts. The story takes place only a year ahead of the most famous war between yakuza factions

>>149714223
a good look into the electronics industry and a general overview of the zeitgeist on the eve of the bubble economy

>>149716429
I already did it as a custom .cbr to hand to them, yeah. Not sure there'd be much of a point of making one for here- if I ever do that here, it'll be if I ever do that idea I had last marathon of "reorganise all of Usagi Yojimbo chronologically"
>I'd put The Patience of the Spider somewhere in there because it's just that cool.
I thought about it, but it kinda fell into the "I'll leave this as something for them to discover if they read the whole thing" basket for me

>>149716445
I need to rewatch that again sometime.
>>149712791 (OP)
Suffering

>>149717754
It's still up on youtube
https://youtu.be/RCXjzfmCLuo?si=VXmYinjArstdVTWk

>>149718007
thank you anon

>>149712791 (OP)
It's basically a kid friendly Berserk.

>>149714468
>>149714580
>>149714600
>>149714606
seems interesting

>>149712791 (OP)
Feudal Japan. Also just read it if you're going to read it.

>>149716429
Love his art style.

>>149714606
It exists, but I cannot find it right now.
Basically, it was about modern times Miyamoto (Usagi's family name) white rabbit girl, who's a reporter trying to survive an absurdist "And Then There Were None" scenario. It's literally three or four pages in total and a pinup, the story died before it even started and few people remember it even existed. It was posted once or twice during the annual storytimes.

>>149714223
INDUSTRIAL JAPAN

>>149714223
CEO Chizu with her army of Neko clan attorneys

>>149721228
Hmmm. And was it drawn by Stan?

just threw this together

>>149721271
She'll be "house cleaning" with Kimi

>>149712791 (OP)
Fun, episodic samurai stories with a sense of humor and loads of old samurai movie references. I am not too far myself but it seems to be very episodic and not really working towards an ending but that is okay.
>>149714223
>>149714468
>Usagi Zero

OP here, I'm about one-fifth through this book and loving it so far. I was kind of disappointed that the Dark Horse omnibus doesn't include Usagi's earliest adventures, as I wanted to start from the very beginning, but it's not a big problem. I find myself lingering over the art more than I usually do. Sakai captures so much with so few pen strokes. He's a great cartoonist in the classic tradition.

>>149722649
nice one design anon

>>149722649
This you?
Get back to work. There should be more of your stuff.

>>149723544
You might be better off.
IMO the art is the weakest part of UY in the beginning, when Stan was still figuring out the style of the comic. Though he was still very technically competent.

>>149723544
Stand makes some of the best foreshortening in pen-&-ink-style comics.

>>149724556
well there's this more recent version at least

>>149712791 (OP)

ALL ARE PUT ON THIS EARTH TO SUFFER.
THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI ENDS IN DEATH
THE WAY OF THE ASURA ENDS IN DESTRUCTION.
I WILL DRINK DEEP OF THE BLACK BLOOD, AND ALL THAT STAND IN MY WAY WILL BE SLICED.

oh, and there is tea, but it's not very good. Because the one making it has no game.

>>149714580
>>149714584
>>149714600
>>149714606
I love Cullum's art, but wish they were scanned properly instead of being angled phone pictures.

>>149721271
Chizu is gonna be into some deep Yakuza shit.

>>149724913
It's still really funny that Sasuke and Jei haven't crossed yet.

>>149714223
I have NO FUCKING CLUE what to expect.

I want Gen/Bebop as a bancho, and ino/rocksteady as a punk, and at least 2 ninja turtle visits.

I want yakuza on motorcycles. In fact, blindly coping shit from Like A dragon isn't a bad idea.

I want the MIDNIGHT club, as in wagan midnight. I want ITACHARI trucks.

I want Usagi vs Golgo 13. Golgo needs to kill his target and ONLY his target. Usagi is Yojimboing.

I want at least one Lupin the third episode, with Kitsune.

Music related:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_lC2O1oIew

>>149714468
>>149714584
Holy shit. It's fucking CITY HUNTER.
>>149714789
Every single thing collected. Side shit like chibi, space, europe, TMNT and Neo Tokyo yokai hunter is skippable. Also, skip anything you don't like, and rejoin later.

reprint book 9!

>>149716518
Unironically this

I want sleazy businessmen, crazy discotech and Usagi and Cousin Oribur as city hunters

>>149714468
>>149714600
I got a serious thing for 1980s hatchbacks. And I don't just mean the Initial D shit either.

