Monday, back to work after my week’s vacation. So hard to want to get out of bed this morning. And what a Monday it was too. The best things about today? I got to come home. I got to read Murakami at lunch. I am loving Hard-Boiled Wonderland. My Barnes and Noble order arrived on my doorstep today. Oh yeah, and school started!
This quarter’s class is Introduction to Systems Analysis. Probably not a subject I will be blogging about much, though I am very interested in it. Rumor has it that it is a challenging class. But I am excited about it and up for the challenge.
Shall I tell you about one of the first books I have finished in 2008 on my vacation last week? I chose to read Usagi Yojimbo as one of my books for the Japanese Challenge. Usagi is a graphic novel and apparently quite popular with teens. I got book six in the series because my library didn’t have some of the other ones or they were checked out. I was a little worried at first that I wouldn’t know what was going on, but this graphic novel is definitely not rocket science. Within the first few pages I knew just about everything that had happened in books 1-5 and by the end of book six I knew all the rest.
It’s a good thing graphic novels read fast, because after the second chapter I almost stopped reading because I was so bored. It got a little better by the end, but not much.
Usagi Yojimbo is a ronin–a samurai without a master. Usagi used to be in the employ of Lord Mifune, but an epic battle has left him masterless. Usagi has been away from home for many years because Lord Mifune’s Samurai were being killed or imprisoned. But the war is long over and he can return from exile to his home village. On his way home he kills a demon that terrorized a bridge, kills another samurai who was dishonest and setting up rigged fights for money and he kills some hired bandits. He also tells a story in which he kills other samurai, a giant octopus, a giant bug, and another demon. Finally when he makes it back to his village he has to kill some hired thugs and another demon. And after all that, he can’t stay home because his former girlfriend had married someone else who is very jealous of Usagi because it is obvious that Mariko still has feelings for Usagi. So, for honor and Mariko’s sake, after a visit of a few weeks, Usagi has to pack up and become a wandering samurai again.
The story is simplistic. Usagi often accidentally stumbles into situations that he then has to fight his way out of. And the whole love triangle thing at the end is as cliché as you can possibly get. The only really redeeming thing about the book is that the art is really good. I was overall disappointed. While a younger teen may enjoy the book–it has a sort of videogame quality to it–there isn’t much there for an adult to enjoy.
I’m probably the only geek out here who thinks you should post at least once a week on systems analysis. I LOVED that class when I took it, and I bet it’s far cooler now than it was back then. And thank you so much for reporting on a book that will not go onto my TBR list.
I have shied away from even looking too closely at graphic novels. They don’t seem like something I would enjoy. But, your point that the pictures are well done makes me think that, if I *do* decide to “read” a graphic novel, I will get a Polish one–then the pictures will assist my understanding of the Polish text.
Really, that’s not a bad idea…reminds me of my kids reading a bunch of old Polish comic books with Donald Duck and Goofy in them.
They were just reading comics, but I know it helped with their Polish, too.
I understand your disappointment. If you’re interested in Japanese graphic novels, but still want an interesting story, you could check out on Jiro Taniguchi. His design is very simple but his stories are quite moving, emotional and subtle, on a family dog, or on his father, or on a neighborhood. You get a glimpse of daily life in Japan too. I’m not sure what book is available in English though.
Enjoy your new class! Sorry about the book disappointment — at least it didn’t take up too much of your time. They can’t all be good, unfortunately. But it’s cool you tried something new, even if it didn’t work out.
Emily, LOL. If I come across anything in class that I think will give you geekish pleasure, I will be sure to post about it. And yeah, Usagi is not one you want to pick for the graphic novel challenge.
Karen, I can’t say that I have read a lot of graphic novels but this is the first that I didn’t like much at all. I’ve had good luck. But I thinking reading them to help learn a language might be a good idea. The pictures would help you figure out what’s going on and you’d probably learn some good slang too.
Smithereens, thanks for the suggestions on Taniguchi. I will see if my library has any of his in English.
Dodothy, Thanks! And you’re right, it was fun to try something a little different even though it wasn’t a success.
There are certainly some very moving, well written graphic novels out there that are worth taking the time to read. Sorry this one wasn’t one of them.
Murakami is an author that I know I need to get around to reading sometime soon as I’ve heard nothing but good things.
Sorry, I feel somewhat responsible for your experience. I have been meaning to read this because my friends have encouraged me to do so. Perhaps they liked it because it had lots of authentic Japanese elements, or maybe because he kills a lot of creatures. I was hoping the story might progress a little more than your review indicates. Now, I’m having second thoughts about reading it.
I have never had much of a pull towards graphic novels, although my students once bought me the graphic novel of Proust’s Swann’s Way, which I loved. I find Japanese art a little resistant sometimes, so the combination would never really hit the spot for me. Still, you were brave to try it, Stefanie, and noble to persist with it to the end!
Ooh what was in your B&N box?
Best of luck with the Systems class!
Carl, I figure graphic novels are just like regular novels, some are winners and some not so much. From what I have read of Murakami so far–this is the first I’ve read him–you would really like him.
Bikkuri, I was beginning to think you had fallen in a snowbank and broke your leg on your ski trip or something! Don’t feel bad. It was fun to try something different. And yes, there are what I presumed were authentic Japanese elements in the story which did make it interesting. Maybe I would have liked it better if there were more Japanese things in it. Don’t let me put you off reading it though, then I’d feel bad!
Litlove, funny you should mention the Proust graphic novels, I just found out about them today! They look like fun. I’m not so noble and brave, more like a little nutty
Iliana, in the box was The World of Odysseus by M.I. Finley, Republic by Plato, and The Iliad and the Odyssey, a Biography by Roberto Manguel. Thanks for the good wishes!
