Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 1: The Ronin

Usagi Yojimbo [兎用心棒] #1

by Stan Sakai, Stan Lee (Introduction)

With over fifty graphic novels in print, the samurai rabbit is more popular than ever! This is the seminal Usagi book collecting all the classic original Usagi stories from Albedo, Critters, Doomsday Squad, and the Usagi Yojimbo Summer Special. This is one of our very best sellers, and is also where Usagi started — don't miss out! The setting is 17th century Japan, when the age of civil wars has barely ended and the Shogun has established power. The samurai is the ruling class throughout the land, following a warrior's code of honor known as Bushido. Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 1 chronicles this time of settling unrest and political intrigue, told through the story of a wandering and masterless samurai named Miyamoto Usagi, aka Usagi Yojimbo! One of the great classics of the last 20 years, perfect for all ages.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Manga, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Japan

152 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 1987

About the author

Stan Sakai (Japanese: 坂井 スタンSakai Sutan; born May 25, 1953) is an artist who became known as an Eisner Award-winning comic book originator.

Born in Kyoto, Sakai grew up in Hawaii and studied fine arts at the University of Hawaii. He later attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He and his wife, Sharon, presently reside and work in Pasadena.

He began his career by lettering comic books (notably Groo the Wanderer by Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier) and became famous with the production of Usagi Yojimbo, the epic saga of Miyamoto Usagi, a samurai rabbit living in late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth-century Japan. First published in 1984, the comic continues to this day, with Sakai as the lone author and nearly-sole artist (Tom Luth serves as the main colorist on the series, and Sergio Aragonés has made two small contributions to the series: the story "Broken Ritual" is based on an idea by Aragonés, and he served as a guest inker for the black and white version of the story "Return to Adachi Plain" that is featured in the Volume 11 trade paper-back edition of Usagi Yojimbo). He also made a futuristic spin-off series Space Usagi. His favorite movie is Satomi Hakkenden (1959).

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading Usagi Yojimbo comics when the volume count was in the 20s, so I missed all of the early comics; I think if I had started with this first volume, I wouldn’t know why people loved the series so much or how it’s managed to continue on to 28 volumes! That’s not to say that this first volume is crap, but it doesn’t have that special quality to it that impels you on to pick up the next one and the next and so on.

Stan Sakai’s legendary anthropomorphic rabbit character, Usagi Yojimbo (literally Japanese for “rabbit bodyguard”) is based upon the real life legendary 17th century samurai, Miyamoto Musashi (a man whose life also inspired the brilliant manga, Vagabond, which I also highly recommend). Usagi-san is made a ronin (masterless samurai) after his lord and master is killed in battle and spends his days wandering the country, taking protection jobs for money.

This first volume collects Usagi-san’s various early appearances in other comics before he got his own series and as such, he’s not a very developed character yet. Tonally the comics are treated as serious historical fiction, despite the animal characters, which implies a cutesy-approach, and Usagi-san’s expression and demeanour are reflective of that. Unfortunately, that quietly dangerous demeanour is all that makes up his personality at this point, so he comes off as a one-note lead who’s a bit dull to follow than the likeable and more-rounded fellow we come to know and love.

The stories themselves aren’t that inspired either – Usagi-san protects the kid of a feudal lord, he works with bounty hunters to get thieves, and basically does all the things you’d expect an honourable samurai would do, ie. protect the weak, fight oppressors, and so on. They’re not terribly written or drawn but if you’re coming at this book retroactively like me, having read the more recent Usagi Yojimbo volumes, they read a lot less compellingly and I was definitely disappointed with the lower level of quality this first book has compared to my high expectations for it. Sakai does go on to perfect the writing and art of the series but he hasn’t begun to do that yet with this first volume.

However, Sakai does leave the reader with a strong impression of Japanese history and culture of this time, especially with regards the warrior’s code and lifestyle. It’s also interesting to see human characters alongside animal ones as well as that weird situation where intelligent humanoid animal characters co-exist with animals who’re just regular animals.

The good thing about Usagi Yojimbo is that it’s a series where you can basically pick up any volume, whether this first volume or the latest, which is up to volume 28, and immediately understand what’s happening as Usagi-san’s a wanderer and so his stories are often quite limited and self-contained.

I’d recommend picking up this first volume if you’re interested in seeing where it all started for Sakai and his greatest creation, but if you’ve never read Usagi Yojimbo, this is a series where starting later in the run would be better for new readers than jumping on right at the beginning. Then you’ll understand better why Usagi Yojimbo has been around for 30 years.

