Usagi Yojimbo is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai.
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19 Facts About Usagi Yojimbo
2.
Usagi Yojimbo is heavily influenced by Japanese cinema; it has included references to the work of Akira Kurosawa, as well as to icons of popular Japanese cinema, such as Lone Wolf and Cub, Zatoichi, and Godzilla.
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3.
Usagi Yojimbo was named the 31st-greatest comic book character by Empire magazine and was ranked 92nd in IGN's list of the top 100 comic book heroes.
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4.
Usagi Yojimbo first appeared in the anthology Albedo Anthropomorphics in 1984, and later in the Fantagraphics Books anthropomorphic anthology Critters, before appearing in his own series in 1987.
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5.
The Usagi Yojimbo series has been published by four different companies.
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6.
Usagi Yojimbo is a creator-owned comic and Sakai has complete and sole ownership of the character, Miyamoto Usagi has been able to appear in occasional short stories published by companies other than the one currently publishing his series.
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7.
Usagi Yojimbo has appeared in stories published by Cartoon Books, Oni Press, Sky Dog Press, Wizard Press, and most recently in the benefit book Drawing the Line, the proceeds of which went to Princess Margaret Hospital and The Hospital for Sick Children, both in Toronto, for cancer research.
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8.
Usagi Yojimbo has serialized two short stories in a comic strip format in the tabloid-size promotional publication Dark Horse Extra.
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9.
Usagi Yojimbo stories have been created as both single-page "gag" stories and as multi-issue epic adventures.
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10.
Usagi Yojimbo was even joined by Gen and other characters from his stories in his guest appearances in the 2003 series.
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11.
Usagi Yojimbo first appeared in episodes 32 and 34 in the third season of the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series.
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12.
Usagi Yojimbo again appeared in episode 13 of season 4 for a confrontation with Leonardo, although the focus was mainly on Gen.
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13.
Usagi Yojimbo becomes one of their greatest inter-dimensional allies and especially closest to Leonardo.
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14.
In September 2016, an appearance of Usagi Yojimbo was announced for the 2012 CGI series of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
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15.
Project for an animated television series, Space Usagi Yojimbo, was cancelled following the failure of Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars.
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16.
However, Space Usagi Yojimbo was one of the action figures produced under the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line.
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17.
Several of the characters in Usagi Yojimbo's world are inspired by or make reference to samurai movies.
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18.
Usagi Yojimbo's former lord is named Mifune, which is a nod to Toshiro Mifune, an actor who starred in countless classic Samurai films.
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19.
The storyline "The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy" includes elements reminiscent of the classic Akira Kurosawa films The Seven Samurai and The Hidden Fortress, particularly the way that Usagi Yojimbo collects various allies to raid an evil lord's fortress.
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