previously: >>152886931
oops, I meant PREVIOUSLY, ON USAGI YOJIMBO: >>152883960
>>152902707Hey, I'm on time for once!
>>152902736Same!
>>152902736>>152902746good, cause we're starting off with a banger right here
>>152902749Ooh, I like this bridge story!Now let's put on some appropriate music.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb7yhXrPfC4
>>152902731>PREVIOUSLY, ON USAGI YOJIMBO>Prof X: Don't worry, Usagi, I'll use my psychic power of Je--AAAAAARRRGGGGG!!!!!!
>>152902749It has nothing to do with the Usagi story but anons should go listen to Neil Young's The Bridge, it's a very pretty song.
>>152902788>The wild man of Okinawa>See you around
>>152902809you're right, it was nice.
>>152902825>THIS ONE'S FOR YOU, SPOT!!
>>152902798That sounds like a sweet deal, indestructible bridge just dont travel at night.
>>152902844>A FUCKING RADISH!
>>152902808This persons are clearly superticious there is no thing like ghost or goblins, except the ones i've fought.
>>152902956Usagi has the makings of a Stylish demon hunter.
>>152902963Ah and now we're off to (one of the) worst.
>town odd person often a thankless but ultimately pretty good position, speaking from experience.
>>152902973Oh no, not this one...
>>152903033Oh, you poor simple bastard
>orphans: 2 1/2
>>152902930>cut by Hikiji's sword and has a permanent scare above his eye>has so far been cut on his cheek at least twice>no scars
>>152902844>DIE, KON!
>>152903123Nope I forgot, this one makes me bawl too>>152903131Dark Lord powers yo
>>152903131there needs to be enough dramatic narrative present before scars can form.
check out that ooyoroi armor, absolute baller.
>>152902773Usagi in The Bridge: STOP RAINING ON ME!Usagi in Taiko: MORE RAIN! EVERYONE MUST DROWN.
>>152903200Such is Karma
>>152903253This is a second time I have seen an octopus with swords (well technically those were daggers, but whatever).
>>152903131Yokai aren't real, they're just a figment of the imagination.
>>152903352RULES OF NATURE
>>152903145>"What the fuck, Ranma?"
>>152903123damn...
cute mute girl
>>152903452>90210 Luke Perry-sama?
ENTER Competent Redshirt
>>152903373People say Tomoe has no game but it seems like Usagi is just uninterested
>>152903012>Usagi rejects settling down with the Geishus>now he's suddenly just going back to his fucking village where everyone hates him to settle downARGH.
>>152903590He plans on becoming the uncle who NTR's Jotaro's mom.
>>152903502Usagi's service with Mifune must've been quite short if Katsuichi full recovery was after the battle of Adachigahara
>>152903033This is almost laying it on *too* thick, Stan. Jesus, this guy is the most doomed in the history of fate, maybe ever.
>>152903200Finally, a happy ending!
>>152903220It's different if you DON DON DOKO-DOKO DON DOKO DOKO DON DON DON DOKO
>>152903746What if you DON DOKO DOKO DOKO instead?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlbch74sfG4
>>152903785If Spot was here, Jei would have been defeated for good.
>>152903780I swear I was searching this exact same clip
>>152903373No way fag.jpg
>>152903226What a cold one liner. The feudal Clint Eastwood.
>>152903215>check out that ooyoroi armor, absolute ballerDefinitely. It's also a case of (almost certainly deliberate) anachronism, since o-yoroi fell out of use basically during the early Kamakura period; they weren't really much used in any major conflict after the Genpei War. In this era high-ranking samurai such as Usagi was in his armor-wearing days would be wearing gusoku.(And before someone points out that it might be a throwback due to the nature of this particular story, that would make sense only he's depicted wearing the same suit of armor throughout Samurai).
>>152903275>>152903286Time to make some crispy "takos"
>>152903300Was the first one in the Chaykin/Mignola Lankhmar comic?
>>152903878but consider usagi is telling a story, where oyoroi and other aspects of the heian period held strong for centuries.
>>152903312I fucking HATE centipedes.
>>152903226>I'm gonna krump that meddlin' git!
>>152903341>>152903352Onimusha but it stars Usagi, would you play it?
>>152902973oh, hey jack black. Loved you in kung fu panda
>>152903194Mendicant?
>>152903888No it was called "Isekai munchkin" and it's a manga about a guy who gets reincarnated into DnD universe, but he only has 1HP and the DM's guide to help him out.One of his party members became a druid and got an octopus as an animal companion, just so when it's enlarged it can equip some daggers so it can multi-attack.
>>152903933Oh absolutely!
>>152903904That's what I meant to address with my parenthesis. I agree that if he only wore it in that partcular story it would make sense as a simple Ye Olde Tymes thing (I'm pretty sure this story is based on one about Minamoto no Yoshitsune, so it would make perfect sense time-wise).
>>152903944what came to my mind was the octopus from Interface youtube series
>>152903780>What if you DON DOKO DOKO DOKO instead?Then there will be no rain and you have to commit seppuku to atone for your sin against the gods.
>>152903959>>152903967https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKlNdzpICW0>Kenichi knew Mariko was pregnant for Usagi>She would have become an outcast if she had given birth to a bastard child without a father>Kenichi married Mariko to save her from the feudal society and raised the kid as his ownKenichi is the unsung hero of this series, prove me wrong.
>>152903939Usagi's being a bit hard on himself given how much "work" he often does fighting.
>>152902707I read Imagi at first
no letters or new covers today, unfortunately. see you guys tomorrow.
>>152904001>prove me wrongIt can't be done.Kenichi is pretty interesting as he's much of the "bitter, inferior rival" archtype but he's honorable when it counts and he arguably ends up "winning" despite being inferior to Usagi in the ways they actually competed on, and that he wasn't trying to "beat" Usagi in this way.
