#i guess this sorta qualifies as a rant even if its mild

[aaghht]

Usagi Chronicles and reviews

I'm watching Usagi Chronicles reviews and there seems to be this general misconception around the internet that netflix somehow took the idea of a usagi TV show and muddled up the possibility of a direct adaptation? Or are people just mad that it's not their idea of a Usagi series? Like of course youtube reviews are going to be full of strange outrage and misplaced cricicisms over cartoons so I can't take those seriously, but even just fandom chatter sometimes has this idea going around that it's somehow a bad series for not adhering to the comic 100%. Or sometimes I’ll see other viewers’ comments like “it had so much potential but it could have been better”. I thought I’d collect my thoughts on this using references I’ve seen around before, such as interviews and articles with Stan Sakai and others. I don’t really agree with this view that the show has to be bad for not getting a “perfect” vision or adaptation and I don’t really believe that it squandered any “potential” either.

Like I think this show is super interesting to look at from a “how it was made” kind of perspective. The story and art are actually pretty good imo and the music really feels like it ties it all together by adding to the mood and setting + for carrying a lot of the series from an emotional POV. Yeah, it falls a bit short on some aspects but overall it’s a pretty fun series. Whatever you might personally know about animation or tv series making, it looks like a lot of care was put into this Samurai Rabbit cartoon.

EDIT(10.02.2023+27.03.2023): under a readmore bc this got way too long, but u should definitely check out these interviews if u still think the show didn’t respect Sakai’s original world and vision, or if u wanna write your own review one day but don’t know anything abt how the show was made.

Interviews/articles:

Filmschool Rejects (article), April 2022 The Popverse (interview), May 2022 Stan Sakai and the Usagi Chronicles | Comic-Con@Home 2021 Comic Book Couples Counseling (podcast interview), May 2022 Traversing the Stars (video interview), Jul 2022

Stan Sakai has said in at least 2 interviews that what got him on board was the view of Neo Edo painted by Khang Le (art director on series, check his work out on his website) - when no other idea suggested so far appealed to him. So this means he was on board with the show and approved of it. even if the concept is essentially a spinoff/alternate universe to older fans (it started off as based on or taking ideas from Sakai's Senso miniseries). What I like most about the series is that it seems to be respectful about both old and new japanese culture albeit being set in a semi-futuristic Edo-style re-imagining of the feudal japan that Sakai writes in Usagi Yojimbo. Stan Sakai was involved in the making of it so it cannot be in any other way. I've seen some american animated shows in the past which have approached this "culture inspiration" differently, sometimes even in ways where it feels weird or disrespectful. This show even has an all-asian english main cast, and japanese-american composer Aiko Fukushima has made the soundtrack for it, which I feel is a little rare to see. But hey, I'm european asian, not US asian so maybe I'm seeing all that in a different way here.

Like it kinda feels like ppl got stuck on previous animated versions and their own idea of what an adaptation/series should be. I know many were probably looking forward to a faithful animated adaptation but things are what they are and feels a bit unfair to say that what we got somehow took away from that chance. Like it is just one show.

yeah ok, it's aimed at children and it sorta pulls its punches on the tone and seriousness. but that doesn't have to be a bad thing? Having a "media tent" for younger viewers can mean that there'll be new readers introduced to the original comic series through this cartoon. It's also obvious to see that the people working on this are also fans of Sakai's work and wanted to make something fun, despite any tv animation limits, so I sorta wish people saw that more.

Or even more down the line is people saying it mucks up Sakai's vision about the comic series. Like. He is listed as "executive producer" and every design, script and decision went through him first. From interviews it sounds like he had a lot of trust in the team, to make something he would also like. It's ok to dislike the show for various reasons, as we do with all shows but at least respect that the comic author himself has approved of the series.

like im not saying people are saying all this directly, just various sentiments I've seen in reviews, boards and social media etc, but I feel like this misunderstaning is behing the reason why ppl dunk on the show and characters so easily? Of course, as someone who is still reading the comic series (have read a few comics, but not enough to know everything about it), maybe I just have a very limited view on this as someone who happens to like the tv show itself too. I love the art and storytelling in the comic but I also really like the animated series just for what it is.

Maybe it's also that we as internet-goers have become even moreso accustomed to seeing, reviewing and thinking about our media in such a superficial critical way that we can't really share honest opinions without feeling the need to add "real criticisms" to what we say. I feel like that's a bit connected to the "outrage culture" mentioned at the beginning too but honestly this has been a problem abt cartoon/media reviews for a longer time already. Like it's valid to not like stuff but at least don't make stuff up about them

man... I should try writing my own review faster but I really want to see other reviews first (they are a slog to get thru bc I have trouble watching video reviews)

anyway.... lol just some semi-collected thoughts.

at the end of the day, for me personally, I just genuinely like this series and it brings me joy to see that the crew and cast and Sakai himself seemed to really enjoy making it too. It’s nice to see both from interviews and the show itself. maybe it just makes me a bit sad that I keep finding shows where I see that there’s goodness in it and then the majority of viewers I come across online find it different.... like yeah, it had potential for “more” but also what we got was good. I’m happy the show got made.

#usagi chronicles #srtuc #yeah i am too lazy to tag anything else rn its 3am while im drawing #aghhtposts #aghhtjournal #random thoughts #this is only mildly annoying bc juniper lee got way worse reviews so like. i assume people don't google more about shows to see interviews #or other interesting things #i guess this sorta qualifies as a rant even if its mild #rant / #texty #long post #me writing and editing this on tumblr at 2-5 am: #fully awayre that tumblr might just bungo it up and delete everything