Yaiba

Yaiba (Ken'yu Densetsu Yaiba/Legend of the Swordsman Yaiba) is a Shonen manga written by Gosho Aoyama, known for Detective Conan and Magic Kaito. It starts out as a light, funny manga very similar to Dragon Ball but slowly becomes more serious towards the end.

The main character, Yaiba Kurogane is a Kid Samurai, trained by his father Kenjuuro in a unspecified jungle. They both return to Japan where they're "hosted" by Raizo Mine, an old rival of Kenjuuro. Here Yaiba meets Sayaka, Raizo's daughter and Onimaru, a highly skilled kendo master. To sum up, they become bitter rivals and Onimaru gets really obsessed with beating Yaiba. In order to do so, he tries to use the legendary Fujin Katana(Wind Devil Sword in some translations), which grants power over Wind Gusts and Typhoons, but the sword turns him into a evil Oni (demon) bent on conquering the World. In order to stop him, Yaiba, with the help of Sayaka and his pets Kagetora (A cowardly Tiger) and Shonosuke (a nice Vulture), goes on a quest to find and master the Raijin Katana(or Thunder God Sword), guarded by a 400 years old Miyamoto Musashi. After this, several arcs follow.

  • The Hakki Arc: Yaiba must learn how to master the Raijin Sword and fight the Eight Great Oni sent by Onimaru.
  • Kojiro's Revival Arc: Onimaru resurrects Musashi's rival Kojiro and Yaiba must face him. During this arc he finally masters the power of Raijin and learns a new attack.
  • Onimaru's Fortress Arc: Our heroes storm Onimaru's fortress in order to stop him, but that won't be easy. Onimaru is eventually forced to withdraw, but he steals Raijin's Orb and hires Professor Kanabo, a Mad Scientist capable of repairing the Fujin Sword (which was broken by Yaiba).
  • The Quest for the Legendary Orbs (Yes, in case you're wondering there are seven of them and they're required to summon the Dragon-God Ryujin, but he doesn't grant any wish, and none of said orbs is orange. In order to reach Onimaru's Flying Castle, Yaiba & Co go on a quest for the Ryujin Orb, but they need to find the Seven Legendary Orbs first... and fight back Onimaru's warriors resurrected from the past. From this arc onward, the series started growing more serious.
  • Kaguya's Arc: The return of Ryujin's power awakens the legendary Moon Princess Kaguya from her slumber, and Yaiba must protect the Earth (and Sayaka) from this alien menace, fighting back various enemies gifted with weird powers. Eventually Kaguya is sealed inside the Planet and Ryujin's powers disappear.
  • (a whole volume of Filler arc): including the funny "Chiki Chiki Grand Prix" Omake.
  • The Pyramid Arc: A mysterious Pyramid appears in Tokyo and starts causing earthquakes. Yaiba must venture inside it, defeats its powerful guardians and stop it before it's too late.
  • The Underworld Arc: Right after the Pyramid Arc: Yaiba must face the menace coming from the depths of the earth and find out why these mysterious enemies hate humans so much...
  • the Yamata-No-Orochi arc: Onimaru is trying to gain an "Otherwordly Power" by unleashing a legendary monster who was sealed away long ago, and our Heroes must stop him once and for all. probably the darkest saga, it also features the return of Kaguya and Ryujin. After a terrible struggle, Yaiba manages to defeat Onimaru once and for all, but in order to seal the Orochi away he must give up the Supreme King Sword forever.
  • The Oda Nobunaga Tournament: the last arc: Yaiba and friends meet a young girl, who reveals herself as Yaiba's little sister. Soon he finds out that his mother is still alive and very rich, and his father Kenjuuro might be an impostor. In order to find out the truth, he faces the legendary and dangerous Oda Nobunaga Tournament, armed with his father's wooden sword. Yet, a mysterious organization, the Platina, is after him.... After reaching the end, Yaiba must fight Onimaru, who was trained by Kenjuro himself and now is extremely powerful, and eventually manages to beat him, becoming the Greatest Samurai in Japan.... and yet he starts a new journey with Musashi, Kagetora and Shonosuke in order to become even more powerful.

An Anime was made, but it lasted only 52 episodes, covering the story from the beginning to Kaguya's Arc. Yaiba and friends appear in the Massive Multiplayer Crossover game, Sunday VS Magazine Shuuketsu Choujou Daikessen.

Now it has a Characters Page.