>>152903965I think it's a hand-grab of a bunch of those stories, yoshitsune included.
>>152903007>I was the last of three to whom my teacher, Katsuichi, taught his new styleDo we ever see the other two?
>>152903518>Oh, nothing to speak of, sensei.This is one of my favorite reoccurring gags in this comic.
>>152903637>the kashira is a skullWeirdly though, Jei seems more normal here than in any of his other appearances.
>>152903067This guy always reminded me of Jack Black
>>152904034Thanks, Murder!
>>152904149Never, there is a theory one recurring named character might be one though.
How common were bandits or highway robbers, like not just in Japan. It feels like there woulnt be that many opportunities to just become roaming bands of killers and thieves that didnt just get captured or exectured operating frequently in known areas.
>>152903107new image
>>152904510Imagine the shape of the kind of skulls these dudes must have.
>>152902798You'd think they'd put up a sign by now!
>>152904510When your parents leave for the night and you cable package has skinemax
>>152904611The next panel is three skulls.
>>152903780Why are rabbits like this?
>>152902760Nothing good happens on bridges
>>152903123MBRTRX
>>152904998GLXBLT?
>>152903959Part one of why Mariko is the real villain of this comic
>>152905063The real villain here is the society.
>>152903123Fuck I expected Usagi to meet the widow at the end and give her some dough or something...
>>152905210They never met, so of course Usagi can't help her. He is not omniscient.
>>152902798>No flame or saw can destroy it>Honestly if it wasn't for all the killing, it'd he pretty great. >Feudal road Infrastructure man, it's murder.
>>152902963>>152902973Aw fuck it's time for some pain
>>152903226OP was right when linking the threads
Book 6518 Usagis (2314 total)840 panels (4206 total)Picrel is 2000th Usagi
>>152902968To be fair to Usagi, just because demons exist doesn't mean the peasants can't also be easily-frightened dummies who are imagining things this time. From his POV he just walked across the bridge at night and it was fine
>>152903226USAGI STOP YOU'RE HEXING YOURSELF
>>152905048making me realise I'd love to see Stan draw the duck cast
>>152905491... or Rosa drawing Usagi, now I think about it. Or generally any of the Disney Comics stable actually. Imagine a Cavazzano Usagi? Fuck, now I wanna see that!
>>152903959>>152903967I've been waiting DAYS for this
Forgot pic!
>>152903166>A samurai?>That leech will demand everything I own!I see this guy's met samurai before
>>152905048Kltpzyxm... wait AW NUTS!
>>152905778
>>152904034I wish I had a scanner, but here are the letters from the issues in book 6.
>>152903341Sorry, rabbit, but the princess is in another castle!
>>152905915
>>152903373Ewww, cooties!
>>152903200Find a pin, pick it up, all day long you'll have a pin. Or:>cool, another free dinner
>>152905943
>>152905915>>152905943>>152905961Thanks anon, you're doing great work here!
>>152905961
>>152905981
>>152905993
>>152906009
>>152906022
>>152906042
>>152906059
>>152906082
>>152906101Another time traveler trying to spoil Kaito!
>>152906101
>>152906113
>>152903089That's it, here's the true ending and Sakai can't stop me for it.
>>152906130
>>152906151
>>152902731Holy shit, even the writer of Bone is a fan?
>>152906173
>>152906189
>>152903404I was gonna comment how odd the last panel feels to me, where they're implying the potential rape of the daughter, since this comic tends to avoid the sexual side of things; but then I realised what story this is- Stan might've just had sex in his mind lol>>152903432Entirely forgot this guy was technically recurring. Still unconvinced if he's meant to look like Eastwood or Mifune>>152903485With those eyebrows and the ponytail he's slowly evolving into his later design, even eyepatch aside>>152903599See, kids, Usagi gets laid because he gets a cool Sergio Aragonés moustache>>152903742I always read the "er... yes, sir samurai" at the end as just a peasant being uncomfortable next to a samurai, but considering the later line Usagi does of "you're the one who organised the group you must lead it" to Kenichi, I wonder if we're meant to take this as an indication of the villagers being trepidatious and potentially unable to obey Usagi's orders>>152906022>>152906042Chuck Dillon has appeared in these letters before and is a cartoonist nowadays. Not relevant to much, I just noticed his name.>>152906151Edgy Noriyuki is hilarious>>152906186Oh, anon. Usagi Yojimbo is very much a "your favourite American cartoonist or comic book worker's favourite comic, even if not quite mainstream". You mention anyone of a certain age that works in the industry, good odds they're a Sakai fan.
>>152906218
>>152902968Those don't count.
>>152906237And with much weeping and nashing of teeth, a preview of next issue's cover
>>152906139I feel for you anon, however.
>>152902815>sliced off a demons hand>it was still able to claw at his back
>>152903590Yeah, he really wanted to settle down, but his Bushido bullshit kept him from agreeing to be Noriyuki's man, so he had to find a place to settle down without serving a new master. The dumbass.
>>152906254>Coming next issuehttps://youtu.be/sXeanZB8J40?si=WTXPYPTL61k9bUBk&t=10
>>152902824Usagi you're just asking for trouble bringing it at the inn. Whatever the hell attacked is going to want that hand back.
>>152904001>prove me wrongImpossible. Kenichi is imperfect, but he's very competent and an objectively good person. The only reason some people may dislike him is because the comic is written from Usagi's perspective and Kenichi is very bitter towards our extremely likable main character. But he has two good reasons: Jotaro and Mariko. That said, Mariko does not deserve Kenichi. Both her and Usagi chose honor over their own personal happiness multiple times, not only burning that proverbial brigde but also scattering its remains and salting the earth wherever they landed, and now they keep making lovey-dovey eyes at each other. You left her in the dirt, you idiot. You refused to contact him, you bitch. Stop having regrets over your dumb puppy love already.
