Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 37: Crossroads by Stan Sakai

On December 4, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Five-Star Books3 Comments

Publisher: IDW (Paperback – 15 November 2022)

Series: Usagi Yojimbo – Volume 37

Length: 137 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The always impressive Stan Sakai presents another outstanding volume in his epic Usagi Yojimbo comic series with the fantastic and fun 37^th volume, Crossroads.

I think we can all agree that 2022 has been a rather mixed year; while the world of books has been fruitful as ever, the world at large does seem to be getting crazier and crazier. However, one thing that is guaranteed to make me happy is the fact that, for the first time since 2003, this year has seen the release of not one but two volumes of the exceptional Usagi Yojimbo comic. Fans of this blog will know that I love, love, love the Usagi Yojimbo series, and it is easily one of my very favourite comic book series. Written and drawn by the exceedingly talented Stan Sakai, the Usagi Yojimbo series is set in an alternate version of feudal Japan inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. The series primarily follows the character of Miyamoto Usagi, a rabbit ronin who travels the land facing all manner of evil, including criminals, monsters, ninja and rival samurai.

Thanks to the compelling narratives, complex characters, and exceptional artwork, the Usagi Yojimbo series has always really appealed to me, and I have always tried to grab the new volume as soon as it is released. The 36^th volume, Tengu War! came out in March, and it was pretty damn epic. Usually, I would have to wait an entire year to get my next Usagi Yojimbo fix, but Sakai appears to be on a roll, as he released the 37^th volume, Crossroads, earlier this month. Needless to say, I was extremely excited about this, and Crossroads was one of my most anticipated reads for the second half of 2022. I was very happy when I received my copy of Crossroads, and I ended up reading it literally as soon as I got my hands on it. I of course loved every second of it, and it proved to be another captivating read that really drew me in with its brilliant artwork and cool stories.

Crossroads is the 37^th volume of the Usagi Yojimbo series and the fourth volume that has been released in colour by IDW (other volumes in colour include Bunraku and Other Stories and Homecoming). Containing issues #22-26 of the IDW run on Usagi Yojimbo, this comic was once again completely written and drawn by Sakai, with Hi-Fi Design doing the colouring. This latest volume only contains two stories over five issues, but Sakai loads up some fantastic narratives and character work into this instalment.

The first story in this volume is a lengthy entry titled Ransom, which runs for a full three issues. Following on closely after the last story in Tengu War!, Yukichi, Ransom sees Usagi travelling the roads of Japan with his newly discovered cousin Yukichi, a gifted samurai who is a little naïve of the way of the world. However, Yukichi is about to get a crash course in the shadier side of life when, upon arriving a new town, the pair of samurai run into the chaotic thief Kitsune and her apprentice Kiyoko. Up to her usual tricks, Kitsune has stolen a valuable ledger from the local crime boss that she is planning to ransom back to him. However, the crime boss’ men soon catch up with them, and when Kiyoko is captured, Usagi, Yukichi and Kitsune must launch a desperate rescue before it is too late.

This is a fantastic and fun starting comic for this volume, and it is one that has a lot of excellent great parts to it. While the story will be familiar, mainly due to Sakai reusing elements of previous Kitsune stories, such as Kitsune trying to sell a stolen document back to a criminal (as in The Return of Kitsune, in Volume 7: Gen’s Story), this still proved to be a relatively fresh narrative, due to some new characters involved and the eventual story progression. The story moves at an intense and captivating pace, with the protagonists forced into several complex and extended fight sequences throughout the course of the comic. At the same time, they face other concerns, as a certain Snitch gets involved to undermine their plans, while a rival samurai starts to rediscover his honour. Sakai’s depictions of these fights are pretty awesome, and the multiple pages of animalistic samurai battling it out are cool as always, especially in colour. At the same time, there is a good covering of humour to this story, which makes it very light-hearted, even with the kidnapping and threat for life. I had a fantastic time getting through this amazing story, and it was another classic Usagi Yojimbo romp featuring the always fun Kitsune.

Although this story shares similar plot beats with earlier entries, I do think that this one stands apart thanks to Sakai’s excellent character work. I loved his continued focus on the new character of Yukichi, who has been quite an interesting inclusion to the Usagi Yojimbo series. Shown as a bit naïve in the ways of the world having spent his entire life inside the rigid confines of a sword school, Yukichi is generally unprepared for the rough life on the road that his cousin has chosen. As such, watching him interact with the wily and sneaky Kitsune was rather fun, as it put me in mind of Usagi’s initial interactions with the thieving fox, especially as Kitsune and Kiyoko immediately rob him in a very fun scene. While he does mature a little throughout Ransom, including his constant checking of his purse every time Kitsune touches him, he still has a lot to learn, and I feel that is going to be a recurring theme of the next few stories. I also quite enjoyed seeing how Usagi interacted with his new companion in this story, and there is a certain protectiveness that was quite touching, and it was great to see Usagi in the mentor role again. I think that Sakai did a great job with how he featured Yukichi in this story, and I look forward to seeing him interact with some of Usagi’s other outrageous friends in future books.

