previously: >>152931158
>>152957441Damn, I'm fast.
jei is an artist.
Oh boy! This chapter.
>>152944432yes. I don't know why I blanked on it. plus keiko, that puts as at >orphans: 11
>>152957499>he's not supernatural though, it's ambiguous
>>152957518>How It's Made: Nori
>>152957526In the previous chapters yes, but this one absolutely locks in that he's a supernatural menace.
this story in particular always struck me as lifted straight from a western like Tex, with the poaching and family rivalry.
>>152957464ENTER sweet innocent
>Inazuma's Theme: Tears In The Lightninghttps://youtu.be/ASrGaWqGyyM
>>152957499>Ravioli ravioli do not kill the feudal loli
professional informers are hard to come by these days.
>>152957464Fin fact: this story was originally a backup for Runaways part 1 and, like all Mirage Usagi, was first printed in color. Why is it placed here in the DH print, I have no idea.
>>152957709I did noticed they changed the order too. but it's a standalone so it doesn't matter too much.
>>152957471I forgot that she looks older here in her introduction than in later appearances. >>152957493Bare-handed no less.
he who fights and runs away lives to earn money another day.
>>152957761Same energy?https://youtu.be/h4SmuiiwCV0?si=CUH8mtYPd9C5-q8B&t=50
>>152957499>My hand is now completeTry to do one thing, and immediately my head goes towards the muppet version
>>152957800Oh fuck, we're here!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHJHf-0hVZA
>>152957800God fucking dammit.
>>152957800I don’t know if i’m ready…
>>152957499>>152957526This is the pivot point from ambiguously supernatural to actually supernatural.
>>152957631Stan is great with goofy faces.
>>152957518Real mood whiplash with this one
>>152957790>>152957784What a woman.
>>152957992https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGZgG8Ub8k4&t=172s
>>152957644Considering how mamy imfluential westerns were japanese movies with a cowboy coat of pain, I wonder if this trope was also taken from that.
>>152957569>>152957928I don't agree, I think he's obviosuly supernatural from the start. Usagi comments on him receiving a mortal wound and not really caring, he gets fucking obliterated by a lightning strike but then returns somehow, I mean come on.
>>152957958Mendoza moment incoming
rest easy, sweet prince. now where's that anon who was incredulous about the r-word last thread, I wonder what he'll think of this.
>>152958052https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SY1gEgjtc4
>>152958038>>152958046A Surprisingly fast Feudal Japanese cricifixion.Usually they would have rended him to bits with their spears before finishing him off with a hit to a vital organ.
>>152958052>>152958046They're so lucky Jei wasn't around. There'd be no village left afterwards.
>>152957594>another mysterious case of Moustache Vanishment strikes Yamanaka the seaweed merchant
>>152958098>IrrasshaimaseEvery friggin' time, I hear it like this:https://youtu.be/JysxpVJH9uQ?si=qNHt0_8V6pmVjKt0&t=100
>>152957601>they're just two guys!Even kaiso farmers cannot resist tempting fate.
>>152958158I hear it like this.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTr1xhO0RCI
>>152958144it's actually a fake he bought off some merchant in nagasaki- the highest fashion in the courts of europe
very subtle ENTER
>>152958263Excuse me priest, I couldn't hear your arrival over the sound of your colossal brass balls constantly hitting eachother.
>>152957709The Saga volumes even change up the order of the stories relative to the single-volume DH editions sometimes. It's not always obvious why.
>Celestial Hymn: Priest Sanshobo's Themehttps://files.catbox.moe/fgdfjn.mp3
>>152958320Fuckin' Feudal Japan
>>152957800Oh, boy. Buckle up, newfags.
>Usagi and Chizu: Escape from the Ninja Batshttps://files.catbox.moe/bvxmyy.mp3
whenever I see the komori now I think about that episode in Primal.
>I have to- or I'll go mad with grief!this is definitely my favorite aspect about chizu, she's trapped into her position as much as usagi is trapped by bushido.
>>152957925>local psychopathic killer sighted on streets
>>152958410>>152958425I like this story. I think Chizu is at her cutest here.
>>152957548One of Usagi's most endearing traits is how amazing a guest he is
>>152958527>Usagi arrives in /v/
https://youtu.be/JmSzrXydkb8I wonder if every single culture has children's rhymes about birds.
>>152957548love that interaction with the kid, shows both Usagi's compassion and warrior spirit.
>>152957942>teppanyakiAnother anachronism; pretty severe this time because teppan weren't invented until after WWII.
>>152958046Weird angle to give your Christ-like figure a goofy death skull. Did Feudal Japan use crucifixion as punishment?
>>152958634yes, as most societies did at some point in time. crucifixion in japan was usually made in a x-shaped cross though.