Deleting that post because I got my wires crossed and used Discord spoiler tags instead of 4chan ones. Sorry, hope I didn't really spoil anyone. Let me redo the post->>152906237Well look at that, >>152904149 >>152904456, a mention of exactly that. Stan seems to not have bothered conceptualising anything about the students, they're just mentioned so Katsuichi is believable as a teacher and having had former pupils.>>152906237Mention of Terry Miyamoto! In the months since last year's storytime, someone posted a couple pictures of her, I think from the unfinished serial mentioned here as running in Rowrbrazzle? Judging by the screentone, it indicates what I was imagining might be the case- she probably is meant to have red hair, like a certain future character, Akemi, Space Usagi's daughter, making me wonder if Akemi's design might be a bit of a reference to Terry
and the other image that got posted on the Facebook Usagi fan page, where Stan lurks around sometimes. I really hope especially with Kaito 84 showing a new focus on exploring other Usagi descendants, Stan someday at least reprints the two Terry stories
>>152902833I just noticed that flash on the fourth panel, that's so cool.
>>152903220>>152902773This should be a meme.
>>152902854>"Bring me back my hand and I'll be merciful and kill you quickly!"Bridge demons are terrible at making deals.
>>152902868See, now Usagi knows how to make a deal.
>>152902897Mind control? That's a new one.
>>152902908Thing from the Addams Family makes a surprise cameo.
>>152903870Did he literally just say "smirk!" at him? Cocky bastard, lol
>>152902916That priest can't come soon enough.
>>152906376Calvin peeing?
>>152906376
>>152902930Oh no, Husband's got that look in his eye.>>152902939Oh NO.
>>152903944>>Did you read kino?>No, I read garbageSorry to hear that, it sounds awful
>>152902948Holy shit, they actually did it. With no casualties to boot. I was afraid the dude was going to do something rash and sacrifice himself.
>>152906409You see, the art of the deal is to first give them an outrageous offer, then start working back towards what you really want, and what I want is my big beautiful hand back and the mendicant ronin has to pay for this outrage with his blood.
>>152902956What a waste of a good bridge.
>>152906371>>152906358I still can't get over how the (possibly) first ever fanart of Terri was posted during our storytime. I only wish we had more of her, she's really cool.
>>152902973Those are some thick eyebrows.
>>152902987Usagi you petty bitch.
>>152902994Usagi what the FUCK. You literally just killed a dude for NOTHING.
>>152904018This page makes me happy.
>>152903012>fortunately, my needs are fewYeah, but you don't have a family to take care of, dumbass.
>>152904035>he arguably ends up "winning"I don't know, man. How many kids does he have with Mariko? There's no indication that she even sleeps with him at all.
>>152905915>>152906254Thanks anon! Your efforts have been added to our /co/llection. And I have, for some reason, the back cover to this book scanned. Virtual Boy lookin ahh meddler.
>>152903019Oh no dude, what are you DOING. Well, let's hope they at least don't bring out the actual swords this time.
>>152906632>ow the (possibly) first ever fanart of Terri was posted during our storytimeWhen was this??
>>152903226How would Usagi fare in Warhammer Fantasy? Theres some fan theory that Nippon is under the shadow of Khorne, so he would be a beastman samurai
>>152903033I REALLY hope they stick to the bamboo sticks, this dude signed his death warrant otherwise with this page.
>>152906784Last year. It's literally the image attached to the post.
>>152903041Goddamn it, he's fucked.
>>152903878What are the differences between o-yoroi armor and the kind of armor Usagi might (should) have worn during the late Sengoku-early Tokugawa shogunate period?
>>152903057Oh, NOW you won't kill for no reason?! Tell that to the other poor bastard you slain for the sake of your own pride.
>>152906221>they're implying the potential rape of the daughterThis actually happens quite a bit; go back over the past week of storytimes and check how often various bandits say something about bringing the women, coming back for the women, or just grabbing Mariko as part of the loot.
>>152904001I feel like by at least Dharmanon's second bigly annual storytime, the mood in /co/ had shifted from Usagi is the chad for being a wandering meddler having cool adventures while Kenichi is the cuck to Kenichi is the chad who has the love of a son who calls him father and the respect of his community while Usagi is a bum cuck. Maybe it's because the series has been around so long we've grown with it and our own priorities and values have changed.
>>152906237Damn, this letter page is a jackpot for answering anons' questions. Not only the student thing, but Sakai also responds to a question about the gourd on Katsuichi's staff that was discussed the other day – Tezuka even gets mentioned, though a different comic!
>>152903073You know, usually when this series humanizes random jobber before they die gruesome deaths it can be pretty damn hilarious. Here though? I just feel miserable knowing this isn't going to end well. This page in particular is just twisting the knife.
>>152906841Be fair, he said he only killed the first guy because the guy made it a duel to the death, and he was too skillful for Usagi to just ignore his attacks and whomp him with a stick like a chump. Usagi wasn't gonna risk his own life just to avoid killing that asshole.
>>152903645
>>152906632And now we know through the other scans that the hair is meant to not be white, like I suspected but coped against, I now have to correct this fanart. I think this is probably more accurate to Stan's intent
>>152903107Oh fucking hell, I feel awful for laughing at this.
>>152906254>a preview of next issueEven Usagi looks disgusted and horrified by what's about to happen.
Don't be slow, or your daimyō will get irate. You don't want him to be irate. That's when he takes out his special paddle.
>>152903959I had read some of Usagi before but not this and never knew Kenichi was aware. His interactions with Usagi always came off like he was jealous of him or suspicious of Jotaro's parentage, but no he apparently always knew Jotaro wasn't his. Puts the issues I read in a different light now.
