Duel At Kitanoji (Usagi Yojimbo, book 17) (v. 17)
Adult/High School--In Seasons (Dark Horse, 1999), Nakamura Koji discovered that the mysterious samurai who defeated him and started him on his warrior's pilgrimage was Katsuichi, Usagi's teacher. After defeating Usagi in a duel, he instructed him to inform Katsuichi that they would duel at Kitanoji in one year. Duel covers the last weeks of the journey to Kitanoji as the parties involved meet up with one another, and concludes with the titular conflict. Sakai includes helpful cultural notes about the place of vendettas in samurai culture and some rough sketches of cover images for the graphic novel, which show the evolution of his ideas. The story is full of detail, in both pictures and text, of historical Japan, although the characters are all anthropomorphic animals. The black-and-white art is crisp and attractive, with masterful pacing and touches of humor. This book will appeal to manga fans, but it has a lot to offer anyone.--Susan Salpini, Fairfax County Public Schools, VACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.