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have avoided reading Usagi Yojimbo literally for years because while I'm generally pretty open-minded in my graphic novel reading and more than willing to cross genres, subject matter, etc. I admit, I do have certain biases I am just starting to get over. I've resisted reading both manga as a whole and those specific comics with a cartoonish, personified animal style forever because after being one of the only girls I knew who liked comic books for years, I accidentally turned into kind of a snob about purposely not being into a lot of the kinds of comics that a lot of girls actually like. I resented the way I would get not so subtle double takes when I was into more traditionally masculine comics and somehow that resentment got twisted against the big doe-eyed soap opera girls of manga and the bunnies in medieval dress fantasy comics which other girls were into. Admittedly, I still don't read any of the really teen girl-directed manga that's out there (with the notable exception of Bizenghast because of the whole Buffy-esque horror twist it has). I still also haven't read a lot of the bunny cartoon animal comics either.

With that said though, I'm starting to get the manga bug in a bad way. I love the way manga series develop well beyond a single novel and how challenging and inventive the writing often is. I'm not sure if Usagi Yojimbo technically even qualifies as manga considering that Stan Sakai is Japanese American and published it for an American audience, but it looked enough like manga and had enough cartoon animals in it for me to avoid it for a long time. Now that I'm getting over myself though, it reminds me how much I've been missing out on. The series is a work of total genius and reading it really reminds me of all of the youthful enthusiasm I had when I first started reading X-Men and X-Files comics as a kid. I love the characters and feel so attached to them and I'm only 7 volumes into the huge series. I can't wait to see how their lives continue to unfold as I read deeper in. I keep thinking about what an amazing cartoon television series this would make because there's already so much in the books that makes the complex, adventurous plots and the characters come to life on the page. I can easily imagine it being like a more adult version of Nickelodeon's stellar cartoon series, Avatar. Anyway, it's a really entertaining and satisfying read and I highly recommend giving it a chance, if you haven't picked it up before.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miyamoto Usagi is a ronin. His lord was killed in battle and now he travels the countryside assisting those in need. The Yojimbo part is that he often acts as a bodyguard. These are all short stories, most of which are good. We do hear of Usagi-san's origins as the same lord who killed his master is still operating in the shadows in some of these stories. We meet the rhino bounty hunter, Gennosuke, who often pops up during Usagi's travels. We also meet Tomoe Ame, a female samurai who often teams up with Usagi.

The art's a bit rougher and the storytelling isn't completely there in these short stories from the 80's. I don't think this is the best place to start if you haven't read Usagi Yojimbo before. I'd suggest starting with Usagi Yojimbo Saga Vol. 1 instead. Usagi Yojimbo is a series you can pretty much start with anywhere. So pick up a Saga edition and check it out. If you like it, then come back to read these Fantagraphics tales.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was sent to me by a friend and I'm glad I got a chance to read it. This is like a nice "calm and fun" tale between all the shit I read haha.

SO Usagi is a samurai. He's going around the world helping others and taking jobs. This book is basically a bunch of short stories put all together. I actually read volume 1 was just that, short stories, even before Usagi got his own comic. So this is a small glimpse into the life of the Ronin before he got his own series. SO we have tales of horse stealing, hunting down a org, fighting a blind samurai, and more!

Good: I really enjoy the art here. Nice and light but still gives us emotional faces and moments. The storyline is fun and cheerful that's easy to get in to but also have some badass moments from Usagi. The ending also gave us a bit more emotional look into his life and get some of his past.

Bad: It feels disjointed as it's just a bunch of stories together. Also the development on the characters are light and feels like a small little comic strip you'd read in a newspaper. I assume because these stories are before the main line but still.

Overall very enjoyable. It didn't blow me away, but it didn't need to. I had a smile on me the entire reading it. A 3 out of 5.

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sorry, Bugs, but there is a new rabbit in town -- if your town is in medieval Japan, that is. Usagi Yojimbo ('rabbit bodyguard') tells stories set in the age of samurai in a world of anthropomorphic animals.

Been wanting to read this for ages, but kept forgetting about it. Available on hoopla.

This is the first 10 chapters. What can I say -- the stories are complex enough to be fun, and they read from left to right, which saves me from a manga headache. (Pretty sure Stan Sakai is American.)

