Bamboo Blade

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Bamboo Blade


caption =
ja_name = バンブーブレード
ja_name_trans = Banbū Burēdo
genre = Comedy, Sports, Slice of life storyInfobox animanga/Manga
author = Masahiro Totsuka (author)
Aguri Igarashi (art)
publisher = flagicon|Japan Square Enix
publisher_en = flagicon|USA Yen Press
magazine = flagicon|Japan Young Gangan
flagicon|USA Yen Plus
demographic = Seinen
first = December 3 2004
last = ongoing
volumes = 8Infobox animanga/Anime
director = Hisashi Saitou
studio = flagicon|Japan AIC A.S.T.A
licensor =
network = flagicon|Japan TV Tokyo
first = October 2 2007
last = April 2 2008
episode_list =
episodes = 26nihongo|"Bamboo Blade"|バンブーブレード|Banbū Burēdo is a Japanese manga series written by Masahiro Totsuka, and illustrated by Aguri Igarashi. The manga was first serialized in the Japanese seinen manga magazine "Young Gangan" starting December 3 2004. The manga has been licensed for distribution in North America by Yen Press. [citeweb|url= http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-04-19/yen-announces-titles-to-run-in-anthology-magazine|title=Yen Press Announces Titles to Run in Anthology Mag|publisher=Anime News Network|date=April 19 2008|accessdate=2008-04-19] An anime adaptation by AIC A.S.T.A was broadcast in Japan between October 2 2007 and April 2 2008 on TV Tokyo. The series tells the story of a Toraji Ishida, a luckless high school Kendo instructor, who is challenged by his former upperclassman, also a kendo instructor, to a competition between their female students. The bet inspires Toraji to gather and train a team of five girls. Fortuitously, at this time he meets Tamaki Kawazoe, a gifted young female kendo practitioner.

Characters

Most surnames are taken from winners of the All Japan Kendo Championships.

Muroe High School

;Nihongo|Toraji Ishida|石田 虎侍|Ishida Toraji:anime voices|Katsuyuki Konishi:Also known as "Kojirō", he is the kendo instructor, and also a teacher of politics and economics, at Muroe High School. He is perpetually impoverished and lives from paycheck to paycheck, often taking handouts of food from his students. He is offered the chance of a lifetime from an old senpai -- a year's supply of sushi if his female kendo team can beat his senpai's in a practice tournament. This inspires Kojirō to put an effort into training his team, much to the delight of his most dedicated student, Kirino Chiba. The only person who knows the real reason for Kojirō's inspiration is Yūji Nakata, who calls him "pathetic". Kojirō's parents own a convenience store, but it is revealed that they used to own a store that sold sake. Kojirō's parents look young for their age, and in his mother's case, act young (she makes a hobby of collecting cute things). Despite Kojirō's poverty, he somehow owns and maintains a high-performance car. In high school, he was a member of the kendo club, and at that time he defeated his senpai, Kenzaburō, at a tournament to win a trophy. Though he has little affinity for the trophy itself, he cherishes the memory of his victory over Kenzaburō -- though he told Kenzaburō his victory was due to luck, he personally believes he won was because he was stronger than his senpai.

;Nihongo|Tamaki Kawazoe|川添 珠姫|Kawazoe Tamaki:anime voices|Ryō Hirohashi:Tamaki Kawazoe is a first year high school student who is nicknamed "Tama-chan" for short. Despite being a kendo prodigy, she does not see it as a hobby, but rather just as a chore honed at her home, which happens to be a kendo dojo led by her father. She refuses to join the school's Kendo Club because she thinks it is unnecessary, but temporarily becomes a member in order to fight off a bully. She despises injustice due to her overdeveloped sense of righteousness and fair play inspired from watching tokusatsu (Her favorite being Blade Braver, a show within a show) as a child. She remains a big anime and tokusatsu fan despite her age. At first she is very shy and unsociable, but after holding a part-time job at Miyako's acquaintance's store she begins to overcome her shyness and open up to her teammates more often. Kirino and Sayako (and for that matter, most girls in the story) find her very cute, often putting Tamaki's hair up in ponytails or making her fight in kendo matches just because they want to see her fight. She knows Yūji before the series's beginning, and has been called "Tama-chan" by him since their childhood (although she does not like the nickname very much, since it makes her seem childish). She is described as being the strength of the group by Kojirō. Tamaki lost for the very first time in the Kanto High School Kendo Tournament to Rin, Tamaki's arch-rival stemming from the Blade Braver series. Her loss was partly because Rin used a stance which reminded her of her late mother causing her to lose focus and concentration temporarily.:She plays the position of General (Taishou) in the competition.