>>152906857>the mood in /co/ had shifted from Usagi is the chad for being a wandering meddler having cool adventures while Kenichi is the cuck to Kenichi is the chad who has the love of a son who calls him father and the respect of his community while Usagi is a bum cuck.Ah yes, the John Redcorn Special
>>152903123I can see why anons said this was one of the worst. This was pure misery.
>>152906966Well, the next story with the ghost lady is going to be a much lighter read after that.
>>152906925I cannot express how happy I am. For a few years I felt like I was the only one who cared about Terri. Thank you.
>>152903145Oh no, she's cute.
>>152902956I get the feeling that maybe somebody asked the demon's help to build the bridge and then skimped on payment, and that was probably why the demon took it as it's home.
>>152906664It's a straight reference to Seven Samurai, Anon.
>>152904499Kenichi mentions that Hikiji is neglectful of his demesne and focused on expanding territory and considering he won most of it through conquest it's might even be too large for him to properly manage. I guess Hikiji is a "wide" player instead of a "tall" player to use paradoxslop terms.As for the rest of Japan, the Shogun's peace has led to a lot of unemployed soldiers, but wouldn't the Shogun just hire these guys to be policemen?
>>152903154>Usagi has a dream of a ghost girl who was murdered>he wakes up with an expensive hairpin in his hands, literal evidence of the crime>"hmm, I'll trade this for a meal!"I see the previous matches have left him with some brain damage.
>>152907028>but wouldn't the Shogun just hire these guys to be policemen?Lol, lmao even.IIRC, there was the whole conflict in Korea which Toyotomi started, purely so he could get rid of the excess samurai in a (potentially) useful manner.
>>152903186It only took one death for these guys to get the picture? These are some smart bandits.
>>152906477demonic possession is pretty bog standard for a demon/evil spirit
>>152903742I like that it's consistent across his appearances that Kenichi is a crack shot with a bow
>>152906857First time reader here. Honestly so far Usagi only has his samurai status (and martial skills) for himself. Without that and the instant respect it forces on others, he is just not that different from all the bandits and greedy villagers we see. Kenichi has all the responsabilities and he's depicted as a good person while Usagi causes pain and misery to a whole bunch of strangers who cross his path no matter how he acts, despite following his master's teaching and his code of honor. His way sucks balls because he will never belong anywhere, and it's not even his fault.
>>152907020Oh, that explains a lot. I should watch that movie.
>>152904499Well the word "thug" comes from "thugee" who were bandits (some might call them resistance fighters) that worshiped Kali, in the British Raj. The term "riding shotgun" refers to the passenger who would ride alongside the stagecoach driver, with a shotgun, to deter any would-be assailants. And this wasn't that long ago, relatively speaking. Make of that what you will.
>>152903200Girl had to take mattersninto her own hands.
>>152903215That is pretty sick.
>>152907132It won't be the last time a poor girl has to get active on her own revenge.
>>152903226Oh shit, the ogres were real after all?!
>>152903242>I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going...
>>152903286https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvBUaW7aQ8c
>>152907074The good old Imjin War. I'm sure this little rowdy boy's night out will not have serious geopolitical repercussions for the next 500 years.
>>152906828Basically, ō-yoroi is an old form of armor and takes a lot of work to make, is very heavy, and isn't particularly hard-wearing due to all the lacing. As noted it basically fell out of use after the Genpei War, and was replaced by a similar but less protective and lighter armor called dō-maru. The easy way to tell them apart at a glance is that dō-maru has a skirt divided into seven pieces while the ō-yoroi's is divided into four. (There are other tells as well, such as the asymmetric shoulder strap attachments to the breastpiece, which you can actually see on Usagi's armor, and the way they close).Both of those kinds of armor differ from gusoku in that they use the scale-and-lacing construction; gusoku is characterized by using larger metal plates, ideally steel but more often iron. Often gusoku is banded sort of like a Roman lorica segmentata; other times it's one plate per piece (i.e. one per shoulder, one for the breast, one for the back, etc.) and patterned to look *as if* it's some older style of armor with lacing. The best of the gusoku suits are what's called "nanban-gusoku" which is a suit of Japanese armor built around a European breastplate or cuirass; in the 17th century European metallurgy was far superior to the indigenous Japanese, especially for armor, so those protected far better than any local breastplate.I'm skipping over a ton of details here but that's the gist of it.
>>152903253This chapter is so fucking silly, I love it. An octopus carrying multiple swords while a shark approaches feels like a Calvin and Hobbes fantasy sequence.
Dewdrop falls from blade,My waifu still has not shown,Lovely Kitsune
>>152907107Ohhhh, yeah. If you like Usagi you definitely should.
>>152906358So if Terri/Akemi are redheads then Usagi ends up marrying a nanban barbarian...
>>152903307Oh what the FUCK.
>>152907059He's ridiculously stupid sometimes, c.f. the thing with Shingen and the sword, or the peasants in this same volume going "hey brah, I'm betting on you in your duel to the death with Shubo in five minutes!".>Hm, they must all just be the village eccentric, nothing aout their repeated, identical statements makes sense... WHAT? SHUBO?!?
>>152907092>one deathI count seven.
>>152903332Should've known this was too easy.
>>152903341Man, if this doesn't turn out to be a dream this is the wildest chapter in the series so far.
>>152907107Yes you should
>>152903485It's been twice now that somebody's fallen off a cliff to their apparent death in front of Usagi only to be revealed as alive later. Guess gravity is not that lethal after all if you're not paying attention!
>>152903373Oh fuck OFF.
>>152906173>here is my OC donut steel fursona that is Usagi's gf!!!>here is my OC donut steel fursona that is charming Usagi's gf!!!I miss this kind of energy.
>>152903382That was a fun chapter, it was sorely needed as a palette cleanser.
