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Usagi Yojimbo Saga #9
Usagi Yojimbo Saga Volume 9
The rabbit ronin saga continues with more action and thrills, including the iconic crossover with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles !
In this ninth volume, Usagi and Inspector Ishida team up once again to solve a series of murders and mysteries. Between deadly puffer fish assassinations, a run-in with a familiar pair of thieves, a large-scale corruption scheme, and a mission to uncover the meaning behind a foreign book, Usagi and Ishida have their work cut out for them! Then, join forces with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the ongoing battle of good versus evil from Edo-era Japan to New York City!
Collects Usagi Yojimbo Volume 32: Mysteries , Usagi Yojimbo Volume 33: The Hidden , and every existing Usagi Yojimbo/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover comic in existence!
In this ninth volume, Usagi and Inspector Ishida team up once again to solve a series of murders and mysteries. Between deadly puffer fish assassinations, a run-in with a familiar pair of thieves, a large-scale corruption scheme, and a mission to uncover the meaning behind a foreign book, Usagi and Ishida have their work cut out for them! Then, join forces with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the ongoing battle of good versus evil from Edo-era Japan to New York City!
Collects Usagi Yojimbo Volume 32: Mysteries , Usagi Yojimbo Volume 33: The Hidden , and every existing Usagi Yojimbo/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover comic in existence!
600 pages, Paperback
Published May 4, 2021
12 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Stan Sakai
925 books374 followersStan 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).
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).
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 18, 2021
Usagi Yojimbo Saga Book 9 contains Usagi Yojimbo #159-172 plus every team-up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to date.
The year was 2019 and my son's birth was quickly approaching. Dark Horse lost the license to Usagi Yojimbo, leaving me no choice but to buy the last two Dark Horse volumes, Usagi Yojimbo, Vol. 32: Mysteries and Usagi Yojimbo, Vol. 33: The Hidden in an effort to get caught up on the bodyguard rabbit's adventures before my son was born. Imagine my surprise, almost two years later, that I find out the last of the Dark Horse material was eventually collected in this, the final Saga volume. Sure, I already read most of the material before but sometimes, you just want all your books in a series to match.
Thanks to the magic of getting older, I forgot 99% of what happened in the final Usagi issues. There's a lot of Inspector Ishida, a lot of Nezumi the Ninja, and a lot of that damnable Black Goblin Gang.
Sakai's art is as perfect as every. It's hard to come up with new words to say how he's a master cartoonist after nine or ten reviews but he undoubtedly is. As always, Sakai's linework is superb, minimalist genius.
Reading this again shows what a great storyteller Sakai is, peppering each issue with hints to the future while still making them satisfying reads on their own. Usagi and Ishida team up to unravel some murder mysteries, each part of a much bigger tapestry of crime. The writing is as great as ever. Once again, Sakai weaves in a lesson of Japanese history, Kiristians, in this case.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossovers are fun read, not necessarily essential but still readable. The final one, Namazu, was easily the best.
Usagi Yojimbo Saga Book 9 is a fitting sendoff as Usagi and his creator, Stan Sakai, head for greener, multicolored pastures. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
The year was 2019 and my son's birth was quickly approaching. Dark Horse lost the license to Usagi Yojimbo, leaving me no choice but to buy the last two Dark Horse volumes, Usagi Yojimbo, Vol. 32: Mysteries and Usagi Yojimbo, Vol. 33: The Hidden in an effort to get caught up on the bodyguard rabbit's adventures before my son was born. Imagine my surprise, almost two years later, that I find out the last of the Dark Horse material was eventually collected in this, the final Saga volume. Sure, I already read most of the material before but sometimes, you just want all your books in a series to match.
Thanks to the magic of getting older, I forgot 99% of what happened in the final Usagi issues. There's a lot of Inspector Ishida, a lot of Nezumi the Ninja, and a lot of that damnable Black Goblin Gang.
Sakai's art is as perfect as every. It's hard to come up with new words to say how he's a master cartoonist after nine or ten reviews but he undoubtedly is. As always, Sakai's linework is superb, minimalist genius.
Reading this again shows what a great storyteller Sakai is, peppering each issue with hints to the future while still making them satisfying reads on their own. Usagi and Ishida team up to unravel some murder mysteries, each part of a much bigger tapestry of crime. The writing is as great as ever. Once again, Sakai weaves in a lesson of Japanese history, Kiristians, in this case.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossovers are fun read, not necessarily essential but still readable. The final one, Namazu, was easily the best.
