Bamboo Blade

Anime that really manages to show what kind of thing Kendo is? Is it possible?

Yes, it is. Bamboo blade manages to do that, and with flag flapping out high. Fights really are short, as in kendo, and not something like a episode-per-battle things that you see in many different animes (or, in DBZ format, battles take 10 episodes...) Main caharcters are also human-like, they all have even the bad sides and can feel negative emotions about things. None of the characters are really weak for the show, and everyone's thoughts and life is shown somehow. None of the characters are left out. With this many ... characters (6), it's quite an achievement.

Series also shows the hard part of the kendo: training, training and more training. Basic training can sometimes feel really like hell (for me, it felt useless at start), but then you start to get the hang of it and it becomes something you enjoy. This is also greatly shown up in the series. Also, there are some who kinda bend the rules (even one of the main characters), but mostly series show the idea of Kendokan.

The series still leaves some small things a bit open-out answered, but that can be passed as the fact that main characters have no way of finding them out. Also, comedy works well, as mentionet early. Mostly character's faces do the jokes, and it really works. Series also sometimes make it seem like they want to joke about how the characters think about something and somebody knows what they think. In Bamboo blade, characters often answer into questions other people say to themselves in their head. It's kind of refreshing since usually I get irritaded for the fact that everybody knows what others are thinking in the anime without telling it.

For overall, I have just one thing to say: Kendo is way of caring, not way of hurting. And Bamboo blade shows it.

Bamboo Blade is easily in my top 3 animes. It is a truly refreshing slice of life show. Muroe High's Kendo team is run by a struggling kendo teacher who lost himself years ago. His students don't take him seriously, and they look to the youngest member, a Kendo prodigy, for their training. While the story mostly takes our crew through tournaments and practice meets, the sports aspect really takes a backseat to the bigger picture. The show focuses mostly on the true meaning of Kendo; the name of the sport literally means "the way of the sword.” The true focus is the growth of ... the characters outside of their sport. That is what I like best about the show. As a martial artist myself, I know that life is more about the journey than the destination. Every character has their unique quirk that makes them seem real, and even the incredible Tamaki finds her shortcomings in life.

When it comes to the story, Bamboo Blade is a very lighthearted show. Every episode is full of humor, and the serious moments are well broken up to keep the mood light. It feels good to watch the characters progress, with a pace that is just right for the series. The art is very well drawn, especially in portraying a realistic Kendo match. Of course, the silly cartoonish style comes out in the humor, with Tama's blank O_O face and Kirino's signature =3 smile. Musically, there is deceptively little in the background. The lack of sound is never noticeable, as I had to dig through episodes and listen to notice it for the review. Dialogue and sound effects make up the bulk, and any music is basically battle-style drums and trumpet.

I like the series so much that I actually bought the manga. The two go hand in hand, but there is one thing I wish the anime had incorporated. Miya Miya is sweet on the outside to her friends and boyfriends, but in reality she is bad to the bone. This aspect is shown much deeper in the manga than in the anime, and one small detail I feel important is Miya Miya’s secret habit of smoking. It's a small thing to pick at, but it gave the character a chance to reflect upon her darker thoughts as the Miya Miya we don’t normally get to see.

This show is a must watch.

I enjoyed “Bamboo Blade”, to me personally it was a good, solid anime series. While I do not think it really excels in any particular way, it's a nice series that is easy to watch and provides enjoyable entertainment.

Set in a high school kendo club, it is mostly a school sports comedy that contains well known plot elements such as personal growth, changing yourself, achieving set goals, finding a purpose and keeping your spirit strong to overcome challenges.

The characters are not incredibly original but most are presented well enough. Throughout the main cast you have more typical characters such as Ishida the sloppy kendo teacher ... that lacks goals and motivation, Tamaki the quiet and reserved girl that is a kendo prodigy, Yuuji the considerate and nice childhood friend, Saya the wild and outgoing girl, Azuma the shy bespectacled bookworm, etc...
But some characters do offer some surprise since their true nature is a juxtaposition of their overall image, Miyako, who first seems to be the polite beauty turns out to have a dark and aggressive streak, Azuma, who despite her bookworm looks and ways isn't a good student at all, Kirino, the seemingly air-headed and fun loving team captain is in fact always dependable, she is the very glue that holds the kendo club together. I'm not sure if that's true as well of Tamaki, she's portrayed as also being a bit of an otaku, she is a huge fan of “Blade Braver” (a fictional series that appears in this fictional series...) and even manages to have a small role in a “Blade Braver” movie, at which time she also meets Rin, who turns out to be a nemesis and a friend at the same time.