>>152957510>>152957499It's a bit tragic. She only follows her 'uncle' around because she has noone else left. It's basically stockholm syndrome, except he isn't outright abusive to her.
>>152958634I don't believe it really existed until after Christianity came to Japan, as a way to humiliate hidden christian converts.
>>152958634They did and it's all thanks to the portuguese missionaries and everyones favorite mad lad feudal lord, Oda Nobunaga.Nobunaga found the depiction of crucifixion to be fucked up in such a lovely way that he just had to implement it in Japan too.Those who came after him, like Toyotomi and Tokugawa thought it was a sufficiently grizzly way to kill a criminal, so they kept it.Besides using mainly X shaped crosses, the Japanese also preferred to be more proactive in the killing, so instead of nailing a person to the cross and leaving them there, they would instead repeatedly stab the person with spears, avoiding vital organs until it had been several hours since the start of the execution.At that point, if the victim was still alive, they were usually put to death with a final jab through the heart.
>>152958705Oda "Demon King of Sixth Heaven" Nobunaga
>>152958785This is my favorite story in all of these, just feels great to see how a "happily ever after" ends up ending.
>>152957754>>152957784The one time the (a?) snitch actually gets his own hands dirty. And he comes pretty damn close to getting the win. Anyways good thing Inazuma was here. She truly is a great ally and nothing bad will ever happen to her.
>>152958804akes sense since the snitch actually ranks pretty high up in the powerscale.
>>152958038Remember an anon earlier saying no one dies in a gory fashion after the first volume?I don't know what the fuck to call this other than brutal. Rest in peace based retard. You were too good for Kitsune.
https://youtu.be/TitGdoeoEtU
>>152958857Dangit, we share a braincell it seems, I was gonna post that same song when you posted this page.
there it is- our very first FLOO-!>FLOO!: 1
>>152958857https://youtu.be/zwVsEFJ535I?si=WHXadifmsZTw8rdT
>>152957656ENTER
>>152958872that's a good one
it's about the later edo period, but Amy Stanley's Stranger in the Shogun's City is fantastic to learn about little facts of their day-to-day.
>>152958902I recommend that you listen to both of the Lady Swordfighter albums, there's quite a few that work perfectly with some of the future chapters
>>152958969I will
>>152958502Pluto-san is by far my favorite one-off character
>>152958169>I have had dealings with the Tangled Skein>Usagi Yojimbo Book SevenWait, which story was this?
>>152959014the one where he's cornered by an old lady demon and mifune's ghost saves him
>>152959014I think it was the one where he was fleeing from the battle of adachigahara and got lost in a cabin of a witch lady who tried to eat him.
heh, stan is giving a little spoilers of what we'll get to friday.
>all the readers who expressed an opinion about the color vs black-and-white have almost unanimously been pro black-and-whiteheavy sigh.
and that's it for now, thanks for reading. tomorrow there will be some pretty big ENTERS again, as well as starting the proper Dark Horse run.
>>152950103I think I did get all these scans from getcomics, actually. but you're right that I could probably organize them better, especially the tmnt stories. I kinda just put everything together exactly like dharma did and never changed it. another idea around is dumping in publication order except for senso, I suppose.
>>152958158I'm more of a https://youtu.be/qTpI8egFpmo?si=6hTmgiC0Ig5Iop7a&t=3165 guy
Many thanks, Murder
>>152959099speaking of yakuza I played Like a Dragon last year, it was fantastic.
>>152958869FLOO! my favorite deathcry.
>>152959084>color vs black-and-white have almost unanimously been pro black-and-whiteI find myself agreeing. Yes the color pages are nice but I do enjoy the much starker black and white. Makes all this look like an old samurai film.
>>152958512When does he start drawing her super angular, anyway?
>>152958601Reinforcing the truth that if you see any old person in Japan they're actually an evil fucking bastard because only the wicked live that long in FEUDAL times.
>>152957601>THEY'RE>BUT>ONE>BOAT
>>152958742This man's Suspect Priest Syndrome is overpowering.
Book 10543 Usagi (4404 total)1102 Panels (8206 total)No Neko (595 total)101 Komori (134 total)13 Mogura (34 total)And here is the 4000th Usagi Panel
>>152957464What a sweet and innocent girl
>>152958148Well the important thing is we learned a valuable lesson and we surely won't be repeating this ever again. right? RIGHT!?!!
>>152958834It's brutal, but it's not as gory/graphic as the massive arterial spray when Usagi shears through three ninja with one cut. Lots of people are always getting impaled and decapitated in this comic, nobody's arguing otherwise.
>>152959041>>152959051Oh, right. Thanks, anons!>>152959091And thanks for the storytime, Murder!