Usagi Yojimbo Saga Book 9 is a fitting sendoff as Usagi and his creator, Stan Sakai, head for greener, multicolored pastures. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
June 1, 2021
The ninth volume of Usagi Yojimbo Saga collects the last 2 Dark Horse trades along with all of the crossovers with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Usagi Yojimbo, Vol. 32: Mysteries
Usagi Yojimbo, Vol. 33: The Hidden
Usagi Yojimbo/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Collection
Usagi pals around with Inspector Ishida solving crimes in the last two volumes of the ongoing story. It's different for Usagi Yojimbo but I dug it. The crossovers with TMNT are fun and the last one is in color. My review for each volume can be found below.
Usagi Yojimbo, Vol. 32: Mysteries
Usagi Yojimbo, Vol. 33: The Hidden
Usagi Yojimbo/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Collection
Usagi Yojimbo, Vol. 32: Mysteries
Usagi Yojimbo, Vol. 33: The Hidden
Usagi Yojimbo/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Collection
Usagi pals around with Inspector Ishida solving crimes in the last two volumes of the ongoing story. It's different for Usagi Yojimbo but I dug it. The crossovers with TMNT are fun and the last one is in color. My review for each volume can be found below.
Usagi Yojimbo, Vol. 32: Mysteries
Usagi Yojimbo, Vol. 33: The Hidden
Usagi Yojimbo/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Collection
July 28, 2024
Still missing some older characters like Gen and Tamoe, but really enjoyed hanging out with Inspector Ishida so much in these stories. Could have done without most of the TMNT crossover stories, but the Hidden storyline makes this an easy five-star.
October 26, 2025
Honestly this book is was just okay but it reminded me how good things started and that made it all the worse.
First half is a pretty boring cop investigation that Usagi didn’t even need to be there for, except for a very obvious ’twist’ at the end to work I guess.
Second half is all the TMNT Usagi issues. The story in these are mostly pretty bland except they feature Usagi’s friends that we haven’t seen in forever and he actually has a somewhat personal goal, another thing we haven’t seen in a while.
Then the little chibi stories to round up reminds us of the good enemies we haven’t seen in forever, especially Jei.
So I am left wondering what happened (roughly) after Saga vol 4 when Usagi just lost its way. Why does he care more about saving a thief and her prodigy than visiting and figuring things out with his own son? Why does he mostly no longer have any goals of his own? Why is Usagi no longer a protagonist and now basically just eyes to only see other people’s stories through? These are some of the thoughts I am left with.
First half is a pretty boring cop investigation that Usagi didn’t even need to be there for, except for a very obvious ’twist’ at the end to work I guess.
Second half is all the TMNT Usagi issues. The story in these are mostly pretty bland except they feature Usagi’s friends that we haven’t seen in forever and he actually has a somewhat personal goal, another thing we haven’t seen in a while.
Then the little chibi stories to round up reminds us of the good enemies we haven’t seen in forever, especially Jei.
So I am left wondering what happened (roughly) after Saga vol 4 when Usagi just lost its way. Why does he care more about saving a thief and her prodigy than visiting and figuring things out with his own son? Why does he mostly no longer have any goals of his own? Why is Usagi no longer a protagonist and now basically just eyes to only see other people’s stories through? These are some of the thoughts I am left with.
June 19, 2024
The saga of Usagi Yojimbo should be studied for generations on how it transcended the medium of comics and became one of the greatest long form stories ever written.
July 30, 2022
Stan Sakai opisując losy tytułowego ronina, dosyć często umieszczał u jego boku całą gamę ciekawych i dobrze zaprojektowanych postaci drugoplanowych. W historiach składających się na album Usagi Yojimbo Saga #9 schemat ulega pewnej dość znaczącej przemianie. Pierwszoplanową rolę odgrywa tutaj bowiem inspektor Ishida, do którego dodatkiem jest Usagi. Dzielny królik nie traci jednak na znaczeniu, nadal pełni on bardzo ważną funkcję w prezentowanych wydarzeniach. Ponadto odstąpienie pierwszego planu innemu bohaterowi pozwala twórcy jeszcze lepiej i jeszcze ciekawiej zaprezentować Usagiego i jego mocno złożony charakter.
Wspomniana dwójka postaci ma tutaj pełne ręce roboty. Wraz z czytelnikiem rzucają się oni bowiem w gąszcz zagadek i tajemnic do rozwikłania. W kolejnych rozdziałach lawirujemy tutaj pomiędzy starciem z parą znajomych złodziei, odkryciem planów wielkiej korupcji, śmiercią ważnej osoby po spożyciu pewnej niebezpiecznej ryby, pomocą pięknej niewieście, walką z niebezpiecznym gangiem czy próbą wyjaśnienia tajemnicy pewnej książki.