A few good call-outs from the eighties -- there is brief interaction with Groo the Wanderer, and a chapter entitled "Lone Rabbit and Child" (cf. Lone Wolf and Cub).

[Rod Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

#ThrowbackThursday - Back in the '90s, I used to write comic book reviews for the website of a now-defunct comic book retailer called Rockem Sockem Comics. From the October 1997 edition with a theme of "Tough Critters":

INTRODUCTION
This month, let's dwell upon critters. But not just any critters, mind you. I'm talking about the toughest critters in comicdom: a bunny, a duck, and a foot-tall dinosaur. (An aardvark would have made the list, but I've already talked about CEREBUS back in the July 1997 LWYBM. Check it out.) They may look cute and cuddly, but they're no pushovers. These critters are definitely at the top of the food chain.

BUSHIDO BUNNY

USAGI YOJIMBO Volume I #1-37 (Fantagraphics Books)
USAGI YOJIMBO Volume II #1-16 (Mirage Publishing)
USAGI YOJIMBO Volume III #1-12 (Dark Horse Comics)

The most fearsome warriors in Japan around 1600 were the samurai. Dedicated to the bushido code of honor, a samurai would proudly give his life to serve his master. When his master died or released him, the samurai would become a ronin. Many ronin " . . . turned to banditry to survive; others found work with the minor lords or emerging merchant class; a small number . . . traveled the musha shugyo (warrior pilgrimage) to hone their spiritual and martial skills." (UY V3#1, p. 2.) Out of that small number emerged the greatest ronin of this age: a rabbit named Miyamoto Usagi.

Wandering a Japanese countryside populated with anthropomorphic animals, Usagi has taken on the role of protector to the weak and downtrodden. His deeply entrenched moral system and adherence to bushido do not allow him the luxury of passing by those in need. Yes, he's a Japanese Lone Ranger with big floppy ears tied into a topknot. His role of protector is stated right in the title of the book: USAGI YOJIMBO literally translates as "rabbit bodyguard." His big heart and huge sympathetic ears are backed up by his deadly skill with the sword. Usagi has persevered against demons, brigands, ghosts, assassins, trolls, ninja, and fellow ronin.

Don't let the furry, fuzzy, funny animals fool you into thinking this comic is just fluff for children. In Usagi's world, death is very much a reality. The swordfights are bloody and brutal. Characters die -- often in batches of five or ten, when foolish bands of assassins or bandits think they have Usagi outnumbered.

This book is written for all ages, but I think it's largest appeal must be to an adult audience which can fully appreciate the complex storytelling and themes. Creator/writer/artist Stan Sakai is one of the modern masters of the comic book short story. About two-thirds of all USAGI YOJIMBO issues are self-contained stories with a definite beginning, middle and end. Sure, you can predict that Usagi's going to draw his sword and get into a fight in almost every issue, but Sakai manages to come up with a fresh and exciting concept every time, keeping the book from becoming stale. Sakai's plots are tightly woven, containing only those elements essential to the tale at hand and a few panels to lay the groundwork for future stories. Most of the subplots involve political intrigues by various lords against the ruler, the shogun, of Japan. Occasionally, these subplots come to fruition in 4-6 part epics, wherein Usagi finds himself gathering allies against the forces of darkness. Whatever the length, each story is infused with enough humor to offset the violence and melodrama.

Usagi's allies and enemies make up the rich supporting cast of USAGI YOJIMBO. My favorite is the roguish rhinoceros Gen, a ruthless bounty hunter with few morals. He claims to be Usagi's best friend, but will gleefully skip out of an inn if it means sticking Usagi with the bill for their meal. Usagi's teacher, or sensei, is a gruff and aloof old lion named Katsuichi. The frequent flashbacks to young Usagi's training are always a joy, thanks to Katsuichi's rough but rewarding methods. Usagi's romantic interests are all strong female characters, including the ninja Chizu, the warrior Tomoe, and the thief Kitsune. Foremost amongst Usagi's foes is the supernatural executioner Jei, a living embodiment of death. Jei must kill everyone his twisted mind deems evil -- including Usagi, who interfered with Jei's plans in the past.