Tropes used in Yaiba include:
  • Absurdly Sharp Blade: Many swords in series are really sharp. Justified, because they're magical swords.
  • Achilles' Heel: Many villains have these. Including Bat-Man (weak to sunlight), the Moon Bunnies (their ears) and Silver's eye.
  • Accidental Pervert: Jubei at least once. All others are plain perverts and proud of it!.
  • Acrofatic: Goemon Ishikawa is quite large and plump, but he's a Lightning Bruiser when he fights.
  • Adaptation Distillation: The anime. The most lampant example is the first episode which managed to resume the whole first volume in thirty minutes.
  • Affably Evil: Goemon, who after all enjoys drinking sake and wouldn't hurt animals no matter what. Also Kaguya, who flirted with Onimaru... before parrying his wind slash with her fan an tossing a huge ki blast at him.
  • Air Jousting: Whenever Yaiba have to face a flying opponent. Usually with a little help from Shonosuke and later with the Ryujin Katana.
  • All Your Powers Combined: The Ryujin (Dragon-God) Orb can use the powers of the other seven Legendary Orbs and some other tricks. during the last battle against Kaguya, he must use this very trope in order to awaken the true power of the Dragon God.
  • Alluring Anglerfish: Yakitori, one of Onimaru's Shitenno in the Onimaru's Fortress arc. It actually has a Japanese paper lantern attached to it, and he's very proud of it. Oh, and don't call him "Toadstool"....
  • An Axe to Grind: Gerozaemon's weapon of choice. Also the Rock Soldier and Ruby in the Pyramid Arc.
  • Ancestral Weapon: Both Raijin and Fujin Swords are really old weapons from the past. Also many other swords.
  • Anguished Declaration of Love: Yaiba says a "I Like You, seriously." to an aged Sayaka before confronting Kaguya. After the battle however he jokes about it, so we don't know if it was serious or not.
  • Anime Hair: Yaiba. Also Kotaro and Goemon, whose hair resemble a Funny Afro
  • Anticlimax Boss: A non Videogame example: the second time Kotaro shows up in order to face Yaiba he's bisected by Rokuemon Ishida's attack. Justified, because Kotaro was totally unaware of his plans.
  • Artificial Human: The last guardians of the Pyramid, namely Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond and Emerald.
    • Gozuma from the Platina Corporation is a partial exception: He's fully human, but underwent a special operation in order to have some chips planted in his muscles, making him the perfect warrior.
  • Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: Takeshi Onimaru, before and after his transformation. Also Gekkou the Black Moon Bunny and Budou the Grapefruit Soldier.
  • Attack! Attack! Attack!: Yaiba's trademark strategy. Of course, if this doesn't work he's more than capable of finding out a solution against his foes.
  • Attack Its Weak Point: Done during the battle against Gold and Silver in the Underworld arc. it doesn't really work as well as hoped.
    • Yaiba defeat both Orochi and Onimaru by cutting their horns
  • Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: This is the power of the Giant Orb of the Great Buddha of Nara. Also is Cast from Hit Points
  • Author Avatar: Gosho's name (or Gosho himself) tends to pop up frequently here and there.
    • He also appears along with the other characters (who refuse to acknowledge him and mercilessly mock him) in the Omake. He takes part in the race with the others but get zapped by God for cheating.
  • Badass: Jubei Yagyu and Devil King Onimaru . Also Young Musashi.
    • Badass Beard: Young Musashi sports one. He shaved himself before facing Kojiro at Ganryujima.
    • Badass Creed: The magical writings on the Fujin sword, that explain how to master it. Sadly, it' quickly forgotten.
    • Badass Grandpa: Musashi when he's not suffering from backache or peeping at some pretty lady or pillaging the nearest fridge he's a really skilled swordmaster, capable to fight toe-to-toe with powerful foes.
      • Never Mess with Granny: despite being frequently offscreen, Sayaka's Granma may count. Surely she's a really competent Kendoka, and had a Mama Bear moment in the first volume when Onimaru threatened Sayaka in order to know Yaiba's whereabouts.
    • Badass Moustache: Ryujin.
  • Bad Powers, Bad People: The Devil King Sword. In this case, the more wicked the wielder is, the more powerful it becomes.
  • Bald of Evil: Onimaru Takeshi sports one. Also the fallen monk Seikai Miyoshi.
  • Barrier Warrior: One of the powers of Ryujin's sword allows Yaiba to create an energy shield. Emerald is capable of summoning Barriers and healing people. Actually, she Is the Barrier Soldier.
  • Bat Out of Hell: The strongest of the Hakki, the Batman (or Bat-Guy in the anime). See also Our Vampires Are Different
