Preface
Usagi Yojimbo celebrates its 40th anniversary this year!
….
I have never heard of this character in my life.
Well, not exactly.
Back when I was doing the MMPR / TMNT reviews, there was a bunch of TMNT posts that popped up on my feed and a majority of the fanart I saw were all about Usagi being shipped with Leonardo because why not? I then learned later that Usagi had his own animated Netflix show, which I looked at clips on Youtube for… and I wasn’t that engaged.
But, hey, apparently, from what I learned, Usagi is its own character, essentially being a part of a lot of TMNT characters, and since MMPR has teamed up with ninja turtles before, why not a samurai rabbit?
The Cover
It’s a pretty fine cover, though I do appreciate how this cover as well as other variants do embrace the Japanese imagery that comes with Usagi with the blooming flowers and sunset lighting. I like it.
The Story
SYNOPSIS: When the Morphin’ Grid brings the Power Rangers to the past, Feudal Japan, for an important mission, they encounter a mysterious hopping ronin known as Miyamoto Usagi. Is he a friend or a foe? Can the ancient power of dinosaurs beat the mystical power of the Dragon’s Eye or are they doomed to fall to the sword?
So, how is this unexpected crossover of two underrated icons?
I’m not going to lie. This might be one of my favorite PR crossovers to date.
The plot structure is fairly standard. Heroes get brought in and tricked to fighting another hero before they team up and fight the real bad guy. With the story’s length, there’s not a lot else it could have really done, only focusing on this plot and battle. But, even so, the writing and the dialogue makes this such a fun experience. It embraces both franchises’ history and creates an enjoyable story with their respective elements.
The Power Rangers get more of the focus here, being the introductory characters to this setting as a lot of the elements from PR are absent for this story. No Rita, no Zordon or Alpha. But, we don’t feel their absence because the Rangers’ dialogue more than makes up for it. It’s almost meta in nature, with questions like if they’re speaking Japanese or English, but at the same time, it fits in exactly with the depiction of modern-day Power Rangers, teenagers who are having fun while saving the world. (Which is not surprising, given that the writer for this is Ryan Parrott, one of the main PR writers for Boom Studios)
Jason is the only one to have any character development with his lesson about staying with the people who need him, but I want to point out that in a lot of these crossovers, we’re lucky if we get any character lessons. And, how they present it here contrasting the team nature of the Power Rangers with the ronin nature of Usagi is a fantastic approach, integrating more of Usagi’s backstory for new readers like myself while teaching the lesson to Jason in a very Power Rangers-like fashion.
Now, for Usagi himself, I can’t comment too much on him as again, I haven’t gotten any exposure to this character before. As far as I can tell from just a quick glance (forgive me if I’m wrong), the main setting and the characters in this world, except for Usagi, were made specifically for this story. But, even if they’re not, they easily depict a premise that people can get excited for. A lone samurai traveling across Japan, encountering and fighting ancient legends. He may not have gotten as much focus here as the Rangers, but coming from someone who hasn’t looked at this character at all before, he certainly became memorable after reading this.
I’ve praised the writing and the dialogue, but the artwork should absolutely be commended as well. Shawn Daley’s art style here is meant to emulate the original Usagi Yojimbo comics, more anime and manga-inspired with softer lines and simple proportions, but detailed enough to create the environment and give each character their own identity. This artstyle works especially well with the action sequences, where every panel adds its unique impact with every attack, creating such a dynamic set of motions for the fights. James Fenner’s bright coloring is also such a huge benefit, matching the multiple colors of the Rangers while pairing them in environments that make it feel like I’m reading all of this off a scroll like I’ve actually been transported into this world, this era.
Ending Thoughts
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers / Usagi Yojimbo #1 may have been one of the most unexpected crossovers I could imagine, but that in turn speaks to the story’s credit of how much I can’t recommend this story to you all.
Usagi is a samurai meant to walk his path alone, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t miss out on his journey. He fought together with samurai from a different time. He helped one of them see the wisdom in teamwork. While not having the power of the Morphin’ Grid, he embodies what it means to be a Ranger… forever.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- The mystic Spring of Time could have reached into the Grid and summoned anyone to help with this village, but instead of the actual Samurai Rangers, it brings another team completely unrelated?
- I looked it up after Zack’s comment. Usagi only has two video games. One was on the Commodore 64 and one on Steam for very cheap… After this, I at least feel tempted to want to play it.
- Tommy: “We’re never going back to spandex. Never!”
- Personal thoughts on the Samurai armor? I like it. I’ve seen sengoku-like armor for the MMPR team before through the power of cosplay and fanart, but I think these designs make them more of a cohesive unit, like an actual team, so I’m all for it.
