Kenyuu Densetsu Yaiba (1993) — Story, Release Date, Rating

Synopsis:

In a secluded world of rigorous physical training, Kurogane Yaiba resists the path laid out for him – that of a samurai. Raised in isolation by his father, his existence is defined by the natural world and demanding discipline. This carefully constructed life is irrevocably altered when he is unexpectedly thrust into the bustling society of Japan. Navigating unfamiliar customs and social hierarchies, Kurogane encounters the influential Mine family, the menacing Onimaru clan, and even the enigmatic swordsman Musashi. He must confront escalating dangers while striving to define his own understanding of strength and honor. The series explores themes of identity, tradition versus modernity, and the relentless pursuit of self-improvement within a vividly realized historical setting.

Characters:

Kurogane, Yaiba (Main) - Voice Actors: Takayama, Minami, Acevedo, Patricia
Mine, Sayaka (Main) - Voice Actors: Mitsuishi, Kotono, Morales, María Fernanda, Mun, Seon hui
Miyamoto, Musashi (Main) - Voice Actors: Satou, Masaharu
Onimaru, Takeshi (Main) - Voice Actors: Horikawa, Ryo, Kim, Yeong Seon, Hong, Si Ho
Amakusa, Shiro-Tokisada (Supporting)
Batman (Supporting)
Chameleon Bonaparte (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Tanaka, Kazumi
Dorai, Dorai (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Genda, Tesshou
Dragon God (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Ishii, Kouji
Fuma, Kotarou (Supporting)
Gekko (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Yao, Kazuki
Geroda, Gerozaimon (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Tanaka, Kazunari
Gobou (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Kitamura, Kouichi
Hebi-otoko (Supporting)
Hitode-otoko (Supporting)
Ishikawa, Goemon (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Iizuka, Shouzou
Kagetora (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Egawa, Hisao
Kaguya-hime (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Fukami, Rica
Kamakiri-otoko (Supporting)
Kerokichi (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Yamaguchi, Kappei
Kerosuke (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Sasaoka, Shigezou
Kumo-otoko (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Sakaguchi, Tetsuo
Kuro, Oni (Supporting)
Kurogane, Kenjuurou (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Shimada, Bin, López Sánchez, Francisco Javier
Mangetsu (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Nakajima, Toshihiko
Matsuo, Basho (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Aono, Takeshi
Mine, Fuji (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Suzuki, Reiko
Mine, Raizou (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Ishizuka, Unshou
Mine, Shizuka (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Terase, Kyouko
Miporin (Supporting)
Musashibo, Benkei (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Gouri, Daisuke
Namako-otoko (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Kashiwakura, Tsutomu
Namekuji-otoko (Supporting)
Professor Kanabo (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Egawa, Hisao
Sasaki, Kojirou (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Kosugi, Juurouta, López Sánchez, Francisco Javier
Seikai, Miyoshi (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Inaba, Minoru
Shounosuke (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Horikawa, Ryo
Tsukikage (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Nakamura, Daiki
TV Reporter (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Matsui, Mami
Yagyuu, Juubee Mitsuyoshi (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Hashi, Takaya
Yakitori-kun (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Tachiki, Fumihiko

Staff:

