shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Feb 16, 2016 20:00:50 GMT -5
  Published: September thru December 1993 Synopsis: Usagi runs afoul of a quartet of assassins that just might prove to be his match. Notes: Discuss the issue and/or post full reviews below! |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 25, 2016 15:08:51 GMT -5
With it's Yojimbo like opening and it's Seven Samurai like plot I really thought I was going to really love this one but other than the way Usagi scared Kimmie into seeing that the village life was best it felt a little rote to me.
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Post by lobsterjohnson on Mar 25, 2016 15:47:22 GMT -5
I really like this one. It was one of the first ones I read, the setup is great (Usagi vs four assassins, each with their own specific skills!), and there's some great moments, especially with the lightning storm. The page where Usagi just finished the last assassin and turns in rage to the defiant peasant is great; one of the few times we see Usagi that angry.
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,862
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Post by shaxper on Mar 25, 2016 16:20:08 GMT -5
With it's Yojimbo like opening and it's Seven Samurai like plot I really thought I was going to really love this one but other than the way Usagi scared Kimmie into seeing that the village life was best it felt a little rote to me. Thus begins the stretch of Usagi issues that I tend to enjoy the least. These aren't bad, and I enjoy them all to some degree, but the series doesn't really start knocking my socks off again until "Noodles". |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 25, 2016 17:53:48 GMT -5
With it's Yojimbo like opening and it's Seven Samurai like plot I really thought I was going to really love this one but other than the way Usagi scared Kimmie into seeing that the village life was best it felt a little rote to me. Thus begins the stretch of Usagi issues that I tend to enjoy the least. These aren't bad, and I enjoy them all to some degree, but the series doesn't really start knocking my socks off again until "Noodles". Yeah, over all I don't remember being a huge fan of the Mirage issues though the darker, thicker inking is nice. |
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,862
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Post by shaxper on Mar 28, 2016 13:56:02 GMT -5
Thus begins the stretch of Usagi issues that I tend to enjoy the least. These aren't bad, and I enjoy them all to some degree, but the series doesn't really start knocking my socks off again until "Noodles". Yeah, over all I don't remember being a huge fan of the Mirage issues though the darker, thicker inking is nice. I wonder if part of the turn-off is Usagi being in color. Tom Luth is good, but the only time I find Usagi as visually striking in color as it is in black and white is when Stan does it himself with watercolors. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 29, 2016 7:46:46 GMT -5
Yeah, over all I don't remember being a huge fan of the Mirage issues though the darker, thicker inking is nice. I wonder if part of the turn-off is Usagi being in color. Tom Luth is good, but the only time I find Usagi as visually striking in color as it is in black and white is when Stan does it himself with watercolors. That was jarring when I first read them which is why I enjoy the reprints Dark Horse did which are in black and white like the rest. I wonder if they printed them from Stan's originals or just digitally removed the coloring? |
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,862
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Post by shaxper on Mar 29, 2016 7:58:55 GMT -5
I wonder if part of the turn-off is Usagi being in color. Tom Luth is good, but the only time I find Usagi as visually striking in color as it is in black and white is when Stan does it himself with watercolors. That was jarring when I first read them which is why I enjoy the reprints Dark Horse did which are in black and white like the rest. I wonder if they printed them from Stan's originals or just digitally removed the coloring? Stan does still have all the originals, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's the latter. Also, I don't know if Mirage was using digital scanning back then. It's possible they still had a file of the original un-colorized art. I haven't gone back to compare, owning both the originals and the Saga edition, but I'm assuming Stan had to go back and add more detail for the black and white version, either way. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 29, 2016 8:03:53 GMT -5
That was jarring when I first read them which is why I enjoy the reprints Dark Horse did which are in black and white like the rest. I wonder if they printed them from Stan's originals or just digitally removed the coloring? Stan does still have all the originals, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's the latter. Also, I don't know if Mirage was using digital scanning back then. It's possible they still had a file of the original un-colorized art. I haven't gone back to compare, owning both the originals and the Saga edition, but I'm assuming Stan had to go back and add more detail for the black and white version, either way. As I don't own the originals I can't do a comparison myself, but I can say the inking looks thicker than what came before and after and that bolder look is nice. |
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Post by stillpoint on Oct 20, 2016 1:17:37 GMT -5
I enjoyed this story more the second time I read it. Kimie's parents being divided over whether they could trust Usagi was a nice touch, and I'll echo a previous post's admiration for the fight with the members of Shi.
The beauty of having this story in a tome like UY Saga 1 (and then reading it more than once) is you might see a pattern or two. In "Shi", Usagi rebuffs Kimie who wants to run away with him. Several issues later, in "Runaways", we see a flashback in which Hirano refuses Usagi when he wants her to run away with him--an incident that no doubt influenced his denial of Kimie. And then, a few issues after that, we have Inazuma's origin in "Lightning Strikes Twice" where we find out she did run away with a samurai, and, as badass as she became, that decision led her to ruin. So, to anyone reading this who is contemplating running away with a samurai or a woman enmeshed in a political marriage, don't do it.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 20, 2016 19:22:14 GMT -5
The beauty of having this story in a tome like UY Saga 1 (and then reading it more than once) is you might see a pattern or two. In "Shi", Usagi rebuffs Kimie who wants to run away with him. Several issues later, in "Runaways", we see a flashback in which Hirano refuses Usagi when he wants her to run away with him--an incident that no doubt influenced his denial of Kimie. And then, a few issues after that, we have Inazuma's origin in "Lightning Strikes Twice" where we find out she did run away with a samurai, and, as badass as she became, that decision led her to ruin. So, to anyone reading this who is contemplating running away with a samurai or a woman enmeshed in a political marriage, don't do it. Nice catch. I wonder if Stan was going for a theme there, or if the concept was just prevalent in his mind at the time. Of course, the idea of wanting to run away with a samurai is prevalent in a lot of the films that inspired Stan, and it's an idea he continues to bring up again in later stories, but you're right -- it's a very concentrated theme in that strand of issues. |
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Post by stillpoint on Oct 22, 2016 0:02:43 GMT -5
The beauty of having this story in a tome like UY Saga 1 (and then reading it more than once) is you might see a pattern or two. In "Shi", Usagi rebuffs Kimie who wants to run away with him. Several issues later, in "Runaways", we see a flashback in which Hirano refuses Usagi when he wants her to run away with him--an incident that no doubt influenced his denial of Kimie. And then, a few issues after that, we have Inazuma's origin in "Lightning Strikes Twice" where we find out she did run away with a samurai, and, as badass as she became, that decision led her to ruin. So, to anyone reading this who is contemplating running away with a samurai or a woman enmeshed in a political marriage, don't do it. Nice catch. I wonder if Stan was going for a theme there, or if the concept was just prevalent in his mind at the time. Of course, the idea of wanting to run away with a samurai is prevalent in a lot of the films that inspired Stan, and it's an idea he continues to bring up again in later stories, but you're right -- it's a very concentrated theme in that strand of issues. I hadn't thought about that theme in the films. I've seen only a few, but you're right. And whether it was in the forefront of Stan's mind or not, I don't mind at all that he revisits it; there are countless permutations to explore. |
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Post by brutalis on Dec 22, 2016 7:50:17 GMT -5
I wonder how much of Usagi's angry response after the fight is pure and how much is calculated? True he is in the midst of the heat of battle, injured and angry yet he knows that he needs to do something which can turn these 2 lovers to looking inward for all the joys they have instead of looking away.
Thought the fighting was truly designed spectacularly and it was nice that these 4 assassins gave Usagi much more of a struggle than he normally seems to have. We need reminding once in awhile that Usagi while being a master swordsman doesn't mean he is invincible in every instance. That sometimes he gets into things which may actually kill him or maim him because he involves himself so selfishly shows that no good deed may go unpunished at times. There is risk for any action taken and that you will not always be given thanks after or be appreciated for the risks you take in others behalf. The wife and villagers are proof of this in their doubts and words about Usagi through this story and even afterward.
And of course young ladies will be drawn to the heroic wandering hero passing through town. The unknown and new is always more invigorating and exciting to dream of than the dull droll reality we endure with our daily struggles. Especially when young you don't look at what splendor surrounds your life, you can't see it or respect it until you lose it or something/someone shows you how good you have got it.
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