Aside from Usagi and Yukichi, this was also quite a fun story for established characters Kitsune and Kiyoko, who are once again at their thieving ways. This fantastic master-and-apprentice thief team is always very entertaining, especially with how they play off the more serious Usagi, and their enjoyable banter with the other characters is always great to see. This was a very interesting story for both these characters, especially as it continued to showcase the growth of Kiyoko into a master thief, as she is successfully able to change the situation to her own advantage multiple times. It was also very moving to see how much Kitsune cares for Kiyoko, as she was willing to risk giving up her career to save her (a promise she later recants, but only once Kiyoko is safe). These two were very humorous, and they always end up being the life of any story they are featured in. Throw in the curious new character Aoki, the only honourable samurai working for Ransom’s crime lord antagonist, and this excellent story featured an outstanding cast, who really added to the power and impact of this story. I had a wonderful time reading Ransom, and it ended up being a strong start to this latest volume

The second story in this volume is the two-issue entry, Crossroads, which the volume is named after. The Crossroads story sees Usagi and Yukichi once again on the road. Deciding to take an impromptu shortcut, their road sees them discover the recent massacre of a group of pilgrims. Determining that the murderers were a group of unsavoury ronin that Usagi and Yukichi passed earlier, the two samurai head back, determined to catch the killers before they strike again. Their pursuit becomes complicated when, upon reaching a fork in the road, they are unable to determine which way the culprits travelled. Splitting up, Usagi and Yukichi take a separate path to find the killers, hoping that they will be able to regroup before engaging their foes in battle. However, while one samurai finds the killers, the other finds something even more dangerous, the dark and soulless Blade of the Gods, Jei.

Whew, now this was an exceptional Usagi Yojimbo entry, and it is easily my favourite of two stories contained in the Crossroads volume. Sakai tells an intense and captivating tale in this story that really drew me in right away, especially as it starts with a classic Usagi Yojimbo move of the characters choosing a less travelled path only to wind up in trouble. The initial set up works very well, and the sudden change from light-hearted talk to serious action once the first bodies are found is pretty striking. The subsequent chase for the killers has some powerful tension to it, especially once the two protagonists are forced the split up. And that is when the story gets extremely good, as while Usagi finds the culprits and engages them in a brutal fight, Yukichi finds something far more dangerous in Jei and his young ward Keiko.

Now, fans of Usagi Yojimbo will know that Jei is probably the best villain in this entire series, and he has been a wonderful nemesis for Usagi since first appearing in the third volume, The Wanderer’s Road. A dark and mysterious spear-wielding killer with a unique look and way of speaking, for much of the series Jei has been a constant mystery, with readers unsure if he is an actual demon, a dark warrior of the gods, or just a deluded killer. While some of that mystery has been revealed, Jei still cuts a fantastically dark figure in Crossroads, especially as it has been several years since his last major appearance, and there was absolutely no warning that he was going to appear in this story until his latest victim was discovered. His inclusion in this story was just perfect, as you can only watch in horror as the completely unprepared Yukichi runs into Jei and ends up having a lengthy, philosophical conversation with them. While Yukichi can tell that something is off, he has no idea how much danger he is in, and you spend the entire time worrying that Jei is just about to strike. Their dark conversation is a real highlight of this entire volume, as not only and you are totally on edge the entire time, but it is quite compelling to see these two very different characters interact.

The use of this amazing sinister force proved to be a very excellent inclusion from Sakai, and Jei adds so damn much to any story he is involved in. The rest of the story unfolds in an amazing way, especially as Usagi and Yukichi’s eventual battle with the true antagonists of the story is the best drawn fight in the entire volume. The teamwork and care shown between the two protagonists is extremely moving, and it was great to see them work together while exhausted to take down a well-written and dangerous group of criminals. Sakai ends this entire masterful story perfectly, as not only does Jei get another fantastic appearance, doing his trademark laugh, but you also have Yukichi recount his encounter to a horrified Usagi. Watching the dawning realisation of who Yukichi is talking about appear on Usagi’s face is breathtaking, especially as you can imagine all the dark terror in his heart that his most dangerous opponent is still alive and stalking his loved ones. That final scene with Usagi naming the dark spearman to an oblivious Yukichi is so damn impressive, and if nothing else, it will ensure that you definitely come back for the next volume, as you will want to see the follow-up to that revelation. This ended up being such a strong and captivating entry in this volume, and I am so glad that Sakai chose to bring back his very best villain.

As with all of Stan Sakai’s comics, I was once again deeply impressed with the cool artwork contained within Crossroads. The art in these comics is just absolutely gorgeous and it always works to support the amazing narratives, bringing the fantastic actions of the characters to life in stunning detail. Not only does he do a wonderful job showcasing the various animal characters throughout the comics, but the various action sequences are so much fun to see, especially as Sakai always manages to capture the movement of the characters, allowing the reader to see how the sword fights would pan out. However, it’s not just the characters and the action that are great about the artwork; there is also the elaborate backgrounds and surrounding settings that bring all the scenes together. Nearly every panel has some degree of the unique Japanese setting in it, whether it’s the historical towns filled with people wearing period-appropriate clothing, the beautiful forests and mountains of Japan, or even a busy highway filled with people going about their business. All this artistic detail brings the reader into the story, and you can really envision this version of Japan filled with these unique characters. I am also still really loving seeing all the art in colour, which is a relatively new feature of these comics. While I will always have a soft spot for the monochrome style of the original Usagi Yojimbo comics, the extra colour in the IDW volumes gives these new comics a little more impact, and I enjoy the clearer pictures being produced. I particularly liked how the colour made Jei look even more sinister in his scenes, and the artwork around this creepy and malevolent character was extremely cool in Crossroads, and I love how much it enhanced his menace. Sakai continues to produce some epic artwork in this comic, and I loved every single panel in this latest Usagi Yojimbo volume.

