The creator of Usagi Yojimbo was signing comics at Rose City Comic-con last weekend, and according to several different reports, he confirmed that his character will in fact be making a return to the lore of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Although we had previously seen the logo for a new line of toys based on the rabbit ronin, there was no confirmation that we would be seeing Miyamoto Usagi in any other form. If the latest reports are true, Stan Sakai himself has finally confirmed that Usagi will be in Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series.
There may not be an official announcement from Nickelodeon as of yet, but the creator himself has already broken the silence. If I had to guess when we can expect the official press release, I chances are that we may hear something at NYCC in October. Regardless, it’s nice to hear that Sakai has been nice enough to allow Nick to use his character in their TMNT series.
Considering how careful he has been about where and how Miyamoto would appear in other franchises, something tells me that he personally read and approved of the script. If Stan Sakai likes your work enough to bring back Usagi Yojimbo, that’s definitely a good sign. That being said, we have no idea how much involvement Sakai has had in this project. All we know for sure at this point is that he signed some paperwork.
Miyamoto Usagi has a long history with the turtles, so he should be a perfect fit in Nick’s TMNT series. Image Source: Fantagraphics Books.
Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has already made references to several different iterations of the franchise in its first four seasons. At this point, it makes perfect sense for them to finally introduce yet another memorable friend of the turtles.
I don’t know about you, but I am hopeful that this will be more than just a one-time episode. How awesome would it be if Usagi Yojimbo became a somewhat regular character in Nick’s TMNT series? Whatever happens next, I’m just happy to see Miyamoto Usagi return to the Ninja Turtles lore once again. Now all we have to do is wait until we see those rabbit ears pop up on our TV screens for the first time in a decade!
