''Bamboo Blade'' (stylized as ''BAMBOO BLADE'') is a Japanese
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series written by Masahiro Totsuka and illustrated by
Aguri Igarashi
is a Japanese manga artist. She is the illustrator for best selling manga series, ''Bamboo Blade''.
Bibliography
* (2004, Square Enix); (2009, Yen Press
Yen Press, LLC is an American manga and graphic novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa ...
. It was serialized in
Square Enix
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
's ''
Young Gangan
is a manga imprint owned by Square Enix Holdings. It originated as a manga imprint for Enix before the company re-branded as Square Enix. It publishes manga in several anthologies aimed at different reader demographic groups in the Japanese mark ...
'' magazine from December 2004 to September 2010. The series tells the story of Toraji Ishida, a luckless high school
Kendo
is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread ...
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, where he meets Tamaki Kawazoe, a gifted young female kendo practitioner.
An
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
adaptation by
AIC A.S.T.A was broadcast in Japan between October 2007 and April 2008 on
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certifie ...
. The ''Bamboo Blade'' manga has been licensed for distribution in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
by
Yen Press
Yen Press, LLC is an American manga and graphic novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group. It published ''Yen Plus'', a monthly comic anthology, between 2008 and 2013. In addition to translated material, Yen Press ...
. The anime has been licensed for distribution in North America by
Funimation
Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
and began airing on their
Funimation Channel
Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specialize ...
on October 25, 2010.
Characters
Some of the character's names are based on real professional kendo practitioners. Ishida Toraji is based on the famous kendoka Toshiya Ishida. Miyako Miyazaki is based on Masahiro Miyazaki, and Danjuro Eiga is based on
Naoki Eiga
Naoki Eiga (栄花直輝 Eiga Naoki, born 1967) is a Japanese kendoka who in 2000 won the individual event at World Kendo Championship (WKC) as well as the highest title in Kendo: All Japan Kendo Champion. His progress toward the championship ...
, Kirino Chiba is based on Masashi Chiba etc., even though there are not any relations between the ''Bamboo Blade'' characters in regards to the real kendoka. Eiga Dan is the only exception, as he seems to be designed to represent
Naoki Eiga
Naoki Eiga (栄花直輝 Eiga Naoki, born 1967) is a Japanese kendoka who in 2000 won the individual event at World Kendo Championship (WKC) as well as the highest title in Kendo: All Japan Kendo Champion. His progress toward the championship ...
, who also is not very tall, just like Eiga.
Anime episodes
Video game
A video game titled "Bamboo Blade: Sorekara no Chousen" was released for PSP. It is an Action game that was developed and published by Gadget Soft. It was released in Japan in 2009.
Reception
"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
Impact may refer to:
* Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period
* Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US
Science and technology
* Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event
* Impac ...
''. "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
, is a Japanese anime television series animated by AIC A.S.T.A, written by Hideyuki Kurata, and directed by Gorō Taniguchi.
Plot
The story is set on the "Planet of Endless Illusion", a place where rogues of all sorts gather. The protagon ...
'', a series in which one very special woman - Carmen 99 - also pretty much stole the show."
[''Japanime'', Andrez Bergen. '']Impact
Impact may refer to:
* Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period
* Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US
Science and technology
* Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event
* Impac ...
'', June 2008.
See also
*
List of Square Enix video game franchises
This is a list of video game franchises by Square Enix, a Japanese video game development and publishing company formed from the merger of Enix and Square on April 1, 2003. Square Enix acquired Taito in September 2005, which continues to publish ...
Notes
References
Further reading
*
External links
; Manga
Manga official website
*
; Anime
Anime official website
AIC A.S.T.A's website for the anime
TV Tokyo's website for the anime
Funimation official Bamboo Blade website
{{AIC TV series
Anime International Company
Funimation
Gangan Comics manga
Kendo in anime and manga
Seinen manga
Square Enix franchises
Yen Press titles