Stan Sakai does it again as his latest volume of the exceptional Usagi Yojimbo series was another instant classic that proved to be an amazing read. Featuring two great stories, loaded with excellent characters, impressive action, cool artwork and even a few surprises, Crossroads was just epic and I had a fun time getting through it. This was another easy five-star rating from me, and I am still so ecstatic that I got two volumes in 2022. Even better, I won’t have much longer to wait for my next Usagi Yojimbo fix, as Sakai has another volume, The Green Dragon, coming out in February.

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Throwback Thursday: Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 12: Grasscutter by Stan Sakai

On February 26, 2022August 23, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday3 Comments

Publisher: Dark Horse Books (Paperback – 1999)

Series: Usagi Yojimbo – Book 12

Length: 255 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read. For my latest Throwback Thursday I return to my very favourite comic book as I look at the 12^th volume in the epic Usagi Yojimbo series by Stan Sakai, Grasscutter.

It has been a little while since I covered one of these Usagi Yojimbo volumes in a Throwback Thursday article. I had a bit of trouble getting this specific volume, which kind of put everything on pause. Despite my belief that I had a whole collection of the Usagi Yojimbo comics, it turns out I was missing the 12^th volume and I honestly have no idea how I could have misplaced my copy (or did I ever really own it? Who knows?). To fix this oversight, I recently ordered a second-hand copy from Amazon and managed to get it shipped down here from America. Now that I finally have a full collection, I can get back to reviewing this entire epic series, which is proving to be so much fun.

A quick refresh about this series before we start: the Usagi Yojimbo comics are the incredible work of legendary comic author and artist Stan Sakai, who has been working on this series for nearly 40 years. Made up of a ton of amazing volumes, the comic is set in an alternate version of feudal Japan populated by anthropomorphic animals. The series follows the rabbit ronin Miyamoto Usagi, a wandering bodyguard and adventurer who gets involved in all manner of troubles as he faces off against criminals, bandits, ninja, monsters, psychopaths and ambitious lords. Combining brilliant stories with complex characters, cool action, elaborate scenarios and outstanding artwork, this series is an absolute masterpiece and it is one that I have adored for years.

The 12^th volume of this series is Grasscutter, which serves as a particularly major entry in the entire Usagi Yojimbo line. Containing issues #13-22 of the Dark Horse Comics run, this volume unusually contains a single story, rather than the multiple shorter, episodic tales typical of this series. Bringing together several intriguing story threads from previous comics and reuniting several of the more distinctive supporting characters, Sakai tells his most ambitious tale, and the results is absolute magic.

Following a destructive war centuries ago between two rival houses, the nation of Japan is now firmly controlled by the shogun and his court, while the emperor rules only as a symbolic figure, detached from the politics of the realm. While many are content to live within the shogun’s peace, there are some who seek power and prestige through the return of the imperial family to true power. But with the full might of the military and the samurai behind him, only one thing could possibly inspire the people to revolt against the shogun: the legendary heaven-forged sword, Kusanagi the Grasscutter.

However, this divine sword was lost generations ago in the battle that saw the Imperial family overthrown, and it now rests at the bottom of a watery strait, impossible to recover. Undeterred by the odds against them, a small contingent of rebellious lords have initiated a conspiracy to overthrow the shogun by any means necessary. Calling upon the powers of a mysterious witch, the conspirators hope to obtain the sword through sorcerous means. While they succeed in freeing Grasscutter from its watery tomb, fate ensures that the sword ends up in the mostly unlikely of hands, that of the wandering samurai Miyamoto Usagi.

Unsure what to do with the legendary sword, Usagi soon finds himself pursued by the forces of the conspirators and must fight with everything he has to keep it out of their hands. But the events of this conflict spread far beyond Usagi, and soon everyone he knows is in danger as the conspirators attempt to kill his friends Tomoe and Lord Noriyuki to stop them bringing Grasscutter to the shogun. At the same time, the bounty hunter Gen and the rogue swordswoman Inazuma as drawn from their own scuffles into the greater battle for Grasscutter, especially when they encounter the feared demon-spearman Jei. Can Usagi and his friends survive the overwhelming forces arrayed against them, or will the nation be thrown into war once again with the resurgence of the Grasscutter?

Wow, just wow! This is such an impressive comic that is so very epic in scope, storytelling and major character moments. Sakai has done a brilliant job with this cool volume, and I loved the brilliant narrative he cooked up for Grasscutter, especially as it ties into so many major moments from the previous volumes. Filled with intense action, brilliant set pieces and some beautiful art, Grasscutter is an incredible volume that, unsurprisingly, gets a full five-star rating from me.

