History YMMV / UsagiYojimbo

* TaintedByThePreview: Downplayed as far as the upcoming TV show is concerned due to who is producing it. While some fans are wary of the adaptation potentially [[{{Bowdlerise}} having its violence reduced]] due to the pedigree of the studio making it, other fans also have noted that Creator/FrederatorStudios (known for comedies and kids shows) recently produced the extremely violent and also well-recieved [[WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017 animated adapation of Castlevania]], so it is better to wait and see until proper previews arrive before making judgements.

* MorePopularSpinoff: Originally the comic debuted as a one-issue story in ''ComicBook/AlbedoErmaFelnaEDF'' when it was previously an anthology of many furry comics during the 80s. While ''Usagi Yojimbo'' became a comparative worldwide hit, ''Albedo Erma Felna EDF'' became a footnote in the story of comic books, though a CultClassic to the UsefulNotes/FurryFandom.[[note]]This is partly because Albedo's author, Steven Gallacci, decided to keep very strict control over the comic, apparently in order to prevent it [[FollowTheLeader being filled with]] ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' copies, who were popular in the 80s and 90s, [[AnimationAgeGhetto at expense of the quality of the comic or any other adaptation outside of it]].[[/note]]

* CultClasssic: The comic is very well-regarded in the industry and has a small passionate fanbase, in some ways akin to the Mirage Ninja Turtles comics, sharing much the same indie comics scene in their origins. But while TMNT grew beyond the Mirage comics to become a bonafide worldwide media juggernaut with its cartoons, movies, merchandise etc, Usagi has seen comparatively much less mainstream success, with only a few scattered adaptations of its own and has largely depended on TMNT crossovers for more exposure to the general public. Though of course, the comic's been going at its own comfortable pace for decades.

* MorePopularSpinoff: Originally the comic debuted as a one-issue story in ''ComicBook/AlbedoErmaFelnaEDF'' when it was previously an anthology of many furry comics during the 80s. While ''Usagi Yojimbo'' became a worldwide hit, ''Albedo Erma Felna EDF'' became a footnote in the story of comic books, though a CultClassic to the UsefulNotes/FurryFandom.[[note]]This is partly because Albedo's author, Steven Gallacci, decided to keep very strict control over the comic, apparently in order to prevent it [[FollowTheLeader being filled with]] ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' copies, who were popular in the 80s and 90s, [[AnimationAgeGhetto at expense of the quality of the comic or any other adaptation outside of it]].[[/note]]

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The Kusanagi no Tsurugi, also known as "Grasscutter", is actually portrayed realistically - the myth ''predates'' the concept of the invention of the Katana.

** Jei is meant to be an {{Expy}} of [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]] due to is ImplacableMan status and his tendency to keep coming BackFromTheDead, and it's more noticeable when he's referred to as "[[PunnyName Jei-san]]." Five years after his debut appearance, ''Film/JasonGoesToHellTheFinalFriday'' gives him and Jason another thing in common: [[GrandTheftMe the ability to hop bodies]].

** ''[=WhereWhen=]'' {{Crossover}} with ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIDW'': [[MadScientist Dr. WhereWhen]]--"Lord Dokoitsu"--is a [[RoboticPsychopath cruel robot]] from the future, who, after being foiled in [[ConquerorFromTheFuture conquering the era of the Ninja Turtles]], travels through space and time to succeed in Usagi's world instead. Upon learning of the Turtles following him, [=WhereWhen=] dispatches the Mogura Ninjas to massacre them alongside the Geishu Clan's army, which claims several lives, including Kitsune's. [=WhereWhen=] then unleashes his samurai-themed robots, the samuroids, to [[BadBoss kill all the Mogura]] for their [[YouHaveFailedMe failure]] and greed before going after the Geishu once again, without regard to anyone else in their path. When his army is stopped in their tracks by Yukichi's self-sacrifice, [=WhereWhen=] chooses to return to the future and spitefully leave the Turtles permanently trapped in Usagi's Feudal Japan.