;Nihongo|Kirino Chiba|千葉 紀梨乃|Chiba Kirino:anime voices|Megumi Toyoguchi:Kirino Chiba is a second year high school student, and the captain of the kendo club. Energetic and enthusiastic, she dreams of leading the team to the nationals. Her family owns a deli named "Chiba Deli". Kirino is very happy that Kojirō has finally begun to put more effort into training his kendo team, but she is oblivious to the real reason that her teacher has suddenly begun to train the team so enthusiastically. She is proud that she is the captain of the kendo club and is more responsible than she appears (i.e., picking up the shinai when the other members leave them lying around on the floor, chiding the other members for not picking up after themselves, etc.). Kirino seems to find Tamaki quite adorable, as she and Sayako will often treat Tamaki as a "little sister" type (i.e., playing with Tamaki's hair, not listening to her kendo lectures, making Tamaki fight merely because she wants to see her fight, etc.). Despite that, however, she has great confidence in Tamaki. She is described as being the heart of the group by Kojirō. She also shows a strong emotional attachment to Kojirō as displayed in the last anime episode when he comes back as the club's instructor.:She plays the position of Second-in-Command (Fukushou) in the competition.

;Nihongo|Miyako Miyazaki|宮崎 都|Miyazaki Miyako:anime voices|Houko Kuwashima:Miyako Miyazaki is a first year high school student nicknamed "Miya-Miya". She is introduced as a very pretty and friendly girl, and to the surprise of many, the girlfriend of Danjūrō. However, in reality, she possesses a very dark and sadistic personality, but hides it in order to be together with Danjūrō. (In the manga she also smokes in school and hangs out with two girls that are possibly delinquents, but is not seen doing so in the anime) When Miyako shows her more sadistic side, she is surrounded by a black aura and acts in a rather eerie and cruel manner, but she instantly switches back to her friendly façade when others are approaching or calling her name. Having only joined the Kendo Club because Danjūrō was in it, she initially finds it boring, but would later enjoy it after realizing she likes to hit people. She has rather quick and powerful strikes, but in the beginning of the series she does not use any other moves other than attempting to strike her opponents in the head (that is, in the anime). In one episode of the anime, however, Miyako was shown to strike at the other areas on her opponent, although none of the strikes counted due to incorrect posture. She is very afraid of her middle school classmate, Reimi Odajima, due to a love relationship incident which got Reimi stalking her ever since. As the series goes on, her kendo skills begins to improve tremendously and she finally managed to score a "kote" point against Azuma in the 22 episode. :She plays the position of Second-Vanguard (Jihô) in the competition.

;Nihongo|Sayako Kuwahara|桑原 鞘子|Kuwahara Sayako:anime voices|Sachiko Kojima:Sayako Kuwahara is a second year high school student who is described as being random and spontaneous, often changing her interests and goals. During her first year, she joins the Kendo Club, but would sometimes disappear for short periods of time, claiming to quit. She and Kirino have known each other since elementary school, and Kirino often calls her "Saya". She is one of the tallest members on the team, which others poke fun at by "mistakenly" calling her a boy. In the storyline, she was seen to improve her footwork tremendously after a brief teaching session from Tamaki. Sayako, like Kirino, thinks that Tamaki is cute, as she and Kirino will sometimes do silly things to Tamaki (i.e., playing with Tamaki's hair, not listening to her kendo lectures, making Tamaki fight merely because she wants to see her fight, etc.). She is rather pessimistic, and always claims to pursue death the moment she fails at something. In the anime, her writer's hobby is seen when telling stories, like explaining why Asuma quit kendo in a dramatic fashion (although her friends gave her three points since they found her "story" uninteresting).:She plays the position of Center (Chûken) in the competition.