I loved the incredible story that Sakai has featured in Grasscutter, especially as, in a departure from the series’ usual style of short stories, this volume features one massive and complex story. This change in story length works extremely well and ensures that this volume stands out as a major entity in this epic series. Sakai sets his narrative up carefully, with the initial issues of the comic dedicated to explaining the importance of the sword Grasscutter and how it was lost during a deadly civil war. After establishing the significance of this weapon, the main narrative quickly gets into full swing, continuing one of the storylines from the previous volume, Seasons, and showing the members of the Conspiracy of Eight working to summon the sword from the bottom of the strait using possessed crabs (it makes sense in context). As this is occurring, several other intriguing storylines are set up and you are soon following Usagi as he does his usual wandering routine, as well as other great side characters like Gen, Inazuma, Tomeo and Lord Noriyuki, as well as the deadly villain Jei. Having all these characters caught up in these events makes for quite an interesting and elaborate tale, with each of them getting their own distinctive storyline that slowly merges with the others. For example, Usagi finds himself in a desperate battle against the forces of the conspirators, Gen attempts to hunt down Inazuma for the big bounty on her head, only to run afoul of bandits and police, Tomoe attempts to save Lord Noriyuki from a treacherous ambush only to run into a far more dangerous foe, while Jei finds himself drawn towards the power of the divine sword.

All these storylines come together extremely well as the story proceeds, often in some explosive and action-packed ways. Usagi, in his pursuit of the sword, finds himself once again teaming up with Gen, only to run right into Jei when he is at his most dangerous. Meanwhile the intense storyline surrounding Tomeo and Noriyuki has some large set pieces as the two attempt to escape the army chasing after them. While mostly separate, these two storylines complement each other nicely, especially as the ambush on Tomeo and Noriyuki is due to the conspirators searching for Grasscutter, and it serves as a dramatic side adventure to the main story. There are some amazing moments here, and I was particularly impressed with the storyline that saw Noriyuki come face to face with his father’s worse enemy in a complicated manner. The big finale involves the final fight between Usagi and his mortal enemy, Jei, which sees some absolute carnage. The subsequent damage and the impossible consequences will leave you reeling, and this entire story concludes perfectly, not only bringing the impressive narrative around Grasscutter to a satisfactory end, but also setting up some additional interesting storylines and character arcs. This entire volume is just so damn epic, and I really appreciate the way in which Sakai journeys back to many of his previous storylines and utilises elements from them here, although it does mean that Grasscutter isn’t a great entry for first-time readers to check out. The great combination of action, character development and intriguing world-building elements is just exceptional, and this entire comic is brilliant from start to finish.

One of the main things that I always love about the Usagi Yojimbo comics is Sakai’s use of intriguing elements from Japanese culture and history to compliment his excellent original storytelling. This is particularly true in Grasscutter as Sakai utilises some of the most iconic parts of Japanese mythology and history as the basis for much of the plot, particularly around the legendary sword Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (Grasscutter or Grass-Cutting Sword). Sakai, who has clearly done a ton of research here, produces an amazing interpretation of the origins of the sword, going all the way back to the Japanese creation myth and showcasing the origins of the Kami and their many descendants. He then goes into the history of the sword, showing its discovery of the sword, the events that resulted in the name change to Grasscutter, before going all the way to the Japanese Civil War (the Genpei War), that saw the rise of the shogunate and the decline of imperial authority. This ends with a brilliant showcase of the massive and destructive naval battle between the two factions which led to the death of the young emperor and the loss of the sword. The loss of the sword, as recounted in The Tale of the Heike, becomes a key part of this narrative, and it is so fascinating to see its sudden return be used as a major story element. Readers unfamiliar with Japanese history or mythology get a brilliant understanding of these cultural elements at the start of the book, and this allows the rest of the story to flow perfectly. I deeply enjoyed how Sakai brought all these cool moments to life (even if he does simplify it in places for narrative reasons), and it ended up being an exquisite and clever start to the book. Throw in a very detailed and fascinating notes section at the back from Sakai, explaining his research and how it influenced his story, and you have some exceedingly cool historical elements that are expertly utilised to create an epic Japanese tale.

While I had a lot of fun with the story, action and Japanese cultural elements, one of the main highlights of Grasscutter is the substantial character work that occurs within. Due to its length and scope, Grasscutter serves as a major part of the Usagi Yojimbo series and as such, it features many of the best supporting characters from the previous volumes. All these characters get some substantial storylines in this book, either as protagonists or villains, and it was extremely fascinating to see what happened to some of them. Sakai melds the unique character storylines together into one cohesive and powerful narrative which does an excellent job exploring each of the characters and giving them key moments in their storylines.

Unsurprisingly, much of the story focuses on the character of Usagi, who serves as the main protagonist of the story. Thanks to his usual luck, Usagi winds up finding the blade immediately after it emerges from the water and is soon thrust into the midst of the conflict surrounding it. This immediately puts him in a major dilemma as he is uncertain what to do with the sword, as all the sides who would claim it (the shogun, the emperor, even some of his own friends) would all use it for their own benefit and the nation would likely suffer as a result. As such he fights incredibly hard to hold onto the blade for everyone’s good, and this forces him into some increasingly desperate battles. Usagi gets pretty beat up and exhausted throughout this entire ordeal, and his final match with Jei pushes him to the limit and strikes him at his very core. While he doesn’t get a major amount of development in this story, he still served as a great centre for the plot and it is always fun to follow along on one of his adventures.

