Ronin Rabbit Robots in Dark Horse’s “Usagi Yojimbo Senso #6” Review

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Usagi Yojimbo Senso #6 (of 6)
Dark Horse Comics

Created, written and illustrated by Stan Sakai

If there is one thing that escalates a story quicker than a giant steam powered robot fighting for anthropomorphic animal life, then I don’t know what it would be. This is not your typical Usagi saga where the ronin rabbit teaches us and his companions some valuable life lesson through samurai battles and non-battles. This tale that’s being told by Stan Sakai may be different with the inclusion of aliens and end of the world scenarios, but it still has that same Usagi feeling where self-sacrifice is just another step along the honorable Usagi’s path.

If you haven’t been reading the previous issues in this arc, you get caught up real quick with what the current situation is; alien invasion with the only hope being in a Usagi Gundam to protect the Shogun and the world. I was a fan of Sakai’s animal humankind world set in feudal Japan before this issue, but now all I want is warfare on a massive scale set in this classic architecture and cultural time period. I wish I had known that a Usagi Gundam was in the works when I met Stan Sakai at Boston Comic Con so I could have gotten an illustration of that (not that I am upset over the images I got from him). Giant robot vs alien fights aside, the battle unfolds in a clear panel to panel flow that made this fight really enjoyable.

There is a “big” drama moment during a particular shocking moment (to me at least) as the secret of Usagi and Jotaro being father and son has been shown and talked about in previous issues (but never with the participating party), and it turns this all-out rock’em sock’em fight into a heartfelt family moment that creates an ancient family heirloom in Usagi’s katana and wakizashi (the pair of traditional samurai swords). The end of this arc comes to a close with the signature Stan Sakai/Usagi Yojimbo warm feeling of a great story being told and in the end that is what this was; future space Usagi telling the children of the future space feudal castle the tale of how he got his name and ancestral swords. The only thing I can do now is search for a Usagi Yojimbo Gundam toy.

By Cory Anderson

Born in Boston MA, raised in NH. Fully functioning adult who happens to read any and every comic under the (yellow)sun. Of course there are the favorite comics I must read when they're released, but any comic is fair game in my eyes. Of course my love for pop culture doesn't end with comics, but branches out to movies, toys, video games and most importantly Dungeons and Dragons (which I withheld this last hobby from my Fiancée until she said "Yes"). Point of Origin for my nerdy condition may have been in '93 when I got slimed at Nickelodeon(now closed), and a teenage accident or two(collapsed lungs) landing me in the hospital around the same time the Tobey Maguire Spiderman movies started coming out. When my dad stopped at the local comic store and brought me the essential comics for Spiderman and the X-Men, I stood no chance. (Which also created a secret aspiration to start a fundraiser of sorts to bring comic books to kids in hospitals to keep their spirits up(nothing has come of this to date)) Add in a heavy dose of trip to Disney World, upcoming Disney themed wedding and a career aspiration to become a Disney Imagineer, I think it's safe to say I never want to grow up. Xbox Live Gamertag: AllusiveReaper7 (If you notice my xbox achievement score, you might assume I game a bit) Twitter: @AllusiveReaper7 Recent comic addictions(Non "Big Two"): Saga, Crossed, Coffin Hill, Rat Queens, Pathfinder and Rover Red Charlie Collects: Old Comics (Green Lama), Miniatures (D&D, Heroclix, Star Wars), Action Figures preferably 90s and older, and comic book themed hats Systems Owned: NES (though it was my sister's), Game Boy(The gray brick), Sega Genesis, N64, Dreamcast, PS2, Game Boy Advanced, Nintendo DS, Xbox, Xbox360, Wii, Xbox One, Junk PC

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