[Meeting…] Usagi Yojimbo

Unfortunately, there are many people who love one type of comic and despise another depending on their country of origin. It is not uncommon to find people who love manga and criticize American comics or who consider themselves more intelligent for reading a specific type of comic, such as European comics.

Although it is true that this attitude usually passes over the years in most cases, there will always be others in which they have never tried to read something different.

It is undeniable that Each type of comic has its pros and cons. and that usually obey a series of clichés and common tastes that in most cases are used without even considering whether they should change them or not.

However, the world is very big and each artist has a story behind that can influence their work to a greater or lesser extent and this in turn can help show us that The boundaries between one type of comic and another are not so rigid. as we have always thought.

One of the best examples of an artist against the grain who has achieved success and recognition (including an Eisner Award) is Stan Sakai, who He was born in Japan but spent practically his entire life living in the West.

Sakai's most notable work is Usagi Yojimbo, where he knew how to mix typically Japanese stories with humanized animals (in the purest Disney or Warner Bros. style) and manage to merge everything into adventures that are recommended for both children and adult readers.

The masterless samurai

The protagonist of Usagi Yojimbo (which means bodyguard rabbit) is Miyamoto Usagi, once a samurai proud to protect and serve his lord Mifune, who died without Usagi being able to do anything to protect him. After the loss of her lord, Usagi understood that I could never serve another again, so he became Ronin, an ownerless samurai who wanders the world earning a living as a bodyguard or bounty hunter.

Usagi is a true master in the art of the sword and a faithful follower of bushido, but due to his good character he does not usually use his skill and strength against weak and always try to avoid confrontations as much as possible, which makes many enemies underestimate him and try to take advantage of him or laugh at his expense. Obviously, even someone as kind as Usagi can lose patience and teach the loudmouth on duty a lesson, but in most cases, she does not fall for that type of provocation.

During his adventures, Usagi will have to adapt to unusual situations, such as facing Japanese spirits and demons or encountering other warriors seeking a moment of fame by trying to take him down. Fortunately, some of the friends and allies he has gained in his adventures will also cross paths with him, such as Gennosuke, a ronin bounty hunter who is always looking for money.

Because the death of his lord was caused by the attack of some ninjas, Usagi has a strong dislike towards them., because he considers that they have no honor and are not worthy of trust. However, on more than one occasion the Neko Ninja Clan has saved the lives of him and his friends, demonstrating that "good" and "bad" are labels that depend on who looks at them and that the positioning of each of the sides usually depends on the game of alliances and betrayals that the feudal lords have in their hands.

One samurai and four ninjas

Usagi's little sympathy for the ninjas contrasts with the fact that there were precisely four of them who helped her inside and outside of fiction because this character and the Ninja Turtles have shared moments together, because both series were published by Mirage Comics at a given time.

That camaraderie went from paper to television where many people (me included) They met Usagi in the first animated series of the Ninja Turtles. Despite being a brief cameo, this character remained in the public's memory (they even launched Usagi toys within the line of Ninja Turtles) and for this reason he appeared again in the 2003 series, where more emphasis was placed on his love-hate relationship with the ninjas, something that would give way to a strong friendship with the four turtles and a relationship of healthy rivalry with Leonardo.

Conclusion and Recommendations

I have to admit that despite knowing the character and having good references about his stories, I never paid much attention to him. Usagi Yojimbo. Al leer algunos de sus libros he tenido la sensación de que cometí un error al no haberlo hecho antes.

Las aventuras de Usagi son muy interesantes y divertidas. Nos enseñan un mundo cruel desde los ojos de un animal bondadoso, mostrando combates y muertes, pero sin violencia ni mal gusto y aderezando todo con folclore japonés, personajes entrañables y mucho sentido del humor. En cierto modo Usagi es un personaje afable e interesante, pero lo que realmente me gusta de sus historias es el mundo que lo rodea, los personajes secundarios y las situaciones por las cuales ha de pasar.

Usagi Yojimbo se puede leer sin orden concreto, aunque es cierto que en algunas aventuras posteriores se mencionan o aparecen personajes que ya deberíamos conocer, pero ello tampoco perjudica excesivamente la lectura. De hecho en España se publicaron los tomos recopilatorios sin un orden concreto (y sin numeración).

Si os interesa el personaje, estáis de enhorabuena porque existe una enorme cantidad de tomos sobre este personaje, como por ejemplo: Primeras Andanzas, Samurái, El camino del vagabundo, La conspiración, Sombras de muerte, Segadora, Al filo de la vida y la muerte, la máscara del demonio either La conspiración del dragón.

En muchos de esos libros se han añadido artículos escritos por Stan Sakai donde explica en que se basó o sacó ideas para aventuras y personajes concretos, algo que sin duda agradecerá el lector más curioso.

Sakai es algo inquieto y es por eso que además de notarse una evolución constante y notable en las aventuras de Usagi, también existen algunas historias un tanto curiosas o extravagantes en planteamiento como Senso (basada en La guerra de los mundos) y Space Usagi, un intento de hacer una versión espacial del personaje que incluso trató de llegar a televisión donde no llegó demasiado lejos, pues apareció cuando el mercado estaba saturado de productos similares como Bucky O’Hare.