You can’t have a major Usagi story without his friend, Murakami Gennosuke (Gen) showing up and trying to get paid. The rhino bounty hunter has an excellent story which starts when he unsuccessfully tries to claim a bounty on some dead criminals he discovers in the woods. This almost immediately backfires on him and forces him to deal with all manner of corrupt cops and murderous bandits as he attempts to make a little money. His misadventures lead him to face off against Inazuma, the deadly swordswomen who Usagi encountered in the 10^th volume, The Brink of Life and Death. Inazuma, a former innocent girl turned sinister killer, is still being pursued by assassins and bounty hunters who want the massive price on her head. Naturally Gen decides to chase after her, and this results in a pretty brutal fight between the two, which really showcases just how dangerous Inazuma can be. The subsequent storylines are also fascinating as Gen gets dragged into the fight for Grasscutter by Usagi and Inazuma goes deep into her own soul when she encounters Jei. This results in some extremely dark moments for both characters, and it was captivating to see what happened to them throughout the volume. The final reveals about Inazuma and her future are very grim, and it sets up some excellent storylines in the future.

There are also some brilliant storylines going on around the characters of Tomeo and Lord Noriyuki. While primarily separate from Usagi and his adventures, Tomeo and Noriyuki find themselves under attack and are pursued throughout the land by murderous assassins and samurai (much like in their first appearance in Volume 1: The Ronin). Their dangerous journey becomes even more perilous when they run into a familiar face, General Ikeda, the character so perfectly featured in the short story The Patience of the Spider from the previous volume. Ikeda is a great character in that he is a former general who, after failing to kill Noriyuki’s father in a revolt, has spent the last several years living as a peasant, a simple life he became content with. However, when he suddenly finds the son of his mortal enemy in his house, he must choose whether to take up the old grudge or forge a new path for himself. Watching the internal struggle that occurs within Kieda is pretty awesome, and his interactions with the suspicious Tomeo and Noriyuki are just wonderful. I deeply enjoyed how this story unfolded, and it was some of the best character work in the entire volume, not to mention the most action-packed.

The final major character I really to talk about is the infamous Blade of the Gods, Jei. First appearing in the third volume, The Wanderer’s Road, the crazed killer Jei has been one of the best villains in this series, constantly following Usagi and trying to kill him (another good story was in the sixth volume, Circles). Jei and Usagi finally come face to face again in Grasscutter when Jei recovers the sword and attempts to use it for his own dark purposes. Sakai really goes out of his way to make Jei appear as a deadly badass in this comic, with his first appearance shows him killing an entire detachment of samurai by himself. His subsequent wanderings see him interact with several other side characters for the first time in the series, and their reactions to his weird aura and power are brilliant. I loved how the dark Jei is perfectly offset by his companion, the young, innocent girl Keiko, who is the only person Jei cares about and will not hurt. They have some great moments in this comic, and it is fascinating and troubling to see the interactions between them. However, Jei’s big moment in Grasscutter is his rematch with Usagi, which has been brewing for ages. Watching these bitter enemies face each other again is pretty fantastic, and you get some amazing moments during their duel. The conclusion of their fight is very clever and really alters your opinion about both Jei and Usagi, while also seeming to confirm Jei’s supernatural background. Watching the pure fear and shock on the usually unflappable Usagi when he encounters the many mysteries of Jei is so awesome, and Jei continues to shine as a brilliant antagonist in this volume. His intriguing final fate will leave you shocked and surprised as a new version of the character emerges. All this character work and more really helps to turn this outstanding comic into a true masterpiece, and I have so much love for Sakai’s ability to create such amazing and iconic figures.

The final thing that I want to highlight is the impressive artwork contained within Grasscutter. As with all the Usagi Yojimbo volumes, all the art of this comic has been drawn exclusively by Sakai, which is exceedingly impressive. His drawing skills are amazing on multiple levels as he portrays such complex adventures with a simple yet beautiful style which I have so much love for. As with most Usagi Yojimbo comics, Grasscutter is filled with stunning drawings, from amazing landscape shots that show off the beauty of the Japanese wilderness, to close-up shots of the deadly battle sequences. There are some amazing scenes throughout this book, although I personally really enjoyed the fantastic and powerful renderings of key moments of Japanese history and mythology that were featured in the volume’s first two issues. Everything from the formation of the lands to the events that gave Grasscutter its name is very cool, and Sakai expertly imparts his own style into these intriguing spiritual stories. The massive battle that ended the civil war is shown in some exquisite detail here, and I loved how he showcased this elaborate and deadly naval fight. Of course, you cannot forget the brilliant final duel between Usagi and Jei, which was such a highlight of the story. Sakai goes out of his way to make this fight as epic and as brutal as possible, and you get a real sense of both participants skill and determination to win. The mystical aftermath of their fight looks extremely awesome as well, and I loved all the intriguing and unique detail Sakai featured here, including the spooky alterations that happened to one of the characters. Another brilliant artistic outing from Sakai that perfectly supported his incredible storytelling and character work and is some must see drawing.

As you can no doubt tell from the glowing descriptions above, I deeply enjoyed this 12^th volume of the Usagi Yojimbo series. Stan Sakai was in excellent form when he created the powerful and exciting Grasscutter, which features one of the author’s most impressive and extensive stories. Featuring all his best characters, his great love of Japanese culture, as well as some impressive artwork, Grasscutter shines as an outstanding entry in this brilliant series, and it is one that cannot recommend enough.

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Throwback Thursday: Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 10: The Brink of Life and Death by Stan Sakai

On July 11, 2020August 23, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday2 Comments

Publisher: Dark Horse Books (Paperback – 1998)

Series: Usagi Yojimbo – Book 10

Length: 215 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Reviewed as part of my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.

Another week, another Throwback Thursday review of an early volume of one of my all-time favourite comic book series, Usagi Yojimbo, by legendary author and artist Stan Sakai. This week I will look at the epic 10^th volume in the series, The Brink of Life and Death, which proved to be another amazing and exciting five-star read.