Zakres tematyki jest tu dość szeroki, co pozwala autorowi zapewnić czytelnikowi szeroką formę rozrywki. Znajdą tutaj coś dla siebie miłośnicy kryminałów, tajemnic rodem z powieści detektywistycznych, widowiskowej akcji czy typowo samurajskich klimatów. Każda z historii zawiera mniej lub bardziej wyrazisty element, który łączy się w większą całość. Postępująca i rozwijająca się fabuła daje więc czytelnikowi dużą frajdę z lektury. Co do samych spraw prowadzonych przez dwójkę bohaterów, nie można im niczego zarzucić. Są one ciekawie, dobrze łączą widowiskowość, tajemniczość i lekką dawkę humoru.
Stan Sakai ponownie łączy również elementy japońskiego folkloru czy historii z całą masą popkulturowych nawiązań/wstawek. Przewracając kolejne strony komiksu, baczne oko miłośnika „dobrej popkultury” dostrzeże wiele ciekawych i nie zawsze jednoznacznych inspiracji. Scenariusz skrywa także szereg o wiele bardziej złożonej treści, którą czytelnik będzie musiał odsłonić samemu (co jest bardzo charakterystyczne dla serii).
https://popkulturowykociolek.pl/recen...
Wspomniana dwójka postaci ma tutaj pełne ręce roboty. Wraz z czytelnikiem rzucają się oni bowiem w gąszcz zagadek i tajemnic do rozwikłania. W kolejnych rozdziałach lawirujemy tutaj pomiędzy starciem z parą znajomych złodziei, odkryciem planów wielkiej korupcji, śmiercią ważnej osoby po spożyciu pewnej niebezpiecznej ryby, pomocą pięknej niewieście, walką z niebezpiecznym gangiem czy próbą wyjaśnienia tajemnicy pewnej książki.
Zakres tematyki jest tu dość szeroki, co pozwala autorowi zapewnić czytelnikowi szeroką formę rozrywki. Znajdą tutaj coś dla siebie miłośnicy kryminałów, tajemnic rodem z powieści detektywistycznych, widowiskowej akcji czy typowo samurajskich klimatów. Każda z historii zawiera mniej lub bardziej wyrazisty element, który łączy się w większą całość. Postępująca i rozwijająca się fabuła daje więc czytelnikowi dużą frajdę z lektury. Co do samych spraw prowadzonych przez dwójkę bohaterów, nie można im niczego zarzucić. Są one ciekawie, dobrze łączą widowiskowość, tajemniczość i lekką dawkę humoru.
Stan Sakai ponownie łączy również elementy japońskiego folkloru czy historii z całą masą popkulturowych nawiązań/wstawek. Przewracając kolejne strony komiksu, baczne oko miłośnika „dobrej popkultury” dostrzeże wiele ciekawych i nie zawsze jednoznacznych inspiracji. Scenariusz skrywa także szereg o wiele bardziej złożonej treści, którą czytelnik będzie musiał odsłonić samemu (co jest bardzo charakterystyczne dla serii).
https://popkulturowykociolek.pl/recen...
April 3, 2024
So, my biggest complaint with the last volume was the lack of Gen. He is definitely one of my favorite characters. And wouldn't you know it, this volume didn't feature him either! Well... it did, but only barely and it wasn't anything new.
With that being said, this was actually a very awesome volume. For the first time in the entire series, Usagi is in one place from start to end (minus some additional content at the end). The entire volume is about Usagi helping Inspector Ishida solve a series of crimes in his city. There are some other recurring characters like Kitsune, Nezumi (who is kinda new), and Inspector Nii. But no Gen :(
It really was good though. It read more like a mystery novel and the intrigue and drama were quite compelling. Lots of really great stories and really different than anything seen thus far in the series.
So, Gen did have a brief appearance. The end of this volume is made up of all of the Usagi/TMNT crossovers. It was really cool, but the problem was, that most of it was stuff already featured in other volumes. It was just gathered together here. Good stuff, like Usagi, Gen, and the turtles taking on the Neko ninja, just very little new material.
With that being said, this was actually a very awesome volume. For the first time in the entire series, Usagi is in one place from start to end (minus some additional content at the end). The entire volume is about Usagi helping Inspector Ishida solve a series of crimes in his city. There are some other recurring characters like Kitsune, Nezumi (who is kinda new), and Inspector Nii. But no Gen :(
It really was good though. It read more like a mystery novel and the intrigue and drama were quite compelling. Lots of really great stories and really different than anything seen thus far in the series.
So, Gen did have a brief appearance. The end of this volume is made up of all of the Usagi/TMNT crossovers. It was really cool, but the problem was, that most of it was stuff already featured in other volumes. It was just gathered together here. Good stuff, like Usagi, Gen, and the turtles taking on the Neko ninja, just very little new material.
