Usagi Yojimbo Saga. Księga 3

Usagi Yojimbo [兎用心棒] #14-16

by Stan Sakai, Jarosław Grzędowicz (Translator)

Nowe wydanie popularnej serii Usagi Yojimbo. Ponad 600 stron przygód niezwykłego królika ronina. Trzeci tom zbiera historie wydane w tomach: Bezksiężycowa noc, Ostrze bogów II: Wędrówka do świątyni Atsuta, Maska demona.

Pod koniec szesnastego wieku Japonią wstrząsały liczne wojny domowe. W jednej z bitew Miyamoto Usagi utracił swojego suwerena, pana Mifune. Od tego dnia samotny ronin przemierza kraj, poszukując spokoju ducha, walcząc o sprawiedliwość i doskonaląc umiejętności samurajskie. W tym tomie Usagi wyruszy w śmiertelnie niebezpieczną misję, której celem będzie dostarczenie legendarnego miecza – Pożeracza Traw – do świątyni Atsuta. Jednak dzielny ronin będzie czuć na plecach oddech bezlitosnych skrytobójców z dwóch rywalizujących ze sobą klanów ninja. Usagi uratuje także życie pięknej złodziejce Kitsune, trafi na nawiedzony cmentarz i będzie musiał się zmierzyć z kobietą pająkiem.

Seria Usagi Yojimbo Saga to mistrzowska adaptacja komiksowa samurajskich legend, wydawana od ponad 30 lat i przetłumaczona na kilkadziesiąt języków. Autorem scenariusza i rysunków jest Stan Sakai, a nowe wydanie zostało wzbogacone o kolorową galerię okładek.

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

616 pages, Paperback

First published March 27, 2015

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

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Usagi Yojimo Saga Vol. 3 collects issues 31-52 of Usagi Yojimbo.

The chronicles of Usagi Yojimo's adventures in feudal Japan continues. In this weighty tome, Usagi goes up against kami, spider goblins, warring ninja clans, warring gangsters, a killer in a demon mask, and is once again entrusted with Grasscutter, the sword of the gods. Quite a bit more than that happens, actually, but this thing is a beast at over 600 pages.

As per usual, Stan Sakai weaves lessons in Japanese history, folklore, and culture into the tale. Seeds are also planted for future tales, involving Usagi's old master, Katsuichi Sensei, Jei, and Chizu. The stories range from a handful of pages to epics spanning many issues, like Grasscutter II. Showdown seemed like an homage to Red Harvest/Yojimbo/Sanjuro with Usagi and Gen pitting the gangs against each other.

Stan Sakai's art is as masterful as ever. It would be easy to make an anthropomorphic bunny a joke character but Sakai makes him seem like a bad ass on many occasions. He's able to convey so much emotion with so few strokes of the pen. The backgrounds are surprisingly intricate at times. Sakai makes it all look easy, which means it's probably extremely difficult. In a volume full of great stuff, I think Kitsune's tale was my favorite, although Grasscutter II and Sasuke riding the giant frog and having it eat the spider mother were close contenders.

As I've said before, Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo is one of the best comics out there. Five out of five stars.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

These library editions seem to be the way to go. This one collects volumes 14 to 16 of the trades along with lots of notes from Sakai on the Japanese history he pulled from for his stories.

This collection has something for everyone. Dark tales full of kami, spider goblins, and death masks. A long form follow up to Grasshopper where Usagi and his cohorts must move the ancient sword, Grasshopper, to a safer location before various factions use it to start a civil war in a power play. It's full of double and triple crosses. It's just great. Kitsune returns and we learn her origins. Sakai really knows how to weave characters and story points in and out of the mix so it always seems fresh.

[Diz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This omnibus volume of the Usagi Yojimbo series contains three stories. The first is Demon Mask. This is a tale of a mysterious killer who is on a mission to eliminate the masterless samurai. Only Usagi stands in the killer's way. The second story is Grasscutter II. This continues the Grasscutter storyline. In this volume, Usagi and his companions are on a mission to deliver the legendary sword Grasscutter to a shrine for safekeeping. Two ninja clans get involved in their struggle, which adds a lot of intrigue as allies are not so certain when ninjas are involved. The final story is The Shrouded Moon. Usagi and the bounty hunter Gen travel together and get themselves involved in trouble. the best of these incidents explores the backstory of Kitsune, a pickpocket and thief that Usagi counts as a friend. All of these stories are strong and are well worth reading.

As usual, Stan Sakai pays careful attention to the culture of Japan in depicting the world of Usagi. It's always a pleasure to read the stories that he crafts in this world.