  • Battle Amongst the Flames:The final battle during the Oda Nobunaga Tournament takes place in a copy of the Temple of Honnoji (where Nobunaga met his doom) and, just to fit the atmosphere, the shrine is set ablaze with fire arrows!
  • Battle Aura: Many fighters. Also shown as a power with the Toujin (Battle Blades), a flurry of "ghost slices" that attacks the enemy from many directions and can only be "felt".
  • Beethoven Was an Alien Spy: The famous poet Matsuo Basho was actually a vicious assassin who wanted to use Ryujin's powers to take over the world, but died of illness while on his quest. And now Onimaru has resurrected him...
  • Beyond the Impossible: Seriously, some of the stuff that happens in this manga can be really over-the-top sometimes...
  • BFG: The Carbon-Freeze cannon and Gekko's Moonclub, which doubles as a Bazooka.
  • BFS: Despite having a lot of swords and weapons, Aoyama rarely uses this trope. Yet, Kojiro's Laundry Pole has the power to grow really really long.
    • Also the Devil King Sword (Mao Ken) is quite large compared to Gekko. Gold in the Underworld arc wields a gargantuan scimitar, but is quite justified because it fit its size.
  • Big Bad: Onimaru Takeshi, your typical Dark Overlord. Also Kaguya and, during the Pyramid and Underworld arcs, Boss.
  • Big Badass Bird of Prey: Kotaro Fuuma's true form is that of a Hawk-Man. Yaiba almost got killed by him.
  • Big Eater: Yaiba, Gerozaemon and Musashi, expecially Musashi, during the firsts arc. Musashi in his first appearence was able to steal and devour a whole roasted boar in about two panels or so.
  • Big Good: Ryujin the Dragon-God. Also Susanoo during the Yamata no Orochi arc.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Happens from time to time. During Orochi arc, Ryujin does this in order to save Yaiba and Sayaka from Dark.
  • Big Ol' Eyebrows: Musashi sports overly long eyebrows, long enough to make any Blood Elf jealous.
  • Bizarro Universe: There's a small world inside the Darkness Orb: it looks like a black swamp with the kanji for "Darkness" in the sky, a watermill and a small mountain with a waterfall. Also, the ground is composed by the remains of the previous victims whodied of old age without finding a way out. The only way out is hidden behind the waterfall, but is guarded by a giant fire-breathing carnivorous Kappa named Kerosuke.
    • On the other hand, all your wishes (except leaving the Orb) can become true.
  • Blade Below the Shoulder: Unlike the other Demons, Plasma uses two triangular blades protunding from his forearms.
  • Blade on a Stick: The Snakeman wields the Snake-God Pike (a four pronged elaborated spear), who is said to be unbreakable. Also Shiro Amakusa can make a golden spear out of his hair.
  • Bland-Name Product: ONY televisions.
  • Bloodless Carnage: Semi-averted: Yaiba often bleeds when he gets hurt, but not too much.
  • Blow You Away: The powers of the Fujin Orb, and Onimaru's specialty. Later, Yaiba too when he obtain the Fujin Sword.
  • Boobs of Steel: Kaguya is the most powerful female character in Yaiba, and sports the largest bosom. Granted, not that there are many others female characters, mind you. Subverted by her true form for obvious reasons.
  • Booby Trap: Whenever they have to face a Dungeon/Fortress, there will be traps. Also Goemon uses them in the Showdown vs Yaiba at Kawanakajima.
  • Booze-Based Buff: When Jubei get drunk, his dark side awakes and he transform himself into a wicked, drunk Big Badass Wolf
  • Boss in Mook Clothing: At first Dark seems an ordinary Black Oni with a huge cool sword. Later he reveals himself as one of Onimaru's Demons.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: Onimaru did this to the Japanese Ministers in order to take over Japan.
    • After being defeated by Yaiba, is revealed that Onimaru was always like this since he mastered the Fujin Katana and grew horns, and has no memory of what he have done before.
  • Breakable Weapons: Happens often with Musashi's and Jubei's katana, and with Laundry Pole (in that case the blade can grow back). Also the so-called Invincible Snake-God Pike and even Fujin Sword ( It got better). During the Yamata no Orochi arc, Yaiba's Supreme King Sword started cracking after blocking Onimaru's strongest attack only to grow even stronger later when the blade shattered and reveald its full power. The same goes for the Devil King Sword.
  • Breath Weapon: Kotaro's Fire Ring Justu. Also Demon-Gold.
  • Butt Monkey: Oooh boy, poor little Spiderman is a huge one. Onimaru never misses a chance for punishing him, insulting him and hanging him out of the fortress with a rope. He drop this habit later.