** Issues #9-12: General Fujii was the head of a gang that took over a village. They reduced the workers to slaves, and ordered them to farm and cultivate for long hours. They would continue to do this until the tax collector came, at which point they would just kill all the villagers and go to another town. When Usagi infiltrates them, he's discovered and tortured, with Fujii taking his swords. When the peasants revolt, they slaughter their way through them, and Fujii abandons most of his men to die or face the police. He and his loyal [[TheDragon Dragon]] take over another gang and launch raids on a village, where he almost murders the elderly headsman for refusing them. When the heroes attack the gang to take him down, [[DirtyCoward he abandons his Dragon to run]].
** [[MadArtist Katsushige no Kyogoku]] was a vain and petty artist who, bitter over his inability to achieve anything but mediocrity, [[DealWithTheDevil sold his soul]] to the ''kami'' for the power to best his rivals. Granted demonic strength but cursed into the form of a paint set, Katsushige's soul [[DemonicPossession possesses]] whomever is unfortunate enough to take the set, wearing them until their deaths. Katsushige can only produce ink for his set through an especially vile process: the [[WouldHurtAChild murder of children]] to use their blood to produce paint, leading to droves of children vanishing throughout the region, all so Katsushige can slake his {{narcissist}}ic desire to be recognized.
** Issues #83-89: Noriko, known as the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Blood Princess]], has had homicidal tendencies since childhood, where she would always beat her cousin Tomoe in spars to inflict as much pain as she could. In the present day, Noriko runs a mine, using slaves that have been press-ganged into service and worked to the point of death. Should any slave falter, Noriko promptly beheads the nearest one to serve as a morale-booster for the others. When she captures Tomoe, Noriko delights in treating her as a slave and when Tomoe refuses to perform the labor, Noriko furiously cuts down a random slave woman. When Tomoe immediately obeys to stop more death, Noriko sneers at her for caring about those of low birth. To conceal the mines, Noriko plans to blow it up, with every slave inside after all its resources are gone. She also reveals that she and Tomoe are actually [[CainAndAbel ''sisters'']] and when their father refused to acknowledge Noriko as his daughter, she murdered him, just as she had the man who raised her for [[SelfMadeOrphan for being weak]]. She reveals this while savagely beating Tomoe, taunting her that it's ''Tomoe's'' fault that he died.

** Noriko, known as the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Blood Princess]], has had homicidal tendencies since childhood, where she would always beat her cousin Tomoe in spars to inflict as much pain as she could. In the present day, Noriko runs a mine, using slaves that have been press-ganged into service and worked to the point of death. Should any slave falter, Noriko promptly beheads the nearest one to serve as a morale-booster for the others. When she captures Tomoe, Noriko delights in treating her as a slave and when Tomoe refuses to perform the labor, Noriko furiously cuts down a random slave woman. When Tomoe immediately obeys to stop more death, Noriko sneers at her for caring about those of low birth. To conceal the mines, Noriko plans to blow it up, with every slave inside after all its resources are gone. She also reveals that she and Tomoe are actually [[CainAndAbel ''sisters'']] and when their father refused to acknowledge Noriko as his daughter, she murdered him, just as she had the man who raised her for [[SelfMadeOrphan for being weak]]. She reveals this while savagely beating Tomoe, taunting her that it's ''Tomoe's'' fault that he died.
** General Fujii was the head of a gang that took over a village. They reduced the workers to slaves, and ordered them to farm and cultivate for long hours. They would continue to do this until the tax collector came, at which point they would just kill all the villagers and go to another town. When Usagi infiltrates them, he's discovered and tortured, with Fujii taking his swords. When the peasants revolt, they slaughter their way through them, and Fujii abandons most of his men to die or face the police. He and his loyal [[TheDragon Dragon]] take over another gang and launch raids on a village, where he almost murders the elderly headsman for refusing them. When the heroes attack the gang to take him down, [[DirtyCoward he abandons his Dragon to run]].

