Usagi Yojimbo: Difference between revisions

Also, he's an anthropomorphic rabbit in an alternative dimension [[Medieval Japan]]. And the historical background and strong sense of cultural nuances work ''so'' well. As does the addition of tiny dinosaurs.

Usagi is often associated with the [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]], thanks in part to several crossovers between different incarnations of the properties, and the friendship between Sakai and the Turtles creators. This has permitted Usagi to appear on the screen in both ''TMNT'' cartoons as a recurring character, culminating in an episode set in Usagi's world--the closest thing yet to an ''Usagi'' animated series. ''Usagi Yojimbo'' was also published by Eastman and Laird's Mirage Studios for a time, before moving on to [[Dark Horse Comics]].

* [[Berserk Button]]: Don't mess with Usagi's swords. No, seriously, just don't.

** Or his teacher, Katsuichi sensei.

* [[Big No]]: Usually before a dramatic death scene.

* [[Big Ol' Eyebrows]]: Ishida, Koji.

** There's also Jei, although he's an entirely other kettle of fish

* [[Fight Magnet]]/[[Weirdness Magnet]]: Usagi has an amazing tendency to attract all the weird and dangerous things in any area he is passing through. He will accidentally bump into an ancient, mystic sword and get himself in the middle of an anti-shogun conspiracy or become number one on a local psychopath’s “to kill” list. No matter how much he tries to avoid it, he always ends up in a fight. If it's not [[Youkai]] he has to kill, then a village needs to be saved from a [[Yakuza]]. Most of his friends are not ordinary people, either. This happy bunch includes: a bounty hunter, a powerful daimyo, said daimyo’s [[Action Girl]] bodyguard, the former head of a ninja clan who would love to get rid of Usagi, a [[Badass Grandpa]] [[Old Master]], a [[Classy Cat Burglar]], and a professional demon hunter.

* [[Four Is Death]]: The quartet of assassins known as "Shi".

* [[Furry Confusion]]: The world is populated with [[Funny Animal|Funny Animals]] of most species. Horses, lizards (tokage), birds, fish, and insects are excepted to minimize potential [[Squick]] value.

* [[Genre Busting]]

* [[Gentleman Thief]]: Kitsune, her sidekick Kiyoko, and Nezumi.

* [[Good Scars, Evil Scars]]: Usagi gets a cut over his eyebrow during the battle of Adachigahara. Not a "scar" per se, but Gen had his horn chopped off.

* [[He Who Must Not Be Seen]]: Hikiji as the sole human, something Sakai later regretted doing. {{spoiler|Jesus on the crucifix -- lion, lamb, human, or something else entirely?}} Also, foreigners -- either the unseen [[Ruritania|Ruritanians]] are some family other than mammalian, or ethnicity and nationality just depends on your [[Wig, Dress, Accent]]. Either option has enough [[Anvilicious]] [[Unfortunate Implications]] to cause a plot implosion.

** {{spoiler|The secret Christians are willing to put their lives on the line to get one crucifix to their followers; if any of them were caught they would've been crucified themselves.}}

* [[High-Pressure Blood]]: In the beginning, and notably in Tomoe and Noriyuki's debut episode.

* [[Honest Axe]]

* [[Honor Before Reason]]: Reconstructed. Usagi has no problem using trickery, usually to help the underdog. Characters who mistake honor for weakness frequently come off the worse for it. Also played straight, averted, and subverted, depending on the character and occasion. For instance, if a character takes a stand in this series and says, "I am adamant!," you will know that ''nothing'', especially death threats, is going to make them change their mind.

* [[The Hunter]]: Sasuke the Demon Queller

* [[Implacable Man]]: Jei-san, Inazuma, and {{spoiler|Inazuma after she gets possessed by Jei -- presumably also Jei as Hama}}.

** Usagi does a brilliant job of this with General Fujii, to boot (with appropriate [[Nightmare Sequence]]), but as [[The Hero]], this is [[Determinator]].

* [[Improbable Aiming Skills]]:

* [[Obliviously Evil]]:

{{quote|'''Jei''': It is a nigh impossible task... to eradicate sin.}}

* [[Old Master]]: Katsuichi-sensei.

* [[Operation: Jealousy]]: {{spoiler|Kitsune tells Tomoe that she and Usagi have "shared so many adventures and... other things" but she's just trying to get rid of the heroes while she's running a con.}}

* [[Seppuku]]: Appears periodically, usually when a character needs to atone for an earlier shame.

* [[Shamu Fu]]: At one point, Usagi defends a fish merchant from a armed gang attempting a protection racket with nothing more than that day's catch.

* [[Shout-Out]]: Many characters are [[Shout-Out|shout outs]] to [[Jidai Geki|Chanbara]] heroes -- the Lone Goat and Kid is a nod to the [[Lone Wolf and Cub]], Zato-Ino the blind masseur pig is a thinly-veiled version of Zatoichi, Lord Mifune references the actor [[Toshiro Mifune]], and so on.

** Jei's name is a shout out to the ''Friday the 13th'' film series. ("Jei-san")