#SORRY i went way more in-depth with my reply than I meant to x3

[drawnaghht]

OOOH!! 👀 *ZOOMS INTO THIS ARTICLE*

thank you for posting this and rambling more about it!! of course, it is more positive in a promotional sort of tone, but I love how long it is! I'm gonna be reading this again for weeks ^^ I also like how they mention how it's technically the 26th century for Usagi and his team, cuz I haven't seen that mentioned as much in either articles or fan posts! very awesome! ^^

longer reply under cut!

but ye, I agree that it's sorta strange that even this longer article messes up the names a bit occasionally but who knows, maybe they did have some insider info instead? In interviews for longer articles, I've noticed that sometimes very broad or specific info can get lost or changed up in the process of editing the article. I had done an interview for my own workplace (unrelated to fandom) and the interviewer actually mixed up a lot of topics and names from the original transcript, even though I had specifically linked to them ^^; So maybe something similar happened here? This focuses much more on the aspects of the comic which bring through japanese culture, which makes sense considering the magazine this is. I do like that they say how the series does well by the culture itself, taking the Edo period and imagining a futuristic japan from that and modern influences. I'm glad to read that because I've heard and read videos/articles which confidently state the reverse, without really delving into what Stan himself has said about the series or what went into producing it (so youtube reviewers for example, I won't get into it). So it's just cool to see a magazine article meant for the pacific islander readers actually get that aspect of the show. Like, with the previous interviews I've seen, I really feel like the show was also meant for viewers like these, both the japanese diaspora in the US and other asians who can appreciate the research effort put in (and going off on a tangent a bit, but altogether for me it left a feeling that the show had a very 70s aesthetic for some of its world design, but it also felt very unique in its attempt to depict a different futuristic japan, with more research behind it). Lol maybe I am thinking too much of it, but I think it's just nice to see someone write otherwise respectfully of the series and taking it just as-is (a cartoon for kids with Stan Sakai and crew putting japanese culture at the front).

With the names, there's also a distinct possibility that the author who wrote it was so much more focused on how "Usagi Yojimbo" is based on Miyamoto Musashi in large parts, so, because the "samurai trilogy" are such well-known films among japanese-americans, in their excitement the writer simply forgot x3 But also, the article gets so specific about a few other topics, this and the other name-mix-ups (I kinda feel like that's what some of those Usagi Yojimbos maybe were?) feel a bit surprising, as if they were nervous to write about it?

one of my favourite parts:

I am also honestly curious how the cartoon did among japanese audiences since I know the comic isn't that well-known there either. I'm surprised that they say it's only subtitled, because since I started watching the series in August, I've seen it in the japanese dub as well. It's quite good and has interesting translations for some of the lines depending on context.

One thing I'd like to point out though, is how the article is from july 2022. that means it was talking about season one, with season 2 airing in september. It could have also been written before the series aired in April the same year, but then, why mention the series having aired in april, or 10 more episodes at all? This begs the question though - the last paragraphs mention that the "next 10 episodes" [after season 1] are in post-production and will air later in 2022 or the next year. But that also that "after that" "we have something "big, really big plans." I wonder what this is actually hinting at? Could it be the now out-since-last-week new TMNT crossover? Or could it even be the Kagemusha anthology comics idea Stan mentioned in the CBCC podcast interview? (the one about having a team of creators all do tackling different, almost "otherworlds" Usagi stories) ...A very small part of me is hoping it's some sort of announcement on a season 3 for the Samurai Rabbit series 😂 or maybe even like, something related to that but more surprising?

Thanks again for sharing this, it was a really insightful read!

oooh, @freakova, I am curious now what interview this is? might just be that I've already read it and forgot, but I am curious to read it :D

Thank you for the compliments on my post, I'm glad it was helpful! lol I am just now having more time to reply to replies and comments, so I hope you don't mind this reply so late, 3 days later.

Now this has got me thinking that probably why they didn't go wiht Miyamoto Yuichi is because ye, it's to make him recognizable as Usagi - but also Miyamoto Yuichi seems to be a really common name combination in real life, so maybe they wanted to avoid making google searches confusing heheh xP (this is something I try to avoid with my own OCs and original stories for example haha)