So despite characters that are not really original, none come off poorly, and throughout the series, the way they interact with each other in their kendo club, how they grow and change actually works out quite nicely and makes for one of the series' strongest points.
As the main character, Tamaki's story is played out most, supported by the rest of the cast and her interaction with the others, she ends up carrying the series well. Despite her past, one doesn't really feel sorry for her or overly admires her tremendous kendo skills, but you still inevitably start rooting for her. Her plot evolution and character growth was also paced well, from the few revelations, challenges, setbacks, victories and people she meets and befriends. The other kendo club members also each go through changes and evolution, some more than others.

The bonds of friendship between the different kendo club members was nice to see. Especially Kirino and Saya's bond seemed quite strong, with some vague hints that there may be a bit more than meets the eye, especially on Saya's part. Or so it seems from one scene near the end, but that may just be wishful thinking.

I was let down by the final episodes though. Several plot arcs are built up towards the final episodes, involving most major characters so one would expect quite a climactic ending, but most plots are concluded rather rapidly in barely a few scenes in the second to last episode, leaving the last episode to be one long epilogue of which the final scenes seem to hint at or provide the opportunity for another season to follow.

Animation throughout the series is good but not exceptional, the main female cast are all drawn very cutesy, plus they are well recognizable and different, from their physique, facial expressions, to hair style and colour. Which is a great plus as quite often you'll see them in full kendo gear, so it could have gotten quite tricky to recognize them. The style used for the character's eyes isn't one seen all too often too.

The overall soundtrack is not exceptional, it is just all right. I wasn't too fond of the opening or ending tracks though, not that they were bad, they felt like standard fare and the opening didn't especially make me feel excited about the coming episode.

In conclusion, while this series doesn't contain any extraordinary element, the overall sum somehow proves to be more than its individual parts and will no doubt be an enjoying series to watch for all.

I don't always watch sports anime but when I do, usually the first few episodes are deciding factor on whether keep watching or not. Bamboo Blade is one of the anime's that has hooked me in and didn't and kept me going until the very end, but that was just my experience.

Story/Character:
The story about a high school kendo club that is mostly comprised of girls, I won't get to much into details but despite have a few male members in the club the story mostly centers around the girls but there really isn't a main character as the focus of the show tends to shift ... from one character to the other.
Now being a sports anime the plot isn't the most complicated thing in the world and is pretty straight forward and the characters are probably the main meat of the story aside from the kendo (sword fighting) matches. For the most part the characterization and character development are pretty good but aren't perfect.
I feel like they could have went into more detail about some things, especially the kendo matches which really help move the characters along, the characters really change but a lot of the girl's matches are summed up in a quick 2 second transition on whether they won or lost which was a big deal for them, and I would have liked to actually see the all fights in more real time and it also would have been cool if they had actually broken down some of the strategy and the techniques they used during the matches and they could have also emphasized some of the work and training they characters had to go through and make the stakes for each fight feel as high as they actually were.
However that is really the only complaint that I have about this show and even after having that said about the kendo matches and such fights are still entertaining and there really isn't to much wrong with this show.
This anime isn't a 110% super serious show and it does have is laid back moment of comedic relief and slice of life but over all it's relatively well balanced.

Art/Sound:
I don't have much to say in this category other than the art wasn't bad but I have seen better and to be honest the sound track was kind of forgettable, though there were moments where I wanted to replace some of the soundtracks with that of Hajime no Ippo; another sports anime about boxing but that's just me.

Sub/Dub:
Yes there is an english dub and compared to it's subbed counter part, I could care less about which one you watch, granted I have my personal taste but to be critical here, I can't really say that one is better than the other at this point, however I will say that the dub pretty solid with no awkward moments within dialog that I tend to find in other dubs and the voice acting was passable and I didn't have any problem with it. As for the japanese voice acting, well I don't have much to say other than it sounds like a the vast majority of anime in japanese and I wasn't particularly moved by it, but for this anime I could care less which version you watch.

Final verdict:
Overall I would rate this as an 8/10 and I think it's worth a try.