;Nihongo|Satori Azuma|東 聡莉|Azuma Satori:anime voices|Rina Satō:Satori Azuma, a first-year high school student (that is, in the anime), is the fifth and the last person to join the Kendo Club. She is very talented in kendo. In fact, Satori is the second strongest in the club, with Tamaki being the strongest. However, she is very bad with her studies despite her diligence, which is why she decided to quit kendo after middle school--in order to concentrate on her studies. It is revealed her glasses are fake; she thought she would get smarter by wearing them. Because she is rather naïve, she is tricked by Miyako Miyazaki into joining the club, thinking that Kendo will help her improve her studies. Satori is comically clumsy, as demonstrated in the ending sequences and some of the previews in the anime.:She plays the position of Vanguard (Senpou) in the competition.

;Nihongo|Yūji Nakata|中田 勇次|Nakata Yūji:anime voices|Daisuke Sakaguchi:Yūji Nakata is a kind, cheerful, and helpful first year student who joins the Kendo Club. He was a member of his junior high school's kendo club and had also attended the Kawazoe Dojo. He had reached the top eight in the prefectural games during junior high. In the Q&A of the manga, Tamaki asserts that he is stronger than Toyama. He is almost on par with Tamaki in skill, and he has defeated Satori Azuma once. Yūji has used kendo to scare away some gangsters, although he panicked after the gangsters had run off. He is also the only person who knows of Kojirō's true reason for training his kendo team with more gusto than before. He also possesses considerable academic skill as he scored fourth out of all the Freshman on the regional exams.

;Nihongo|Danjūrō Eiga|栄花 段十朗|Eiga Danjūrō:anime voices|Akira Ishida:Also known as Dan-kun, Danjūrō Eiga is a round and plain-faced first year who joins the Kendo Club with Yūji. He originally wanted to join the Ping Pong Club, but there was no such club in the school. He shocks Yūji and Kojirō when he brings his pretty girlfriend Miyako to join the club. While he finds the basic training to be "boring" (possibly because he wants to impress Miyako), he is rather proficient in scorekeeping, as shown in one episode of the anime. While he generally comes off as rather dim-witted, it appears he is perceptive to the character Miyako doesn't want him to see. In Episode 11, he was hinted to also have his own "dark side" during a staring contest he had with Kojirō, although his "black mode" was subtler than Miyako's "black mode" and his aura only showed in his eyes. He has no past experience with Kendo but is improving very quickly, even to the point where Yūji thinks Danjuro might surpass him before they graduate. Yūji has even remarked (in one episode of the anime) that Danjūrō was "made for kendo". Eiga is arguably the smartest member of the Kendo club because he scored 2nd place is the Muroe High School Regional exams for freshman. By the end of the anime series, it is revealed that he is the new captain of the Kendo Club.

;Nihongo|Toyama|外山:anime voices|Atsushi Imaruoka:Toyama is the school bully and formerly a member of the Kendo Club. He often ditches kendo practice and had caused all the previous club members to quit (with the exception of Kirino and Sayako) by pretending to "teach" them techniques, which was just him constantly hitting them with his shinai. Miyako attempts to teach him and Iwasa a lesson one time, but fails to do so when Sayako crashes into her. It appears that neither Toyama nor Iwasa come to kendo anymore. It is also shown in episodes twenty-two and twenty-three that he and Iwasa are delinquents, as they fought two other students when provoked in a video game arcade and destroyed two machines--an act that almost led to the kendo club's suspension. Although he and Iwasa terrorized the kendo club during their brief time in the club, Toyama actually feels that he is not as strong as he appears, as shown in episode twenty-four of the anime. Eventually both he and Iwasa decide to resign from the club to save it from suspension, even though they both do not hate kendo.

;Nihongo|Iwasa|岩佐:anime voices|Yūichi Ishigami:Iwasa is Toyama's friend and fellow Kendo Club member, who also ditches practice. Nothing much is known about this character, and he has not been seen with a shinai before in the anime. In the anime it appears that both he and Toyama have dropped kendo, as they no longer come by. Both he and Toyama are delinquents (see above) and have resigned kendo despite their fondness of it (also see above).

;Makoto Iwasa:Makoto is one of the new freshman members of the kendo club, who turns out to be Iwasa's little brother. He is patient, polite and cool-headed, unlike his brother who is a delinquent. Makoto is a total beginner when it comes to kendo. He was impressed when he observed Tamaki doing kendo, which makes him more motivated to join the kendo club. Makoto's kendo gear weas given to him by his brother.

;Shinobu Toyama:Shinobu wants to join clubs, such as the ping-pong club, lacrosse club, sepak takraw etc., but none of the clubs she likes exist. So in the end, she joins her friend, Makoto, in joining the kendo club. She is impatient and ill-mannered, but her attitude is better than her brother's. Her mother gave her her brother's gear.