[Przemysław Skoczyński · Rating 4 out of 5]

To nadal nie chce być słabe. Podoba mi się ten miks konwencji od przygodówki przez kryminał, horror czy poruszające miniaturki. klasa

[Adam M · Rating 5 out of 5]

These gigantic collections of Usagi stories in this "Saga" series are wonderful. They collect additional art, introductions and testimonials to the true genius of Stan Sakai and this endearing/enduring series. I cannot say enough good things about the humanity, tragedy, and joy in this volume. There are some great, longer story lines here and some backstory we've not heard. Kitsune's origin is included as well as a sequel story to Grasscutter called Return to Atsuta Shrine.

I'm sad I've reached the end of this collection, but I'm really grateful that Dark Horse Comics put them together!

[Peter Derk · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are just great comics. I think if anyone needs evidence of comics being literature and all that shit, this might be what I'd point to. The stories are great, and the art moves between different styles that still fall under the same stylistic umbrella. I just love it.

It seems physically impossible to read this entire series. But I'm going to try, dammit. I guess if a rabbit man can walk all over Japan and swordfight bat men, I can read a long story, right?

That's "bat men," by the way, not "batmen." They're bat ninja men. I'm telling you, this shit is great.

[chvang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great work from Stan Sakai, as always. My only gripe with the edition I read is that someone had the bright idea to put the pages in reverse order (right to left) as in Japanese manga while keeping the pages themselves normal (left to right), which lead to the two-page spreads being cut in half and stitched together wrongly so they no longer lined up.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will be rating all of these volumes with 5 stars. I will speak very highly of the stories and the art. It's difficult to come up with something new to say for each volume. However, I am quite glad they published larger collected volumes.

[James Devore · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars.

The quick stories like the leaping ninja are so fun and great and continuing to build the character of Usagi. The prologue to grass cutter 2?! Awesome!
These stories are captivating, educational, fun, funny, dark, and just so good!

[April Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so happy Dark Horse has been doing these new editions of Usagi Yojimbo, I was sadly unfamiliar with this series until the last year or so, and oh my! am I enjoying it! Stan Sakai is a masterful storyteller, and I'm thankful to live in the same world that he does. What a craftsman he is, to create such perfectly balanced stories, filled with adventure, drama, humor, intrigue, mystery, history, folklore, the supernatural, and more. This volume of Usagi's saga is no exception - the first third or so of the book is short stories, a fun mix of snippets that show off Usagi's cleverness well, and also give us a look at his more gullible moments, as in "Death and Taxes," where he gets tricked into guarding a peasant journeying to a nearby city. These stories also contain the Demon Mask tale, a spooky mystery involving a masked serial killer targeting ronin. I think The Inn on Moon Shadow Hill was my favorite, though - Usagi can be quite the sneaky-sneak! This section ends with Usagi arriving at the temple where the legendary sword is hidden.
Next we have part two of the Grasscutter arc, which starts with a prologue giving us some historical background. In this part of the story, Usagi, Gen, and Sanshobo prepare to take Grasscutter to Atsuka Shrine, and have a journey full of ninjas trying to steal the sword - will the trio be able to complete their mission?
In the last section, we get more short stories, a nice mix of events to give us more insights into Usagi's character. We also get to spend some time with Kitsune, and get a peek into her past.
Finally, we have Sakai's notes on the text, explaining the historical and cultural significance of various story elements, and I always look forward to reading these notes, I learn so much!
While this book can be read without reading volumes 1 and 2 before it, you will miss some nuances and references that make the stories better, plus you owe it to yourself to read all the books, you won't be sorry!

[Michael Emond · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delight to read - I came to Usagi late but I am now an ardent fan. This is my third volume I have read and Stan is still finding new and clever tales to tell of Usagi and his friends. We get the conclusion of the very long Grasscutter saga (I think - maybe there is another part later). It is a great mix of humour, drama, smaller tales and larger story arcs that continue throughout the volumes. It calls back to earlier stories but not in a way that requires you to read them - I feel it is easy to pick up any of these books and immediately get the context.
Overall, I always enjoy my time reading these stories.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is interesting as this is the third volume of the omnibus saga I have read, and they are still very much enjoyable and immersive. What I find particularly strange is my desire to truly talk about the content of the book in reviews and rather the little details. It may be because if I wrote what I am observing in my review that it may end up looking more like my Case Closed write-ups instead of giving what makes the book stand out and worthy of the star rating in which I give it. Usagi is beautifully illustrated, and that quality will never come into question. The stories are great, but I believe I love the sprinkled in short stories just as much as the bigger ones. Usagi’s interactions with Tomoe are particularly enjoyable to me…I find even if the characters don’t interact in a story too much that they attract and demand a larger part of your attention when reading in story that involves them both. A fair amount of the book deals with the legendary blade “grass cutter” and I find it to be very much intriguing and interesting. If you have read the previous Usagi Yojimbo Saga books, you know this is not the first appearance of the legendary blade I feel this story further builds the lore around it. The introductions again are real gems that add to the enjoyment of the book, and I am so happy they are included. Paul Dini, Greg Rucka, Scott Shaw create a who’s who list of comic book giants all heaping praise and adding thought-provoking statements to an already amazing collection of storytelling masterclass work. In no way am I attempting to highlight one story above another as this is an excellent book…but Showdown part 1 and 2 I find to be so entertaining…second only to Grass Cutter 2. This book could easily be my favorite of the Usagi Yojimbo Saga (so far)…after completing the first three volumes of this epic grand tale full of insightful storytelling and entertainment. The story notes and gallery at the end only add to this masterpiece.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Volume Three of Usagi Yojimbo Saga, the adventures of Miyamoto Usagi carry on in the same perfect rhythm of alternating stories. Some of the supporting characters begin to be developed further, both in fleshing out their backstory and beginning a larger scope story yet to come that focuses on them. After another epic adventure for the fate of Japan, several ghost stories and supernatural confrontations, carefully researched meditations of Japanese arts, and wry life lessons, at the end of the volume, a growing set of plot lines has been cast and wait to be further cultivated.