>>152957548>the oils from your hands could ruin itReally ? What about cutting and stabbing dozens of randos every other day ?
>>152957761>Trout trout!Getting reeeeeal Groo in here, Stan.>>152957842>You masterless samurai are nothing but TROUBLE!I mean, he's not wrong.>>152958076A surprisingly rapid oneguying here; that guy survived all of two panels after saying it. Kind of a weird callback to Yuden the oil merchant as well.>>152958102Think again, Anon. He was around.>>152958220This is the first really clear appearance of a yokai since Book 1, isn't it?>>152958294Yet another girl who's clearly into him that he blows it with. It's getting a bit...>>152958372>I'm becoming too paranoid.>BONK!>YOU KNEW! YOU KNEW AND YOU STILL-->>152958725Rare visible decapitation.>>152958883And another one, in fact. Is it an Inazuma thing?
>>152958076>HE IS>MERELY>A>INDIVIDUAL
>>152959743Yes, those also ruin the blade but that's why you engage in maintenance afterwards.Doing the whole maintenance routine just because a little kid went all handsy on the sword is both annoying and avoidable.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1arUI-I_kc
>>152957731Insane Stan brought this guy back so soon
>>152957493is he strung up by his own entrails? Damn Jei doesnt fuck around ig
>>152957539I wonder who first had the idea to eat seaweed.I mean, how desperate must you be?
>>152957510>>152958672I used to think Jei was literally her uncle, so seeing this is a bit surprising. I felt like it humanised him, like he was a normal person with loved ones before the 'gods' got him
>>152957580>Why you... you fishmonger!>GASP, how dare you insinuate such!
>>152957656https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fipplWIr1SY
>>152960163>ONLY ONE CAN WIN THE USAGIBOWL
>>152958278no, the tanuki's the other priest
>>152957656Enter Potential Woman>0 good appearances after intro>0 interesting relationships>possessed by Jei for 7 seconds before she diesInazuma might be the worst character in the comic for me if only for the fact that she's far and away the baddest bitch in the story when she first shows and then proceeds to do literally nothing for the entire rest of the run
>>152960198She's the Gohan of this series.
>>152957904>I only steal from those who can afford itLike mendicant ronin?
This thread almost went by without any changes, I'm gonna count Icho and a background character in Lightning Strikes Twice as lions since their designs are quite similar to Katsuichi>+1 Pig>+2 Lions>New Total: 73>>152958148I know we always hype this one up but I really do think it's the best of Kitsune's stories, her cynicism with society and the conscience she displays here go a long way for her character shame it didn't stick, I almost want to say losing Noodles broke her
>>152960198It really bothers me that Stan once said she's canonically supposed to be the best swordsman in the comic when she learned the sword from a hobo for entertainment purposes. It cheapens characters like Katsuichi and Koji ridiculously.
>>152960245>eh, he's good with a sword, he can make the money back by just selling out as a yojimbo or something >-Kitsune, probably
>>152960257>I really do think it's the best of Kitsune's storiesIt could have been, if she hadn't learned absolutely nothing from it, not changed her ways, and gone on to endanger a kid in the exact same way.
>>152959963Would you have remembered him otherwise?And remember, comics aren't made with a linear storytime binge in mind.
>>152960198What chaps my ass the most about that is she doesn't do anything interesting while possessed by Jei, they hint at her being able to resist and fight him but ultimately she just falls apart under the strain and he moves on to another host and it's all just a big waste of timeThere will be time to discuss it later but I enjoy her quite a bit so the whole thing kind of sours me.
>>152958320Shouldn't he have jumped instead of killing his own son ?
>>152960601You have no concept of bushido. Enjoy your life as a monk.
>>152960601Doesnt parallel the loss in question. He lost his Lord's son who would now know such anguish. So he subjected himself to the same loss because muh samurai honor
>>152958869>SHE'S>JUST>A>LADY
>>152958325We always gab about the fate of horses but what of the poor spiders in this series?>>152958331...Nevermind.
>>152958512The clothes she wears here certainly make her look younger and tomboyish
>>152957457>"Noodles" mentionedoh no
>>152958490what the fuck, now that's powerful
>>152959131Based.>>152950094Scale down the whole picture to fit on 4chan but upload a separate "hi-res"/full size one for the archive onto catbox (unless you want to save the full size one for your personal portfolio, totally valid).
>>152958612Are these types of pillow comfortable ?
>>152958320>I'm okay you guys! There was a small ledge! It wasn't even that steep. I think I can climb down!
>>152958592>Aims at point blank with a ranged weapon.>>152958654>Shooting an ungodly amount of arrows to kill one guy.He's actually the worst archer of all times but he makes it work by sheer stubbornness.