* NightmareFuel:
** Jei's introductory issue. The atmosphere was very haunting. What really set it was seeing Jei go from creepy-but-kind-enough to give Usagi a place to stay in the rain to a raving madman in the blink of an eye. When Usagi first fought him, [[spoiler: he was close to death, had the bolt of lightning not interfered]]. While Jei was originally meant to be a one-shot villain, [[NeverFoundTheBody the ending left the reader wondering if he were really dead]].
** The nightmare Usagi has while struck with a fever from a poison dart. He dreams that he's become the new host of ''Jei'', and breaks into Lord Noryuki's castle, mercilessly slaughtering all who stand in his way, before attacking Tomoe and Noriyuki. Tomoe only manages to fight him to a MutualKill, with Usagi snapping out of his possesion moments before dying together with Tomoe. When the fever breaks and Usagi wakes up, he hopes that it really was just a fever nightmare and not a case of DreamingOfThingsToCome...
** One of the "Travels With Jotaro" anthology revolves around Usagi and Jotoro trying to help a village opressed by a greedy and corrupt magistrate who gained his position by betraying the former lord of the area, being rewarded with his current job as a result. However, the magistrate is terrified of the nearby woods, where the betrayal took place, believing that it's haunted by the spirits of the men who died because of him. Usagi enacts a ScoobyDooHoax (a CallBack to an earlier story where Usagi exposed one himself), which almost works, but fails at the last second. Chasing Usagi into the woods, the Magistrate becomes separated from his men, and suddenly turns around and notices that he's somehow found himself deep in the woods, despite only going a few feet. Soon, hours have passed, with him only getting more and more lost, the trees themselves seem to block his path. Suddenly, something spooks his horse, and someone calls his name... It then cuts to a few days later, with Usagi commenting on them beating the magistrate's men, but that there was no sign of the magistrate himself, who seems to have disappeared without a trace. Jotaro wonders what happened to him... [[spoiler: The final panel of the story reveals the agonized face of the magistrate trapped inside the bark of a tree]].