Kobayashi, Noriko (Producer)
Nakazawa, Toshihiro (Producer)
Okuno, Toshiaki (Producer)
Abe, Masashi (Director)
Kato, Takao (Director, Episode Director, Storyboard)
Mutou, Yuuji (Director, Episode Director)
Nitta, Yoshikata (Director, Storyboard)
Sudou, Norihiko (Director, Episode Director, Storyboard)
Yoshida, Shunji (Director)
Yuyama, Kunihiko (Director, Storyboard)
Mima, Masafumi (Sound Director)
Daichi, Akitarou (Episode Director, Storyboard)
Endou, Tetsuya (Episode Director, Storyboard)
Kusaka, Naoyoshi (Episode Director)
Matsumura, Yasuhiro (Episode Director, Storyboard)
Matsuura, Johei (Episode Director, Storyboard)
Matsuzono, Hiroshi (Episode Director)
Murata, Kazuya (Episode Director, Storyboard)
Satou, Hidekazu (Episode Director)
Yamaguchi, Mihiro (Episode Director, Storyboard)
Yoshida, Hiroshi (Episode Director, Storyboard)
Endou, Katsumi (Storyboard)
Hidaka, Masamitsu (Storyboard)
Takahashi, Naohito (Storyboard)
Watanabe, Shinichirou (Storyboard)
Yamamoto, Yuusuke (Storyboard)
Ohtsuki, Kenji (Theme Song Lyrics)
Acevedo, Patricia (ADR Director)
Aoyama, Gosho (Original Creator)
Chiba, Yuriko (Animation Director)
Chino, Takatoshi (Production Assistant)
Endou, Eiichi (Animation Director)
Fukazawa, Kouji (Animation Director)
Gotou, Masami (Key Animation)
Gotou, Arihiro (Key Animation)
Hasegawa, Toshio (Special Effects)
Ikegami, Motoaki (Director of Photography)
Ishimaru, Kenichi (Animation Director)
Kanemura, Katsuyoshi (Art Director)
Kawamura, Akio (Animation Director)
Kikuchi, Jouji (Animation Director)
Kubo, Hiroshi (Animation Director)
Kumazawa, Hideki (Key Animation)
Matsubara, Tokuhiro (Animation Director, Character Design)
Matsuoka, Hideaki (Animation Director)
Mukouyama, Yuuji (Animation Director)
Nakazawa, Kazuto (Key Animation, Animation Director)
Oohashi, Yukiyoshi (Setting)
Sakakibara, Toyohiko (Special Effects)
Sasaki, Toshiko (Animation Director)
... and 3 more staff

Reviews:

