The Worst Ronin Review: Demons, Drunks, and a Headstrong Heroine
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
The cover art for ‘The Worst Ronin’ (at least the edition I was reading) features two samurais, with one of them holding a smart-phone, ready to take a selfie. It’s set in a fictional Feudal Japan, where people have TV, phones, and wi-fi, but they still ride horses and skirmish with swords. Clearly, a fantasy-action tale not to be taken too seriously! And I read it in that vein.
Written by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, and illustrated by Faith Schaffer ‘The Worst Ronin’ follows sixteen-year-old Chihiro, as she volunteers to replace her dad on a mission to kill a demon devouring children and terrorizing a village. Chihiro hopes to get a spot at a Kesi Academy, a famous training center for Samurai, that doesn’t enroll women. Chihiro’s idol Tatsua, a legendary samurai turned penniless drunk is the only woman to have been at the Kesi Acadmey and Chihiro hires Tatsuo to help her defeat the demon.
Tatsuo’s character is hilarious, and she is, of course, the titular ‘Worst Ronin’, once a famed samurai celebrated for single-handedly cutting down dozens of soldiers, even inspiring a hit film about her exploits (this is retro-futuristic Feudal Japan, after all). Now, she’s just a drunk wanderer taking on random odd jobs. She is difficult to work with, so even though she accompanies Chihiro on her demon-slaying mission, she shows no faith in Chihiro’s skills, constantly pulling the poor girl’s self-esteem down.
Chihiro, on the other hand, is a fairly typical protagonist, over-enthusiastic, convinced she can take on the world, without quite having the skills to match her ambition. But through relentless practice, she slowly grows into the hero she longs to be. And when she isn’t sharpening her sword skills, she is on the phone, almost like a Gen-Z kid, but in ancient Japan.
Given the comical tone of ‘The Worst Ronin’, I thought the graphic novel would just be a silly, funny story about older Samurai Tatsuo annoying the hell out of teen Chihiro. But Maggie Tokuda-Hall also packs in some shocking deaths, and violence in the tale, which was a welcome surprise. The women get to battle both supernatural demons, and regular evil men in their journey.
The art is cute and lively, and though the story sometimes bounces all over the place, it works as a delightfully silly action-fantasy fueled by friendship, family, vengeance, and loyalty.
Rating for ‘The Worst Ronin’: 4 on 5 stars.
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