The Brink of Life and Death continues the adventures of the rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, as he travels throughout the lands encountering all manner people and dangers. This 10^th volume is a fantastic addition to the series, featuring a great mixture of stories, from the tragic to the supernatural, and utilising some iconic recurring characters. This volume is the third that has been collected by Dark Horse Books, and it features a mixture of issues from two separate publishers. This includes the final issues of the Mirage Comics run on the Usagi Yojimbo series, with Issues #15 and 16, as well a story taken from Issue #13 (the rest of Issue #13 was used in the last volume, Daisho). It also contains the first six issues of the Dark Horse Books publication run of Usagi Yojimbo and serves as the starting point to Dark Horse’s lengthy connection to the series. As a result, the volume starts off with a quick recap of the series (titled Origin Tale), containing some very broad strokes and ensuring that new readers could start on this volume if they wanted (although Sakai does make most of his comics fairly accessible to unfamiliar readers). This volume also contains Dark Horse’s trademark story notes at the end of the volume, which proved to be a particularly intriguing companion to the excellent stories contained within The Brink of Life and Death.

The first story contained within this volume is the intriguing and exciting Kaiso. In Kaiso, Usagi encounters a local peasant, Kichiro, while wandering on the coast, and travels with him to his village. There, Usagi becomes familiar with Kichiro’s family and begins to learn more about the village’s main trade, seaweed (kaiso) farming. While Usagi enjoys the seemingly simple life of the villagers, he soon finds himself involved in a feud with a neighbouring village, who Kichiro believes are poaching their seaweed fields. However, not everything is as it seems, and Usagi manages to uncover a conspiracy that threatens to destroy his new friends.

Kaiso is a fantastic and compelling story that once again highlights a traditional Japanese industry, in this case, seaweed farming. Sakai does a fantastic job exploring seaweed farming in this story, as he introduces and portrays a number of key tools, concepts and techniques involved with the production of edible seaweed, all the way from harvesting it from the ocean to turning it into its dried form, nori. This examination of seaweed farming serves as a surprisingly good centre for this story, and it is a testament to Sakai’s skill as a writer that he was able to produce an exciting and intrigue filled narrative around this industry in just 20 pages. There are some great action sequences throughout this story, and it was cool to see Usagi fighting off a bunch of attackers whilst on a small fishing boat, utilising traditional farming tools as weapons. There are also several impressive drawings throughout this story, as Sakai seeks to capture the beauty of the Japanese coastline as well as the complexities of the seaweed trade. Kaiso proved to be an awesome first entry in this volume, and its intriguing story content and premise really helps to draw the reader in right off the bat.

The next story within The Brink of Life and Death is a great entry titled A Meeting of Strangers. While enjoying a quiet lunch at an inn, Usagi watches as a striking swordswoman, later revealed to be called Inazuma, enters the inn. Wary of this mysterious woman, Usagi bears witness to her skill and ferocity in combat as she takes down a band of bounty hunters who attack her, before departing into the wilds. However, Inazuma is not the only person being hunted, and soon Usagi finds himself under attack from a group of killers who have been hired to end him.

This is a really good story that showcases Sakai’s ability to quickly introduce an intriguing new character. Inazuma goes on to become a major figure in the Usagi Yojimbo series for the next 14 volumes, and she gets an amazing introduction in this story, instantly coming across as something new, due to her striking appearance and her tough mannerisms. Sakai shows early in the story that she is pretty damn dangerous, as Usagi casually reaches for his sword the moment he sees her, a completely new action from the character, which clearly identifies Inazuma as a major threat. She quickly backs this up with her impressive swordplay, including slicing up the clothes of a local creep, and then taking out a band of bounty hunters. She has a brutal fighting style as shown in this comic, and I loved her trademark finishing manoeuvre of completely cleaning the blood off her blade with one deft swish through the air. In addition to the introduction of this great character, other fun elements of the story include the return of the Snitch (who was introduced in the last volume), who facilitates the hit on Usagi. The Snitch is such a fantastic minor antagonist, and it is really entertaining seeing him running around doing his thing: “money, money, money!” There is also a particularly impressive fight sequence in the last half of the story between Usagi and the assassins in the woods. This scene sees Usagi take on over 20 guys in quick succession and is a real showcase of his ability. There is a particularly fun panel in this sequence which sees Usagi kill several people at the same time, with his defeated opponents arranged in a semi-circle, all of them dying in dramatic fashion while making a different death rattle (including one guy who goes: “Trout, Trout!” for some reason). All of this was over-the-top and helped show off just how crazy and action-packed this series can be.

