Umeboshi (pickled plums) are one of those Japanese special foods that are versatile and used for medicinal purposes. “Usagi Yojimbo” creator Stan Sakai looked at umeboshi and said “I can write a comic story about that” and he id with “Ten Thousand Plums.”
Usagi, along with his cousin Yukichi and Gen, find themselves in a village that is known for growing pickled plums that can cure anything. Someone, or something, burnt down a section of the forest and attacked the local guards. Now Usagi and Co. must find out who or what is the cause of this.
The story starts off as decent enough with the setup and all. The idea of a cure-all fruit is interesting and there can be a ton of people who’d want them destroyed for a multitude of reasons. There are two red herrings as to who or what caused the fire but Sakai may have other ideas for who’s the culprit. Sakai has a history of writing stories like this and usually, he pulls it off nicely. Hopefully, he can do the same with this home since one character seems to be the main focal point and it comes as the reader wanting this character to succeed.
The art is what everyone expects from Sakai so there isn’t much to talk about. The only noteworthy thing is that it seems like the overall quality of the art has improved somewhat. Either it’s due to Sakai making some adjustments to his art or a bunch of editors fixing it up. Either way, this comic looks like an improvement over what readers are used to.
“Ten Thousand Plums” has an interesting plot that so far has created two red herrings and may become something interesting if Sakai plays his cards right. The art is a leap forward for Sakai and hopefully, it continues this way in future stories.
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