>>152961047No, it's a literal block of wood with minor cushioning.Used mainly by people wearing topknots and other updo hairsttyles, to keep their do while sleeping.t: https://futontokyo.com/glossary/s-z/taka-makura/
>>152958493>If it weren't for my macabre sense of duty I'd go nuts. it's how I get through the week>she's trapped into her position as much as usagi is trapped by bushido.Yeah but Usagi is a lot more self inflected for little reason. He's had plenty of chances to not be miserable.
>>152958897I'll say that speaking with the dead like this might have been the opening for the darkness to take root... if you know what I allude to.
>>152957696
>>152958836What a moron...
>>152957708Why isn't Usagi out there? He's missing a perfectly good opportunity to jump in and meddle in strangers' affairs!
>>152961047It really depends on you. They're wood or porcelain as >>152961129 says, often entirely unpadded. Most people hate that but some people surprisingly really like it. I guess because it lifts the head and neck to a good posture or something?
>>152961088This is what I keep thinking too, with the amount of time that people fall off cliffs and are fine in this comic you half imagine both of those guys came to at the foot of it and were like "hey man, fuck bushido, let's move to Korea or some shit since they think we're dead anyway".
>>152957464E N T E R
>>152957695Jei -> Kei(ko)
>>152957493>keiko was in the corner watching
>>152957493>Jei's all; man even for me this seems like a bit much
>>152957734I think it's just the face; she seems about the right size in the first page. Sakai hadn't really got the design down to something good yet I guess.
>>152957525>I will help you, but in return you must tell me>HOW>IT'S>MAAAAAAAADE
>>152957929This always confused me when it comes to the power dynamics of Feudal Japan. What was stopping the Magistrate from having these gamblers ran out of town or even killed? Would being a known bad gambler really be that large of a loss of face?
>>152957784The hero disapointing the Action Girl and not gaining her as yet another potential love interest is a twist...and an example of Usagi definitely not being the best, as good as he is.
>>152960263She's a once-in-a-century natural. A bolt from the blue.
>>152957955Yeah, it really distracts from the fact that our hero is water torturing this guy.
>>152957471>>152957478Biblical levels of assholery on display here.
>>152961769>BiblicalA Curious choice of words, considering the stuff in this thread.
>>152957488It's like a snake saving a rabbit from a hawk.
>>152958634>>152958699>>152958705>Did Feudal Japan use crucifixion as punishment?"Yes," but it does depend on how strict your definition of "crucifixion" is. Long before the Portuguese arrived and Oda-dono opened Crazy Oda's Wild Wild Teppo Emporium (of Savings!), there is a reference to crucifixion in The Tale of Heike which takes place in the 1100s. >instead of nailing a person to the cross and leaving them there, they would instead repeatedly stab the person with spears, avoiding vital organs until it had been several hours since the start of the execution.That's called haritsuke, which by Usagi's time also came to mean crucifixion but the original kanji's meaning is more like dismemberment. The cross plus-sign/small-t shape associated with Christianity was reserved for condenmed women so they could keep their dignity. Men were done in in the X-shaped cross or the 'kana' beam which is a t-shape but with a plank at the bottom to have their legs spread. Source: The Tale of the Heike, AL Sadler translation archived copyhttps://web.archive.org/web/20100807003350/http://libweb.uoregon.edu/ec/e-asia/read/heike-whole.pdfSource of picture: https://www.bakumatsuya.com/shop-description.php?ID=1715500994&La=E#here
>>152957493Wow, it's been a long while since a scene this gruesome showed up. I guess Stan was reserving these sorts of scenes for Jei this whole time, because Jesus this is brutal.
>>152958397>hands him a hankie for his bloody nose without a wordkek
>>152958271Dear lord, that animal man turned himself into some kind of animal man.
>>152957656It’s between her or Chizu for me
>>152961858Ninjas, man... Always prepared for anything!
>>152958493This was the chapter where Stan experimented in giving Chizu fat tits. Inazuma's in the volume too so I guess he was wondering if the series could use some stacked girls.
>>152958076Actually incredible plot from that magistrate had Usagi not taken this guy prisoner then it would have flat out worked perfectly
>>152961706Well, at this point he's just in too deep; he doesn't just owe them money, he's complicit in a bunch of their crimes, fingering targets and keeping the beat cops out of their way. They would easily ratfuck him if he acted against them, just by testifying against him.
>>152961862Kek
>>152957539Neat to see people are actually wary of Samurai entering their homes now.
>>152958872>one track is called 'Fifty Ryo for Takeshi's Head'Absolute fucking kino. Thank you for sharing this. God I love soundtracks to movies that don't exist.