Machido High School

;Nihongo|Kenzaburō Ishibashi|石橋 賢三郎|Ishibashi Kenzaburō:anime voices|Tetsu Inada:Kenzaburō Ishibashi is Kojirō's old senpai and the kendo coach from Machido High School. He was beaten by Kojirō during a kendo meet long ago in their high school years and seems to hold a grudge against him for that, even if it does not seem apparent. Kenzaburō is also jealous of Kojirō's team, particularly because he has Tamaki Kawazoe, a freshman of Muroe High who beat two of his kendo team members in a practice duel one time. Kenzaburō is a more dedicated teacher than Kojirō, but like his kohai he trains his kendo team only for his own personal gain. He is assumed to be married to Yoshikawa-sensei, one of the teachers at Muroe High School and Kojirō's co-worker who was also a temporary advisor to Muroe High's kendo club.

;Nihongo|Konatsu Harada|原田 小夏|Harada Konatsu:anime voices|Kei Shindō:Konatsu Harada, the first third-year student on the team, is the shortest of the five members of the team Kenzaburo chose, and also the shyest. She is rather skilled in kendo as Kenzaburo once remarks that she has a 2-dan rank, is "self-motivated", and comes to practice every day. She is very quiet and can be flustered by some of the things her team, particularly her teacher, does (as shown in one episode of the anime). Konatsu is one of the strongest members on the team, second only to Karen Nishiyama. During a practice match with Muroe High Konatsu was beaten by Tamaki Kawazoe.

;Nihongo|Maya Yokoo|横尾 摩耶|Yokoo Maya:anime voices|Kiyomi Yazawa:Maya Yokoo, the second third-year student on the team, is a competitive and tall girl with more team spirit than anyone else in her team. Maya is a bit of a tomboy and tends to speak in a rather aggressive and foul-mouthed manner, calling her teammates "twits" and "dumbasses" when they do not take kendo seriously. However, she will stick up for her teammates when Yūri says cruel things about them (or rather, Akemi), as shown in two episodes of the anime. Apparently she also seems to have a rather large appetite that causes her to eat so much that she ends up with a severe stomachache later on. Tamaki beat Maya during the last round of the practice match with Muroe High, much to the latter's displeasure and shock.

;Nihongo|Yūri Andō|安藤 優梨|Andō Yūri:anime voices|Mayuko Omimura:Yūri Andō, the first second-year student on the team, is a girl who seems to zone out most of the time and seems not to care much about winning, but her looks can deceive others greatly. She is rather skilled at kendo and is quite sadistic, like Miyako Miyazaki of Muroe High. Another trait of hers that resembles Miyako's is Yūri's tendency to turn "black" and let some of her true nature show through, which always manages to induce fear in everyone, including her own teammates. (Unlike Miyako, however, Yūri also tends to openly badmouth her teammates, particularly Akemi Asakawa, when they do something that displeases her.) When Yūri is showing her crueler side she is surrounded by a rather eerie black aura that looks rather similar to, if not exactly like, Miyako's "black" aura. Yūri also tends to resort to using nasty methods to win (such as tripping people with her foot, stepping on her opponents' feet, and "harassing" her opponent by showing her "black" aura) and then deny that she has cheated in a falsely sweet manner, much to the chagrin of the other members of her kendo team, who are already rather frustrated with her apparent lack of team spirit. Apparently Yūri has a bit of a sweet tooth, as she once cost her team precious time at a practice match with Muroe High by making them stop at a café so she could "charge" her brain with sugar. She apparently does not function well in the morning. Another one of Yūri's disturbing traits , seen in episode 15, is her ability to sleep with her eyes open. This freaks Tamaki out when she wakes up next to her while at Training Camp. Occasionally she is seen reading a book during important moments (such as kendo matches or team member assignments), a habit that only emphasizes her complete lack of desire to win.

;Nihongo|Karen Nishiyama|西山 佳恋|Nishiyama Karen:anime voices|Natsuki Mori:Karen Nishiyama, the third third-year student on the team, is incredibly skilled at kendo, but tends to shake when nervous. When she is cornered in a kendo match she instinctively switches to the offensive, thus effectively beating her opponent. Because of her instinct of going on offense when in trouble Karen is the strongest on her kendo team. Even though she is extremely skilled at kendo, she does not like the idea of fighting an opponent that she does not know in real life, and she will attempt to run away when she is nervous.