The third story in this volume is the short entry Black Soul, which continues to showcase the return of series antagonist, Jei. During a stormy night, a young girl and her grandfather have their house invaded by three bandits who steal their food and kill the grandfather. However, the bandits are far from the only predators out that night, as the mysterious and frightening Jei appears at the door. This was a great story that added a lot of key elements to the character of Jei in only a few pages. Jei’s sudden appearance is suitably dramatic, and it shows off how terrifying he can be. I loved the way that Sakai portrayed Jei’s fight against the three bandits, as all you see is several drawings of the hut’s exterior while terrified screams run out. The story then returns to the interior of the house, where the bandits’ corpses are strewn around the house, including one guy who is hanging upside-down from the rafters, dripping blood. Not seeing what actually happened makes the reader imagine the very worst scenario, and it really amps up the dread that this antagonist emanates. Sakai then continues to hint at Jei’s more supernatural abilities by having him ‘consecrate’ the spear of one of his fallen opponents, with the blade visibly turning black in his hands, matching the soul of the wielder. Perhaps the most interesting part of the story is the young peasant girl, Keiko. At first it appears that Jei is going to kill her; however, he stops after not sensing any evil in her. This is the first time we have seen Jei show mercy, and it is a defining moment for the character, especially as Keiko starts following him as his companion. Having Jei care for a young girl really adds to the complexity around Jei’s character, and in many ways it makes him seem even more evil, as he is corrupting this innocent with his dark crusade. Overall, Dark Soul is a great and scary story which leaves the reader wanting to see more of this fantastic antagonist.

Now we move on to Noodles, the only multi-issue entry in the volume which contains a powerful and impressive narrative that I really enjoyed. In Noodles, Usagi enters a new town, only to be immediately accosted by the police, who are searching for a thief behind a recent crime wave. Proving his innocence, Usagi swiftly finds out the source of the recent crimes is his friend Kitsune, who is up to her usual tricks. Kitsune has a new companion, a soba noodle street vendor and mute giant known only as Noodles, who assists Kitsune to hide from the police. However, Kitsune has underestimated the deviousness and corruption of the local police administrator who puts a deadly plan into place to save his own skin.

This was an incredible entry in this volume, and I have a lot of love for Noodles’s fantastic crime narrative. Sakai crafts together a fantastic storyline that follows Usagi as he meets up once again with the entertaining side character Kitsune and intriguing new character Noodles. Kitsune is her usual fun self, and the introduction of the mute gentle giant Noodle adds a lot of dimensions to her character. Up to now, Kitsune has been shown to be a generally good person, although she is motivated by greed or a sense of mischief. However, in this story, she is given someone to care for, and she is determined to protect him no matter what. Unfortunately, this leads to some great tragedy for her, which I found to be extremely moving, and you cannot help but feel bad for her. Luckily, this leads to a rather good revenge plot in the second part of the story, which gives Noodles a satisfying and enjoyable ending. This entire story was extremely well written, combining together humour, intrigue, character interactions and some genuine tragedy to produce an epic and compelling read. I also really enjoyed Sakai’s amazing depictions of life in a larger feudal Japanese town, and it is clear that he did a lot of research to show what day-to-day life would look like, as well as examining how the criminal justice system worked during this period. There are some really impressive drawings throughout this story, from the multiple detailed street and crowd views filled with all manner of activities and people (there is a sneaky shot of Jei and Keiko walking through town at one point), to the amazing action sequences, including a great scene where the gigantic Noodles is attacked by the police. However, I really must highlight a particularly gruesome execution sequence that was a key part of the story. While this scene is sad and horrifying, it is extremely well drawn, very memorable and it does its job of producing a major emotional response from the reader. Noodles is probably the best entry in this entire volume, and I cannot praise just how amazing its clever and captivating story is.

The next story within this volume is the supernatural tale, Wrath of the Tangled Skein, which sees Usagi arrive at a local inn which is experiencing some trouble. A rich merchant’s daughter has been taken mysteriously ill, and her entourage fear that it is the work of a demon or haunt, picked up from their travels through the dangerous forest known as The Tangled Skein. Usagi, who has previously travelled through The Tangled Skein (back in Volume 7: Gen’s Story), offers his assistance and takes command of the merchant’s ronin while they wait for a priest to arrive. It does not take long for events to come to a head, and Usagi finds himself facing off against dangerous and malicious terrors.

I really like it when Sakai does a supernatural tale in the Usagi Yojimbo series, and this one was particularly awesome as the author expertly utilises some fascinating creatures from Japanese mythology. There are two separate monsters contained within this story. First you have the nue, a terrifying chimeric creature with the head of a monkey, the body of a badger, the legs of a tiger and a snake for a tail. Needless to say, this is a particularly weird creature, and Sakai does a fantastic job drawing it and then portraying a chaotic and dangerous fight around it as Usagi attempts to defeat it. In addition to the nue there is also a tanuki, a shape-changing racoon dog, who manages to trick Usagi and almost costs him everything. I really loved the designs of both these creatures within the comic, and it was extremely cool to see and learn more about these facets of Japanese culture and tradition. This story is set up extremely well, and the author has a great blend of action, supernatural intrigue and fun character moments. Wrath of the Tangled Skein also introduces the character of Sanshobo, a Bonze priest who goes onto become a key recurring character, helping to make this a significant and important entry in the Usagi Yojimbo series.

Up next we have another short character-driven tale, The Bonze’s Story. In this entry, Usagi travels with the Bonze priest Sanshobo after the events of the previous story. The two quickly find camaraderie with each other, especially when Usagi realises that his companion is a former samurai. Sanshobo then relates the tragic tale of how he gave up his warrior ways, which occurred when the young son of his lord accidently died in his care. This forced Sanshobo’s own son to take his own life to restore his family’s honour, an event that broke Sanshobo. This was a rather fascinating tale that does a lot to cement interest in a new side character. The origin tale for Sanshobo is really good, and the whole story of sacrificing a son to save honour is extremely captivating and memorable. The entire background story is drawn amazingly, and the various expressions of horror, sorrow and pride on the face of participants as they attempt to survive in a storm are quite exceptional. This was another amazing example of what sort of impressive story Sakai can tell in only a few short pages, and The Bonze’s Story definitely sticks in the mind.