* TearJerker: Almost every story. Aren't you reading these?!
** One early story comes to mind. It involves Usagi encountering the mother of a corrupt village ruler. We learn that the villain UsedToBeASweetKid. The mother tells Usagi to kill him, before claiming she was just joking. One night, Usagi [[spoiler: finds the ruler dead with her mother cradling his body, revealing that she killed him herself]]. She begs Usagi to kill her, but he at first refuses. The issue ends with the mother singing a lullaby to her dead son before [[spoiler: Usagi kills her off-panel]] and exits the house with tears in his eyes.
** "Noodles" is a big one. Usagi encounters Kitsune, who has made a good friend in a huge, seemingly developmentally challenged man simply called "Noodles" (as he can tell her no other name), who helps her during her pickpocketing by hiding her in the soba box he carries aound when she runs from the law. He is every bit as gentle as he is huge, with Kitsune describing him as a "child in a giant's body" and expressing interest in building a new life with him. [[spoiler: However, a corrupt ''yoriki'' (high-ranking police official) decides to frame Noodles for the recent crime wave he has caused due to his debt to yakuza gamblers, and within merely a day, Noodles is captured and publicly executed by crucification and being stabbed in the chest with spears, with poor Kitsune begging for his release and screaming it was her (despite her little pickpocketing having nothing to do with said crime wave) before breaking down sobbing.]] Also a case of BewareTheNiceOnes as [[spoiler: Kitsune sets one hell of a revenge in motion, orchestrating events to have the ''yoriki'' not only outed for his corruption but ordered to commit ''seppuku''.]]
** Kitsune's whole life has been one long string of these, almost making her carefree attitude a case of StepfordSnarker. Aside from the death of Noodles, the worst blow was arguably the loss of her adoptive "sister" who taught her how to steal and survive on the street. One day she tried pickpocketing the wrong person, a samurai who had been present when they pulled an earlier scam, and Kitsune found her dead in the street.
** The ending of ''Senso'', even if it is non-canon. Usagi manages to destroy the last Martian tripod, but the surviving martian pilot mortally wounds him in a LastBreathBullet moment, leaving him dying in the arms of Jotaro and Tomoe. Jotaro and Usagi finally acnowledge eachother as father and son, realizing that both of them had known all along. Usagi has enough time time left to pass his swords on to Jotaro, and tell Tomoe he loves her before dying from his wounds, leaving Jotaro and Tomoe sobbing over his body. It then cuts to the far future with Space Usagi telling a school of students about his ancestors deeds and the history of his ancestral swords.
** One early story revolves around a woman making a traditional memorial figure for her dead child, who had been murdered by outlaws. According to Shinto belief, the souls of murdered children inhabit a bleak, restless afterlife, which the statues are supposed to alleviate by passing travelers offering token gifts. By pure chance, the outlaws attempt to ambush Usagi at the same road the statue has been placed, and he kills every last one of them. The final page has the mother noticing that the statue seems to have changed to a more relaxed facial expression, implying that the childs spirit is now at rest.
** One story is a flashback to Katsuichi's youth, and reveals what happened to his lover, who had only been hinted at before. She was the daughter of the leader of a rival sword school, and the head student wanted her to marry him so he could inherit the school when the master died. When she refused, he killed her, and intended to kill Katsuichi and pin her death on him.
** The conclusion to the "Red Scorpion" multiparter. The sensei of a sword school fallen on hard time kidnaps the son of the local magistrate while pretending to be the leader of the Red Scorpion gang in the hopes of extorting enough money to keep the school going. This fails completely as [[spoiler: the real gang leader had been the magistrate himself the whole time]] and while the sensei and his students manage to defeat the real gang, he realizes his desperation drove him to complete dishonor, and ultimatly for nothing. He tells his students that he can only teach them one final thing, how a samurai dies, and asks Usagi to be his ''kaishakunin'' (second) for the ''seppuku'' ritual. Usagi accepts, and the final panel shows his remaining students weeping over his body.
** The death of the tea master from ''#150'', who commits ''seppuku'' to spare his lord from dishonor because the sadistic Spaniard Rodriguez had demanded to witness a ''seppuku'' as the reward he was promised for defeating the lord's men in a duel, and he wanted the person who dies to be significant so demanded the life of the near-universally beloved tea master. The Tea Master complies with his lord's request without complaint, much to Usagi's sorrow and rage. The story in question was inspired by the real-life ''seppuku'' of the famous tea master Sen no Rikyu, who was ordered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to commit ''seppuku'' in 1591 due to political differences and Rikyu's excessive independence.
** "The Hero": Usagi meets a woman on the road, a poetess trapped in an unhappy arranged marriage to a minor lord with a higher status in court and a drinking problem. The husband can't stand that her fame outstrips his own (and due to the peace, has no way of advancing via his martial skills, hence the drinking). He eventually murders her, then realizes that even in death his wife will be more remembered than he, and commits ''seppuku'' (blaming his wife for it, of course).

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The Kusanagi no Tsurugi, also known as"Grasscutter", is actually portrayed realistically - the myth ''predates'' the concept of the invention of the Katana.

** Rodriguez was already portrayed as an arrogant jerk, but demanding to see a seppukku ritual like it's entertainment AND demanding a completely innocent victim for it is one of the worst things any of the villains in the series have done.

* CantUnHearIt: Despite not having an adaptation of his own, at least with him as the starring character, Usagi himself has had voice actors portray him when he appears in most animated adaptations of the Ninja Turtles. From the 2003 series, he was voiced by Creator/JasonGriffith, who was the actor to have portrayed him for the longest period of time, 8 episodes. For his 3 appearances in the 2012 series, he was voiced by Yuki Matsuzaki, [[ApprovalOfGod whom Stan Sakai approved of]]. Both of these voices appear to be the most popular. Likely due to this, Yuki has gone on to play the character in ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiRabbitTheUsagiChronicles'' and ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesShreddersRevenge''.

* CantUnHearIt: Despite not having an adaptation of his own, at least with him as the starring character, Usagi himself has had voice actors portray him when he appears in most animated adaptations of the Ninja Turtles. From the 2003 series, he was voiced by Creator/JasonGriffith, who was the actor to have portrayed him for the longest period of time, 8 episodes. For his 3 appearances in the 2012 series, he was voiced by Yuki Matsuzaki, [[ApprovalOfGod whom Stan Sakai approved of]]. Both of these voices appear to be the most popular.