I had completely ignored the sports genre because I watch live action sports and felt watching animated fiction was a waste of my time. Then I watched Crunchyroll’s anime academy of sports anime and was intrigued by the ideal of learning more about a given sport by watching an anime about it. Also, many years ago, I read a review of Bamboo Blade that made me want to watch it. So I finally did and wasn’t disappointed.
The first thing I want to point out is there’s no “supernatural” or fantastic fantasy elements to this series. They’re all ... normal people with normal human abilities. And no one is innately good at a sport they’ve never tried or applies skills and abilities from some other sport, game etc. to the sport of kendo.
The characters are diverse without being clichéd. They’re relatable and real, with a sense of real human emotions. Another shining point is the humor. It has it’s funny moments that are reserved for the appropriate time and place, without devolving into slapstick characteristic of a dedicated comedy. It was just an fun happy go luck show.
As much as I enjoyed this series I do have my complaints. My first is the fact that Asuma doesn’t appear for half the series. She’s on the opening credits (which doesn’t change) but not in the first half of the series. This is a problem because she provides cohesion to the cast. There’s something missing without her, like a band with no bass player. Her contribution is minimum but when she arrives you realise what was missing.
Also, it wasn’t as educational as I’d hoped. I wanted to learn more about the sport and did learn a little. Just not as much I’d hoped to learn. But it was fun, dramatic and funny and worth the time to watch. I also think it works as a gateway anime for people looking to get into anime.

This here is really a underrated, never-heard-of anime. Also one of my earlier animes that I've seen.

Okay so it's a slice and life, martial arts (kendo specifically) and comedy anime. It revolves around 5 girls who are more or less good at kendo or hitting things with a stick... Plus our male characters who help out on the side and set the story sailing.

So first up lets talk about the intro, like the first 2 mins into the anime you'll probably think, wtf did I just download a initial D anime by accident?!

So with that misunderstanding out of the way lets introduce our CHARACTERS!
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First up ... the star of the show, Kawazoe Tama! She is a tiny character who has a big heart! She is into anime in particular shounen, super hero ones, which has influenced her into being a hero of justice as well. The only downside is that she has a lack of interest in most things, quite plain, quiet and unable make facial expressions. However due to her household having a dojo, which mainly men attend has honed her skills on par if not better than most men.


Next up, our energetic over hyped captain, Chiba Kirino. She is one of the oldest member of dojo, excluding all of the third years that have graduated/do not attend. She is a very caring senpai, at times and has a strong sense of family, even taking a break at kendo if needed. She has big ambitions such has winning nationals with her team and is always trying to motivate her instructor.


Now we have Kinrino's weirdo friend, Kuwahara Sayoko. This girl is as energetic as Kirino and is also one of the older members. However she is much more impulsive and tends to have mood swings which leads to her switching hobbies every now and then. The two of them are best friends and a great comedic combo.


Now we have the blac- I mean pink ranger of the group, Miyazaki Miyako. She has a pretty face and a blacken heart who only has eyes for her boyfriend... F#ck. she is a very dedicated girlfriend and tries very hard to hide her true nature from her boyfriend, but when he is not around she doesn't mind being violent, rude and anything unladylike.


Our final girl, Girl of the hour that showed up when our heroes needed her most Azuma Satori! She is clumsy beyond belief, slow but somehow a great swords-women. She prioritizes studying above all for the sake of her parents.


Now introducing our male characters! First off we have Tama-chan's old friend and "guardian". He ranked at the top ten for national or regionals, I'm not too sure. But he is quite a normal character and plays as the straight man in the comedy. I really liked this kind of character even I started anime, no wonder I like shinpachi from gintama.


Next up, Yuuji's friend Eiga Danjuurou. This egg like guy is as fragile as an actual egg... But he has girls fighting over him... WTF! This is retarded. Well, because of his 'experience' in relationships, he tends to give love advice to his fellow male members much to their disliking.


And finally our last main character, the main gear that sets this story in motion! Ishida Toraji! The story/plot revolves entirely on his financial problems.... Seriously, but he is a great comedy relief character, however a terrible instructor, doesn't really teach anyone anything but their all good anyways... Lacks motivation aside from money and in general a good example of what an adult is not suppose to do.

Art,OST etc.
That took awhile to get through so I'll just fly through the rest. Art is decent for its time, OST, nothing that I remember as outstanding but the opening is definitely catchy.

Now the character development of the girls in particular is pretty well done and gives enough screen time for each girl and definitely adds more depth to them than when they are first introduced, in particular Miyako!

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OVERALL:-
Now overall, I really enjoyed this anime, a nice mix of comedy, drama and a slash of intense kendo sparring and even a bit of sword fighting. And oh man the ending twist was crazy and a couple even gets married and woah it's good. So watch this great story of friendship, passion and justice!

