You may recall that back in 2020 there was a plan to create an animated series based on the Usagi Yojimbo graphic novels. During the initial announcement, it was revealed that they didn't plan to do a straight adaptation of Sakai's rabbit ronin Miyamoto Usagi, but rather expand the mythology of the series by focusing on one of his descendants. They have finally given us a look at the upcoming series, called Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles, and it looks like an interesting twist on the Usagi stories.
Yuichi Usagi dreamed of saving lives like Miyamoto after hearing stories of his legendary ancestors. After training to be a ninja, it looks like he's finally going to get his chance in protecting Neo-Edo's citizens after an extremely powerful yoKai show up. In this case, the rhino bounty hunter Gen, the fox thief Kitsune, and the cat ninja are going to help him defeat the yoKai.
I can't speak to whether or not Samurai Rabbit capture the spirit found in Sakai's work, but I can say that I haven't read the Yojimbo comics. The character designs from French studio Gaumont look really good, and compared to how western kids animation can usually look, this show seems to be more deliberate. It probably doesn't hurt that Sakai is one of the show's executive producers, so he was able to help guide the series. A rabbit ninja swinging through a city using a mystic yo-yo is just interesting enough to get people interested.
If they let Samurai live longer than two seasons, they will have another potential winner on their hands. With how hungry animation fans are for something different, there is an audience that will love this and get it on everyone else's radar in no time. The show should at least inspire viewers to check out the source material it is based on.
The Usagi Chronicles will be released on April 28.
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