;Nihongo|Akemi Asakawa|浅川 明美|Asakawa Akemi:anime voices|Saki Kondō:Akemi Asakawa, the second second-year student on the team, is probably the most undedicated out of all the members of her team, as she seems only to care about her boyfriend to the point where she will ditch kendo club over her boyfriend. When she encounters a problem with her boyfriend she will not do her best and will only go on the defense; however, when her boyfriend makes up with her she will immediately start pouring out all of her effort, making her a rather formidable opponent. Apparently none of her teammates save for Kenzaburō have any real concern for her, as they simply let her constant ditchings slide (even if she is ditching from a kendo match). Kenzaburō, however, is appalled with her habit of constantly ditching kendo just to meet up with her boyfriend and her lack of effort when she is upset. It is revealed in one episode of the anime that Akemi possesses "excellent footwork".

eimei High School

;Nihongo|Reimi Odajima|小田島 礼美|Odajima Reimi:anime voices|Mai Nakahara:A girl who attended the same middle school as Miyako, and became obsessed with her when she beat up a boy who Reimi had a crush on, but who liked Miyako. Since finding out that Miyako joined the kendo club, she follows her to every tournament, taking countless pictures and recording videos of her. Miyako is very disturbed by her stalking, and has lost a few matches due to being distracted by her.

Others

;Sakaguchi:anime voices|Takashi Nagasako:Sakaguchi is the owner of the kendo equipment shop that Kojirō takes his kendo team to for purchasing equipment. While Sakaguchi's kendo skills are only seen in a series of flashbacks in the anime, it is apparent that he is incredibly skilled at kendo, strong enough to make all of the members of Kojirō's team complain about him. He has a fondness for mochi, although Kojirō's kendo team tends to eat all of Sakaguchi's mochi during their visits to his shop. He is also, as Kojirō puts it, "very competitive".

;Tamaki's father:anime voices|Katsumi Chō:Tamaki's unnamed father is the head of the Kawazoe dojo. He encouraged Tamaki to take up kendo at a very young age, and is therefore responsible for her amazing skill in kendo. Tamaki's father is possibly in his mid-50's as he keeps saying "I'm at an age where I can't even understand Tama-chan anymore" in one episode of the anime. That said, he is in practice a kind, loving, considerate and doting father who merely lacks articulate skills and confidence to express his affections for Tamaki. He constantly worries every time Tamaki brings up Yūji, mistakenly believing that he and Tamaki are seeing each other, to the point he spies on them at training camp to make sure nothing is happening and constantly frowning or making an angry face whenever Yūji's name is brought up.

;nihongo|Rin Suzuki|鈴木 凛|Suzuki Rin:anime voices|Maaya Sakamoto:Rin is fond of the "Super Sentai Blade Braver" like Tamaki but she prefers Shinaider (which sort of an enemy) more than the blade bravers. Rin and Tamaki first meet during a live action performance, where Red Braver had a guest appearance, and participate in a fan-quiz for the prize of limited edition Blade Braver dolls, which Rin wins. Later, they work together in the new Blade Braver movie; the girls become friends and rivals because of their mutual interest the Braver series and their strength in kendo. She is the strongest opponent that Tamaki has ever seen and the first person to defeat Tamaki, using the ascension stance to do so. However, she is defeated by Tamaki at the same tournament where Kojirō defeated Kenzaburō nine years ago.

Anime episodes

International media responses

"The recent series from anime production house AIC A.S.T.A is a surprise - and yet not really one at all," wrote Andrez Bergen in the June 2008 issue of U.K. magazine, "Impact". "While "Bamboo Blade" follows the travails of a bunch of high school girls in one very special kendo team, rather than boys, the producers were previously responsible for "Gun Sword", a series in which one very special woman - Carmen 99 - also pretty much stole the show." ["Japanime", Andrez Bergen. "Impact", June 2008.]

References

External links

* [http://www.square-enix.co.jp/magazine/yg/introduction/bamboo/ Manga official website] jp icon
* [http://www.bambooblade.jp/ Anime official website] jp icon
* [http://www.asta.anime-int.com/works/bambooblade/ AIC A.S.T.A's website for the anime] jp icon
* [http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/bambooblade/ TV Tokyo's website for the anime] jp icon
*ann anime|id=8455