How good of a character is Usagi?
 

I'm still only halfway through season 1 of 2k3, so I haven't seen him there yet. When I first heard of the character (it was something brief like "He's a bunny who's a ninja"), I didn't have a favorable reaction. However, every now and then I come across something that mentions him, and I'm getting more and more eager to finally meet this character. From what I've gathered, he seems like a pretty cool character, but I have nothing concrete to base that on. Will I be disappointed when I get to his character, or is he a well-designed and portrayed character in this series?

Haven't read any of the Usagi comics. But Usagi in 2k3 TMNT has been an interesting character (will note, his first appearence isn't til "The Big Brawl" 4-Parter; And there are only a few episodes with him).

But anyway, in short think you'll like him.

Usagi in 2k3 is awesome. He is a very supportive friend to Leonardo. Not to mention a very accomplished samurai on his own. I am glad they included him. I want to see more of him.

Oh, he's a samurai? It's mildly amusing that he's friends with ninja turtles. :-)

How is usagi pronounced? oo-sagi? oo-saji? you-sagi? you-saji?

Thanks, I'll continued to be excited for his arrival.

The first one is the most common pronunciation. oo-soggy yo-jim-bo

His name is Miyamoto Usagi, and his name is derived from the legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi, as well as the Japanese word for rabbit (usagi). The comic's title reflects the title of samurai bodyguard (yojimbo). Usagi himself is more of a wanderer, or ronin.

I hope this deosn't spoil too much, but as of now, he's been in a total of 8 eps of the new series. But, yeah he's a good character and you'll enjoy seeing him. He spends some personal time with three of the turtles, though he considers all of them his friends.

So it's Miyamoto Usagi yojimbo, which is like saying "Bob Smith, bodyguard"? (Or, "Smith, Bob, bodyguard"?) That was confusing me. I had read that his name was incorrectly given at some point, yet the comic book is Usagi Yojimbo, featuring Miyamoto Usagi. It never occurred to me to figure out what yojimbo meant.

I'm not overly concerned about spoilers. If I was, I wouldn't be asking about a character I've yet to see. :-)

Usagi is an awesome character. Samurai Bunny, not ninja. 2K3 he is portrayed very well. (the old toon he was not exactly typical Usagi :dead: ) I wish they would do an Usagi series, or a mini-series for fans-direct to DVD with all the glory of the comics, dran by Stan too...but that's asking ALOT.

There were some early crossovers when Stan's comics were being published by Mirage. Leo somehow stumbled into Usagis' world, and at first they didn't get along, because Usagi didn't like ninja. But another story arc, called Shades of Gray, wich I think was published by Dark Horse, had Leo going back to Usagi's world and they became friends after that.
Leo and Usagi go way back to the early years, actually.
And yes, in Japanese, the surname is first, individual's name is second, and then title is last.
Oh yes, and at the risk of sounding lik a smart alec, and he's not *technically* a samurai, because he's masterless. He's ronin. :D

Usagi is def one of my favorite characters. I too wish he would have appeared in more episodes but I thought they did a good job working him into the series considering he is from an alternate earth. I mean, how often could he really appear without it seeming forced and unnecessary. LH didn't seem that way because he was originally from the same dimension as the turtles. Usagi was not a mutant, just from a diff dimension. At least they didn't overuse him. I think I like him some much because they left me wanting more of him.

Aignatius: So samurai status and ronin status are mutually exclusive? Wikipedia makes it sound like ronin are a type of samurai -- the type without masters -- but it wouldn't be the first time Wikipedia was wrong.

Usagi is a very cool character. I wish he had his own cartoon/DVD miniseries too.

In feudal Japan, status was everything. What dojo you trained in, what your lineage was, which feudal lord you served.... Samurai didn't just 'become' Ronin. They were either kicked out of their dojo, decided to abandon their master to hire their skills out, or their master was dead. Ronin Samurai were looked down upon like stray dogs. Samurai literally means "to serve" and not having a purpose to serve makes you nothing but a dangerous man with a sword who isn't to be trusted.

So in short, Usagi was hardly living a life of glory and prestige. He had lost his rank and status, and was just renting out his skills for protection. Hence, Usagi Yojimbo.

Aww!! As eager as I was to get to Usagi, you've doubled it with that post.

And welcome to the forum! Clever name.

In "Samurai Tourist", doesn't Usagi say that he had not been able to save his master's life? Did he become a ronin after his master passed away then?

Yes, in his attempted talk with Leonardo.

After Lord Mifune died, he became a Ronin.

No matter how much I love TMNT. "Usagi Yojimbo is the best written comic available."

Even better than the original Mirage TMNT?