Spiderman: "Onimaru-samaaaaaaa!!! Please Forgive meeeeeeee!!!"

  • Calling Your Attacks: Yaiba Yaiba Yaiba. Also Onimaru and some of his enemies are guilty of this sometimes, often with bits of Gratuitous English.
    • Let's not forget Kojiro, whose Sword need a special command ("Grow Laundy Pole!") in order to activate his powers. Is really noticeable in the Spanish dub of the Anime..

Kojiro:"ADELANTE ESPADA MAGICA! ENLARGATE!!!"

    • In the last arc, Juubei was guilty of this.
  • Came Back Wrong: Kojiro and the Wandering Swordsmen resurrected by Onimaru were once famous japanese warriors.
  • Can't Catch Up: Musashi-Kojiro-Jubei. They're still top class warriors, but sadly they're no match for many enemies.
  • Carry a Big Stick: Seikai Miyoshi wields a staff made of steel. Benkei uses a Steel Kanabo which resembles a Baseball Bat. (Well, in his true form he's even dressed as a Baseball Player!)
  • Cats Are Mean: During one of the filler stories, a Hamster-sized Yaiba must help some poor mice to protect themselves against a band of evil cats lead by a huge scarred black cat. It Makes Sense in Context.
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: Yaiba is incredibly strong for a brat. Also many other Characters.
  • Chick Magnet: Yaiba seems quite popular with young pretty girls.
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: Sayaka is a little hostile towards Emerald in the Pyramid arc.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Both Musashi and Yaiba firmly believe in this trope.
    • Frederick Luther III, despite being a Knight, is not above using handshackles and hiding a large Zweihander under his cloak.
  • Combat Tentacles: Seikai Miyoshi when he turns into a giant red octopus. Also Moon General Shingetsu "Merge" himself with a squid in order to fight Yaiba.
  • Convection, Schmonvection: Partially averted when they try to recover the Fire Orb from inside Mount Aso (a Volcano), where they have some issues with the heat and the smoke. Played straight later in Mount Fuji's dungeons.
  • Cool Old Guy: Miyamoto Musashi. Fullstop.
  • Cool Sword: Many, including the Raijin Katana, Fujin Katana and Ryujin Katana. Also, Kojiro's Laundy Pole (Monohoshizao) sword, the Devil King Sword, the Water Demon Longsword and Fire Demon Longsword and the Supreme King Sword.
  • Cordon Bleugh Chef: Sayaka, albeit this happens only once.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: Gakuso Shirogane, leader of the Platina organisation.
  • Crazy Prepared: Goemon Ishikawa. As he said, "The same trick doesn't work twice with me!".
  • Creepy Centipedes: The Centipede Soldier appears briefly during the Underworld arc, but is just an Elite Mook.
  • Creepy Cool Crosses: Shiro's Spear has a cross shaped blade, a nod to Shiro Amakusa's religion in Real Life
  • Cross-Popping Veins
  • Curb Stomp Battle: Onimaru to Yaiba in their first battle (when the former became a Oni). Also Yaiba against the Resurrected Batman and later against the denizens of the Underworld.
    • Soshi Okita to Yaiba in the Oda Nobunaga Tournament. Only his amazing inner spirit and newly discovered Toujin attack allowed him to force prevail.
  • Dark Action Girl: Kaguya, Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond and Rain.
  • Dark Is Edgy: Dark's power is to control.. well.. Darkness. Can also send his enemies into another dimesion forever.
    • Also the Orb of Darkness, which sucks inside it all the "Dreamers". That includes the wielder. Yup, it sucks...
  • Darkskinned Blonde: Jewel.
  • Darker and Edgier
  • Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The Devil King Sword's Full Moon Attack is powerful enough to wipe out a planet and turn the Earth into a Dead Star. That's the reason why the moon is a barren wasteland. Onimaru uses it anyway in order to kill Yaiba..
  • Demon Head
  • Demonic Possession: What happens to both Onimaru and Yaiba when they awakened Fujin/Raijin's spirit. In Onimru's case, Fujin "agreed" to merge with Onimaru. Later weaponized against the mind-reading Diamond by summoning both spirits into his body.
  • Devour the Dragon: After getting hit by the Half Moon blast, Kagura merge with all the Moon Bunnies (included Gekko and Tsukikage) in order to become more powerful. Also the Spiderman got assimilated by Yamata no Orochi's flesh.
  • Diagonal Cut: Kaminari Giri, as seen here [dead link] . Also Burner's death.
  • Dirty Old Man: Musashi.
  • Dishing Out Dirt: The Rock Soldier.
  • Damsel in Distress: Sayaka. This happens a lot of times.
    • Hilariously subverted during the fight between Giant Yaiba and Goemon inside the Osaka Castle. When Yaiba calls her "Brat" Sayaka snaps, Stand up breaking the steel table she was tied to, silently walked outside and tossed said steel table to Yaiba. Even Goemon was scared!.
  • Double Take: When Yaiba saves Carbonized Onimaru and brings him home, Musashi and the others react like this.
  • The Dragon: Tsukikage and later Gekko for Kaguya, Dark for Onimaru in the last arc.
