![]() UBLOG: After three years away, what are you most excited about at San Diego Comic-Con this year? I’m so glad that a second season is coming up. Like my Usagi stories, Samurai Rabbit is very character driven and the first season tells of Yuichi meeting what is to become his core group of friends as they battle yokai, the haunts and monsters of Japanese folklore. Samurai Rabbit takes place in the future with Yuichi a young samurai in training who worships his famous (or infamous) ancestor, Usagi. Japan took that alien technology and developed it, adding their own cultural elements. Samurai Rabbit expanded on a mini-series I created titled “Senso” inspired by HG Wells’ War of the Worlds wherein the martians invaded feudal Japan instead. ![]() I even calligraphed (by hand) the logo for the series. We worked very closely with Gaumont and Netflix, approving/adjusting scripts, designs, suggesting voice actors, etc. The protagonist Yuichi is a direct descendant of my Miyamoto Usagi who is featured very prominently and with a twist that I thought was brilliant. Sakai: We at Usagi Studios are very pleased with Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles. What was it like finally getting to see your characters come to life in that way, and how pleased are you that it was so well received? UBLOG: Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles debuted its first season on Netflix, and has already been renewed. For this anniversary we have made a very limited Space Usagi enamel pin and, for the first time, colored the first SU issue with a new cover and a Peach Momoko variant cover. It is really fun to integrate feudal Japanese customs, clothing, architecture, and the samurai culture into a futuristic environment. I had two options: do a story in a very prehistoric setting (which did not sound very appealing) or set it in the far future where Usagi visits a dinosaur planet (which seemed like a lot of fun). Sakai: Yes, this year is actually Space Usagi‘s 30th anniversary! Space Usagi came about because I love dinosaurs and wanted to draw Usagi fighting those wonderful beasts. How did you manage to infuse a futuristic tale with the same style and politics as a Edo period story? However, you also traveled forward into the future with your Space Usagi stories. Most of Usagi’s tales take place in the early Edo period of Japan, which encompasses the 260 or so years between 16. UBLOG: We are approaching the 40th Anniversary of Usagi Yojimbo which was first published in 1984. The single issue stories are great jumping on points for new readers but older fans like the character development and research that goes into the longer ones. I intersperse done-in-one stories with longer arcs. I know that 38 years of stories can be intimidating, but I try to make it so anyone can pick up almost any book or issue and will quickly know what is going on. Sakai: It is very important for me that my Usagi stories are easily accessible. UBLOG: How important do you find it to start your Usagi stories in a way that any reader can pick them up regardless of if they have previously read any of your work? The entire ending of Heebie-Chibis and the theme of “friendship” was her idea. I create alone with Usagi Yojimbo and it’s good to get another person’s perspective on how the story should go. Sakai: I bounce ideas off of Julie and she gives a lot of input in the creative stage, something I am not used to. UBLOG: What is the difference in your approach when writing for early readers as opposed to writing for adult readers? We are preparing to work on the next Chibi-Usagi graphic novel. We are very pleased with how Attack of the Heebie Chibis turned out and are so glad it is nominated for an Eisner Award. The pages then go to her daughter, Emi, who colors it on the computer, then back to Julie to add more texture to the colors. Julie “corrects” the art into more of a chibi-style, hand letters, then inks it. Julie and I develop the story together then, since I am more used to sequential storytelling, I thumbnail and rough out the story on two-ply Bristol boards. but this has been my favorite collaborative effort. I’ve worked with a lot of people in the industry - Sergio Aragones, Stan Lee, etc. “Chibi” is Julie’s natural style so it works really well. Stan Sakai: We would definitely like to do more Chibi Usagi stories.
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