Well (knock on wood), I am a good enough skier that I think I can avoid broken legs; however, I did have a little trouble around a snow machine. Our “leader” thought it would be fun to try a different way to the lift at high speed. I passed directly in front of the flurry of ice crystals spewing from the machine and found a soft spot the consistency of a snow cone at a hot summer festival. It was something like skiing into a snow-covered lake.
I was sorry to read how little you enjoyed Usagi Yojimbo: Circles (Book 6), and that you will most likely not read any more of the 21 volumes which have been published so far.
Over the past twenty-three years, Usagi Yojimbo creator Stan Sakai has produced his comic for an all-ages audience, doing the writing, drawing and lettering all himself. Considering the stories contained in the book were written to be read by children as well as adults, and were plotted to be initially published in 24 page comic book format might contribute to what you label as simplistic.
Also, Usagi Yojimbo: Grasscutter (Book 12) was used as a textbook for Japanese history classes at the University of Portland, so Stan Sakai’s story-telling skills shouldn’t be thought of as too simplistic.
“Within the first few pages I knew just about everything that had happened in books 1-5 and by the end of book six I knew all the rest.” Unfortunately, that is a very presumptuous statement. Stan Sakai has always tried to provide enough information in each book (remember, 21 books published so far) so that new readers can pick up just about any book in the series and not be lost due to lack of knowledge concerning previous stories. Claiming you “know all the rest” after reading one book would be like me claiming to know all about you from reading one blog entry.
“Usagi often accidentally stumbles into situations that he then has to fight his way out of.” I really do not understand this criticism, considering the protagonist is a wandering samurai. Some of the situations the character finds himself in, he has stumbled into and has to fight to get out of, but other situations he voluntarily steps into in order to help other people. And in one of the stories, as you mentioned, he is telling some “adventure stories” to a group of children.
While two of the stories involve traditional Obakeneko (supernatural creatures or ghosts) from Japanese folklore, the character of the demon Jei was originally created as a pun based upon the character Jason from the Friday the 13th series. The pun is realized when the Japanese honorific San is added after the character’s name. Jei has also been killed almost as many times as the original Jason in the movies.
“And after all that, he can’t stay home because his former girlfriend had married someone else who is very jealous of Usagi because it is obvious that Mariko still has feelings for Usagi.” Actually, this is where the back story is not filled in. For one thing, it is not Usagi’s first time back to his home village since the war. And there is a lot more involved in the relationship between the four characters.
“And the whole love triangle thing at the end is as cliché as you can possibly get.” And your non-cliché excuse to keep Usagi from settling down in one place and thereby ending the series would have been what?
The thing about love triangles is that they actually do happen, or maybe that should be “did happen” back when commitments were actually honored and couples didn’t jump in and out of relationships like changing clothes.
“I have shied away from even looking too closely at graphic novels. They don’t seem like something I would enjoy. But, your point that the pictures are well done makes me think that, if I *do* decide to “read” a graphic novel, I will get a Polish one–then the pictures will assist my understanding of the Polish text. ”
At least twenty of the Usagi Yojimbo books have been translated into Polska, as well as various volumes published in French, German, Spanish, Swedish, Portugese, Italian, Croatian, Hungarian, Flemish/Dutch, Czech, and just recently Indonesian. I am sure I forgot one.
A cretor owned b/w anthropomorphic comic book series does not last for over twenty years in the risky comic publishing world if it is not well written and drawn.
Usagi Yojimbo has been an on-going labor of love for Stan Sakai, and he has combined his own creativity with tremendous amounts of research and quite a bit of influence from watching samurai genre films while growing up in Hawaii to create a very original and enjoyable comic series.
Is that ‘my’ Steve?
Unfortunately, no, I’m a differant Steve.
Steve, thanks for your really great comment. It is obvious you are very passionate about Usagi and I like that. Stan Sakai is definitely talented and the series is very popular. But one of the great things about books and reading in my opinion is that we all have different experiences and they are all equally valid. You rightly point out that there are some things I missed in the book and I appreciate that. I am glad to know the series has more depth than my reading of book six indicates. However, it still remains that I didn’t like the book and am not inspired to read any more of the series. It would be dishonest of me to say otherwise. But I hope your comment on the positives of the series balances out my dislike so that other people are willing to give Usagi a try.
I’ll give book one a try.
Wow, I almost made it all the way through my message without any typographical errors.
“A cretor owned b/w anthropomorphic comic book series does not last for over twenty years in the risky comic publishing world if it is not well written and drawn.”
The word “cretor” in the passage above should have read “creator” if I had not mis-spelled it.
びっくり,
I hope you enjoy Usagi Yojimbo: Ronin (Book 1), it contains the earliest stories to feature Usagi Miyamoto, and the artwork style is noticable differant to what Stan does now. Not to say that it is better or worse now, just evolved somewhat over the years.
Stan Sakai has been known to recommend Usagi Yojimbo: Samurai (Book 2) as a great place for starting the series. It tells of Usagi’s upbringing, his training as a swordsman, his life as a samurai, and how he ended up as a ronin. It also fills in on the rivalry between him and Kenichi, Mariko’s husband in the previously mentioned love triangle (of which another part of that story is in Book 1).
“The books consist of short stories, and occasionally novel-length stories, with underlying larger plotlines which culminate in long extended story lines.”
(quote from the Wikipedia article about Usagi Yojimbo)
For more information on Usagi Yojimbo, check out the Official Usagi Yojimbo Dojo web-site at:
http://www.usagiyojimbo.com