>>152903493Well, now I wonder if we have seen this country samurai turned monk later in the series and not realized he was the father of these two.
>>152907221Soon™I am also of the opinion that she is best girlCertainly not worst, that's Mariko!
>>152906139Crazy to me this is how Stan Sakai decided to end his comic. Like, it's really bold and I can't believe his editor let him go through with it but damn. Imagine if this series had kept going for the next 10, maybe even 20 years.
>>152907114>some might call them resistance fightersPR from folks who hated the British and were far enough removed to be safe from them, as they literally murdered travelers on the roads to appease Kali's anger, and they weren't too picky about their victims being the oppressing foreigners. They didn't get hunted down solely because the British hated them.
>>152903404I swear the bandits are getting smarter.
>>152903411Aw, girl's got a crush.
>>152907425This. The Thuggee weren't fighting the British for shit, they were just murdering randos, targets of opportunity.
>>152903424>they're students from the Dogara Fencing School!Ah, so nothing of value was lost here.
>>152907221>>152907396*spits loudly*
>>152903432It's nice to see the sensei again, still kicking ass as usual.
Ah, it is raining.
>>152903825I've really been enjoying these comics. Thank you for the storytimes.
>>152903440FUCK.
>>152903452Usagi looks terrifying in that last panel, holy. Probably the most pissed he's ever been.
>>152903457RIP sensei, you were such a fun character.
>>152903007Wait, I don't remember Katsuichi dying, and I remember reading to the end last time. Maybe I'm missing something.
>>152903464>But found no corpseOh, he's still alive then.
>>152903780Ha, love this kind of videos!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baUY9LFlYh0
>>152904026>Instead of the Dogora school, you should seek out Katsuichi, the hermit of the mountains, for sword instruction>firstly because he was my teacher and I'm your real dad, but secondly because Katsuichi and I killed the entire Dogora school including the head instructor so you literally can't learn there
>>152907543>>152903485I knew it! I swear the No 1 rule here that if there's no body, there's no death.
>>152903485Ah, that's what it was >>152907541
>>152903795True!
>>152907221>>152907396>>152907473
>>152903485The Hyoutantsugi returns.
>>152906517Usagi's pretty good at this kind of, I wouldn't call it manipulation, but goading his opponents into making fatal mistakes. I wonder if that's part of the unconventional training he had with Katsuichi, to really use *everything* to your advantage in a fight, as opposed to something more traditional and rigid.
>>152903621IIRC it was barely 3, maybe 4 years, tops, before they had the showdown at Adachigahara and Usagi ended up a ronin.
>>152906966Another banger from Stan The Man!
>>152907642It fits with his namesake, Musashi would intentionally show up late to a duel juSt to piss his opponent off so he's make mistakes
>>152903166
>>152907711Hah, I like it
>>152903502Sensei is such a tsun.
>>152907725It makes sense, flattery will make for a bad student. You can't teach them humility and them puff them up, or let your current student puff them up.
>>152903518>this kids older brother was who Shubo killedHuh. I guess its better Usagi who took care of him, rather than this kid swearing revenge.
>>152902715I knew Section Chief Shima would come up eventually. Murderanon old mate look at who I found tucked away in a dusty, poorly lit closet-sized manga store six stories underground in a corner of Hong Kong.
>>152906677his reputation was at stake
>>152903545Oooooh shit. RIP rabbit boy, looks like you're going to get skinned alive regardless.
>>152903852>I thought you had died!>Yes. Then I got worse.
>>152903590He's such a fucking idiot, it's almost endearing. Almost.
>>152903881>When a rabbit with a sword meets a wolf with a spear...
I love experiencing newcomers reading through this all for the first time, it's like reliving my own first time vicariously. I get to share your joy as though it is my own.We are brothers.
>>152903967I'm THIS tempted to make a meme out of those first three panels hinting at increasingly common or absurd situations.
>>152903975I remember that in some cultures raising another man's son as your own child was considered a genius move because then the kid would have to care about their adopted parent in their old age.Like stealing another man's pension fund, that was before the discovery of bloodlines made it all about the genes though.
>>152884549>Aren't Japanese bows suppose to be weirdly tall and shot from the lower third instead of the middle?Yes, at least the warbows are. The bow Usagi is shooting in the village is just a hunting implement, but the weird asymmetrical design of the Japanese warbow is because they were meant to be shot while mounted on horseback. You can see Kenichi wielding a much longer, asymmetrical warbow here: >>152903742. Murderanon mentioned in the Dragon Bellows thread that with this design, also somewhat unconventionally relative to every other bow tradition*, you're supposed to let the bow rotate after the arrow has been loosed. In the webm, you can see both how the bow was meant to be used from a mounted position and also the aforementioned rotation.*don't quote me on this I don't know anything about archery outside of vidya and other pop culture nonsense
>>152907894Very cool!
>>152903637>>152906914>>152906943Lol
>>152903609>"You're always around when there's some misfortune, Usagi"I mean, he's not wrong.
>>152907894>Yureis, Onis and HannyasWhy does that make me think of this show?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNYJOQDgRX8
>>152903637>kid's nane is JotaroBetter check him to make sure he doesn't have a star birthmark on his shoulder.
>>152908320Yare yare daze.
>>152907894very good monsters, the oni is greathere's today's drawings, would've done them sooner but got distracted with shenanigans by kids on twitter. added the gambler, since I think I remember he'll come back? also higashimori, whom I'd skipped last time because I absolutely did not remember him coming back, and whom I think looks like eastwood; shunji, katsuichi's new student; and the new spot. In addition, touch-ups on katsuichi, on jotaro, on mariko.yesterday's drawings! tomorrow time to draw everyone's favourite character >>152889672>>152891490thank you anon, this whole thing started last year as an exercise on whether I could make everyone look like their comic appearance yet distinct, because one issue of sorts with the comic is Sakai is going to end up making very samey designs for the same of productivity. Glad you enjoy how I'm representing them, therefore!>>152900886thank you anon, basically just took them from his equivalent on Lone Wolf and Cub
>>152908368>Kenichi has the same eyes as Usagi's fatherI see, I see...Also the way they tie their ears might be a local tradition too?