User Pchaz (Score: 8/10):
first of all i cant compare it to the manga since iv never read it, so i can only base my recommendation on the anime alone for sure id recommend this show, the story is good, the art style isn't super great but it goes well, action comedy adventure, and the humor is gold this show always manages to make me laugh almost each episode. the characters especially the villains are very unique and how they are delt with, the Ending song pretty good i don't skip I'm sure you will like this show, as soon you still watching older production anime.
User ThisAaugh (Score: 7/10):
Yaiba was one of Gosho Aoyoma's earlier manga before he created the smash hit series Detective Conan. I have yet to read the manga, but I have heard it does not adapt it all the way and the anime had an anime-only ending. But despite all of these claims, this was a very good show and I hope to see it grow in popularity soon. The plot really isn't all that hard to follow; it basically goes this kid named Yaiba wants to become the best samurai so his dad sends him to Japan. But this guy named Onimaru wants to take over Japan. So Yaibaand his ever expanding friend group have to defeat his troops and Onimaru himself. It has a very simple plot, but it executes pretty well. The fights weren't too interesting in the beginning of the series but they get very exciting in the end. The pacing is kind of slow however, and some scenes were very predictable. But the comedy was alright. Some jokes were pretty funny (ex. kintama joke) but others just fell flat. Overall the story was okay.nnThe art is pretty good, it's what you'd expect from Gosho Aoyoma; big ears, tiny noses, and large heads. The animation honestly wasn't too good, but the show was made in 1993 by an obscure studio so it can be excused. The backgrounds were pretty appealing and the character designs fit the characters very well.nnThe voice acting was very good and the voice actors portrayed their characters very well. The opening was memorable and the ending was catchy. But I think the OST takes the cake here. The music fit the show perfectly and there were a few insert songs here and there. I honestly think the music is one of the best things about this show.nnThough they were some likeable characters in this show (Jubei, Gerozaemon, Musashi, Yaiba [sort of]) there were a lot of annoying and bad ones, like some of Onimaru's henchmen (Kumo-Otoko I'm talking about you.) But the most annoying character of all is Sayaka. She takes on the useless annoying girl anime trope and she made the show so unwatchable because she was so annoying. However she redeemed herself at the end of the series by improving her character a bit.nnOverall, I think this is a pretty good anime if you want some action, adventure, and comedy. Despite all of its flaws, it does a lot of stuff well and I highly recommend it. If you liked 1986 Dragon Ball, you'll probably enjoy this.
User patkarunungan (Score: 8/10):
This is one of the best anime I watched during childhood. Now that a new adaptation is in order this year 2025, how does this anime hold? In my rewatch, this is still a delightful watch. § Overview Kurogane Yaiba has always trained to become the best samurai in the world. One day, his father tells him to go to Japan. He quickly encounters Onimaru Takeshi, whom he defeats. Takeshi holds a grudge, so when he finds the Sword of the Devil Wind, he becomes evil and threatens to rule Japan and then the world. What would Yaiba do?§ Notesnnn1. This is Aoyama Gōshō's underrated and largely forgotten anime and manga. It is still to be seen if newer anime watchers would love this because Yaiba is a product of its time.nnn2. It's power system is fairly basic. A legendary sphere powers your sword, and the only way to level up is, apart from physical training which hasn't been explained sufficiently, one must acquire either new spheres or a more powerful sword.nnn3. Its audience is children around 10 or people who are children at heart, especially like me who have seen this when I was young. Most anime fans who have seen the staple shounen like Hunter x Hunter or Full Metal Alchemist might not like it as this is not something that will make you think about life, but Yaiba really does it best for what it aims to do.nnSince the target audience is grade schoolers, it uses immature and childish humour. It doesn't pretend to be something more serious the way the Elusive Samurai does. If you watch it as an adult, this may be your guilty pleasure because the slapstick humour is great. It still holds up. nnn4. It is mostly juvenile humour all throughout, but there is an arc where it gets serious for the show. Kids get to practise exercising their reasoning on a moral dilemma. It's not too deep but way serious for its intended audience.nnn5. We also meet different personages of Japanese history such as Miyamoto Musashi, Sasaki Kojirou, etc. They are a parody of these characters. Despite the power system being basic, it has some depth because it is grounded in Japanese lore and history.nnI suspect one of the goals of Aoyama-sensei in creating this anime/manga is for young kids to be entertained while at the same time learn a small bit of history by contrasting the real-life persons they are learning in history class to the parodies in his anime.nnThere are some life lessons you can somehow gain from this childish anime, though the lesson in the final episode may seem too tacky for my taste.nnn6. I was surprised on my rewatch that it has a lot of word plays. Maybe not to the level of NISIOISIN in Monogatari, but they're there. nnn7. Whilst I enjoyed all 52 episodes, it's only halfway through the manga. Wit Studio's new adaptation aims to cover all chapters of the manga, but they'll execute things…

News:

'Detective Conan' Creator's 'Yaiba' Manga Receives New Anime (05/07/2024)

Forum Topics:

External Links:

Related Anime/Manga:

Yaiba (manga - Adaptation)
Meitantei Conan OVA 01: Conan vs. Kid vs. Yaiba - Houtou Soudatsu Daikessen!! (anime - Side Story)
Kenyuu Densetsu Yaiba Pilot (anime - Alternative Version)
Shin Samurai-den Yaiba (anime - Alternative Version)

Genres: Adventure, Samurai, Shounen
Themes: Samurai
Demographics: Shounen
Studios: Pastel
Producers: Shogakukan Productions, Television Hokkaido Broadcasting, TV Tokyo
Rating: 7.12 / 10
Rank: #3889
Popularity: #6699
Users Listed: 10,860
Users Scored: 4,730
NSFW: No
Last Updated: 01/27/2025
Aired: April 9, 1993 – April 1, 1994 (Spring)
Type: tv
Source: manga
Age Rating: PG 13
Episodes: 52
Broadcast: Friday at 18:30 (JST)

Kenyuu Densetsu Yaiba