Kenyū Densetsu Yaiba
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''Yaiba: Samurai Legend'' (stylized as ''Y∀IBA'') is a Japanese
manga 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
series written and illustrated by
Gosho Aoyama is a Japanese manga artist best known for his manga series ''Case Closed'' (''Detective Conan'', 1994–present). As of 2017, his various manga series had a combined 250 million copies in print worldwide. Educational background Aoyama was tal ...
. It was serialized in
Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...
's manga magazine ''
Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, making it ...
'' from September 1988 to December 1993, with its chapters collected in 24 volumes. The manga has been licensed for English release in North America by
Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...
. The story follows Yaiba Kurogane, a samurai boy raised in the forest by his father who ends up returning to city life in Japan. Yaiba encounters a rival swordsman, Takeshi Onimaru, but when the battle just so happens to end in a stalemate, a humiliated Onimaru is lured into malevolence upon stumbling across a magical
katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
, culminating in his plans to take over the world with an army of demons. This forces Yaiba and his allies to go on a quest to defeat the newly transformed demon lord, while also encountering several figures from Japanese history and mythology along the way. A 52-episode
anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
television series adaptation by Pastel aired on
TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.Television Hokkaido , callsigns JOHI-DTV (channel 7) is a Japanese television station based in Sapporo serving as the affiliate of the TX Network for Hokkaido. TVh started broadcasting in 1989. Nikkei, Inc. is the biggest shareholder of TVh. History In June 19 ...
from April 1993 to April 1994. A second anime television series adaptation by
Wit Studio , stylized as WIT Studio, is a Japanese animation studio founded on June 1, 2012, by producers at Production I.G as a subsidiary of IG Port. It is headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, with Production I.G producer George Wada as president and ...
premiered in April 2025. The second anime series has been licensed in English by Viz Media. By May 2024, the manga had over 17 million copies in circulation. In 1993, ''Yaiba'' received the 38th
Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is ...
for the category.


Story

Yaiba Kurogane is an adventuring boy who knows how to be a samurai and little else. Yaiba lives with his father, Kenjurou, in the forest. One day, while Yaiba was eating, a troop of gorillas came to attack. Yaiba and his father escaped and hid inside a box, but they did not know that the box was full of pineapples and was going to be transported into the city. In the city, Yaiba finds out that he is a legendary warrior and has to fight the evil of a demonic looking high-school student named Takeshi Onimaru. The people that Yaiba meets along his journey to become a true samurai encourage him, train him, or inspire him to greatness, though at heart he is still a child, and his incredible skill with a sword is matched only by his kindness towards his friends. Though he tends to leap before he looks, and his thick-headedness tends to turn potential allies into enemies, his friends soon clobber him, and salvage the situation. This unlikely group embarks on a host of incredible adventures where they meet legendary figures from Japanese history, and finally overcome impossible odds, and put everything on the line, to save the entire planet from a threat not of this world.


Production

Gosho Aoyama is a Japanese manga artist best known for his manga series ''Case Closed'' (''Detective Conan'', 1994–present). As of 2017, his various manga series had a combined 250 million copies in print worldwide. Educational background Aoyama was tal ...
modeled the character of Yaiba after the protagonist of ''
Ore wa Teppei is a manga written and illustrated by Tetsuya Chiba. It ran in ''Weekly Shonen Magazine'' for nearly eight years and received an anime adaptation in 1977. The series received the Kodansha Cultural Children's Award (not to be confused with th ...
'', which also inspired the author to take up
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). It began as samurai warriors' customary swordsmanship ex ...
, although he noted Teppei to be a lot smarter than Yaiba.


Media


Manga

Written and illustrated by
Gosho Aoyama is a Japanese manga artist best known for his manga series ''Case Closed'' (''Detective Conan'', 1994–present). As of 2017, his various manga series had a combined 250 million copies in print worldwide. Educational background Aoyama was tal ...
, ''Yaiba'' was serialized in
Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...
's manga magazine ''
Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, making it ...
'' from September 7, 1988, to December 1, 1993. Shogakukan collected its chapters in 24 volumes, released between April 18, 1989, and February 18, 1994. Shogakukan republished the series in a 10-volume edition from December 14, 2001, to August 10, 2002. Shogakukan released a second 24-volume edition from July 15, 2004, to April 18, 2005. In October 2024,
Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...
announced at
New York Comic Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to comics, Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, Film, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. With an attendance of 200,00 ...
that it has licensed the manga for English release in North America, with the first volume set to be released in July 2025.