>>152958271>>152958276>>152958276I know he actually wins in a physical contest here but I feel like this is the sort of turning point in the series where Usagi starts doing worse and worse against the supernatural forces. I'm not really complaining, I just find it interesting after he kills a big ass goblin in the very first issue and defeats a Kappa as well earlier but as we see going forward he seems to have some issues putting them down
>>152962030See also Inazuma saving him; maybe Sakai wanted to avoid the "power escalator" issue in action serials and puff up the supernatural threats by having Usagi struggle against them.
>>152958502Is this the first mention of the Koroshi?
>>152961555>"hey man, fuck bushido, let's move to Korea or some shit since they think we're dead anyway".I would actually read that. Maybe one or both have amnesia, maybe some homeward bound ass journey where they find that by the time they get home there's no place for them anymore. Then they just fuck off as you say to have some life and adventures somewhere. Would be a pretty cool premise for a fic.
>>152962058And I don't mind that. It's how we get Sasuke involved in the story and I frankly like that whole Usagi is very well versed in dropping physical threats, there's a whole other world that is well above his pay grade. It also stops power escalation as you say. I like that Usagi is very capable and cunning but not the mightiest man in all the land. Another point that endears the comic to me further
>>152957566Usagi was right, that is fascinating.
>>152958703Something about the female bounty hunter hitting such a cool pose only to immediately job has always stuck with me throughout the years.
>>152962030I mean, he has some trouble with the cat shapeshifter in volume 1 and the obakemono in the Tangled Skein too.
>>152962029You're welcome, anon. Sean Wolcott is VERY underrated
>>152958294Another Yamato Nadeshiko princess with E X T R A shiny black hair>>152958331The komori are now sandal-less and don't look so cutesy any more.
>>152961726One might even say, a 'thunderbolt' fantasy ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
>>152957949this looks hilarious, reminds me of the catch-poles/man-catchers used by chinese police
>>152962345Looked back into it last week and I was pleasantly surprised to discover they did in fact do a fourth season.
>>152962149IMMEDIATELY job? Come on now anon be fair. One, there is a 3 year gap between her first appearance and when the jobbing incident happens, and secondly, she jobbed to the natural predator of the samurai a fucking rock
>>152962345I was indeed making a "pune", or play-on-words.
>>152958036>receiving a mortal wound and not really caringPossible with the right drugs or enough crazy>he gets fucking obliterated by a lightning strike but then returns somehowWas he obliterated, or was he knocked down, and perhaps rolled somewhere out of sight in the dark and the rain?
>>152958493>Shingen's ghost screams in frustration in the afterlife as another one of his carefully orchestrated meet-cute's doesn't end in his ninja family line being carried on
>>152958038Thats me, and this crucifixion is surprisingly swift. Wonder how people with mental issues were treated in feudal japan and the middle ages in general, I feel like Noodles life was not uncommon
>>152962657Based on what little I read, they got treated with exorcisms, as they were believed to be under the influence of a Mononoke or a KITSUNE.Source: https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/0DBEF1F48D1B6F6E5AB99196414CC68A/S0955603600107391a.pdf/div-class-title-the-history-of-japanese-psychiatry-and-the-rights-of-mental-patients-div.pdf
>>152962589Yeah, and maybe the blade just turned dark from a coincidental natural process!Come on, Anon.
>>152958869My counter suggestion!
>>152958512She is quite "moe"
>>152958527Hm, it seems Usagi is wearing some kind of pack on his back...I wonder if there's a name for it.
>>152962881Do not EVEN initiate
>>152957623One of the benefits of having a cartoon world is being able to pull cool action like this. The very idea of grabbing someone by the neck through a Kaiso pole abd throwing them is outrageous on its face, but in this series you hardly think twice about it.A page like this wouldn't work nearly as well with a more realistic or stereotypical manga style.
>>152957761>yfw beaten by some itinerant meddler
>>152958848>she Franks, Frank
>>152963292That's putting it pretty frank there, Frank.
>>152957631>"Gentle Persuasion"
>>152963325
>>152957656Dang, how many cat waifus is this series going to introduce?
>>152957680Frankly I don't know what he expected.
>>152957800Oh god. Already?
>>152958385Never noticed how stacked Chizu use to be.
>>152963509She invested more into boota later on
>>152957850So, this is Noodles, he's 8' tall and some variety of Neurodivergent. I THINK he's based on Chioyzō from Azumi, they have a lot in common. Big lad, bit of a simp, biggest difference is Noodles is a lover, not a fighter while Chiyozō' is about as cracked as a sword fighter as the titular Asumi, on the left. That and Chiyozō is deaf-mute. It may also be the Japanese really like the "Big Dumb Guy and "Sneaky Cute Girl" duos. It's a good contrast.