Every once in awhile you come across an older title and you think this could be a fun watch during your spare time but it actually turns out to be better than you expected and this is one of them.

Story: The story is simple it focuses on the sport of Kendo, Its a traditional sword style sport that originated in japan and uses primarily wooden bamboo swords in a two person or team duel format. We follow a group of student and there instructor who all attend the same highschool and are members of the kendo team and who we get to know there day ... to day training and comedic adventures.

Characthers: The characters are probably the series best feature as each one have there own distinctive personality and you can relate on a more real world level, we have the instructor Toraji ishida the almost broke but fair hearted teacher and as for member teams we have Tamaki the main female lead and kendo prodigy who is trying to learn the true meaning of the kendo sport as well as to establish real social connections, we have the Kirino the captain of the team the passionate leader and bumbling fool but with a heart of gold that acts as the teams moral compass, We have Miya the complete rookie who struggles with inner violent tendencies and her ability to win but has absolute loyalty and cherishes her love life with her boyfriend, We also have Sayako the person with the ever changing interest and hardship in managing her writing career but still makes time for kendo and than finally we got Satori the ever bumbling idiot and clutz who her struggles in her studies make you question if she will ever graduate but her kendo technqiues are so good it could be her hidden talent.

All of who are unique and offer an interesting variety in the cast and you just enjoy watching them together in all sort of comedic situations but also as the show progresses you see them grow and cope with there own difficulties and struggles for anyone of there years and learn to progress trough with the help of kendo.

Animation: This series as of time of writing is over 13 years old and it has somewhat aged when even compared to other titles that aired around that time but it is still fair, the action sequences in particular during the sporting combats are quite detailed and layered all it needs is a little upscale in BD and it should be fine but dvd quality is still good.

Sound: The opening and ending theme songs were both made by the very studio that produced with the primary voice cast voicing the songs and they really capture the feel of the sport by adding colorful beats and using traditional music in similair fashion to represent the traditional sport of kendo. The rest of the soundtrack is pretty standard just enough to keeps things going smoothly, i dont see any real note worth mention aside from these but soundtracks were not really the major thing for most anime productions anyway.

Enjoyment: Overall i found it very entertaining and it really gives u an insight into the sport of kendo which is not really that popular outside of japan but still has a world wide presence and it give u a good perspective about it, so much that even inspired me to at least give it a shot. The Comedy can be over the top sometimes but no more than the usual stuff and a little laughter is good for you, What i really liked tough is the atmosphere of competitive sporting and the development of the characters as they competited with other teams and individuals, i am sure anybody can at least find someone that might relate as the diverse cast of personalities make it more appeal. I recommend this to anyone who eighter has an interest in kendo, competitive sport or even just looking for a nice school comedy series. Give it a try and judge it for yourself

Hope this review was somewhat helpful :)

I enjoyed watching this anime.
Anime based on the manga, where as girls make up the majority of a school's kendo team. A school kendo teacher starts up a team in his efforts to win a bet against his rival's school team in a kendo match competition. His reward, free meals for a year. As far as the story goes, I have to say it is pretty straight forward, but much obliged as it is still fun watch. As far as character development goes from you expect from a sports anime, the characters progressively improve. You got your typical shy but BADASS girl, Tamaki, voiced by ... Hirohashi, Ryou [Alice - Aria, Kyou - Clannad] . Kirino, voiced by Toyoguchi, Megumi [Revy - Black Lagoon, Nishino - Ichigo 100%] the lovely ditzy, blonde bishoujo Kendo Captain. And other characters such as your tsundere and megane characters. I hope you enjoy this school sports comedy as much I did. I give it, 8 shinai (kendo swords) out of 10! XD

I'm writing this review right after finishing the last episode of the series, and, generally speaking, I act like this just when I really enjoyed a show.
So I'll state right from the beginning that I really loved Bamboo Blade, for more than one reason.

First of all, it's actually funny. The charatcers are nice shaped and mixed. You can find one for all flavours. Given the case that we are speaking of a group of friends, you have all the anime classical girls, from the shy kuudere Tama-chan, to the violent and loving yandere Miya-Miya. For most of the time I've been watching it, I had ... a smile on my face, and that's surely something important.

Second thing worth mentioning: this show has a nice pace. Apart from some brief slice of life episodes, the focus is pretty much always mantained. You will enjoy the developing every single member of the club, and their progress in the way of the sword. And this brings us to the most important thing:

Kendo.

