A wondering samurai enters a new town and-wait, is that samurai a rabbit? It’s everyone’s favorite rabbit samurai Miyamoto Usagi in Dark Horse’s “Usagi Yojimbo†143.
In this issue, Usagi has found himself in a new town. A fire is started and the local police accuse him of starting it. The rest of
the comic is about Usagi and a soy sauce brewer talking about soy sauce.
That’s right, the entire comic is nothing but how soy sauce is made. This normally would be boring as all hell, but writer Stan Sakai writes it in such an interesting way that it draws you in. It takes a special writer to take a topic like soy sauce and make it interesting.
Another reason could be is that Sakai writes soy sauce making as if it’s something to do with Zen. The way the character describes the steps sound more like how a kung fu master would describe his craft than a business man describing his. It draws you in like no other.
Some people may not enjoy this story and its lack of action and dismiss it as boring. What these people fail to see is that this is an important plot point and is a major part in the coming issues. It also delves into differences between the two characters Usagi meets in this new town. It does its job well and it should be seen as such.
The artwork is looks like a newspaper comic strip. The Saturday morning cartoon like characters gives the comic a lighthearted tone. It’s a nice touch to make the characters all animals and make it work. Setting it in medieval Japan also gives it a nice touch and should please young children.
If you can see the beauty in the story and the complexities of it, then “Usagi Yojimbo†143 is worth a read. Saturday morning cartoon like artwork also adds to the beauty of this comic. It does not need action to be entertaining. It is almost Zen-like.
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