  • Dual-Wielding: Musashi and Jubei. Also Yaiba during the Pyramid Arc with the swords of Fujin and Raijin.
  • Dumb Muscle: Silver and Gold are awfully strong, but they have the intelligence of a child. Yaiba uses this detail against them.
    • Also Benkei, who was tricked by Musashi into believe that a Kendama was actually the Legendary Orb he was looking for. (Granted,his plan boils down to sit on a bridge and mugging passerbies, taking away every ball-shaped item, ranging from marbles, to tennis balls to kendamas to CD-Roms to a paper with the word "Dama"(ball)written on it!!)
  • Earthquake Machine: The Pyramid is this.
  • Eldritch Abomination: Kaguya's True Form. also Yamata No Orochi. A.K.A, a Japan-sized dragon with eight heads. And he actually IS Japan..
  • Enemy Mine: Yaiba and Onimaru allies themselves in order to defeat Kaguya. Ironically, later Kaguya (in Sayaka's body) And Yaiba do this against Onimaru and Orochi.
  • Energy Weapons: The three First Class Soldiers (Ruby Sapphire and Diamond) uses these. Also Jewel.
  • Epic Flail: Kotaro's Kusarigama has a huge iron weight. Also Silver's Weapon of Choice. And he can pull it out of his mouth
  • Every Japanese Sword Is a Katana: Averted: The Katana of Fujin and Raijin don't look like typical katanas and the Ryujin sword is more a Tsurugi (straight sword).
  • Everything Is Worse With Bears: Goemon Ishikawa can transform into a huge bear wearing a really hard armor.
  • Everything Is Better With Monkeys: Averted with Basho Matsuo, who transform into a Chimpanzee and is an utter bastard.
  • Everything's Better with Princesses: Sayaka is reveald to be the descendant of Princess Oto and Taro Urashima (see Japanese Folklore for that.) And she's also the descendant of the Dragon God priestess.
  • Everything's Even Worse with Sharks: Moon General Mikazuki "merge" with a shark in order to fight Yaiba underwater.
  • Everything's Better with Spinning: Yaiba's Senpuken and Kazaguruma attacks, but not the "Yaiba Boomerang"....
    • Also Onimaru's Tornado Attack involves spinning. later Yaiba manages to learn this technique.
    • During the Legendary Orbs arc, is revealed that the Starfishman, a former Hakki, can use this in order to fly around
  • Wicked Weasel: Expecially if we're talking of a Giant Six-Tailed Weasel (Raiju) with huge claws.
  • Evil Weapon: The Devil King Sword (Mao Ken), forged by the Moon People, has the power of absorb the evil within a person and turn it into powerful Energy Attacks.
  • Exotic Weapon Supremacy: Well, we have... Kotaro with his Kusarigama, Goemon's arsenal (see below), the Moonfolk and Budou, who fights with Wolverine Claws
    • In the Oda Nobunaga Tournament, Yaiba fights the European Knight Frederick Luther III who uses a Rapier (which, for the Japanese, can be considered an Exotic Weapon).
  • Expy: of Dragon Ball. Also:
    • Musashi looks a lot like Happosai. And Goemon is similar to the one from Ganbare Goemon.
    • Before growning horns, Onimaru looked like Tenshinhan.
    • The Kaguya Arc is similar to the Frieza Arc, The Pyramid/Underworld Arc to Cell arc and Orochi arc to Majin Buu arc.
    • The Boss of the Underworld (which is not Hell, but a kingdom of misterious hooded beigns situated underground) is slightly similar to Kami.
  • Eye Beams: Gold and Silver.
  • Eye Scream: How Silver is taken out. That's not enough to kill him.
  • Face Heel Turn: The Mushroom Soldier can do this if you eat one of his mushrooms, which grows in abundance in his chamber.
  • Filler: A whole volume worth of it!
  • Five-Bad Band: Both Kaguya, Boss and Onimaru (latest arc)
  • Five-Man Band:
  • Flaming Sword: Yaiba when using the Fire Orb. or the Supreme King Sword for the first time. Also Gold who can heat up his blade. And let's not forget Burner's Fire Demon Longsword, who can set fire to everything it touches. Kojiro learnt that in the worst way possible.
  • Four Is Death: Onimaru's Shitenno, and later his Four Demons.
  • Freeze Ray: The Carbon Freeze Cannon.
  • Frickin' Laser Beams: Kaguya can use them with her fan, which later entrust to Tsukikage. After her One-Winged Angel form she can Beam Spam the hell out of her enemies via Eye Beams.
  • Fridge Brilliance: The sword of Raijin controls Thunder and the sword of Fujin controls the Wind. when fused together, they form the Supreme King Sword, which was the blade of Susanoo, God of Storms..
  • Fridge Logic: If Frederick is a german knight, why he's dressed like a Musketeer? And why there are still Knights in Germany?
  • Frogs and Toads: Geroda Gerozaemon, the first of the Hakki. (the Gero in his name is the japanese equivalent of Croak)
  • Funny Foreigner: Frederick Luther III.
  • Fusion Dance: Moonfolk's Getai power. Diamond and the other Soldiers uses this to create the allmighty Jewel.
  • Fuuma Shuriken: Oddly, it's not used by the epynimous Kotaro, but by Goemon Ishikawa in his Bear form.
  • Gag Penis: It's implied that Yaiba got one when he used the power of the Giant Orb for the first time.