>>149722072
Yes, one of his very early ideas. If anyone has the link to the UY storytime mega, those pages might be saved there.

>>149726286
I'd appreciate if someone can find this, because my googling is being too weak to find it

>>149723544
If you like Dark Horse Usagi, you will like the early adventures as well.
As others mentioned, the art style is a bit rough in the beginning (and much more cartoony), but mostly for the characters. You can tell Sakai was figuring things out. It's still great and there are some of the best and/or the most lore heavy Usagi stories in there, so go for it. Personally, I read Saga 1 and 2 first, got hooked, went back to the early stories, loved them, then continued with Saga 3.

So the 80s book is cool and all but is there any news on the next proper Usagi arc? I wish we'd go back to regular numbering.

>>149726308
>>149722072
>>149714606
Since you asked nicely...

>>149726544
And that's all we have and what has probably ever existed. At least online. Who knows, maybe there's one guy who sits on the complete story published in some obscure zine 4 decades ago and refuses to scan it.

>>149726505
Thank you very much anon, I was not being able to find anything from what little information I had- variations of "stan sakai reporter" "usagi yojimbo reporter" "miyamoto usagi reporter" or journalist or so on, "unmade usagi" etc, none was giving me anything useful

There we go
I assume Sakai would want her hair to be brown or something but I don't like separate hair colours in furries so I'll take advantage of the fact we don't have a proper colour reference and imagine it's this
Thank you again anon for posting these

>>149726964
Wow. I think this is the first fanart of Terry since... ever. That's the best "thank you for posting that obscure thing" reward I could get. Thank you, you just made my day.

>>149727044
If it weren't for your kindness I'd never be able to draw this to begin- there's no way I'd have been able to figure it out since search engines were being useless and nowhere in a million years would I have figured out the proper terms to search on Desuarchive. Thank you anon!

>>149726964
>>149727044
>>149727068
Clearly Stan Sakai brings out the best in people.

>>149727094
Of course. He wouldn't be able to crush our hopes if he didn't lift our spirits first.

>>149726964
I wish she was _a_ real _character_.

>>149723544
people said the art isn't as good in the earliest stories but I disagree, that was when stan was trying to emulate the likes of kazuo koike with pages like this

>>149726964
you're a treasure, drawanon

>>149725250
I wonder, if this version of UY takes place in EIGHTIES JAPAN, would the TMNT be pulled from the Edo period?

>>149712791 (OP)
Great stuff, but you'll be a little disoriented at first. The Dark Horse collections start with the Mirage (vol. 2) run, so there's an assumption you're familiar with the core cast and also a crossover with the Ninja Turtles.
>>149714468
I saw an Instagram of Stan Sakai talking about it.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMlNZssy5h9/
>Five issue mini
>Spring 2026
>Setting is Osaka
>Writer: Zach Rosenberg
>Art: Jared Cullum
>Stan considers it the first "Kagemusha" spinoff

>>149729000
>five issues
I always liked Cullum's Usagi art and covers, so the comic will be a joy to look at at the very least, but I hope those will be five issues of "Mother of the Mountains" type of dense storytelling with multiple twists and not "Ice and Snow" type of extremely slow buildup to a very short final clash.

I like these things. What are they?

>>149729836
tiny dinosaurs

>>149729851
>japanese dinosaurs didn't go extinct, they committed suicide
makes sense

>>149729836
Tokage. Dino-lizards. Because everyone are animal people, there are very few real life mammals in the UY universe (we mostly see horses). So tokage take place of rats, wolves, squirrels, dogs, cats, etc. It's another layer of Sakai's fantasy feudal Japan, next to aforementioned animal people and monsters, ghosts, gods and magic being absolutely real.

>>149730006
>Because everyone are animal people, there are very few real life mammals in the UY universe (we mostly see horses). So tokage take place of rats, wolves, squirrels, dogs, cats, etc.

Oh that's clever. Makes sense.

>>149728449
Nice

>>149712791 (OP)
You will be up to your (long) ears in feudal Japan and its bullshit.

>>149731130
I recently read the first volume of the new release of Legend of Kamui, is Usagi Yojimbo as unflinching in its depiction of how fucked up Japan was as that?

>>149716271
>>149716276
Great list anon, gives a new reader a pretty decent idea of who is who, while leaving plenty of room for disovering stuff on your own.

>>149731258
oh, you have no idea.

to the anon who was requesting this last Usagi thread, here's the (basically) complete cover i promised last week. It's definitely made me realize once again just how much work it goes into creating a basic background. Took me much longer than I'd like to admit making it, but I guess it's part of the learning process.