** While never explicit and the inclusion is rare, the comic also doesn't shy away from acknowledging sex, or for that matter sexism in feudal Japan. Zato-Ino is heavily implied to have sex with two women in a hot spring, Gen's mother is all but directly stated to have prostituted herself to provide food for him as a child, there's an entire story about a Courtesan having had a child due to an affair with a noble, thugs will often make creepy advances to the series' female characters, and one assassin hired to kill Usagi is partly motivated by the murder of his lover who is explicitly stated to be a "Nighthawk" (a prostitute).

* FanPreferredCouple: While the story has mostly implied a possible romance between Usagi and Tomoe, plenty of readers would rather see a romance between Usagi and Chizu. Reasons include the two being out of place (Usagi a Rōnin and Chizu a nukenin), their fighting styles complimenting each other, their on-screen chemistry, and it doesn't hurt that they share a kiss nearly every time they part ways, usually on good terms.

** Jei's introductory issue. The atmosphere was very haunting. What really set it was seeing Jei go from kind-enough to give Usagi a place to stay in the rain to a ravaging madman in the blink of an eye. When Usagi first fought him, [[spoiler: he was close to death, had the bolt of lightning not interfered]]. While Jei was originally meant to be a one-shot villain, [[NeverFoundTheBody the ending left the reader wondering if he were really dead]].
** The nightmare Usagi has while struck with a fever from a poison dart. He dreams that he's become the new host of ''Jei'', and breaks into Lord Noryuki's castle, mercilessly slaughtering all who stand in his way, before attacking Tomoe and Noryuki. Tomoe only manages to fight him to a MutualKill, with Usagi snapping out of his possesion moments before dying. When the fever breaks and Usagi wakes up, he hopes that it really was just a fever nightmare and not a case of DreamingOfThingsToCome...

* TheScrappy: Many fans of the comic dislike Kitsune for the fact that she is an unrepentant criminal who is a KarmaHoudini in the majority of her schemes. Often, her targets deserve what's coming, but she is no Robin Hood, she steals just for herself and the girl she picked up who she is training to be a thief like her. And her schemes tend to cause trouble for Usagi, who rarely gets anything out of them (partially because he's not the kind of person to knowingly accept stolen money). It helps that it has become a running gag that whenever another major character is introduced to her, they get their wallet stolen by her by the end of the issue.

** "Noodles" is a big one. Usagi encounters Kitsune, who has made a good friend friend in a huge, seemingly developmentally challenged man simply called "Noodles" (as he can tell her no other name), who helps her during her pickpocketing by hiding her in the soba box he carries aound when she runs from the law. He is every bit as gentle as he is huge, with Kitsune describing him as a "child in a giant's body" and expressing interest in building a new life with him. [[spoiler: However, a corrupt police officer decides to frame Noodles for the recent crime wave he has caused due to his debt to gamblers, and within merely a day, Noodles is captured and publicly executed by crucification and being stabbed in the chest with spears, with poor Kitsune begging for his release and screaming it was her (despite her little pickpocketing having nothing to do with said crime wave) before breaking down sobbing.]] Also a case of BewareTheNiceOnes as [[spoiler: Kitsune sets one hell of a revenge in motion, orchestrating events to have the officer not only outed for his corruption but ordered to commit ''seppuku''.]]

** Noriko's epilogue [[spoiler: actually just Tomoe's nightmare... ''or was it?'']] sounds a lot like whatever happened to Loki between ''Film/{{Thor}}'' and ''Film/TheAvengers2012'' (which, according to the answers Creator/JossWhedon and Creator/TomHiddleston gave to Rhea AKA [[WesternAnimation/XMen Mystique]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6IQgLBaSV4#t=42m04s here]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLX-tdqEjUg#t=27m17s here]] respectively, is [[FateWorseThanDeath a horrible journey through some very rough parts of space]]... [[TeasingCreator and that's as far as the writer got]]): Both practically run into hells [[HoistByTheirOwnPetard of their own making]] by going through a portal (cave entrance and [[OurWormholesAreDifferent a rift in space]], respectively), [[EverythingTryingToKillYou fight to survive]], and end up with desire to live and [[RevengeBeforeReason destroy their siblings for the pain they've caused them]] [[spoiler: Loki returns while Noriko was killed very soon after running into a cave full of dynamite... probably]].

