Meet Yaiba: Samurai Legend in His Original Manga!
Anime and manga fans may know Gosho Aoyama best for Detective Conan, released in the West as Case Closed. But in the upcoming spring season, we’ll be reintroduced to one of his other young heroes! Yaiba: Samurai Legend is getting a fresh new anime adaptation. And thanks to Viz, you can start reading his classic adventures before the new anime airs!
Who is Yaiba? Is he truly as legendary as he claims? And what exactly is his whole deal? Join us in answering at least one of these questions as we peruse volume 1 of the manga’s English release!
Meet Yaiba
Meet Yaiba Kurogane, the title character of Yaiba: Samurai Legend. This young man has one skill set: Be Samurai. He’s studied swordplay with his father Kenjurou, but he’s missed out on other life skills in the process. As a result, he’s motivated and driven, but has no social skills to speak of whatsoever. That would be fine for young student Sayaka Mine, except for one problem. Kenjurou has gone home, leaving his son in the care of Sayaka’s family.
Now she’s guiding her weird new friend through school, and life in general. If he’s not causing a ruckus in class, he’s facing down his rival: Takeshi Onimaru. So far, so silly, right? But things soon turn dire when Onimaru decides to train even harder and unleash his demonic side.
The Real Story
While volume 1 of this new Yaiba: Samurai Legend release clocks in at nearly two dozen chapters, the true story is just getting started. Onimaru’s training, and his acquisition of a legendary sword, turn him into a literal demon. His sights are no longer set on putting a little kid in his place. Now, as the Devil Wind incarnate, he wants to rule over everything. So Yaiba will have to train harder to match him!
Fortunately, the young samurai is worthy to bear the Thunder God’s sword: the second legendary weapon in this series. But where Onimaru allowed himself to be taken over by his sword, our hero must train to tame it. And so, the true battle commences!
The Vibe
Yaiba: Samurai Legend has a lot of goofy retro energy to it. There are absolutely epic sword battles. And thanks to Onimaru’s megalomaniacal ways, there are some scary beasts running around. But the series, at least in its early chapters, never loses the manic fun it had on launch. Yaiba himself, while he may be fully comic relief in the day-to-day, actually has skills to back up his nonsense.
This energy, combined with WIT Studio’s animation, promises the perfect blend of action and hijinks come April. Intrigued? Grab the Viz app and start reading Yaiba: Samurai Legend. Then watch the anime when it premieres April 5 on Netflix and Hulu!