This anime is about kendo. It truly is. I'll speak as a kendoka about this: letting alone the fact that the technical features of kendo are nicely (though not too thoroughly) described, I think Bamboo Blade can give someone who's never tried this beautiful martial art an idea of what it's like. It's something that makes you grow, and gives you the opportunity of meeting and getting to know incredible people. And it's damn funny (and during summer it makes you stink :3 But Kirino-senpai will explain you why this is also a funny part). It's not about swinging bamboo sticks.

So if you're curious about kendo, and you want to learn something while enjoying a nice show, give this a try!

The first, obvious thing about this anime is the visual style. It reminded me heavily of Jinki:Extend and School Days, which I guess isn’t a very flattering-sounding comparison, but still. The characters are drawn with a bright, cute style, and the backgrounds are impressively detailed. The big thing here is the subtlety of the animation, which is extremely important considering the personality of one of the characters. There are many moments throughout the show where there will be just a tiny movement of a person’s head or mouth or hand, but will convey a lot of meaning and make the show that much more immersive. ... There was no lazy animation that I could see, and it felt a lot like the animators really put a lot of care into making this show. It may not look like Redline or Shakugan no Shana Final, but you can tell that the animators really wanted this anime to look good. Then on top of the great drawing and animation, there are the colors – OH MY GOD THE COLORS. The coloring is so incredibly bright and happy and bubbly, it’s almost like an assault on the retinae. Maybe some people don’t go for bright colors, but since I’m color blind, I love them and I think it made the show that much better looking.

The one thing I would fault Bamboo Blade’s visual department on is how they avoided animating the actual kendo scenes. Although the anime is about kendo, they usually make the matches very short, and with as little actual animation as they can. In some cases, they actually skipped the matches altogether, preferring, I suppose, to not waste time animating them. Near the end of the show this trend starts to cease, as more matches are properly animated (and damn did they look good), but for most of the show, it’s a rather annoying problem.

As weird as it may sound, I actually found a surprisingly strong similarity to K-On! for the first three-fourths of the anime. The main, obvious comparison is the moe, which both shows have in SPADES. However, whereas K-On! has girls who are extremely moe for the sake of moe, Bamboo Blade does a slightly different thing by actually designing properly interesting characters which also somehow have tons of moe as well. It’s weird, saying that the girls are both moe and strong literary characters, but it’s true. All five of the main girls are very deep, layered people with backstories, diverse character traits, and recognizable habits that make them feel pretty real. It’s extremely impressive when considering how lovable they are on top of that.

The other comparison I found was the storytelling style, which, for the majority of the show, is reminiscent of K-On!. Both shows have some kind of common factor that the story centers on – kendo in Bamboo Blade, music in K-On! – but the story doesn’t focus on that. Rather, it’s treated as a sort of medium through which stories about the characters are told instead. In both cases, it’s relaxing and fun to watch, with very little stress, which is something that I really enjoy. Around episode 23 or 24 is when Bamboo Blade turns away from that relaxed storytelling and introduces some actual drama. In those last few episodes, there was plenty angst and tension to be had, and then a very good ending that I really enjoyed. I won’t go into details, but just know that it won’t stay as laidback as the first 20+ episodes would have you believe.

In summary, Bamboo Blade was a really good anime that was lots of fun to watch. If you’re watching the show for moe, you’ll definitely like it. If you’re watching it for the sports focus, I wouldn’t be so sure. It may be “about” kendo, but in the end, it’s characters first; kendo second.

One thing I must point out is that when I watched this anime it was on megavideo. So if you do plan on watching be sure to have time on your hands, because you most likely will get cut off mid ep.

... anyway

Before I started watching I knew nothing about kendo, and wondered if this would even be worth watching. At first the story seems a bit dumb. I mean it's about a guy that makes a bet with his friend for food because he is poor?! How can something like that be interesting? It does change, but that isn't ... till later.
Most of the main story is based around the teacher at first then switches over to the students. A good thing that I liked about this anime was that is wasn't about just one person. They tried to make the story a little bit about everyone. It really brought the feeling a team together. While at the same time the way they go about there daily lives is pretty funny.

Nice thing is that it is appealing to the eye. I must admit that just because I didn't like the way an anime looked I did not watch it.

As for the songs, both the opening and the ending are quite catchy. Other than that nothing special about the sound, but nothing awful either.