Sakai's art supports his storytelling abilities perfectly. His crisp linework and deceptively simple layouts tell each story as concisely as his dialogue. His mastery of anthropomorphics allows him to give a variety of animal faces the full range of human emotions. The characters' costumes are rich in detail and authenticity. The duels and fight scenes are always thrilling and dynamic. Sakai's tone and style are obviously influenced by Japanese samurai manga (comic books), best epitomized by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima's LONE WOLF AND CUB. However, by moving that tradition into a funny animal format, Sakai has produced something which is uniquely his own. (Sakai pays tribute to USAGI YOJIMBO's roots in UY V1#24 with the story "Lone Goat and Kid.")

USAGI YOJIMBO has a rich publishing history, spanning four publishers. Usagi first appeared in the second issue of the anthology ALBEDO (Thoughts and Images) in 1984. Then he spent a few years making regular appearances in another anthology called CRITTERS (Fantagraphics Books). Finally, Usagi graduated to his own title in July of 1987. (Happy 10th anniversary!!) In the last decade, Sakai has produced over 70 issues of USAGI YOJIMBO for Fantagraphics Books, Mirage Publishing, and Dark Horse Comics, including four specials in full color. (By the way, while volumes one and three were black and white, all sixteen issues of the second volume of UY from Mirage Publishing were also in full color.) Sakai's durability and productivity are surpassed by few in the world of independent publishers except Dave Sim, whose CEREBUS has covered 220 issues in 20 years.

Despite the ten years of back issues, it is easy to join USAGI YOJIMBO anytime, thanks to Sakai's extensive use of short stories and his expert techniques for summarizing backstory and reintroducing characters. The first twelve issues of the Dark Horse Comics run contain only one two-part story. If you prefer longer stories, in issue #13 Sakai will begin one of his infrequent epics, an eight-part story about a legendary sword called "Grasscutter."

I have high hopes for "Grasscutter," and I'm positive I'll enjoy the amazing short stories which are sure to follow it. If you want rock solid entertainment, USAGI YOJIMBO is hard to beat.

Grade: A

[Diz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the stories charming, the characters endearing, and there is clearly a lot of respect for Japanese culture in this comic. There are a lot of situations in which people are not clearly good or bad, which creates a lot of interesting story opportunities. I'm looking forward to reading more in this series.

[Machiavelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of short, self-contained stories, and that structure really defines the reading experience. Each vignette follows Usagi as a wandering samurai, leaning into honor, duty, and quiet moral choices. The episodic format makes this an easy, approachable read, but it also keeps the stories from building much emotional momentum.

Stan Sakai’s black-and-white art is clean and expressive, with clear action and a strong sense of place. There’s a definite charm here—some light humor, moments of warmth, and a gentle tone that makes the book feel very accessible. That said, the simplicity can sometimes tip into slightness; a few stories feel more like sketches than fully realized narratives.

Overall, this was good, not great for me. I appreciated the craft and the understated storytelling, and there’s an undeniable charm to the world, but none of the stories fully grabbed me or lingered once I finished. A solid 3.5-star read—pleasant, well made, and respectable, just not one that left a lasting impression. I’ve seen plenty of readers gush about Usagi Yojimbo, and while I can see the appeal, this volume didn’t quite reach that level for me. I do have several more volumes on hand, so I’ll keep going and see if the series deepens as it goes.

[Peter Derk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great series that people haven't read enough. When it comes to the canon lists, this one doesn't make it too often, and I can't figure out why.

Okay, if I had to guess, it's probably because warrior bunny isn't exactly easy to latch onto as concepts go. But when you read, it's pretty fun.

Oh, and I'd bet people are occasionally surprised with the way the main character talks to "peasants" and such. He kind of treats them like shit, but it's my understanding that this is how things were in the historical context. I know we sometimes have trouble accepting a hero who we don't see as morally perfect, and I think the main character's morality will challenge readers just a little bit, but overall you'll leave feeling that he's heroic and makes good moral decisions.

I also have a soft spot for this character because the creator Stan Sakai, still owns all the rights. It's a creator-owned property, so he gets to mess around however he wants. Space Usagi? Done and done.

[Adrià · Rating 5 out of 5]

Usagi Yojimbo fueron unos de los primeros cómics que leí, así que los guardo con especial cariño.

Basados en el archiconocido medioevo nipón, relatan las vivencias de un ronin (samurái sin señor), así como las distintas facciones de clanes samurái y ninja.

En términos actuales, es como leer a David B. Gil (antes de que existiera B. Gil), pero con dibujitos.