Following this shorter tale, we have the fun, action-packed Bats, the Cat and the Rabbit. In this entry, Usagi seeks shelter in an old temple, but his quiet night is ruined when several Komori Ninja arrive, seeking a specific prey. After they leave, Usagi discovers that the person they are hunting is an injured Chizu, the leader of the Neko Ninja. Helping her, Usagi learns that she is carrying a valuable and dangerous scroll that the Komori Ninja are desperate to obtain. Can Usagi and Chizu keep it out of their hands, or will a powerful new weapon be unleashed upon the lands?

Bats, the Cat and the Rabbit was an exciting and entertaining entry that sees Usagi reunited with one of his potential love interests Chizu, who we last saw back in Volume 8: Shades of Death. This is a fast-paced story that focuses on the conflict between two rival ninja clans, Chizu’s Neko Ninja and the Komori Ninja. The Komori Ninja, giant bats with blades on their wings who had an amazing introduction back in Volume 5: Lone Goat and Kid, are fantastic antagonists for this story, and it is always cool to see them in action, especially when Sakai draws them slicing through trees to get their prey. The highlight of this story is the impressive ninja-on-ninja combat, as the more traditional ninja techniques of Chizu and the Neko Ninja go up against these flying opponents, all with Usagi in the middle. This results in some epic fight sequences which end up being a lot of fun to see come to life. I also really enjoyed the fantastic conclusion to this story, which not only has a great twist but which also adds a bit of tragedy to the life of Chizu, as she reflects on what constitutes duty for ninja. An overall awesome and enjoyable story, this was another fantastic entry in this volume.

The penultimate entry in The Brink of Life and Death is the gripping story, The Chrysanthemum Pass. After humiliating a group of thugs in a town, Usagi obtains a new travelling companion, Icho, a wandering medicine peddler. The two become friendly as they wander around the mountains, but Icho is not what he seems. Instead, he is secretly a member of the Koroshi, a notorious assassins’ guild, and is planning to take out a rich lord who is travelling through the Chrysanthemum Pass, and Usagi is also on his kill list.

This was another outstanding story. I loved the entire cleverly written narrative, which sees Usagi dragged into the middle of another devious plot. Having his companion, Icho, turn out to be secretly evil was a fantastic choice by Sakai, and he sets it up perfectly, with only minor hints of his true intentions being revealed to the reader until about halfway through the story. The rest of the story deals with Icho trying to subtly kill Usagi before his assassination mission and failing, allowing Usagi to be in the midst of the events in the pass. This story then features a number of fantastic twists, including the fact that Usagi suspected that Icho was an assassin the entire time, implying that his reasons for travelling with him was to keep an eye on him and intervene if he was proven correct. It was great to see the return of the Mogura Ninja, ninja moles with some really cool character designs who were introduced in the very first volume, The Ronin, and they once again proved to be surprisingly effective adversaries. This story also serves to introduce a new group of antagonists for Usagi, with the first mention of the Koroshi assassins’ guild, whose various members tangle with Usagi multiple times throughout the rest of the series. The Chrysanthemum Pass is therefore a fantastic and notable entry within this volume, and it ended up having quite an impressive story.

The final story in this volume is Lightning Strikes Twice, a powerful and captivating entry which provides new background for new character Inazuma. In this story, Usagi once again runs into the mysterious Inazuma after finding several dead bodies on the road. Encountering her within a temple, surrounded by other travellers, Usagi sits and listens to her tragic tale of love, loss and revenge as she recounts how she became so skilled with the sword, and the reasons why she is constantly being hunted throughout the lands.

This was another epic story that really helps to build up Inazuma as an impressive and unique character within the series. Her entire backstory as a girl who followed her heart and then lost everything is really emotional and humanising, adding layers of complexity to her rough exterior. It was rather jarring to see such a strong woman stay with an abusive and uncaring partner, and it serves as an intriguing starting point for her road to exceptional warrior. I enjoyed seeing her learning the way of the sword, and Sakai really builds her up as a natural prodigy with the blade. Despite the humanising aspects of this story, Inazuma again comes across as a major badass within this story, thanks to the bloody fight sequence at the beginning, where she swiftly takes down a band of assassins with some very fancy moves, as well as the sequence at the end of the origin story, where she shows just how dangerous and cruel she can be. I also absolutely loved the shocking reveal at the end of Lightning Strikes Twice where Usagi discovers that the people who have been quietly sitting through Inazuma’s story with him are all dead bounty hunters, which adds a real edge to Inazuma and her actions. Lighting Strikes Twice proves to be a truly compelling and exciting tale, and I really liked learning more about this intriguing new character. I also really appreciated how it tied into the previous Inazuma story and it ended up being a fantastic way to end the entire volume.

This 10^th volume of the incredible Usagi Yojimbo series, The Brink of Life and Death, is another outstanding and addictive creation from Stan Sakai that features several impressive stories. I loved this amazing combination of tales, and it was great seeing both standalone stories and entries that have deeper ties with the rest of the series. Filled with awesome character moments, stunning artwork, and detailed depictions of feudal Japan, The Brink of Life and Death is a must read for fans of this series, and Sakai should be very proud of what he accomplished with this volume.

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