>>152963029I could see it workng with a mancatcher, and a guy about Noodles' size. Kinda wish Usagi worked it into the interrogation, it would've been funny.
>>152957721>Money money moneyOkay, I can see why people like this guy.
>>152960198I like inazuma but yeah I kinda get it.It's made worse by the whiplash of her having a really strong debut (maybe too strong t b h, kinda get the feeling she was depicted as too cool) only to flounder around. Her origin story is fine though.>>152960263Yeah this is one of those things I just ignore as it just doesn't fit. Feels very incongruous to have some essentially newbie be the absolute best in the whole story over people that've trained for decades and have been shown to unbelievably skilledThat kind of thing also harkens back to my earlier mention in that it over pushes her, like the epic badass just learned swords but is better than everyone lightning bolt hair girl!!!!!1!!!! thing is not a good fit for the comic.
>>152960556Like some had mentioned I feel like jei as a whole is kinda meh after the destruction of his original form, outside of some cool stuff like the mystery and origin revealed with his 3rd host and some of the more recent stories too.For all i bemoaned of the comic severely lacking recurring villains, I think it'd be better if jei was permanently vanquished with Grasscutter, I mean we saw all the souls leave his form and shit and it kinda shits on this unbelievably legendary weapon that Jei's evil spirit or whatever survives it.
>>152957731Huh, wasn't expecting the previous story to be followed up so soon.
>>152962030>>152962058>>152962111In a similar vein, this comes up again much later or whenever it is that Usagi mentions that's he's not the best archer, still good but enough that I believe a lot of his regular allies are better than him
>>152963509I demand recognition for my collage; >152961909
>>152963787nooo I fucked up quoting>>152961909
>>152957761I remember when people were saying Usagi taking down merely seven people at once was insane in the previous storytimes. The power creep is unreal.
>>152957784>>152957790I like her.
>>152957806Aw shit, not her again.
>>152957873Kitsune has her own Kronk now, I see.
>>152963869I love that the reaction the thread normally has to her is similar to that of seeing Peggy Hill.
>>152963809You know what you must do for this failure, anon
>>152962436He's talking about the assassin chick on the left. She strikes a wicked-cool pose in panel two, and dies in panel three.
>>152962833The first time? Usagi himself says "oh wait, I guess it's not black after all, it was just a trick of the light" or something to that effect
>>152964020That's just Usagi coping to save face, it's pure black every other time we see it in the story.
>>152963671>Yeah this is one of those things I just ignore as it just doesn't fit.Same, and exactly. You'd think it would be enough for her to just be a prodigy and that's why her swordsmanship is better/less shit than you'd expect from her background. Or "her swordsmanship is imperfect, but her speed--!" That he went for her girlbossing it so hard that she outdoes every swordmaster in the comic instead is just, ech. Terrible judgment, which is particularly frustrating out of a cartoonist who usually has such good sensibilities.
>>152959621Anon, are we going to have this argument every damn year?
>>152958244its a chimera
>>152964020No, I mean this second time. The spear blade just turning black by sheer happenstance when he picks it up is about as plausible an argument as "maybe he was just flung clear of the lightning bolt in such a way that Usagi didn't see where he went, despite the fact that lightning bolts/electric shocks famously transfix you to the spot". It's goof troop. He was plainly supernatural from his first appearance, there's no sensible deniability at any time.
>>152964192At the very least it's an out-of-comic word of god type deal so it's easily ignored
>>152957885Better check your pockets, Usagi.
>>152964220The arguments will continue until Kitsune improves.
>>152964252Yeah, agreed.
>>152957904With "friends" like these, who needs enemies?
>>152957925What, Jei's here already?!
>>152958271>Tanuki-Bozu>But it's a badger>17th century animal taxonomy, don't worry about it.
>>152963606>"Big Dumb Guy and "Sneaky Cute Girl" duos. It's a good contrast.Blade of the Immortal has probably my favorite version of this, they get put through the wringer but make it in the end
>>152961247lmao >>152961909I swear every year you guys get more horny than before.
>>152957510"Why did I follow him...? I don't know. Why do things happen as they do in dreams? All I know is that, when he beckoned... I had to follow him. From that moment, we traveled together, East. Always... into the East."
>>152963810Chained Takedown is fucking busted
>>152957992Oh no, that look on Noodles' face. Even HE knows he's screwed relying on Kitsune.
>>152958008>corrupt cops planting evidenceTale as old as time.
>>152958038Noodles died for our sins. RIP.
>>152958102For once they'd have it coming.
>>152958076"HE'S ONLY ONE GUY" has got to be my favorite catchphrase in this book, I love it.
>>152964532>'Tis but a lone individual!
>>152958038FUCK.