>>149731258
Did you ever see how crucifixion looked like in feudal Japan? Well, one story in this comic for all ages shows you that in every detail.
Don't get me wrong, it's not total misery in every single issue, but we meme 'FEUDAL JAPAAAN!!!' for a reason. When it gets bad, it's TRAGICALLY BAD. Everything sucks for everyone, all the time, and there is no escape. Such is karma.

>>149714789
The only thing not worth reading are most Kitsune stories on repeat reads.

>>149731258
Take a look at the /co/ approved killcount and tell us what do you think.
When the MOST DECENT GUY in Japan has a killcount rivalling that of the Punisher, you know shit is pineapples.

>>149731258
Haven't read Legend of Kamui so I don't know how they compare.
But let me try to list some of the bullshit you get to witness.
>Loyal retainers forced into suicide due to their shitty lords shitty ideas
>Needless and sometimes pointless deaths
>Tragic lives and deaths due to forces of nature beyond our characters powers or comprehension
Which is all contrasted by funny animal people and some of their funny hijinks.

>>149731798
>Did you ever see how crucifixion looked like in feudal Japan?
Yes, Legend of Kamui went into detail on that as well :D
>>149731915
>>149731879
I'm getting more and more interested, might pick up the first omni myself

>>149731927
Good! Pick up a bottle of sake while you're at it and get comfy on your tatami.

>>149731927
you know what's funny, Sakai did the lettering for the first version of Kamui published in the US. it's a small world.

>>149733281
Well damn, next you will be telling me he was somehow involved in lone wolf and cub.

>>149733512
I wish I could, but no. LW&C was a big influence on him though. when I finish dumping it on /a/ I'll dump the new Kamui release too.

>>149733512
He wasn't involved in Lone Wolf and Cub, but he did later do a comic based on the story of the 47 Ronin where Lone Wolf and Cub's creator Kazuo Koike was an editorial consultant

>>149712906
I hadn't seen this image before, repost it next spring, please.

>>149712791 (OP)
A rock.

-ing good time!

>>149734345
It's very nICE

>>149733580
Thank you mur... I mean, anonymous poster.
I will make sure to invite you to my party, rest assured, you shall not go cakeless.

>>149735035
you're most kind, Sir O-Anon. to go cakeless on the shogun's party is a fate worst than death...

Found this on plebbit

I miss Tomoe

>>149735289
True, to regain honor from that, one must commit seppuku with a cake knife.

>>149714468
Usagi is gonna time travel to the 80s?

>>149736885
It's presumably a descendant, like with Space Usagi.

>>149731879
Any other cartoony comics this dark?

>>149737181
Closest immediately coming to mind is Blacksad but that's not really that cartoony

So how many "Usagi"s do we have by now, in terms of being that character archetype? In the original books we have Usagi himself, Jotaro who grows to be an Usagi, and Yukichi; on Space Usagi we have Usagi and maybe arguably Akemi; we have Yuichi on the Netflix show; we now seem to have 80s Usagi and 80s Yukichi; and if we want to be that pedantic, we might have Terry Miyamoto from >>149726523. Am I forgetting any?

>>149737693
man, jei would freak out if he knew that

>>149737181
Cerebus gets pretty crazy. I'd say Bone has shades of edge to it but it kind of stays in that Disney, fun for the whole family lane

>>149738012
Cerebus definitely counts. I have no idea why "cartoony style, dark story" works as well as it does, because it really shouldn't.

>>149737693
Should we count different era Usagi's as their own Usagi's as well?
By era, I mean era of art style, Early, dark horse, later dark horse, IDW...

>>149738093
I feel that's a stretch- they're meant to be the same character, even if the art evolved

>>149738177
But there was character development, Usagi from early run was far more stab happy than his later, especially modern, self.

>>149738234
Well sure but it's still Usagi, it's the same person

>>149731258
Started reading it and so far it has been very informative.
Like getting the exact measurements of one koku of rice!
278.3 Liters or 73,519082 Gallons, that's how much rice the average person was supposed to use in a year, according to some ancient Japanese bureaucrats who invented that measurement unit!

Time for some math!
1 Koku = 1 Ryo (gold coin, value of which was tied to the value of rice.
1 Koku = 278.3 l, or 185.5 kg rice
At the moment in my home land, 1 kg of rice is valued at €2.66
2.66*185.5= 493.43€

>>149733580
If fat bastard san is still alive after everything that happened during the last volume, I'm going to lose my mind.