February 18, 2021
I'm still as much a fan of Usagi Yojimbo and it was nice to see the last of Usagi's journey in Dark Horse.
I like how Inspector Ishida's character and sense of justice is on full display. Having him in the same area as two thieves really puts his moral code into perspective. He's a law man who wants justice in every fair way. He never goes too far on punishments like with Kitsune. The big reveal near the end came as a really great surprise that fits rather well with his character.
To finish everything off is the saga of Usagi Yojimbo's crossovers with TMNT. It's kind of funny to see how it all started as kind of a joke and it was a popular enough idea Peter David joined in on the fun.
I like how Inspector Ishida's character and sense of justice is on full display. Having him in the same area as two thieves really puts his moral code into perspective. He's a law man who wants justice in every fair way. He never goes too far on punishments like with Kitsune. The big reveal near the end came as a really great surprise that fits rather well with his character.
To finish everything off is the saga of Usagi Yojimbo's crossovers with TMNT. It's kind of funny to see how it all started as kind of a joke and it was a popular enough idea Peter David joined in on the fun.
March 18, 2024
These are the last collections from Dark Horse before Usagi switched to iDW before going back to Dark horse. Wonder what happened there?
Anyway, the Hidden is the middle part of this compendium and it’s a great story. One of the best in ages. A story of Christianity coming to Japan while continuing the corruption in a city and still spending time with Inspector Ishida (a great member of Usagi’s growing cast). A 7 parter and a strong final arc for Dark Horse. Sakai still got it.
Plus this collects all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossovers (at the time) which are all fun. Though kind of complicated by treating later iterations as different versions.
Anyway, the Hidden is the middle part of this compendium and it’s a great story. One of the best in ages. A story of Christianity coming to Japan while continuing the corruption in a city and still spending time with Inspector Ishida (a great member of Usagi’s growing cast). A 7 parter and a strong final arc for Dark Horse. Sakai still got it.
Plus this collects all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossovers (at the time) which are all fun. Though kind of complicated by treating later iterations as different versions.
February 4, 2021
This is a good book of the saga, it has a lot of covers in colors, a chibi story and a great gallery. Sadly I didn't enjoy it as much as the first volumen. It also have a story that is already in the Vol.1, so if you have that one, here you will loose almost 60 pages.
Never the less, the adventures of UJ are good and catchy, but the best is the gallery and color images.
I also did a spanish review here:
https://pananime.com/LeAn/index.html
Never the less, the adventures of UJ are good and catchy, but the best is the gallery and color images.
I also did a spanish review here:
https://pananime.com/LeAn/index.html
December 31, 2023
The Turtles crossovers are always fun, but also a bit slight, and "Mysteries" was solid but felt like it was treading water a bit. Fortunately, "The Hidden" was a great Usagi saga - a fantastic mystery, fascinating historical information, and a great cast. Saga vol. 9 is more than worth the cost for that story alone.
January 17, 2022
Several mysteries in a row puts Usagi in a different use. All were entertaining but the Christian one makes for an interesting read on a subject Sakai hasn't touched beore. The Turtles crossovers are a fun way to end this volume.
February 16, 2025
This volume was fun. Seeing Inspector Ishida more fleshed out, front and center was fun! The story telling of Stan Sakai is amazing! I love TMNT as well so of course this is a 5 star volume. Plus all the artwork, covers, and bonus stuff at the back of this volume is incredible! Give me more.
March 12, 2022
Lovely as always.
July 9, 2022
Love Usagi! This collection let me revisit some of my favorite stories.
March 19, 2024
The seven part "The Hidden" story is a great Inspector Ishida storyline about the Kakure Kirishitan (Hidden Christians) during the Edo period. Also has a really great twist at the end. This collection also has (almost)every TMNT crossover in it which is pretty neat.
July 11, 2023
Where Gen? Kirisztanie dobre chłopaki z zasadami, prześladowani za niewinność :(
December 24, 2025
(This review covers the complete series)
A long-running and consistently excellent series, Usagi Yojimbo follows Miyamoto Usagi, a wandering ronin rabbit, through stories inspired by Japanese history, folklore, and samurai fiction. Through clear storytelling and well-paced action, the series builds a rich, character-driven world full of heart and humour. The clean artwork displays an eye for quiet detail as much as swordplay.
A long-running and consistently excellent series, Usagi Yojimbo follows Miyamoto Usagi, a wandering ronin rabbit, through stories inspired by Japanese history, folklore, and samurai fiction. Through clear storytelling and well-paced action, the series builds a rich, character-driven world full of heart and humour. The clean artwork displays an eye for quiet detail as much as swordplay.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews