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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 5, 2016 20:32:34 GMT -5
Published: June, 2004 Synopsis: Usagi comes to the rescue of an outnumbered warrior, only to find himself promising to deliver a package for the dying man. Now in search of the man’s daughter, Usagi discovers that warriors are in hot pursuit!
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Apr 17, 2016 10:42:45 GMT -5
This has to be one of my absolute favorite twist endings in Usagi. And it leaves you room to interpret its significance in any number of ways. I suspect Stan, himself, was approaching it with historical fascination, but there's a lot to be said about the power of faith and/or the futility of dying for one's faith in there as well, depending upon your vantage point.
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Post by stillpoint on Nov 26, 2016 1:37:55 GMT -5
This has to be one of my absolute favorite twist endings in Usagi. And it leaves you room to interpret its significance in any number of ways. I suspect Stan, himself, was approaching it with historical fascination, but there's a lot to be said about the power of faith and/or the futility of dying for one's faith in there as well, depending upon your vantage point. One of my favorites, too. I have to believe Stan knew this could be a highly charged story and so lent credence to more than one interpretation. So many loaded lines of dialog. Usagi, who never knows what's in the package, at one point speaks derisively of foreign "gifts", then two panels later admits some foreign cures can be amazing. His last line in the story is rather telling: "That--whatever it is--has caused enough pain." I think Usagi is speaking for traditional Japan there. It does make me wonder how Japanese society reacted when Buddhism came to town. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 21, 2017 21:06:59 GMT -5
I think this story is one that I'll be mulling over for some time. My first gut reaction was a slight eye roll; I'm not anti-christian by any means but the ending really made the sacrifices a little over top in hindsight to me as dying for one's faith has always seemed foolish to me. But what makes me think that it'll stick with me is the clever way it was introduced, and the way the pacing and Usagi's end line make you rethink what you've just seen.
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Post by richarddragon on Aug 22, 2017 20:41:06 GMT -5
I like this one a lot. Very clever twist ending, and I thought it was subtle.
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Post by thwhtguardian on May 9, 2018 9:57:59 GMT -5
I think this story is one that I'll be mulling over for some time. My first gut reaction was a slight eye roll; I'm not anti-christian by any means but the ending really made the sacrifices a little over top in hindsight to me as dying for one's faith has always seemed foolish to me. But what makes me think that it'll stick with me is the clever way it was introduced, and the way the pacing and Usagi's end line make you rethink what you've just seen. This is one I've read a few times since first making the this thread two years ago, it was one thing when I first read it in 2016, kind of mixed here in 2017 but when I re-read it again on Halloween of last year, and then once more around new years eve it really grew on me. The intrigue and the historical insight are really something else and that kind of detail makes for a very nuanced read that really stands up to multiple revisits. You're definitely going to want to check this one out again shaxper before diving into the Hidden! |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Feb 15, 2019 10:56:03 GMT -5
You're definitely going to want to check this one out again shaxper before diving into the Hidden! With pleasure! I've been wondering if Stan was ever going to pick up this particular facet of Japanese history again. |
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Post by brutalis on Jun 17, 2019 13:37:55 GMT -5
Very nice historical play upon Japan opening up tp the outside world. Stan doesn't preach or make any kind of statement here, preferring the elegance of allowing the differing viewpoints to be expressed through all the characters (Usagi himself being in the middle as protector/deliverer in the story as well as his seeing bad/good in what the outsiders bring) interactions. I do find it sort of telling in that Usagi cannot quite understand how they are willing to die for something (he knows not what the package carries) and yet as a Samurai he risks and or pledges his life time and again in endeavors for others. Usagi is as Stan wants him to be: still growing and learning with every adventure and we the readers get to learn history and myths and religion along the way in our travelling with our beloved Ronin.
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