Welcome back to the death rattle tally! Here are the new screams found in today's storytime:>Urgh!:1>Houck!/Hauk!: 2>Aoogah!: 1>Trout Trout!: 1>Gayarh!: 1>Aaaah!: 1>Eyugh!: 2>Aie!: 1>Eyak!: 1>Glurk!: 1>Eyar!: 2>Blut!: 1>Gyar!: 1>Gyak!: 1>Floo! (The one and only!): 1See attachment for total cry so far. As always, if you have any questions about the count, feel free to ask.
>>152958148I wasn't prepared to this level of sadness.
>>152964234>its a chimera
>>152964351>I swear every year you guys get more horny than before.Nah i think it was the year before last that one was particularly horny. We had an artist drawing some lewd stuff in the first few storytimes that year. Though checking there was some stuff in that vein last year too early on and I didn't hop back on after the 4chan explosion
>>152958204>"It is on a night like this that I always felt my life would come to an end"Well Usagi's here, so that increases those chances significantly.
drawings in a bit, I wasn't expecting so many new characters this time
>>152958220Hey, isn't that the tiger ghost thing we saw all the way back in the early chapters?
>>152958244Imagine dying just to the tail of a creature.
>>152958075A period accurate execution taking place over hours would've left Kitsune catatonic or homicidal.
>>152964844>>152958234I just realized, poor bastard was right. RIP.
>>152958263How many Yokai did this group piss off?!
>>152958285Least he's got a comfy weighted blanket for the night.
>>152958036>Usagi comments on him receiving a mortal wound and not really caringAdrenaline and delusion are a hell of a combo>he gets fucking obliterated by a lightning strike but then returns somehowHe could have gotten struck and wandered off in a fugue state and left his spear behind.Both are unlikely and the combo really should have killed him, but the human humanimal? body sometimes just keeps going. Like Phineas Gage had piece of metal go through his skull and take a chunk of his brain with it and survived.
>>152958294Weirdly chummy ending, considering all the people that were all slaughtered not too long ago.
>>152958471Huehuehueh
>>152958320Wow, that's fucked.
>>152958331RIP horse.
>>152958342That one anon is right, these guys really are just utter freaks.
>>152958372>"I don't want no trouble!"
>>152958376I'm surprised they don't recognize him, seeing how many of their troops he's slaughtered before.
>>152958397First she steals a kiss from him, now she makes his nose bleed. It's just like one of those Japanese animes!
>>152944338I'm late to the party, but I would like to comment on Firth's letter (and Stan's responce). Indeed General Fujii is vain and arrogant, but it is his obsession over Usagi's swords as a symbol of spiritual victory over his opponent, as opposed to just a trophy or object to sell, that I think helps to make him stand out compared to other bandits, who are purely materialistic. He has a rare combination of being a crooked ronin who does his best to maintain a sense of dignity in the form of his orderly but tough appearance and his restraint when it comes to alcohol or partying, but also being ambitious enough to not be another subordinate or mercenary for a crime boss, but the leader of bandits and one who thought out a scheme as elaborate as his as opposed to simply raiding or engaging in highway robbery; it makes me want to learn what his deal is. I think that it's a bit of a shame that General Fujii is confined to just a few chapters as opposed to a more ambitious story, so he ends up mostly as a "what could have been" in my mind. There is a character that I feel like scratches this itch later into the storytime, but she has "blood relation to major character" privilege so it's not a perfect scratch.
>>152958465Surprised Usagi didn't give them the ol switcharoo.
>>152964746>Floo! (The one and only!): 1
>>152958493AGAIN?!
>>152958502That is the most cartoon ass dog I've seen in this comic so far. And I've seen my fair share of Funny Animals here.
>>152958510>Hikiji?!
>>152960163I need a collection of all these side piece drawings Stan did.
>>152958148>>152958148GODDAMMIT, FEUDAL JAPAN
>>152958563Usagi you got a piss poor track record when it comes to traveling companions.
>>152958583Oh wow, I completely forgot these guys existed.
>>152958601Huh, I somehow didn't expect for this guy to be evil. I just assumed he was a red shirt.
>>152958038>>152958033https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4xWbRBLj2I&list=RDR4xWbRBLj2I&start_radio=1Press F for a real one, press S to spit on his killers.
>>152957656She's a tough girl.
