Review — ′Usagi Yojimbo Color Classics’ # 2: “Samurai, Part III and IV”

Where we continue to see Usagi grow as a samurai.

Stan Sakai (Author, Artist, Cover Artist), Ronda Pattison (Colorist)

Usagi Yojimbo Color Classics #2 continues where the first issue let off. His master, a lion by the name of Katsuichi, has taught him well. Now it′s time for a special test, a contest: the tournament of swords sponsored by the Dogora Fencing School.

Usagi will meet in this trial his future lord, Lord Mifune. As for the setting, he′s still explaining (to the Rhino Samurai named Gen) the reason behind the duel he found himself in… it′s just that the story is a lengthy one.

Of course, the duels, the sword fighting, the thugs, and the scenes all remind us humorously of the classic Japanese samurai films. The best scenes are just like those of a classic samurai movie.

The tournament of swords has two beautiful blades as rewards: a short sword, a wakizashi named Aoyagi (young willow), and a long sword, Yagi no Eda (willow branch). Usagi will do his best in this tournament, thus humiliating the students of the fencing school… which will have its own consequences.

We just have to wait for the next part of this story to find out what those will be.

Usagi Yojimbo Color Classics # 2: “Samurai, Part III-IV” hit stands in February 2020.

AVAILABLE: February 2020
IMPRINT: IDW
PAGE COUNT: 32
COLOR: FC
DIAMOND CODE: DEC190715

Featured image by Stan Sakai, all images belong to IDW Comics