One of comics’ most successful rabbits has finally made his TV debut. Kinda. Sorta. It’s complicated, which for a series as deceptively simple as “Usagi Yojimbo” is unfortunate. Don’t worry though. We’ll get into it in a minute. For now, welcome to the world of Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles where the characters are animals, the animals are dinos with hands, and everyone is in ~three-dimensions.~
Spoilers ahead. Oh and it’s also the far future Japan.
Ikuzo!
1. Is The Samurai a Rabbit?
Usagi Chronicles opens on a typical “teen protagonist yearns for more” scene and from the way I wrote that, you can probably guess what’s coming next. Yeah, it’s fine but nothing too engaging. I can’t really begrudge the series for opening on this note, seeing as it’s rated Y7 and needs to get the audience acclimated to our hero quickly. I can however begrudge the script for having said protagonist talk the entire time without ever really saying much.
This is a problem throughout the entire episode and while it never gets insufferable, I would be lying if I said I found it to be a character trait I liked. Still, the exposition gets the job done and so we get a brief but simple picture of our protagonist.
He’s very single-minded and careless, often to the detriment of everyone around him. He’s got a very active imagination about what the past was like, romanticizing and idealizing it in a way that feels like it should be commentary but isn’t. And finally, he’s got big dreams of going to Neo Edo and becoming a samurai just like his ancestor Miyamoto Usagi.
Wait. But isn’t this supposed to be the comics Usagi? Hold on. I gotta check my notes.
2. Yuichi Dreams of Miyamoto Sensei
Yeah…as I said at the top, this isn’t strictly an adaptation of “Usagi Yojimbo” or even “Space Usagi.” Instead, we’re following a brand new descendent of original series protagonist Miyamoto Usagi: Yuichi Usagi. This allows for a clean entry point for new viewers without having to be burdened by trying to adapt the comic’s storylines and lets Yuichi be more than just “teen Miyamoto.” I do have to admit to being disappointed though.
I went into Usagi Chronicles with little knowledge of what the show was going to be like, so finding out we weren’t following a new take on Miyamoto Usagi as I originally thought was a bit of a blow, but my disappointment was brief. I’d rather have an original take set in the world of the series than it being stuck playing second fiddle to the original material, like what happened to Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop. I mean, it’s not like we’re not getting ANY Miyamoto considering Yuichi just can’t stop making up adventures for him in his head. Oh, and the voice actor from his most recent appearance in the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series is on the cast list – hence, not technically his first TV appearance, and in fact, that wasn’t even his first “TMNT” show – so I’m sure we’ll get a healthy dose of our favorite samurai rabbit.
I do appreciate how Yuichi’s personality is the complete opposite of Miyamoto’s, providing him with not only a lode star to look towards but also giving him the necessary room to grow in a manner that befits a show aimed at a younger audience. It also set-up the central conflict of the episode in a great comedy of errors manner…But could we have made him just a hare less insufferable? Please?
3. Animation Drop
Let me get this out of the way first: Usagi Chronicles never looks bad. The 3D animation is bouncy and the character designs are a nice translation of their comics counterparts. I particularly enjoyed the 2D “comic” segments which retain Sakai’s stylistic choices without totally aping them. However, there is something off about the animation that I can’t quite put my finger on; I can, however, try.
I think what’s tripping me up is the stiffness of the character’s facial expressions. Well, that and the strange way the lip flaps are animated. I swear at times it’s like they moved like an abridged series re-edit, completely separated from the rest of the model. This was particularly bad during the opening scenes with Yuicihi and Auntie. It threw me out of the show for a fair bit and it wasn’t until we got to see his SWEET future road bike that I was back in.
Continued belowOnce we got to Neo Edo, things got more consistent and I settled into the style, though the action felt extremely stiff and underwhelming. I’ve been spoiled for 3D Netflix shows, having only actually watched Arcane and Beastars, but for a show centered around sword-fighting, I would expect a little better choreography and camerawork. One can only hope it’ll improve in future episodes.
4. Rhino and Usagi
OK. That’s enough negativity! Let’s get to the positives, of which there were many, starting with one how fast we blaze through the set-up to lay the groundwork for the series’ format. Within 25 minutes we go from Yuichi having his “I Want” song-sans-song, starting his journey, and being the fish out of water in the city to having assembled his entire crew of Kitsune, Gen, and Chizu through a series of mishaps that get them angry at him by episode’s end. We get just enough characterization to understand the dynamics that are going to be at play but not enough to feel like we were overloaded with information up front.
Honestly, other than Yuichi, I’m loving all these characters and the only reason Yuichi isn’t joining the list is because he’s suffering from kids protagonist-itis as I detailed above. I can’t wait to see them stick it to Yuichi and then form a deep camaraderie as he grows as a person into the samurai he thinks he is. I don’t expect anything groundbreaking, sadly, but I also haven’t been given any indication that it will fall on its face or be unable to sustain a monster of the week format for these next few episodes, so I call that a win!
Oh, did I not mention the monsters? Yeah, Yuichi accidentally releases all the yokai Miyamoto trapped centuries prior in the keystone, the power source of Neo Edo. Whoops.
5. My Neighbor Tokage
How did I make it this far without talking about Spot?! I love Spot. I want more Spot. Spot is a Tokage, which are basically the only non-insect land animal you ever actually see in “Usagi Yojimbo.” They are everywhere in the comic but it seems there are significantly fewer now in the show, making Spot, by default, the best Tokage, which are the best animals.
Am I sad his hands are more reptilian than awkwardly human? Yes but I think 3D Tokage hands would have been a bridge too far. Show of hands of those who agree with me? Thought as much.
That about does it for now! Thank you all for joining me for this series premiere. I was cooler on it than I thought I’d be but that’s OK. There are still 9 more episodes to watch. For the next 8 weeks, you can join me over on Boomb Tube and then we’ll return to this standalone format for the finale. Ikuzo!
