Synopses & Reviews
For years, as Miyamoto Usagi has wandered the countryside, an unseen, malevolent entity has been tracing his steps. Thought dead since the events of Grasscutter, the demon Jei — the Black Soul — has been inhabiting the body of the swordswoman Inazuma, intent on destroying the evil he claims to see in Usagi!
Meanwhile, Boss Bakuchi, shamed by his inability to avenge his son's death, doubles the bounty on the killer-Inazuma. The money brings out scores of bounty hunters, unaware that they are merely a flock of sparrows intent on bringing down an eagle.
The hunt for Inazuma also draws Usagi, hunters Gen and Stray Dog, and a mysterious stranger named Isamu, each with his own motive. As the threat of the Black Soul reemerges, this epic storyline reveals at last the true origin of Jei!
Review
"Usagi is the Subaru of comics: safe and reliable, sleek but not terribly sexy, and so often taken tragically for granted. As I've worked my way through the paperback collections, I've gone from mildly interested and appreciative to full-on admirer. Comics storytelling this enduring is an admirable feat, nearly impossible to maintain — and one that deserves recognition." Chris Bolton, Powells.com (Read the entire Powells.com review)
About the Author
Born in Kyoto, Japan, Sakai grew up in Hawaii and studied fine arts at the University of Hawaii. He later attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He and his wife, Sharon, presently reside and work in Pasadena. Sakai is the creator of of Usagi Yojimbo, the epic saga of Miyamoto Usagi, a samurai rabbit living in late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth-century Japan.