Volumes


=''Bunkoban'' edition

=


Anime


1993 series

An 52-episode
anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
television series, titled , produced by Pastel, aired on
TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.


=Episodes

=


2025 series

A second anime adaptation, with supervision from Aoyama, was announced in ''
Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, making it ...
'' on May 8, 2024. Titled , it is produced by
Wit Studio , stylized as WIT Studio, is a Japanese animation studio founded on June 1, 2012, by producers at Production I.G as a subsidiary of IG Port. It is headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, with Production I.G producer George Wada as president and ...
and directed by Takahiro Hasui, with
Touko Machida is a Japanese anime screenwriter. She debuted as a screenwriter in 2001, and in 2006 got to become the lead screenwriter for the first time with '' Ramen Fighter Miki''. Since ''Ramen Fighter Miki'', she has done screenwriting for many works, suc ...
writing series scripts, Yoshimichi Kameda designing the characters and serving as chief animation director, Maiko Okada serving as animation producer, and
Yutaka Yamada is a Japanese composer, arranger, and orchestrator based in Los Angeles. His most notable works are the musical scores for ''Tokyo Ghoul'' and '' Vinland Saga''. Biography Yutaka is an alumnus of the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music in Japan, ...
and Yoshiaki Dewa composing the music.
Minami Takayama is a Japanese voice actress, narrator and singer who is currently affiliated with 81 Produce. She is also the main vocalist of Two-Mix and ES CONNEXION when it was active. Her uncle is a former New Japan Pro-Wrestling managing director Hisash ...
reprised her role as the voice of Yaiba Kurogane from the original series. The series premiered on April 5, 2025, on all
NNS NNS can stand for: * New neoclassical synthesis (economics) * NASCAR Nationwide Series (previous name of the NASCAR Xfinity Series) * Nashville Number System (music) * National Numeracy Strategy (UK education) * Near Net Shape * Nearest neighbor se ...
affiliate stations, including ytv and
Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as (NTV) or Nippon TV, is a Japanese television station serving the Kantō region as the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned and operated by the , a sub ...
, airing in tandem with Aoyama's other anime series adaptation, ''
Case Closed ''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' since January 1994; its chapters are collected in 10 ...
'', as part of the "Gosho Aoyama Hour" block, with the first three episodes having had early screenings at ten
Toho Cinemas is a Japanese movie theater company. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Toho Co., Ltd, it is the second-largest cinema chain in Japan by number of screens (after Aeon Cinema). Overview Virgin Cinemas Japan Ltd. was founded by Japanese-American ...
locations on March 13. The opening theme song is "Blade", performed by , while the ending theme song is "Pineapple Tart", performed by . In October 2024,
Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...
announced at
New York Comic Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to comics, Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, Film, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. With an attendance of 200,00 ...
that it licensed the series. The series is streaming on
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
in North America, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand, and on
Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...
in the United States.


=Episodes

=


Reception

By May 2024, the manga had over 17 million copies in circulation. In 1993, ''Yaiba'', along ''
Ghost Sweeper Mikami is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takashi Shiina. It was published in Shogakukan's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from May 1991 to September 1999, with its chapters collected in 39 volumes. It follows the ...
'', received the 38th
Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is ...
for the category.


Notes


References


External links

* * * {{Wit Studio 2025 anime television series debuts Adventure anime and manga Anime series based on manga Comedy anime and manga Fantasy anime and manga Gosho Aoyama Nippon Television original programming Samurai in anime and manga Shogakukan franchises Shogakukan manga Shōnen manga TV Tokyo original programming Viz Media anime Viz Media manga Winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen manga Wit Studio Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation original programming