[Nicholas Driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tons of fun stories in this book! We have Grasscutter II, in which we finally get to see what happens with Grasscutter (the legendary sword), and we have more monsters (both real and imagined), and some really tragic deaths. I enjoyed the detective/mystery story surrounding a murderer targeting ronin, too. This might be among my favorite volumes of Usagi Yojimbo yet, though I would also say that the stories do sometimes feel a bit repetitive after a while. Still, great stuff, with great art, and I love the characters as much or more than before. Looking forward to the next volume!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Usagi Yojimbo is always a fun read. There were several early stories I liked in this collection and the ending one really hit you in the heart. I always make a point of reading the notes by the author to learn a bit about the Japanese history, culture, and legends. This collection also did a good job of setting up for some exciting stories in the next so I'm looking forward to Usagi Yojimbo Saga 4.

[Adam Spanos · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Saga continues with 600+ pages of USAGI YOJIMBO stories collected from the very late 90s into the early 2000s. Amazing comics. Fun, fast-paced samurai action mixed with great characterization and meticulously researched information about the history and culture of Japan. I learn something almost every time I read a comic by Stan Sakai.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Usagi is always awesome, but this particular collection, for whatever reason, drew me in a lot more than previous collections of issues. I suppose it's fitting that a comic titled Usagi Yojimbo puts its own twist on Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" that was really enjoyable. And it was great to see Chizu and Kitsune return for some stories focused on them.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much greatness here - Stan's created such a rich world and such amazing characters. You barely notice when a story doesn't feature Usagi at all: back story about Grasscutter, Kitsune revealing her history to Gen, and Chizu's betrayal and the usurpation of the Neko Ninja. One clever story has three different characters telling stories of their encounters with Usagi (unwittingly to Jei's companion!). The Atsuta Shrine adventure is a worthy sequel to the Grasscutter epic. If you're a Gen fan, this book has lots to love.

[Isao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book the main character had a great background and the book was set in multiple different places. Most people who would like this book would be people who like a lot of action. one interesting part was the part of the book where Usagi found grasscutter in the ocean.

[Mhorg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another exceptional volume. Tragedy, comedy and more combine in this book which ends the saga of grasscutter, the sword of the gods, tells the tale of Kitsune, and adds in two deadly ninja clans. Sakai is a genius.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume had some really good arcs and some really mid arcs. Unfortunately, the mid ones just kind of made it drag. Far from bad, just lacking the oomph that the previous collections did. Lots of buildup to future arcs though so there is lots of promising things in the horizon.

[Relstuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoying this series. It has a straightforward simplicity of style that's been a refreshing way to end the day for the last few weeks.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sakai continues his brilliant series with a nice mix of quick stories and longer adventures.

[Andreas Sekeris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stories very engaging and flew through them. Really enjoyed Grasscutter part 2, and imagining several of the scenes in a spaghetti-western style. Highly recommended.

[Valerie Crump · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these so much. Their even more amazing when they're in color. However, I do still kind of wish the stories were in order as they were written.

[Bernardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Qué maravilla leer a Usagi y ponerse al día. Me encantan sus aventuras y el mundo que habita.

[Carl Grider · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't give these Saga volumes anything less than 5 stars. Love getting the introductions and the story notes. Incredible work from an amazing storyteller!

[Samrat Sur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible world and character building with the ability to take you to feudal Japan and feel like a Ronin.

The characters, plots, setting everything is just perfect and it's almost un-putdownable.

[Elmo Shell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can never go wrong with Usagi Yojimbo. The mass majority of each issue is stand alone. Though there is a connected thread throughout. The craftsmanship is top notch.

[David Records · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not my favorite so far but still spectacular.