Book Review: Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 9 by Stan Sakai

Usagi Yojimbo Volume 9: Daisho by Stan Sakai

More ronin rabbit tales from master storyteller Stan Sakai!

The Music of Heaven--Usagi is pestered by a group of lizards he fed ages ago. They keep following him but now they are drawn off by beautiful music. A monk with a shakuhachi (a flute-like instrument) is wandering the same area and gets to talking with Usagi about music and transcendence. It's a fascinating tale that I found touching and rewarding.

The Gambler, the Widow, and the Ronin--The gambler is a swindler from a previous story who hires tough guys to fight and kill local champs. He takes bets on who will win and is wily enough to get people to bet on the wrong guy. In the previous story, he miscalculated that Usagi would fall to his own champ. Now he's come to the village where the widow of the dead champ is scraping by as a waitress at an inn. He doesn't know who she is but when Usagi shows up, the gambler realizes he can get rid of his current tough guy who is trying to drink all their profits. The character development for the gambler, the tough guy, and the widow is amazing for a short story. Sakai can tell a lot about his people just through visuals. The story is very satisfying.

Slavers--A village is taken over by bandits led by General Fujii who forces the locals to bring in the harvest. After that, the bandits will sell off the goods and kill off the locals. Usagi runs across one villager who escaped from a group of bandits on their way to buy more rice wine. Usagi decides to help out but is caught in a trap by the bandit leader. The locals decide to help the imprisoned Usagi. They realize they have nothing to lose since the harvest is just about in. The battle goes well but the bandit leader escapes with Usagi's swords.

Daisho Part One--After an opening explaining the art and spiritualism of Japanese swordmaking, Usagi hunts down the General to get his swords back. The trail becomes hard when the General crosses a rope bridge and cuts it down before Usagi (and the rest of the General's men) can make it across. Usagi follows information to a small town that was raided by Fujii's new gang. He helps in the town, so one of the townsfolk shows him the way to the bandits' hideout. The story stops there, a nice cliffhanger ending.

Mongrels--Usagi's friend Gen comes to a town where another bounty hunter, the Stray Dog, is already hunting down the local bounty. After a respectful but tense conversation about the trade, Stray Dog buys Gen a drink and tells him to be on his way. Gen, of course, just sneaks after the other bounty hunter. Out in the wild they are about to fight when a third party shows up...Usagi and his villager guide going to the bandits' hideout!

Daisho Part Two--The three fighters team up to go after Fujii. Gen and Stray Dog will split the bounty on Fujii while Usagi will reclaim his swords. The villager leads them to a temple in the mountains where the gang is just returning from a raid. The warriors wait till dark, assuming the gang will party too much and be easier to defeat. That part of the plan works but getting Fujii becomes more complicated when Stray Dog uses an unorthodox strategy to get what he wants. It's a great finish to the story, especially when the reader finds out why Stray Dog is so ruthless a bounty hunter.

Runaways--Usagi wanders into a town where a procession is going through. The townsfolk have to make way for Lady Hirano. Hearing her name, Usagi remembers an early duty of his--escorting the woman to her marriage with Lord Hirano. Usagi had just received a letter from his father that Mariko (Usagi's childhood sweetheart) has married another. Usagi's boss sends him on the escort mission, assuming it will be easy work and time to sort things out. Unfortunately, the mission is attacked, leaving almost everyone dead. Usagi and the Lady Kinuko become runaways, trying to get Hirano. On the way, they follow a typical arc of feuding and falling for each other. Sakai deftly weaves in a myth about two stars who are separated by the Milky Way and only come together one night a year. The village Usagi and Kinuko travel through is having that one night festival, giving them a chance to bond. Sadly, things turn back to normal too soon. It's a melancholy story that is very touching and familiar.

Nature of the Viper--An old fisherman discovers a corpse on the riverbank. When he investigates, the hand shoots up and grabs him. The fisherman is frightened but he takes the man home to help him recover. Turns out, the nearly dead man is a literally washed-up old villain of Usagi's (Jei, the semi-demoniac from Book 6). He tells the fisherman a tale similar to the old Scorpion and Frog tale. Jei has the same attitude toward the fisherman. It's a great cliffhanger ending for the book.

This is another set of fine tales. Sakai tells the stories so well through images and character developments. Even familiar tropes feel fresh or personal.

Highly recommended.