Yaiba: "Ooooohh!!! That one too got Huge!!!"

  • Giant Enemy Lobster: Mangetsu demonstrate the power of "Getai" (merging) on a lobster.
  • Giant Spider: The Spiderman, who is probably the cutest, funniest Giant Spider ever!
  • Give Me a Sword: When Kaguya swallows the Sword of Raijin, Onimaru gives Yaiba the Fujin Sword so he can use the Ryujin Orb with it. Also because he intended to acquire the far more powerful Devil King Sword.
  • God Is Useless: Amakusa tries to summon up to 36 gods to find out the location of the Legendary Orb of Kyushu, but he's hilariously unsuccessful. Also "God" in the Chiki Chiki Grand Prix Omake is shown as fat and lazy, and want to start a Galactic War just to win the boredom. He also really likes sports.
    • Averted with Ryujin and Susanoo.
  • Graceful Loser: Jubei, Soshi Okita and, basically, all the millionairs who bet in the Oda Nobunaga Tournament to Yaiba.
  • Gratuitous English: Many techniques. The Batman in the Japanese/Italian/Spanish/Non-English-speaking countries is a huge offender.
  • Gratuitous French: Chamaleon Bonaparte, "Le Roi Malefique" of Lord Onimaru.
  • Hammerspace: Many people are guilty of this, including Kotaro Fuuma, Goemon Ishikawa and Benkei, whose weapons seem to materialize out of thin air. Averted somehow with Silver, who keep his huge Ball&Chain inside his stomach.
  • Handsome Lech: Kojiro Sasaki. He's a living "Pretty Girls Radar".
  • Hattori Hanzo: Gets a cameo during the Oda Nobunaga Tournament.
  • Heel Face Turn: Gerozaemon, the Seacucumberman, Kojiro, Jubei. Kaguya after the Orochi Arc, who decides to give up conquering earth and return on the moon.
    • Heel Face Revolving Door: a running gag with Kojiro during the Onimaru Fortress arc. This backfires hilariously when he seriously try to backstab his fellows.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Jubei is quite prone to these, also almost everyone in the Ryujin's trials, but they got better. Emerald did this and she didn't .
    • When Ryujin got caught in Dark's Super Delta Zone attack, he puts a Taking You with Me in order to drag that evil monster with him.
  • Heroic BSOD: Yaiba has had only two short ones: first when Onimaru kicked his ass with the Fujin sword and later when he's utterly bested by Gekko and Sayaka choose to follow him in order to save Yaiba's life.
  • Hey, It's That Voice!: Yaiba Kurogane is Nabiki Tendo, Sayaka is Boa Hancock and Sailor Moon.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard:Kojiro is defeated by Jubei when he proves the lenght of his sword by standing on it and stretching it to the clouds. Jubei' answer? Kicking the blade and making him fall from Niigata to Tokyo. At least he landed in the women Dojo...
    • More seriously with Goemon and his Shurikens.
    • Silver got electrocuted by his own laser beam.
    • Dark fall victim of his own Super Delta Zone attack, courtesy of Ryujin. see above.
  • Hollywood Chameleons: Chameleon Bonaparte again, who can basically turn invisible and even shapeshift into another person.
  • Hot Mom: Yaiba's mother.
  • I Was Quite a Looker: Musashi. And he still think he's at least decent.

Kojiro:" And what happended to your face, (althought it wasn't as pretty as mine) Uh!?"
Musashi (calmly):" Hey, I'm still attractive!"

