shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Feb 12, 2016 5:32:07 GMT -5
 Published: December 1989 Synopsis: A mission to recover a dead samurai's swords uncovers a bitter tragedy that Usagi must set right. Notes: Discuss the issue and/or post full reviews below! |
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Post by coke & comics on Feb 28, 2016 14:32:14 GMT -5
Summary: Lady Koriko hires Usagi to retrieve the swords of her deceased husband. Usagi goes to the village where the swords are found, informing locals in a tavern there is a reward for the return on the swords. One local tells Usagi his sister Atsuko has the swords and takes Usagi there.
Atsuko reveals she was the mistress of the samurai Nagao. She describes Lady Koriko as cold and talks of how she and Nagao were to commit lover's suicide until he was murdered. She will not part with the swords.
When Usagi leaves, her brother tries to take the swords by force and accidentally kills her. He then brings the swords to Usagi. Immediately after, he is buying drinks and wasting the reward money. He then leaves to dispose of Atsuko's body. Meanwhile, Usagi decides to visit Atsuko because he is suspicious. Meanwhile, the drinking buddies decide they want the money for themselves and decide to go take it.
At Atsuko's Usagi finds her body and overhears her brother talking to himself, describing his crimes, including murdering Nagao. Usagi chases him from the house, where the brother runs afoul of his pals, who start beating him. Usagi takes them all to the magistrate, then buries Atsuko next to Nagao.
Thoughts: I will begin the discussion they way I may begin a good many: this is a great story. Flawed characters, moving conflict, a tragic but ultimately just ending.
Some great details
*The contrast between the serious Lady Koriko and her son playing with the ball while she talks
*The illustration of the confrontation between Usagi and Atsuko, with such intensity on display
*What despicable human beings Atsuko's brother and his pals are
And, the fact that even the good characters in this story are not above reproach. Atsuko, who is definitely the most sympathetic character, is in fact having an affair with a married man.
Usagi, who we have found to be a generally good guy, is depicted as a product of his times. His strict adherence to the samurai code naturally involves acceptance of, and even insistence on, the role of peasants. He angrily proclaims it is not fit for a peasant to have the swords of a samurai.
Since a lot of plot got squeezed into a short span of pages, we will forgive the plot convenience of the killer monologuing about all his crimes, not realizing Usagi was behind him.
Grade: A/A-
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 17, 2016 21:03:59 GMT -5
This is a pretty packed little story, once again we get a murder mystery kind of story and in the process we see a side of Usagi that I never would have expected after all his other interactions with the peasants but truly highlights the depth of his character as although its a shock it isn't illogical.
On another point what I found really stunning in this issue was the detail Sakai put into the back grounds here, it's not as if the previous stories were blank but the details here are so sharp that it really makes you stop and take notice.
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