[CS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bullet Review:

Enjoyable manga. It took some getting used to - this fluffy bunny isn't just sweet and fluffy after all. It could be kinda violent, without getting into the truly gruesome. What was most odd was how episodic it was - there was some connection between chapters, but not a huge amount.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it.

Shame I didn't start this series when I was young, but hey, better late than never. Great B&W artwork, with good plot, fun anthropomorphic characters with a samurai rabbit wandering around feudal Japan.

Definitely reading the next trade paperback!

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a much later volume of this series many years ago and liked it, so I appreciate the chance to start at the beginning. Sakai makes some interesting choices in using different species as a shorthand for characterizations (and the miniature dinosaur rodents are adorable), and it serves the story well by pushing the story so far out of familiar territory that we evaluate everything in it as new. The stories in this volume set up Usagi's journey and provide episodes from his early days. There are recurring characters, especially in the antagonists, but otherwise each episode feels pretty separate. The violence is sanitized a bit by making the characters animals rather than humans, but some of it still manages to be grim. All told, you can definitely see the spark of the series from its earliest pages, but I look forward to reading more to see it grow and evolve.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read the entirety of Usagi Yojimbo but not in chronological order so I'm starting at the beginning this time. It takes a little time for Stan Sakai to find his artistic footing but after 100 pages or so, his style is mostly how it would be for the rest of the series. A lot of groundwork is laid here. Usagi's origin as a follower of the fallen Lord Mifune and sworn enemy to Lord Hikiji and a couple ninja clans is established. Usagi meets longtime supporting cast members Tomoe, Lord Noryuki, Gen, Mariko, Jotaro, and Kenichi. Usagi also cuts down a large number of foes, a number that will grow exponentially as the series goes on.

The beginning is a little rough but it's still a great read. Four out of five stars.

[Santiago Gª Soláns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Las primeras aventuras de Usagi son ya una delicia de ver y leer.
Un dibujo estupendo.
Un guión que, a pesar de lo episódico de las historias, y a falta todavía de un hilo conductor, ya apunta maneras y se disfruta desde el inicio.
Un delicioso contraste entre la delicadeza de los animales antropomórficos y el tono adulto (muchas veces sangriento) del relato.
Maravilloso.

[Václav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miluji příběhy o dobrodružstvích, co prožívá ronin Miyamoto Usagi při svém putování za poznáním jakožto shugyosha - student-válečník. Jak daleko se táhnoucí dějové linky, tak kraťoučké příběhy z cesty (u kterých ale nevíte, zda někdy v budoucnu v důsledku ještě nesehrají roli). Usagi je velmi dobře napsaný, nakreslený a fascinuje mě, s jakou lehkostí spojuje feudální Japonsko spolu s dobovou mytologií, klasickými samurajskými příběhy a bajkovou antropomorfností. Při opětovném čtení mě překvapilo, jak moc důležitých postav a dějových linek v Roninovi začíná. Tomoe Ame, Gen, lord Noriykui, Zato Ino, Jotaro... Je toho tady spousta v souboru kratších i delších příběhů, až jsem měl pocti, že jsem přečetl komiks obsahově dvakrát tak větší. Usagi je spolu s Hellboyem moje srdcovka, která se dá číst dokola, namátkově, a nikdy neomrzí a vždy potěší a dá se v ní nalézt něco nového. A já se těším, až si přečtu další díl.

[Brian Dickerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning of an epic 34 year, still continuing, series. Stan Sakai’s line work is so beautiful and perfect it looks like vector-based artwork. The sans coloring approach is spot on with Sakai’s ability to tell a story throw clean black lines.

Reading this first volume makes me want to create a mind map of characters as I read through the nearing 30 volumes.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a delight to read the adventures of this anthropomorphic bunny ronin, and I can't wait for to read more of it!

The story takes place in 17th century Japan populated almost exclusively by anthropomorphic creatures; it is interesting to point how the author has used humans to showcase evil and monsters in this world, so far.

[RG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty light in tone but at times felt a little disjointed as its just a bunch of different stories. Fun but I prefer the Manga Vagabond as far as samurai go.

[kaitlphere · Rating 3 out of 5]

The lizard creatures were very cute and I loved how prominent they were in the art. There was a surprising amount of violence and yet not much gore. The wandering samurai storyline didn't grab me.

[B. P. Rinehart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This marks the beginning of the Usagi Yojimbo saga. I've already written a previous review detailing the creation of the character of Usagi Yojimbo, so I'll give my general thoughts of this volume here. This book does something I like, or have come to expect from long-running series, it shows us the character in current time and drops hints to his past. In a way this book reminds me of the Zatoichi series (it actually has a character that is based on that swordsman called Zatoino) and it is a very straight forward Japanese samurai adventure crossed with the "funny animals" genre of American comics (though there is not a lot--if any--slapstick here). The use of supernatural Japanese creatures and stories is the only thing that stops this from being a straightforward-samurai comic. I could not help but, compare this to a relatively more family-friendly version of Lone Wolf & Cub, also helps that this series is EVEN LONGER than LW&C. I'll definitely be looking-forward to reading more.

[Brett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like it for the comedy and action

[Drew Canole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a few random volumes of Usagi Yojimbo have always been impressed. I've decided to go to volume 1 and try and slowly read through the whole thing!

This first volume has a series of short seemingly unconnected stories. Mostly Usagi trying to get hired as a bodyguard and make some money. There's a short flashback of his time as a youngster and a romantic interest.

Perfect cartooning throughout. Sakai's linework is incredible. The stories aren't too memorable but overall it's a strong start.

[Ming Wei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the use of non humans for the characters, well drawn, interesting story concepts, great book,

[Matěj Komiksumec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Usagi mě překvapuje v tom, že na nenápadnou zvířátkovou věc je neskutečně čtivý, dospělý a místy docela brutální protože hlavy se sekají každou chvíli. Líbí se mi Sakaiovi příjemné povídky, postavy co v nich vystupují jsou strašně prokouknutelné ale fungují tak moc dobře, že to vůbec nevadí. S čím jsem trochu bojoval je kresba která se mi upřímně líbí, ale nevím čím to je, místy jsem se v ní strašně špatně orientoval (jde hlavně o části kde se bojuje). Ale jinak tu máme parádní samurajský cestopis a já jen hlásím "dolijte mi mé saké, hodlám se k ušákovi zase vrátit brzy".

[Taddow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was introduced to Usagi Yojimbo when I got into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The stories were simple but enjoyable. The art was good, though I couldn’t figure out which animal some of the characters were.

[Ana Dantas · Rating 4 out of 5]

É uma história bem típica de samurai com o emprego temporário da semana. É gostosinha, eu prefiro os capítulos com menos lutinhas, tipo "o ladrão de cavalos" e "de volta ao lar".

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have wanted to dive into this series ever since I saw Usagi's action figure (a TMNT tie-in) back when God was a baby and dirt was new, oh so many years ago. So, why haven't I? The usual bs; lack of access, an epic TBR, fear of disappointment, etc., etc....
Now, with a Comixology subscription and HA's A-Z challenge, it was time. So I read it, and it was good.
Usagi may be an anthropomorphic rabbit, but this isn't a super-cartoony series in execution. It is more like Lone Wolf and Cub in tone, although there is a little more humor and occasional silliness. Still, it is an action book first, with kinetic fight scenes (though less gore than LW&C) and themes like honor and respect.
The art can be a little goofy (Shogunate Japan peopled by furry animals can do that to a book), but some of the landscape shots are breath-taking.
If a samurai comic interests you, give this one a shot. It's a lot of fun.

[Spyros · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to read this graphic novel after hearing a lot of praise by fellow comic book readers. I would say it’s an easily read comic book with a protagonist who is fun to follow through his adventures. Unfortunately that’s where the good things stop for me . When I finished reading it, I didn’t feel the urge to go and buy any of the sequels which probably I won’t going to buy. Also the stories are somewhat disconnected. I am aware that this is intentional but I guess this doesn’t suit to my taste. I would recommend it as a light and fun read . I wouldn’t recommend it for its story cohesion.

[Jim Reddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collects the early appearances of Stan Sakai’s anthropomorphic rabbit ronin Usagi Yojimbo, before he started appearing in his own comic. While the stories are primarily historical adventure, there’s humor as well as action and one of the stories includes a supernatural creature. The stories are exciting and fun with wonderful art.

I’ve been a fan since the character's first appearance in the 1980s. Somewhere along the line I stopped reading but I kept buying the trade paperbacks as they were released. I finally decided it was time for a reread. It was interesting revisiting these early stories as Sakai hadn’t quite settled on Usagi’s character design yet, but the situations and themes presented here are a great taste of what he explores even more deeply in later volumes.