  • Iaijutsu Practitioner: The Yokoichimonji attack. Performed by Devil King Onimaru and Yaiba.
  • The Idiot From Osaka: Spiderman is a parody of Osaka people, expecially at first. He also speaks with Kansai dialect.
  • Idiot Hero: Yaiba. Yet he can come up with some smart plans during serious battles.
  • Improbable Weapon User: Usually Yaiba's enemies are serious enough to use proper weaponry, yet we have:
  • Incredibly Lame Pun: Many of them, sometimes in Japanese only.
  • Infinity+1 Sword: The Ryujin Sword. later the Supreme King Sword (Hao Ken), born by merging together the swords of Raijin and Fujin, and is the good counterpart of the Devil King Sword.
  • Informed Ability: Played for laughs with the Ant Soldier, who is described as the strongest of all the Soldiers combined... but is Ant-sized too...
  • Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons: Yaiba's first attempt to use the Gold Orb powers turned him into a small dragon. also the White Dragon summoned by Ryujin's Sword.
  • Kappa: Kerokichi, the cute Kappa living inside the Darkness Orb. Also Kerosuke, who is a Gargantuan, well muscled and firebreathing Kappa. Our Kappas Are Different.
  • Ki Attacks: Many of them from Kaguya Arc onward.
  • Kid Samurai: Well, Duh...
    • Also Soshi Okita is very young.
  • Kill It with Fire: The fate of Shiro and Goemon. Also Burner's Modus Operandi.
  • Kill It with Ice: The Ice Orb used on Benkei. Rain's power allows her to turn raindrops into ice needles. Ouch..
  • Kill It with Water: Rain specialty. And we're talking about being speared by huge drills made of water.
  • Killer Rabbit: Super Gorilla looks really tiny and cute, but he can send you flying with ease.
  • Kiss of Death: Kaguya needs to suck the "youthness" out of women by kissing them. Yup, you heard that...
  • Kitsune: Shiro Amakusa's true form. He's also a master trasformist and when in human form has fox-like ears and whiskers.
  • Knife Nut: Spiderman used knives as his main weapon.
  • Knight of Cerebus: The Batman, Mangetsu, Gekko, the Rock Soldier and Rain.
  • Large Ham: Goemon Ishikawa. Ah-Hem: THE FEARSOME AND FAMOUS GOEMON ISHIKAWA.
  • Laser-Guided Amnesia: Emerald, sort of..
  • Laser Blade: Many, albeit usually the whole weapon is a Laser. Also one of the Devil King Sword abilities is to create a very long one from the main physical blade.
    • Also the Supreme King Sword and Devil King Sword's true form unleashed shatters the blade and create a laser one.
    • An interesting variation is the Water Demon Longsword, which can pass throught any solid substance and cut only flesh. But it can't parry blows... Awesome but Impractical.
  • Les Yay: As mentioned above, Kaguya needs to kiss the Life Force out of young and pretty girls in order to prevent aging. One particular scene has her (in her young form) kissing a girl in order to feed. Just Wow. And don't even talk about her obsession with Sayaka.. (because she's the key to Kaguya's One-Winged Angel form, mind you.)
  • Light Is Not Good: Gekko's name means Moonlight, but he's evil as hell. Plasma is a straight example.
  • Light'Em Up: Plasma the Light Demon..
  • Lightning Bruiser: Yaiba and Musashi are both really fast. Also Kotaro, Goemon, Basho and Gold
  • Long-Lost Relative: The last arc introduced Yaiba's sister and mother.
  • Mad Scientist: Professor Kanabo, who works for Onimaru. He double as a Cloudcuckoolander
  • Made of Iron: Almost everyone. Except poor Musashi of course..
  • Making a Splash: The Water Orb of Suijin allows Yaiba to manipulate masses of water. Rain is the Water Demon. Later Sayaka masters the Water Demon Longsword, but she can't use its full power..
  • The Man Behind the Man: Come on Boss, I know you hate humans, but how could you trust Onimaru!?? What an Idiot!!.
  • Master of Illusion: Plasma can use light to create perfect illusions and mirages of the surrounding enviroment.
  • Master Swordsman: Several, including Musashi, Kojiro, Jubei, Yaiba, Onimaru and Soshi Okita. Kenjuuro too.
  • Marshmallow Hell: During the Yaiba/Shiro transformation duel the latter turned himself into a Playboy Bunny girl. After a beat, Yaiba went to her and get this one.
    • Also when he's being healed by Emerald, he starts nosebleeding when he realize that she's holding him against her breasts. Sayaka wasn't amused..
  • Me's a Crowd: Burner can make four clones of himself made out of flames.
  • Meaningful Name: Many: Yaiba Kurogane means "Black Steel Blade". Kenjuuro (his father) means "Ten Swords". Onimaru means, of course, Oni (Ogre or Demon).
    • The Moonfolk are named after moon phases and terms (Tsukikage and Gekko, for example, mean Moonbeams and Moonlight).
    • Onimaru's demons have these: Rain, Burner, Dark and Plasma.
  • Miniature Senior Citizens: Musashi and Sayaka's Grandmother.
  • Misplaced Wildlife: .... Gorillas... in Japan?
  • Missing Mom: Untill the last arc.
  • Miyamoto Musashi: a 400 years old Miyamoto Musashi. In one of the filler arcs Yaiba meets Miyamoto in the past. And he was just That Awesome!.
  • The Mole: Emerald, sort of.
  • Mooks: The Black Onis are this.
  • Moon Rabbit: A whole race of them.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In the end, it's all Yaiba's fault if Onimaru decided to turn himself into a Oni.
    • Also, by taking the power of Ryujin you may have gained the upper hand against Onimaru, but you have awakened Princess Kaguya from her slumber.
  • Ninja: Kotaro Fuuma, is a Badass one. Also Goemon, who's more an Highly-Visible Ninja.
  • Noblewoman's Laugh: Princess Kaguya
  • Non-Human Sidekick: Kagetora the Tiger and Shonosuke the Vulture. They both served as Yaiba's mounts.
  • Oda Nobunaga: He doesn't appear himself, but he started the eponymous Tournament, a really hard series of battle in differents arena with participants from all over the world. It's also stated that Musashi won the first one.
  • Oh Crap: Everyone has one when Kaguya uses Fusion Dance with Planet Earth..
  • Old Master: Miyamoto Musashi
  • Ominous Floating Castle: Onimaru's Fortress. Normally it rest on the top of Mount Fuji.
  • One-Winged Angel: All the Resurrected Swordsmen, Kaguya.
  • Opera Gloves: Princess Kaguya
  • Orochi: and now you know who's the Evil Creature Onimaru wants to unseal.
  • Our Vampires Are Different: Bat Guy! A grey Winged Humanoid with sunglasses, Royal Rapier and Gratuitous English, and he's also a fanboy of Musashi.
    • Furthermore when he bites Yaiba he transform into a Werewolf. Even he doesn't know why.
    • In the Spanish dub he speaks spanish with a thick British accent. And he's funny as Hell..
  • Overly Long Tongue: Gerozaemon, who often weaponized it. Also Chameleon Bonaparte. This lead to a epic Tongue duel between the two.
  • The Owl-Knowing One: While looking for the Orb in Biwa Lake, Yaiba ask for help to an Old, large Owl. Who want to get paid for his services.

Sayaka:".... not so cute, after all..".

Spiderman:" As they say, a Oni with a Kanabo becomes even stronger!!"

