Usagi Yojimbo: Difference between revisions

** Not quite a "phrase", but everyone has a different yelling style; for instance, Usagi's '''''"RYAAAAAH!"'''''

* [[Cavalry Betrayal]]: Happens to Lord Mifune and Lord Noriyuki's dad.

** At least Noriko has a [[Freudian Excuse]]...

* [[Conservation of Ninjitsu]]: [[Ninja]] mooks abound; the really lethal ones are the named characters.

* [[Crossover]]: The comic featured several early appearances by the [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]], and Usagi is a [[Recurring Character]] in the TMNT cartoons.

* [[Cunning Like a Fox]]: Kitsune, [[Meaningful Name|literally]], Inspector Ishida, and Usagi. Jei's original body is an aversion, as he is literally a fox but is not so much "cunning" as he is "pants-shittingly terrifying"

** {{spoiler|Then we have the unfortunate Priest Jizonobu, whose well-meant [[Deal With the Devil]] had even worse consequences.}}

* [[Defrosting Ice Queen]]: Princess Kiku.

* [[Family-Unfriendly Death]]: The cruel capture and murder of poor, innocent Noodles. His only friends are kept back by corrupt lawmen while the terrified [[Gentle Giant]] is tortured, then graphically run through with spears.

* [[Fantastic Foxes]]: Kitsune, although she's just really skilled. ''Actually magical'' kitsune have appeared only briefly, and never as named characters.

** 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.

* [[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.

** As in [[Real Life]], most samurai would die in an assassination attempt on their lord's murderer than let the murderer get away with it.

* [[Humans Are Bastards]]: The main villain, the shadowy Lord Hikiji, is a human in a world otherwise populated by anthropomorphic animals; the only ''other'' human-looking character with a speaking part {{spoiler|is really a flesh-eating monster}}.

** It should be noted none of the main characters (and few of the minor characters) have seen Hikiji's true face, nor has his species -- something that Sakai later regretted showing -- been pinpointed as the reason for his evil.

* [[Mood Whiplash]]: Not only does the story itself do this, but the art style is very suited to quick, seamless transitions from detailed dramatic images to humorous cartoonish ones.

* [[Murder, Inc.]]: Koroshi, the assassin's guild, any of the ninja clans...

** And to some extent, Kenichi. After Hikiji killed the old village headman (Usagi's father), he appointed Kenichi in his place. Initially taking the assignment out of fear, Kenichi now serves out of duty (though Hikiji probably doesn't pay much attention to the town). Usagi sometimes feels guilt that Kenichi has shouldered burdens Usagi feels honor-bound to walk away from.

* [[Never Found the Body]]: Jei's first and second appearances {{spoiler|in his last appearance no one actually saw him disintegrate, and he's a spirit anyway}}; teased for the ex-Neko Ninja ''chunin'' {{spoiler|unfortunately the giant explosion from the gunpowder he was sitting on probably rules this out. Tomoe has a nightmare that Noriko escaped the explosion/cave-in at the end of "Mother of Mountains", but Usagi assures her that even if they don't find a body she probably didn't survive.}}

** Somewhat explained in the backstory for Jei: {{spoiler|the priest to the 'dark gods' points out to Buddhist priest Jizonobu that while they both work to fight "evil," their respective definitions for evil are not necessarily the same. The evil and sin that Jei is fighting is defined for him by the demonic gods he serves}}

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

* [[Pet the Dog]]: Jei-san and Keiko, Gen and Stray Dog's acts of kindness.

* [[Pragmatic Adaptation]]: Since Gen's taste for sake couldn't be adapted to the second TMNT cartoon, he was made a gambler instead.

* [[Scare'Em Straight]]: Usagi, either first or second hand, to several young people who think the life a wanderer is glamorous.

* [[Scars Are Forever]]: Usagi is consistently drawn with his scar from the battle at Adatachi Plain (even if other such scarring he acquires eventually heals). Katsuichi loses his eye and wears an eyepatch ([[Rule of Cool|made from a sword guard]]) from that point on.

* [[Secret Test of Character]]: Katsuichi-sensei is prone to do this.

* [[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.

* [[Ship Tease]]: Until the ''Mother of Mountains'' arc, this was the only thing Stan did with the romantic tension between Tomoe and Usagi.

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

** In addition to a ton of ''[[Star Wars]]'' shout-outs in ''Space Usagi'', the Bugg Planet is a shout-out to ''[[Nausicaa of the Valley of The Wind|Nausicaa]]''.

* [[Short Cuts Make Long Delays]]: Gen is prone to offer this to Usagi when they're travelling together, and Usagi follows. They end up in a predicament. Every single time, Usagi yells at Gen during or afterwards: "You and your shortcuts!"

* [[Shown Their Work]]: Stan Sakai may research some aspect of ancient Japanese life, from pottery to seaweed farming or geishas, and render it lovingly on the page or describe it in detail in the afterwords. In fact, Sakai's research and presentation of this stuff is so on the money that he won a Parent's Choice Award for the comic's educational value.

* [[Space Whale]]: [[In Space|Giant space]] turtles! (in ''Space Usagi'')

** Whose corpses get turned into [[Cool Ship|giant space ships!]]

* [[The Voiceless]]: {{spoiler|Noriyuki's body double. He couldn't imitate his voice so he didn't speak, even after being fatally wounded.}}

* [[Walking the Earth]]: Usagi travels the shogyusha -- the warrior's path.

* [[What Could Have Been]]: Initial work had begun on a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlLPYn2km-U ''Space Usagi'' cartoon], but was stopped after the failure of the superficially similar ''[[Bucky O'Hare and The Toad Wars (Comic Book)|Bucky O'Hare]]''. Similarly, ''Space Usagi'' was slated to make an appearance in the second season ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]: Fast Forward'', but the appearance was scrapped when the season was cancelled.

* [[Whip It Good]]: Sakura.

{{quote| '''Torame''', trading ''Bushido'' sayings with Usagi: "Is there ever a circumstance when ''rebellion'' against one's lord can be justified?"<br />

'''Usagi''': '''''"Never!"'''''<br />