Usagi Yojimbo issue #2 picks up where issue #1 left off: a massive bomb or spaceship had landed on the battlefield. The warriors of both sides shuffle off, looking like zombies or, at the very least, extremely traumatized by what had happened. A lot of the combatants died, but some, like Usagi, were able to dig themselves out. Usagi manages to find Jotaro and they make their way back to their camp.
Note: This recap may contain spoilers!
Lord Noriyuki and his advisors look at the thing that landed in amazement and wonder what it could be. To their surprise, Lord Hikiji is moving his forces towards the object. Hikiji seems to think it could be from the gods and that if he is first to greet it, the gods will grant him the will to win his war against Noriyuki. However, things don’t go as planned when a periscope type thing pops up and annihilates Hikiji’s forces. Some tentacle things even come out and grab Hikiji.
Noriyuki sends in a spy, Chizu, to observe the object and see if anything comes out of it. She does indeed see something strange: creatures building something. As readers, we now know it’s a spaceship and those creatures are a type of alien. However, the cast of characters has no idea what they are. Chizu even likens them to tako (octopus) and while she doesn’t know what they are doing, she knows they can be killed, which is slightly good news.
Some time later, the aliens have completed their work. Two massive walking towers begin moving around the battlefield. Noriyuki and his people are in complete shock. They have no idea how to even begin to fight these things. Finally, Noriyuki decides to use Takenoko’s turtle looking tank weapon from the last issue, even though he found it dishonorable. It is the only way to beat the aliens. Sadly, only one tower is destroyed and the other begins wreaking havoc on the battlefield. Noriyuki looks on in dismay as his forces are being gunned down. Takenoko is more worried that more spaceships will fall out of the sky.
This issue was really great. It has some nice character moments, mostly between Usagi and Tomoe. There isn’t a lot of Usagi in this issue as the main focus is on the ship, the aliens, and whatever they are up to. Readers get shown just enough to keep them wanting more, as all good mysteries should do. I’m very interested to see if Hikiji is dead or just captured, as that wasn’t made very clear. I’m also wondering, like Takenoko, if more aliens will descend on the world.