  • Quirky Miniboss Squad: The Hyakki, then the Shitenno, the Moon Generals, the Soldiers and Onimaru's Demons.
  • Razor Wind: Onimaru's main form of attack, both with Wind and Thunder. later with the Maoken's Crescent Moon Blast.
    • Also Kotaro's Fuuma Ninpo Kamaitachi, which uses the vacuum to create slicing wind gusts. Or something like that.
  • Red Baron: Onimaru eventually call himself "Devil King Onimaru". Also Frederick Luther's, a.k.a the "Black Baron". (Stop staring!)
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Or rather Raijin and Fujin. In any case, Yaiba and Onimaru.
  • Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Snakeman, Chamaleon Bonaparte.
  • Reset Button: After Kaguya's and Orochi's arc everything is back to normal, despite all.
  • Rival Turned Evil: Takeshi Onimaru.
  • Rubber Monster: Silver and Gold have super-bouncy (No, not that kind of bouncy) hides that can repeal even the mightiest swordstrikes. They can also strecth their arms. Yet, they seems to be sensitive to heat. Silver got sliced in half by Gold's superheated sabre and Gold was pierced by Yaiba's super powered Supreme King sword..
  • Rule of Funny
  • Scary Impractical Armor: Onimaru sports one, which is not impractical and has a long cloak and Jetpack.
    • It is only impractical against heat as the Chiki Chiki Grand Prix Omake shown:

(while crossing desert)Onimaru:" Ufff...ufff... is really... hot there..."
Spiderman:" If it's so hot... why don't you just take off that heavy armor?
Onimaru:" You FOOL! I can't just take off MY armor, The SYMBOL Of EVIL!!!"

Musashi:" This is indeed the battle of a Tiger against a Dragon.."
Kojiro:" I don't think so...".

  • Token Girl: Sayaka. Poor little Sayaka.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Yaiba over time. Onimaru after turning into a Oni. Sayaka mastering the Water Demon Longsword and containing Kaguya inside her body..
  • Tournament Arc
  • Unholy Nuke: The Devil King Sword's Full Moon Blast, used by Onimaru. Furthermore, all the attacks performed with the Devil King Sword are fueled by the negative feelings of the wielder.
  • Verbal Tic: Some of Onimaru's minions.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: The people of Japan don't seem to upset at the idea of having a fiendsih sword-wielding Oni as leader. Granted, he had brainwashed the ministries into submission, but still.
  • Voluntary Shapeshifting: The Gold Orb of the Tanuki Kincho. Also Amakusa, and the Moon Bunnies.
  • Wave Motion Gun: The Onimaru Cannon. it can shoot rays from Mount Fuji to Osaka and beyond!
  • Wax On, Wax Off: Musashi's main method of training include: building a whole wooden hut, doing houseworks, running away from restaurants after eating without paying the bill and going around selling newspapers. The last one while wearing huge iron getas which leaves deep tracks in concrete...
  • Weaksauce Weakness: All the Hakki has at least one: Gerozaemon is scared by snakes, the Snakeman needs his tail to stay balanced. Slugman is shrink by salt, Spiderman is stunned by strong noises, Batman is scorched by sunlight, the Starfishman is withered by fire and the Seacucumberman is.. well.. is just weak.
    • Kojiro's sword will instantly grow several yards long if wet by salt water.
    • Also Kaguya, who will eventually turn into a old hag and die if she doesn't feed on a young girl.
  • Weapon as Familiar: during the Pyramid Arc, he's on the receiving end of a Curb-Stomp Battle from Diamond, who can predict and stop all his attacks. In order to turn the table, he let Fujin and Raijin, the demons living in his swords, possess him, so that they can trash Diamond around with their combined powers.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Boss mainly because Humans Are the Real Monsters and he want to stop their pollution of Planet Earth..
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: The whereabouts of many secondary characters is unknown. Including Onimaru's Grandfather and sister in the manga, the Mantisman, Hangestu-(in the anime, it's shown he was fired by Gekko.
  • When Trees Attack: The Sugen Pollen Soldier. (Sugen is a sort of Japanese Mapple tree]].
  • Where Are They Now? Epilogue: The final chapter with a last twist of open ending.
  • Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Gekko in the Anime, who was mistreated when he was a child because he was the only black moon rabbit.
  • Wooden Katanas Are Even Better: When arriving at Yoroi Island for the Oda Nobunaga Tournament, Yaiba has the chance of choose a weapon among very famous swords, including the Muramasa and Samonji swords. He keeps his father's Bokken. Onimaru, who was trained by Kenjuro himself, uses a Bokken too, and can use it to crush whole areas of ground with one blow.
  • Worf Effect: Many of Yaiba's techniques, including the Kaminarigiri.
  • Yagyu Jubei: and a Badass to boot.
  • Yamato Nadeshiko: Parodied by the beautiful Lady of War Nadeshiko Yamato, a Naginata-wielding girl who wants to marry Yaiba at all costs.
  • You Have Failed Me...: Kaguya blasted Mangestu to oblivion after he failed his plan to kill Yaiba.
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