* AdaptationDisplacement[=/=]MarthDebutedInSmashBros: Most people know the characters through their appearances in ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles.''

** One of the "Travels With Jotaro" anthology revolves around Usagi and Jotoro trying to help a village opressed by a greedy and corrupt magistrate who gained his position by betraying the former lord of the area, being rewarded with his current job as a result. However, the magistrate is terrified of the nearby woods, where the betrayal took place, believing that it's haunted by the spirits of the men who died because of him. Usagi enacts a ScoobyDooHoax (a CallBack to an earlier story where Usagi exposed one himself), which almost works, but fails at the last second. Chasing Usagi into the woods, the Magistrate becomes separated from his men, and suddenly turns around and notices that he's somehow found himself deep in the woods, despite only going a few feet. Soon, hours have passed, with him only getting more and more lost, the trees themselves seem to block his path. Suddenly, something spooks his horse, and someone calls his name... It then cuts to a few days later, with Usagi commenting on them beating the magistrates men, but that there was no sign of the magistrate himself, who seems to have disappeared without a trace. Jotaro wonders what happened to him... [[spoiler: The final panel of the story reveals the agonized face of the magistrate trapped inside the bark of a tree]].

* AdaptationDisplacement[=/=]MarthDebutedInSmashBros: Most people know the characters through their appearances in ''TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles.''

--> '''Katsuichi/Usagi:''' "The best souls are those which are kept in their scabbards."

* {{Mondegreen}}:
** "You Suckey Your Jimbo", thanks to WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic.

** The conclusion to the "Red Scorpion" multiparter. The sensei of a sword school fallen on hard time kidnaps the son of the local magistrate while pretending to be the leader of the Red Scorpion gang in the hopes of extorting enough money to keep the school going. This fails completely as [[spoiler: the real gang leader had been the magistrate himself the whole time]] and while the sensei and his students manage to defeat the real gang, he realizes his desperation drove him to complete dishonor, and ultimatly for nothing. He tells his students that he can only teach them one final thing, how a samurai dies, and asks Usagi to be his ''kaishaku'' (second) for the ''seppuku'' ritual. Usagi accepts, and the final panel shows his remaining students weeping over his body.

** "Noodles" is a big one. Usagi encounters Kitsune, who has made a good friend friend in a huge, seemingly developmentally challenged man simply called "Noodles" (as he can tell her no other name), who helps her during her pickpocketing by hiding her in the soba box he carries aound when she runs from the law. He is every bit as gentle as he is huge, with Kitsune describing him as a "child in a giant's body" and expressing interest in building a new life with him. [[spoiler: However, a corrupt police officer decides to frame Noodles for the recent crime wave he has caused due to his debt to gamblers, and within merely a day, Noodles is captured and publicly executed by crucification and being stabbed in the chest with spears, with poor Kitsune begging for his release and screaming it was her (despite her little pickpocketing having nothing to do with said crime wave) before breaking down sobbing.]] Also a case of BewareTheNiceOnes as [[spoiler: Kitsune sets one hell of a revenge in motion, orchestrating events to have the officer not only outed for his corruption but ordered to commit Seppuku.]]

** The death of the tea master from ''#150'', who commits ''seppuku'' to spare his lord from dishonor because the sadistic Spaniard Rodriguez had demanded to witness a ''seppuku'' as the reward he was promised for defeating the lord's men in a duel, and he wanted the person who dies to be significant so demanded the life of the near-universally beloved tea master. The Tea Master complies with his lord's request without complaint, much to Usagi's sorrow and rage. The story in question was inspired by the real-life ''seppuku'' of the famous tea master Sen no Rikyu, who was ordered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to commit seppuku in 1591 due to political differences and Rikyu's excessive independence.
** "The Hero": Usagi meets a woman on the road, a poetess trapped in an unhappy arranged marriage to a minor lord with a higher status in court and a drinking problem. The husband can't stand that her fame outstrips his own (and due to the peace, has no way of advancing via his martial skills, hence the drinking). He eventually murders her, then realizes that even in death his wife will be more remembered than he, and commits seppuku (blaming his wife for it, of course).