Usagi Yojimbo

“usagi yojimbo” is j-panese for “rabbit bodyguard”. it also happens to be the t-tle of stan sakai’s great comic book series, starring miyamoto usagi, an anthropomorphic animal named after miyamoto musashi. the series has a very cinematic feel. sakai retells j-panese legends and samurai stories in a way that’s both novel and respectful. if you haven’t yet – you gotta read it.

the series is set in xvii-century feudal j-pan. usagi is a ronin – a masterless samurai – and a musha shugyo, a pilgrim-warrior, on a quest to better his spirit and hone his swordsman skills. his skills are already great and his honor and dedication to bushido, the warrior’s code – almost unshakeable but his journey has no end.
during his travels usagi faces countless enemies – different clans of ninja warriors; thugs, thieves and brutes; p-wns of the dark lord hikiji and, last but not least, jei, an immortal demon – or the messenger of the gods – or simply a dangerous lunatic.
usagi has many friends too – like gen, a somewhat surly bounty hunter (and a rhino); kitsune (a fox), a cheerful and s-xy (in a disturbing, animalistic sort of way) con-artist; chizu, a female ninja warrior with a crush on usagi; finally, tomoe – a female samurai warrior who’s in love with usagi (mutually; love, however, would get in the way of their duties and that cannot be allowed.
both chizu and tomoe are p-ssycats by the way.

oh, and don’t think that with so many hotties around usagi’s a f-g who didn’t get any. he has a son – so that’s at least once.
“violence isn’t what being a samurai means. i’m sorry you made me do this” usagi said to the bodies of his -ssailants.
that’s usagi yojimbo allright.