>>152908368God this gorgeous. I'd have that printed on my wall.
Welcome back to the death rattle tally! Here are the new screams found in today's storytime:>Gyurk!: 1>Urr!: 1See attachment for total cry so far, I've also cleaned up some of the death screams so that there's better separation of some cries. As always, if you have any questions about the count, feel free to ask.
>>152902840Usagi you gotta stop being so kind to every silver tongued obaasan that crosses your path it never ends well
>>152902973Feudal era Dan Schneider
>>152903959>>152903967holy shit, Kenichi really was a cuck this entire time. I thought you guys were just shitposting with the NTR jokes.
>>152908625>I thought you guys were just shitposting with the NTR jokeshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XAl0t_cju4
Kenichi isn't a cuck, he wasn't WITH her when it happened. He's just a normal-ass step father.
>>152908706True, but not funny
>>152906609This post deserves more love damn it!
>>152908368Spowte!
>>152903990Love this panel for just how extremely Japanese it is.
>>152906254>next issue previewAnd here we introduce the character that every new reader wonder's why everybody hates at firstuntil they see reason
>>152908368>added the gambler, since I think I remember he'll come back?Either he comes back, or he's a Snitch/woodcutter case where there may or may not be multitudes of identical-looking people all over Japan.
>>152908368>>152908814He comes back, alongside the wife in a later story.
>>152906800about as well as Gotrek>>152907114>some might call them resistance fightersand those people are revisionists willing to glorify literal murder cultists who befriend travelers to strangle them in the night just because "MUH COLONIALISM" even though the indian government had a branch just to fight them before the english took over
>>152908591??? I don't see him molesting any kids here?
>>152904034USAGI IN SHAMBLES (in a stoic and bushido way).
>>152903737I love it when Usagi embraces his gremlin side.
>>152908706Bro he deliberately insisted on marrying her when she was knocked up, even though she told him whose the kid was. And they've never had a kid of their own together.
>>152903590Its a common thing for pre-modern man to want to return to his ancestral homeland, to all the people and lands he knew, rather than continue wandering in strange lands all his life. And that's besides the fact that settling in with the Geishus and fucking Tomoe would mean leaving the service of Mifune and entering Noriyuki's which is a bigger deal of honor than you might initially think
>>152903754Clever boy.
>>152907028You typically don't want police officers who are an entirely different class from those they're protecting and think themselves above the "lowly vermin"
>>152903518Usagi's swords are social drinkers now
>>152903776Lmao, rip former bandit.
>>152908863Lotta people over the past century and a half hate the British and will cheer any group that kills them, even if they're total douchebags. Which is kinda understandable for some countries where the British were parituclarly cunty. And then there's lots of people, like anon upthread, who received the idea (second- or third- or fourth- hand from those idiots) that the Thugee were primarily about resistance to the British occupation. So it's good to correct it, but don't get too mad about it, many of the folks originally responsible for the idea are dead and buried by now
>>152908877That's not what a cuck is, dummy
>>152908877Right it's a bit weird but it's not cuckoldry, unless you've somehow completely altered the meaning of the word.
>>152903785Man, all you need to do is feed a tokage a few meals and you got a killing machine on your hands.
>>152908924>like anon upthreadOkay I am the anon upthread and I should clarify,>some might call them, not me personally, resistance fighters And also, you can be a resistance fighter and a vicious murdering bandit preying on targets of opportunity, hated by all. The two are not mutually exclusive.
>If a woman has ever had sex with a man who isn't you, you're a cuck
>>152903959>>152903967>>152903975>>152903990>>152903998BET YOU'RE WISHING YOU TOOK THAT RETAINER GIG HUH USAGI
>>152903936>>152904307It's John Belushi!
>>152908924>will cheer any group that kills themsure except the thugees killed everyone except holy men and that was only because dead priests bring down real heatthey weren't some terrorist cell they were indiscriminate murderers who killed literally anyone they could get close to in the name of their murder godThis isn't the fucking IRA we're talking about, this isn't some group that specifically gets innocent bystanders to clear out when they carbomb british soldiers, they were killing random indian peasants for years before the first brit set foot on their paths
>>152908978>Usagi: I'm so alone >Also Usagi: Can't give up that road life!
>>152903837Shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque.
>>152904001A lot of the more unsavory parts of 4chan would call him a cuck for "raising another man's son" but he has everything Usagi wants and is also and full control over what memes Usagi's flesh and blood son inherits. It's unironically the Dale/Joseph cope and as you can see here >>152904034it fucking WOUNDS Usagi that he's denied this quiet life
>>152905915amazing, thanks a bunch anon! for some reason these aren't in the versions I found online. >>152905981>>152905993>>152906009there's some cool stuff in there >>152906925that's pretty cute. >>152907842holy shit what a find! and if the rest of the shop is like that, it must be a magical place>>152907894your lines are really good anon. >>152907946All Men Are Brothers. wanna join my gang of righteous brigands?
>>152909036>but he has everything Usagi wants and is also and full control over Except for Mariko's love. Not that I think Kenichi is a cuckold, mind you, but I feel for the guy a lot.
>>152903518>my sword doesn't thirst as much as it did when I was younger>why, in the last four months or so I've only killed about 200 people! And like a *lot* of those were ninja, who are eta, so it's not even like they were human beings.
>>152908934>>152908938>he's not a literal cuckold, he's just a raging simpI mean, okay, but...(Also, you can't tell me they weren't inches from cucking him right there in the bamboo grove. Look at them!)