Decently balanced characters. You have a skilled kendo/anime lover (very unique, not something you normally expect), the childhood friend, the klutz, a weird person, a team cap that is always energetic, the 30% BF 70% GF combo (in the anime the BF is very small and dorky looking, and the GF is just ....... wow out of his league. You will understand what I mean about 30% 70% when you watch it), and of course a teacher that gets bad luck just when he thinks things can't get any worse.
The side characters are funny too, but I don't want to give everything away.

As I have noticed it seems that any anime about school has to have at least one of the following
Hot spring, vacation/field trip/outing/training camp/festival school or local. (Or something along those lines. It must be an unwritten rule or something)
Funniest thing about this anime are the little side story's. The side story's don't really tie together with kendo, but it is funny none the less. Overall it is a decent anime. Nothing super good about it, but nothing horrible either.
In my opinion if you like anime that takes place in school this is one worth watching.

Tldr; Last 8 episodes are filler, just read the manga after episode 18. Up to ep 18, the show is good.

Bamboo Blade is sometimes very old and isn't up to par, but at other times, its great points shine through and out-shadow the crappier parts.

And what really makes Bamboo Blade something that isn't an obsolete 2007 anime are the characters and comedy. While everything is dated, the one thing that Bamboo Blade manages to have is a good slice-of-life comedy with kendo involved. Kirino is a pretty playful Kendo captain. She takes care of the team and it feels like she takes responsibility for the ... team, but for the most is generally laid back and doesn't take things too seriously. She plays pranks and does some absurd things sometimes, and is a great pair with Saya, who is kind of a wild card boke, kind of ranging from a plethora of emotions and thoughts at a given time, but generally acts as a playful friend that cares for Kirino. And Kirino definitely reminds me of Nijika from Bocchi the Rock, just that Kirino's more comedically playful and laid back, while Nikijika is still a bit serious, despite her unreliability as a leader.

Yuuji is basically a carbon copy of Shinpachi from Gintama. Yes, Yuuji's more serious and less of a tsukommi, but I think it's just Shinpachi adapting to the comedic style of Bamboo Blade's universe. The same voice actor, Daisuke Sakaguchi, voices the role, and I have a pretty good feeling that the reason he voiced it was because of his typecasting in Gintama as a serious, but kind of bland kendo practitioner. All in all, I can't say I hate Yuuji, since who can hate Shinpachi?

Miyamiya and Dan are kind of an interesting pair because, by themselves, Dan is just a complete comedic relief character that gets made fun of, but because Miyamiya is attached to him, he's somewhat of a normal character. Miyamiya is the same, with her whole gimmick from turning "black" to normal being a little too one note for a comedy, but again, the fact that they're a pair really diversifies them in the situations that can pan out.

Ishida, again, kind of reminds me of Gintoki from Gintama. He's a penny pincher, always poor, tries to cook up schemes to make money no matter what happens, and isn't seen as a role model adult. He's a bit sloppy, and never really takes teaching super seriously. Overall, a great addition to the cast of characters, and allows the Kendo to have the laid-back atmosphere that it has.


Tama is a typical stoic, genius-type kendo character that doesn't really talk much, but surprisingly fits well in a multitude of comedic, and also more serious settings and dialogues.

Even the other characters and other teams that they do joint practices with are really good. Their interactions with Muroe High's Kendo team are pretty fun and a change of pace. No complaints about the comedy or characters.

Bamboo Blade is able to function both as a laid-back comedy but also focuses on Kendo seriously in competitions. People's skill level, emotional investment, training, and habits get displayed in official matches, and while the competitions are clearly not the sole focus, the fact that I still get invested in the outcome of matches shows that Bamboo Blade doesn't just have Kendo as a passing theme. The comedy is also quite brilliant, not losing its luster in 2023. I've got to say, the animation is dreadful, and you clearly won't like the show for its animation, but the show does do a good job at pacing out comedic segments, and nails the chibi facial expressions when needed. Those small details, with of course, the contents and the delivery of the gags are quite well made and it's the reason why I stuck with it so long.

Then came the filler. I was alright with crappy animation. Reused frames, and boring or nonexistent backgrounds. I cannot tolerate this crappy filler in the last 8 episodes. I will admit. I was hoodwinked for a solid 5 episodes. The filler doesn't start off that terribly, actually. I think that tying in Tama's obsession with Braver and how losing is a life experience is actually really well done. However, then came the melodrama. This was really a left field, and I didn't expect a comedy anime to have such crappy melodrama for a finale. Sure enough, after checking out the manga, I confirmed that the finale arc with the melodrama was a complete filler. The quality drops considerably, and there are no gags at all, nor is there slice-of-life content. I can't blame the manga. The anime production studio just decided that some crappy melodramatic finale would suit the show.