>>152957656>Inazuma: I'm Lightning. The Rain, transformed.
yeeesh a lot more characters to add today than I thought. Two Komori ninja since there weren't any komori yet and I thought the two on this story were unique enough for drawing. The guy that's playing the seaweed farmers against each other. The official that blames everything on noodles and the lead of the thieves he's covering up for. Keiko, Inazuma, her husband, the gambler that kills him and the boss that's his father. The Koroshi assassins. In terms of touching up previous stuff, touched up the informant and added shading to Stray Dog. Man, this might be the biggest amount of new characters in one go since day 1! Eesh.Yesterday's bunch- >>152937640>>152941107>I just realized the way you use shadow is pretty cool, makes the characters pop out and look 3d.Thank you, it's something I've been doing for a decade or so now. I could push it further but I'm intentionally going kinda fast with these>>152959096Maybe the ones starting at a certain point? Because the ones in previous threads often had the readcomiconline watermark.Anyway again, you're the one putting in the effort, so I won't hassle you on it. Keep up the good work>>152959076Is this the first mention Stan makes of regretting Hikiji being human?
>>152960967>Scale down the whole picture to fit on 4chan but upload a separate "hi-res"/full size one for the archive onto catbox (unless you want to save the full size one for your personal portfolio, totally valid).Forgot to reply to this one- my issue isn't one of the size of the pictures in 4chan (I'm already resizing them down from a fuller canvas when posting here- I've been doing them at 40%, today's had to be at 30%) but one of the canvas in itself- I'm reaching the borders of the page!
>>152964787>I didn't hop back on after the 4chan explosionSHAMEFUR DISPRAY!You are hereby ordered to commit seppuku in order to present yourself without delay for your sentence of ten thousand years in jigoku!
>>152964844>>152964890>They call this Oborozuki-yo, the Night of Fucked Statements Near a Rabbit.>It is on a night like this that I always felt my life would come to an end.
>>152957488Kind of wonder what would've happened to grandpa if he wasn't already dead
>>152958642RIP Horse.
>>152958670>"Lord Miyagi is a dummy!">"Watch it, Ronin!"Kek.
>>152965760>F and S, Helium. F and S.https://www.youtube.com/v/-xT-vp-6jvY
>>152957644It's one of my favorite How It's Made stories, because the educational seaweed farming stuff is integrated so smoothly with the briskly paced Western plot.
did we skip from thread 8 to thread 10?
>>152965902These continue to be great. You also added Noodles himself and Priest Sanshobo today, right?
>>152965594Yeah Stan feels they're not expendable mook like the Neko or interesting enough to drop in like the Komori. As a consequence they're probably the most stable of all ninja clans and not being massacred, or mowed down (regularly) or being blown up. Honestly being a moleman wouldn't be the worst possible fate in this world. sure you can't fly but you're not the default punching bag
>>152966038We didn't, OP linked the wrong threadPREVIOUS THREAD, BUT FOR REAL THIS TIME: >>152942893
>>152958725>wiping the blood onto the corpses That's cold.
>>152966038No, but thread 9 autosaged so it disappeared before thread 8, and Murder linked to the wrong thread in the OP of this one (possibly related). >>152965902 also seems to have linked to the wrong last day's batch, the real day 9 drawing was here: >>152950094
>>152965950>what would've happened to grandpa if he had met the murderhobo that killed someone who saved his life because "thats what I do, lol"It's a mystery
>>152957949This is so weird.
>>152966063Yes, forgot to mention them. Thanks for noticing!>>152966117also thanks for correcting that lol
>>152965902Rip noodles you portrait is pretty good.
>>152958376I like this bats better when they were cute.
>>152957949>Ladder brigadeDid they just summon the fire department or was there a unit of constables who just carried ladders?
>>152966294Yes. Arson was a hell of a drug.
>>152958676>The Koroshi will be discreditedMy man, be glad you will be dead, and not able to see what the League of Jobbers is reduced to.
>>152958583I like Moles, they are cute animals https://youtu.be/DijsCKikl1U?si=RbCqNv9ZqgWdVNyr
>>152966316Got to get that insurgence money or pilfer the iron nails from the smoldering husk.
>>152961099>Shooting an ungodly amount of arrows to kill one guyReminds me of that kurosawa movie were they rain arrows in that guy.
>>152958751That monk guy is somethimg that never gets a follow up right?
>>152958869The first Floo!, So late in the storytume?
>>152958033Fuck
>>152958676https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoSN7oalIecSounds like the League of Assassins need to take some training courses
>>152958271Are all Tanukis in Usagi Yoksai? Also in the workd of Animal people what exactly is weird about Tanukis?
>>152958306Stealth mention to one of the best characters in UY.
>>152966484I guess it's because Tanuki are magic spirit animals, not normal animals
>>152958220Cool a Nue, https://youtu.be/XjS6OlLVjOY?si=CtjCnAZmMAXqoc7BWe should use more of this music, this game is as Japane as it make them.
>>152957644This little adventure will have repercutions later.
>>152957925Jei should kill this guy
>>152957958Maybe if you actually saved money you could retire, at some point we see her stealing a fortune multiple times and she is still poor next time we see her.
>>152966513Tanuki are real though.