>>152907553>We literally massacred the Dogora twice over>They attacked us so often we used their corpses as a calendar>The Dogora are like 5 guys in a shack down by the river now, Jotaro. And chances are if you go there they WILL send you to kill Katsuichi
>>152903959WHAT. WHAT THE FUCK.
>>152903967Kenichi fucking KNEW?!?!
>>152908973That seems to be what parts of 4chan believe, lol>>152909011No shit, Sherlock. That's the point everyone was discussing, thanks for reiterating what everyone already knows but in a more hostile way
>>152909119Your shock will sustain me for another year, hahahahaha
>>152909011I agree with you about every point of principle Anon but the IRA also isn't> some group that specifically gets innocent bystanders to clear out when they carbomb british soldiers,those faggots planted bombs in train stations during rush hour and shit, to this day there are no garbage bins in the London subway because they were concerned about the IRA using the bins as shrapnel in IEDs.
>>152903975Man, I was able to predict a lot of moments in this comic, but this story has utterly blindsighted me. I was not expecting any of this shit, this is heavy.
Right now the only thing that ever seems to trouble Kenichi and Mariko's domestic life is when a certain meddling mendicant comes bumbling into town opening up old wounds. It makes me wonder what would happen if the reverse scenario happened. Like setting aside how ahistorical it is and just fully embracing the jidaigeki genre aspect of it, what if some lady ronin wandered into town and gets smitten with the sturdy, dependable headman whose a crackshot with the bow and has both the respect of his fellow townsfolk and the quiet dignity to raise a son whose clearly not his with love and devotion.
>>152909180>blindsighted*blindsided
>>152909149You must be patient with anon. He is experiencing past life PTSD from his previous incarnation as an officer of the East India Company.
>>152909156irish subways or english ones?
Yoooo that time when the IRA blew up that bus and killed a whole bunch of innocent people with no warning or anything, none of whom were connected in any way to anything going on in Ireland? Fucking based.
>>152904034Thanks OP. This whole series has been a wild ride so far, but this one in particular was an absolute rollercoaster.
is miyamoto usagi called usagi o'moto now or can anons stop spazzing out in an unrelated thread
>>152909118>Your dad is the only one left who really knows anything about the Dogora art, Jotaro. Your fake dad.>If you go to learn from the hermit you'll kill his swordsmanship lineage, the same way I killed his blood lineage.>He'll be a living dead man, shambling from one day to the next without a future, without any hope for a future. You'll look at him and see the empty eye sockets of a skull staring back.>The power is intoxicating, Jotaro. It's absolutely incomparable, just killing a guy normally is nothing to it. Sure, you see the light go out in his eyes... but imagine if he kept moving afterwards?>That's your dad, Jotaro.
>>152909318Mr. Sakai's Wild Ride has only just begun.
I forget, is Gen's Story tomorrow?
>>152909037>and if the rest of the shop is like that, it must be a magical placeYeah it was amazing. I said to the clerk, "you know my friend murderanon would love this place" And he replied to me:>什么?你是个疯子,在胡言乱语
>>152909261Take your fucking pick, Anon. One example:>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Friday_(1972)The Provos are the most useless, evil band of worthless gobshites known to man. They make the Thuggee look rational and thoughtful.
>>152909188This would unironically have been a great Inazuma storyline.
>>152909375This is an Usagi thread, not a USA G.I. thread!
>>152909375Cat Shit One ROCKS
>>152909319Anon really called it last year, how did he know?
>>152909327And he was a good friend.
>>152907473>>152907615
>>152907221>Kitsune
>>152906609Kek.
>>152909603You cannot harm me in any way that matters.
>>152902948Given neither this guy nor his wife seem that old and they don't have any other children, I am going to make an assumption and be adding their son to the dead children count. Bringing it up to 2 + Ninja Village.
I probably should do at least one main character too>>152908250>>152908368>>152909037Thank you >>152908307It was a wizard of oz reference, but it fits so lets say it was a reference to that too
>>152909977I'm sad katanas went from being revered weapons to glorified bamboo cutters, at least medieval weapons are still around in weird demostrations and festivals were crazy nerds try to play at murdering each other with dull weapons
>>152909188That and the seemingly persistent threat of bandits.
man we're burning threads fast this time.
>>152909568Great panel.Terrible sentiment.
>>152909520Sinn Mifuné is always 2 steps ahead
>>152909977These rising cuts are fucking hard to deliver, she has every reason to be that happy at nailing one that clean.>>152910064This is actually the fault of the nipponese themselves, steel blunts are illegal in Ciappangu because they count as "a sword, but not traditionally made", so they can't perform gekiken except with unsharpened iaito. All they'd need is a more sensible law on blunt steel trainers and they could have all the demos, festivals and HJMA they wanted, but apparently a change in the law is a nonstarter.
>>152902760>>152902773It must’ve been miserable walking through the rain in fuedal times. Especially at night when it was pitch black.
Finally got around to catching up and counting, only one thing I want to note this time around. Should I count this Jei as a new wolf since his old body died? Or does it not matter since it's more or less the same design either way?>+1 Deer>+2 Pigs>+1 Panda>New Total: 59
>>152902948Interesting how demons are perfectly killable by conventional means. Steel and fire just do the trick.
>>152910147You fucker.>>152910084Yeah there's a lot to unpack in this book. Not that Stan ever does "filler" but the last part of Circles is definitely an extremely pivotal moment that tends to lead to a lot of discussion. On top of that, anon was good enough to share some missing new lore that answered a lot of long-standing storytime questions, and it is the weekend too.>>152910077But that happens so much in Feudal Japan it's basically just a bothersome extra chore.>Kenichi dear remember to pick up our bale to patch the roof. Oh and don't forget to ask granny for an extra sewing needle. Oh, and Jotaro's been kidnapped by some hooligans, kill them all with impunity.>Y-yes wife.