SPOILER-FREE!

There are two things that one can learn watching anime that take place in high school – there is no shortage of after school clubs to choose from, and you can bank on the fact that there will likely be a lot of girls in those clubs. It doesn’t matter if the club in question is one that has an activity associated with “traditional femininity” or not; as long as there is even the remotest chance of a club existing, not only will there be an anime about it, but that it will also likely have a large female cast.

"Bamboo Blade" was one such property ... that got this treatment, using kendo as the dramatic vehicle of choice. Released in 2007, the series came during that period of time when “moe” as a concept was undergoing a bit of a renaissance and restructuring. But aside from that, I didn’t know anything else going in. I have never taken up kendo before, nor did I have any particular interest in watching a sparring match in real life. For all I knew though, this series could at least help give me some appreciation for it.

As he worries about the fact that he has virtually no money and little food to eat, high school instructor Ishida Toraji meets with his senpai Ishibari Kenzaburo and makes a bet: if the group of five girls from Ishida’s kendo club can defeat Kenzaburo’s group instead, Ishida will win a year’s supply of sushi. With newfound enthusiasm for kendo, he seeks to expand the team’s roster from its lone member, Chiba Kirino. Such characters will include the reserved and tiny Kawazoe Tamaki, the supposedly-charming Miyazaki Miyako, the pessimistic Kuwahara Sayako, and the book dumb Azuma Satori.

The premise affords a kind of comedic cynicism that tinges some of the dialogues and discussions that transpire. Under normal circumstances, the team of cute girls would be gathered either through their original love of the sport or because they were shown a way in which the sport could somehow teach them something about life or themselves. While large portions of that is definitely true in "Bamboo Blade," with the characters undergoing some aspect of personal growth through their team bonding, Ishida makes for a good subversion of the supportive coach. His motivation for forming the team in the first place is one entirely rooted in selfish desire. Granted, it’s a rather understandable desire to not starve, but the fact that his heart is less-than-pure in this aspect makes him a rather fun presence.

And the cast as a whole is a lot of fun as well. Though they may not deviate too far from the familiar archetypes one would expect from a series like this, the camaraderie and joviality makes most of the dialogues and sequences delightful. As a central character, Tamaki is the adorable prodigy who wows all that come into contact with her shinai, while Kirino is the ball of fiery gumption that manages to always have a smile on her face and make amusing light of most situations. As the cast size gradually increases, each of the girls gradually expands the scope of "Bamboo Blade’s" comedic potential.

But given that the series is twenty-six episodes long, it’s unfortunate that not every character is given an appropriate amount of character or comedy to demonstrate. Of the main five girls, Satori is given markedly-less material to work with, both in terms of actions that she performs and personality development she undergoes throughout the run. The other four girls are given more than enough expansion to help make them fun characters, and even the club’s boys get enough time in the sun. Satori is introduced to the cast as the final member, so while it’s true that there just isn’t enough of the run remaining to adequately flesh her out, it’s a problem that I find should have been taken more carefully into consideration. It’s not that Satori is a bad character per se, but rather that she’s just not quite as much of a character as everyone else.

Also a slight problem is that not every battle that took place during the run was featured. One of the tournaments only includes the highlights from a single bout Tamaki performed, leaving the following scene to have Ishida vaguely talk about the other participants’ matches. Considering that kendo is the main element that binds all the main characters together, it’s an unusual decision to skimp out on what were supposed to be the culminations of all their hard work and training. "Bamboo Blade" may be a comedy, but not including more actual fights was an unfortunate miscalculation.

The matches that are featured though, even in individual rounds, are well-done. The rapidity of kendo strikes and the movement of the combatants are captured nicely, with a lot of noise from screams, clacking shinai, and stylized line work. The fights themselves may occasionally be brief, but each one has a strong kinetic energy that keeps things moving at a good pace, even in still-frame. If anything, the fights being such a positive of the show make my previous point about not every battle being included all the more disappointing.

Thankfully, the series does indeed make up for this disappointment through its handling of tone. It rapidly shifts between light-hearted barbs that have little to do with anything to outbursts. "Bamboo Blade" manages to strike comedic beats relatively consistently, both of the slapstick and off-kilter variety. It affords a kind of unpredictability to the various scenarios, as I was never quite sure which kind of comedy the show was going to be throwing at me at a given moment. Regardless of which type it picked, I more often than not was at least amused, if not smiling or laughing.

