Usagi Yojimbo Book 6: Circles [Paperback]

Stan Sakai (Author), Jeff Smith (Introduction)

Book Description

In the title story, Usagi returns to his native village to find everything very different indeed. "Circles" is an epic adventure, a love story, and one of the most affecting Usagi stories ever. Plus three more great stories!

Circles features the graphic-novel-length epic title story, in which Usagi returns to his native village only to find everything very different indeed. (The discovery that his mentor, whom he thought dead, is actually alive and kicking is only the first of the shocks that await him.) "Circles" is an epic adventure, a love story, and one of the most affecting Usagi stories ever. In addition to the 80-page "Circles," this volume includes "The Bridge," "The Duel," and the hard-to-find "The Tangled Skein" from Critters #38. Jam-packed with lethal sword battles alternating with humor, horror, suspense and slapstick, this beautifully crafted and exciting volume (with an introduction by Jeff Smith creator of Bone) is both an excellent starting point for new readers, and an absolute necessity for Usagi completists. Black-and-white comics throughout

Editorial Reviews

Review

One of the most original, innovative, well-executed comic books anywhere to be found. (Stan Lee )

I’ve just finished the fourth Usagi Yojimbo trade and the fifth is sitting next to me... If you’re like me, throw away your preconceptions about anthropomorphic comics and get on board. As a fan of samurai fiction (to the point of having a Seven Samurai tattoo) and comics, I can’t recommend Stan Sakai’s beautifully drawn, note-perfect reinvention of the genre highly enough. (Kevin Church - BeaucoupKevin.com )

These bittersweet adventure stories offer entertaining reading, especially for young Asian-Americans who feel excluded from mainstream juvenile literature. (Los Angeles Times )

About the Author

Stan Sakai is a third-generation Japanese American and multiple Eisner-Award-winning cartoonist, creator of the popular and long-running Usagi Yojimbo comic book. Born in Japan, he grew up in Hawaii and lives in Pasadena, CA.

Jeff Smith is the award-winning creator of the comic books Bone and RASL.

Product Details

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books (November 13, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560971460
• ISBN-13: 978-1560971467
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #379,740 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Definitive Usagi Yojimbo Book, April 1, 2000

By 

Adam Rakunas (Santa Monica, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Usagi Yojimbo, Book 6: Circles (Hardcover)

Of all the collections of "Usagi Yojimbo" I have, this one is my favorite, second to volume four (which includes the "Samurai!" storyline). Volume Six has everything that makes Usagi great: tales of derring-do and honor, stories about ghosts and demons, and the return of Mariko, Usagi's long lost love. Stan Sakai's art and scripting can't be any better as he spins an epic tale of a Japan that never was, but really should have been. Plus, it's got bunnies with swords. How can you go wrong?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Usagi's greatest turning point, June 15, 2008

By 

shaxper (Lakewood, OH) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Usagi Yojimbo Book 6: Circles (Paperback)

Usagi Yojimbo is the kind of quality work that transcends time, genres, demographics, and even age groups. It crafts a delicate and beautiful balance between honor and savagery, cute innocence and dark brutality, simple heart-warming stories and multi-part epics that shape a dense continuity. Whether or not you've ever been a fan of feudal Japanese culture, furry anthro characters, or independent, non-superhero comics, Usagi Yojimbo is a comic that can't help but impress even the harshest critic.

Prior to this volume, Usagi was a fantastic character. Yet, as a seemingly flawless samurai both in spirit and in combat, I always found him a bit hard to relate to. Usagi always did what was right, and he always won. This is perhaps exhibited best in "The Bridge," the first story in this volume. It's my absolute favorite of the early Usagi stories in which he faces an impossible antagonist and not only wins, but wins with great dignity.

However, the four part "Circles" storyline, which begins part way into this volume, blows all of this out of the water. It begins with Usagi, whose premise has always been centered on his warrior's pilgrimage, deciding to finally go home. In attempting to do so, so much of what we've known of Usagi and his back story begins to shatter. From the return of his long lost sensei to a jaw dropping reunion with Mariko and, most importantly, a ground shaking revelation that has its roots in a mistake Usagi made years earlier, it becomes clear that Usagi will never be the same again. Once this volume concludes, he is a far different, more flawed, and far more human protagonist -- the kind of character you can root for while profoundly empathizing with him at the same time. In "Circles," the character of Miyamoto Usagi finally finds his soul.

Additionally, the introduction of Jotaro and the profoundly disturbing return of Jei add to an already thoroughly compelling story while building upon the Usagi Yojimbo universe at the same time. These are two of Sakai's greatest characters, and those qualities shine brightly even in this early adventure.

While Usagi Yojimbo is a title that continually gets stronger through the years, "Circles" is perhaps the earliest adventure that I return to on a regular basis, still absolutely holding its own in comparison to all the amazing stories and developments that came after.

5.0 out of 5 stars usagir review, November 3, 2011

By 

scott - See all my reviews

This review is from: Usagi Yojimbo Book 6: Circles (Paperback)

Of all the collections of "Usagi Yojimbo" I have, this one is my favorite, second to volume four (which includes the "Samurai!" storyline). Volume Six has everything that makes Usagi great: tales of derring-do and honor, stories about ghosts and demons, and the return of Mariko, Usagi's long lost love. Stan Sakai's art and scripting can't be any better as he spins an epic tale of a Japan that never was, but really should have been. Plus, it's got bunnies with swords. How can you go wrong? This was the first manga i read and i liked it.