>>152910084we're doing the letters, which means more responses, and also we've got newcomers, so responses to existing stuff. I predict it'll be a full storytime
>>152910206Yeah but at least you know you'll also be safe from bandits because even if they were also out in the rain they can't see you, its just risk of mud and slides
>>152908205so what I learned is early on they had simple single stave bows which is probably what most peasants used for hunting and such for most of history. composite war bows ade of wood laminate and lacquer appeared in the heian period and evolved for the next 800 years. compared to their mainland counterparts in china or mongolia, were relatively weak and became very long to compensate, which would've made them awkward to use from horseback (the preferred military technology of the bushi) if not for the way they gripped it a third of the way up instead of the middle. there's theories that this also started from before horse riding was a thing, but regardless it was the way they found to make it a bit more powerful: >Whatever the initial reason for its adoption, gripping the bow two-thirds of the way down its length maximizes its rebound power and minimizes fatigue to the archer far better than the more familiar centered grip. Careful analysis of the mechanics of a bow pulled to full draw and released shows that the Japanese grip places the archer's hand at one of two nodes of oscillation during the shooting movement, which means that little shock is imparted to the left (gripping) hand and arm when the string is released. In contrast, locating the grip at the center of the bow stave puts the gripping hand at a point of maximal oscillation, and thereby imparts significant shock to the arm when the string is released. (Karl Friday in Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan)now something I don't know how to answer is if this design lasted until usagi's time or was it discarded during the sengoku period, especially considering there was an entire industry set up to make these sort of bows and their arrows in the capital.
>>152903682Honestly I genuinely wonder why Kenichi is such an ass to Usagi. I mean he’s running there town while Usagis still outwardly just a high class hobo.
>>152903959>>152903967>>152903975Gotta ask why Ken and Mariko never had a kid together. Is there marriage that sexless or did she just not love him enough for that. Might may things a bit easier if he actually had a son of his own.
>>152906151>>152906173Were are the letters from?
>>152903933hell yeah motherfucker
>>152906632>>152906371What’s Teri?
>>152911619Usagi always beat him in everything for their entire lives. He's salty.
>>152911942Usagi could probably get his old job back under the panda if he wasn’t so stubbornly committed to his honor code.
>>152912021His job was serving Lord Mifune (he's dead now).
>>152903186>innocent wanderersDon't kid yourself, Usagi.
>>152912044Yeah and he could get the same job under the panda. At the rate he goes through body doubles and only narrowly avoids getting killed he’s definitely going to need every able body samurai in Japan to look after him.
>>152911784I'm assuming the later, every time the topic of Kenichi enters the conversation Mariko is all "yadda yadda, yamato nadeshiko" but you can see that she has absolutely no love for him as a man, respect as a father and leader? yes, but despite that if they ever have a kid it would be born out of obligation, not love
>>152909137Funny, right? You think Kenichi dislikes Usagi because of his past relationship with Mariko or their old rivalry or both, but in reallity Kenichi was afraid that Usagi will STEAL HIS BELOVED SON.
>>152908863>about as well as GotrekI was going to say that feels excessive but then I remembered Gotrek also gets pulled into bullshit that comes close to killing him by a wizard only to get saved by said wizard.
>>152911889There are a few spin-offs featuring Usagi's descendants. Terri Miyamoto is a never fully realized idea of a Japanese-American investigative reporter who's also good at martial arts. There were some pages with her published as bonus content in other comics, but nothing major and no reprints. Despite her obscurity, I think she's very cool.
>>152912840Hardest working man in the karaz ankor If Usagi had a magic weapon or ate some magic potion or something like that he'd be a demigod already.
>>152912923Unfortunately all he has is a Gundam.
>>152908877>And they've never had a kid of their own together.I wonder if Kenichi is infertile or something. Adopting Jotaro as his own is understandable to a point, but it's odd he didn't impregnate Mariko more considering she popped out Jotaro fine and the meat-grinder known as Feudal Japan always needs more bodies.
>>152911889Stan has had for decades a whole series of ideas for Usagi descendants. One of them saw fruition and you'll see it towards the end of this storytime is an Usagi in a far sci fi space opera future. Another is the recently started Usagi Kaito 84 miniseries which is the first one with a different writer and artist doing an Usagi miniseries, but presumably based on Stan's concepts- it has a descendant of Usagi as a gentleman thief in 80s Osaka. Another is technically the one from the Netflix cartoon who is a descendant of Usagi in a far cyberpunk-ish future.Beyond those, however, he's made other attempts or at least mentions of ideas, including one who's a soldier in WW2 and one who's a 1920s detective. The only one who seems to have been used though is Terry Miyamoto, a Japanese-American detective, who got used in a literal couple of stories that have never been reprinted and thus have just slid into obscurity. Last year someone finally posted a few photos of a few pages, and then months later someone else in the official-of-sorts Usagi facebook fanpage posted a couple pictures of the published pages
>>152913138sorry, I meant "a japanese-american journalist", wires crossed when writing
>>152913041This is no tako boy, no tako!
>>152909430I dig the idea. I could see 2 directions it could go>Canon-compliant side-story where Inazuma's wanderings have her end up in Kenichi's village, and she spends some time there since it's so isolated no one knows about her bounty. She finds in Kenichi the truly honorable man she thought her husband was, but that same honor prevents him from being unfaithful to Mariko. She leaves after some bounty hunters cause trouble for the village trying to get to her and it becomes clear to her Kenichi won't reciprocate her feelings.>AU where she stays in the village and cucks Mariko. She bears a cabbit daughter and claims it's Usagi's to save face since he isn't around but everyone knows.
>>152910015Nice.