But as one may expect from a story like this, there reaches a point where the comedy takes a backseat and the more-dramatic aspects of the sport take place. The final main arc of the series occurs after a particularly stressful tournament, and the ensuing aftermaths of what happens there are faced head-on, and it’s solid. What makes this portion of the story work is that all the dramatic beats it’s going for are things that were hinted at throughout the course of the series, even if only in small doses. The resulting tension thus comes across as naturally built-up, allowed time to properly germinate into a compelling conflict.

The landing from that conflict, however, is not so clean. Most of the underlying problems the characters are facing end up getting resolved within the span of a single episode. While on some level this rapid wrapping up of the issues makes sense given that the series is primarily a comedy, it seems that "Bamboo Blade" wasn’t terribly keen on letting the drama build up for too long. Perhaps the underlying thought is that if drama takes centerstage and oversteps, the change of pace would be too alienating. Frankly, I wish that it had stayed. It also teases a second season within the last episode’s final seconds which, even at the time of this writing, never materialized outside of the manga. It's upsetting that the show never got to see that potential realized, whatever it could have been.

And the reason why it’s upsetting is that, as flawed as the show could sometimes be, it was always a delightful watch. It is not a perfect series by any stretch, but there were indeed many moments where I simply had a good time watching it. Rather than being a series of dull outings, it managed to pull off its own brand of fun. For better or worse, the show is simplistic, and this time around the block, it worked towards its appeal. Plus, I would be lying if I said that after finishing a couple of episodes at a time, I didn’t hear those kendo screams echoing in my head.

Bamboo "Blade" may not necessarily offer much variety in the girls’ sports club type of school anime as far as character is concerned, but it has its own spunkiness and aesthetic charm that gives it life. The premise affords a kind of comedic cynicism and slapstick that works more often than it doesn’t, and the actual fights were well-done. I did grow to get a new sort of appreciation for kendo, and while my general aversion to sports anime may not have been fixed by it, watching this show was a pleasure.

While Bamboo Blade may not be an earth shattering or ground breaking series, it is an uplifting and fun series that doesn't stoop to many of the normal anime conventions. The kendo matches are well paced and interesting while not being the major focus of the show.

This show is really carried by its characters, as all the girls are adorable and interesting. The coach is less of a likable character, but even he has his moments. The Blade Braver thing is hilarious.

In conclusion, if you are looking for something that will lift your spirit up and make you feel ... good then check out this show. I really hope they make a second season.

Story 6/10

The story of Bamboo Blade is probably it's one major weakness. Entirely predictable and clichéd it's nothing you haven't seen before. This is ok though as the story is mostly there to put the characters in various (often hilarious) situations. The humour may not be for everyone, but I certainly enjoyed it rather a lot. Ultimately the story does it's job of getting you from point a to b, and even though you've seen it all before it's still a fun ride. On a side note as someone who has absolutely no interest in kendo the show did a good job of not emphasising ... or leaning to heavily on dreary technical aspects of the sport, instead focusing mostly on the great character interaction.

Art 7/10

Not much to say really it looks good for a comedy show. Nothing jaw dropping but nothing hideous either

Sound 7/10

The show has a solid dub but with Great voice actors such as Briana Palencia and Luci Christian it really wasn't all that surprising. Having only seen it dubbed I have no opinion on which is better just watch which-ever you prefer.

Music wise the opening was in my humble opinion annoying as F*CK. However the music in the episodes works much better, using more traditional instruments. It's hardly a masterpiece by any stretch but it still gets the job done.

Character 9/10

This is the real heart and soul of bamboo blade, every character is unique and brings something different to the team and they all have their own motivations for competing and being part of the club. Whether it's to be a champion of justice or unleashing your inner demon or to simply not get fired. It's the sort of show were you can just sit back and enjoy the commotion of having a bunch of eccentric characters on screen at the same time. The dialogue is fun and light hearted and often veers off topic. Even the characters themselves at times seem totally aware that their in a comedy anime, pointing out weird and overly dramatic scenes to the audience, breaking the fourth wall in hilarious fashion.

Overall Enjoyment 8/10

I really liked this show, it was good fun and easy to follow. Although that being said I can see some people being turned off by the humour, as what's cool and quirky for one person is just downright weird for someone else. Watch it if you just want a fun little show to pass the time, or a fresh break from a more serious anime.