Manga / Yaiba

Yaiba holding the Raijin Katana, Sayaka and Onimaru

Yaiba (Ken'yu Densetsu Yaiba/Legend of the Swordsman Yaiba) is a Shonen manga written by Gosho Aoyama, known for Case Closed and Magic Kaito. It starts out as a light, funny manga very similar to Dragon Ball but slowly becomes more serious towards the end^note also similar to Dragon Ball. The manga ran in Weekly Shonen Sunday from 1988 to 1993.

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.

An anime was made, but it lasted only 52 episodes, airing from 1993 to 1994 and 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.

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Yaiba provides examples of:

• 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 prominent example is the first episode which manages to cover 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.
• 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 resembles an afro.
• 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 Grape Soldier.
• Asian Fox Spirit: Shiro Amakusa's true form. He's also a master trasformist and when in human form has fox-like ears and whiskers and don't forget the tail.
• 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.
• Bad Ass Creed: The magical writings on the Fujin sword, that explain how to master it. Sadly, it' quickly forgotten.
• 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".
• Bears Are Bad News: Goemon Ishikawa can transform into a huge bear wearing a really hard armor.
• 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...
• 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 overlord. Also Kaguya and, during the Pyramid and Underworld arcs, Boss.
  • In the last arc the Platina Company.
  • Big Bad Wannabe: Basho Matsuo want to find the Ryujin Orb and use its power to Take Over the World.
• 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.
  • This was used by the Spiderman to tend a trap to them twice. And they fell for it twice!.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 wolf.
• 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 revealed 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!!!"
• Buy or Get Lost: The group finds the Legendary Orb of Darkness inside... for sale in a shop specialized in balls and spherical items. The owner though is rather rude and when he thinks that his customers can't or don't want to pay, he tells them to go away, patting their heads with a duster. The group has a double payback on him: first when they actually show up with enough money to buy the Legendary Orb... and later, when it's revealed that the orb was stolen and he begs them to take it back in exchange for a better price, only for Musashi to point out that they're not going to take it back into the shop.
• 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.
• Carnival of Killers: the Seven Revenant Swordsmen summoned by Onimaru during the "Ryuujin Orbs" arc, who are all famous warriors from the past, including monks, ninjas, samurai and a Warrior Poet assassin.
• 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!)
  • The weapons of Onimaru's Black Onis.
• Casting a Shadow: 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.
• 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 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.
• Creepy Centipedes: The Centipede Soldier appears briefly during the Underworld arc, but is just an Elite Mook.
• Cross Attack: Shiro's Spear has a cross shaped blade, a nod to Shiro Amakusa's religion in Real Life.
• 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.
• 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 Gordon was scared!.
• 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..
• Dark Action Girl: Kaguya, Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond and Rain are good examples. Sure, Princess Kaguya in particular is an eldritch horror trapped inside the body of what looks like a Playboy bunny, but this juxtaposition of creepy mixed with cute makes for one of the strongest characters and arguably the strongest female in the cast.
• Darker and Edgier: The Princess Kaguya arc for the Yaiba anime involves higher stakes, fewer gags, and Sayaka being sacrificed to Kaguya to awaken her true form. Ditto with the Yaiba manga, but it just ups the ante after every arc, like in the case of the Yamato no Orochi arc and the Oda Nobunaga Tournament arc.
• Demonic Possession: What happens to both Onimaru and Yaiba when they awakened Fujin/Raijin's spirit. In Onimaru'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, Kaguya 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 or the Lightning Slash, as seen here. It involves diagonal cuts connected to each other in a chain of slashes, resulting in a zigzagging type of cutting technique. Also, Burner's death also came about from a diagonal slash.
• Dirty Old Man: Musashi in his old age is a prime example. He goes skirt chasing, skirt flipping, stealing underwear, peeping at young girls in public baths, and so forth. One time, he even jokingly referred to his testicles when an enemy asked him about the magical spheres.
• Dishing Out Dirt: The Rock Soldier's primary skill involves ostensibly earthen powers that can conjure stones to form an axe which, judging from its effects, explodes on contact like a shrapnel bomb.
• Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: Yaiba and the gang sing the end theme while in disguise from Kojiro.
• 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.
  • 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.
• Epic Flail: Kotaro's Kusarigama has a huge iron weight. Also Silver's preferred weapon. 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).
• 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 Freeza Arc, The Pyramid/Underworld Arc to the Cell arc and the Orochi arc to the Majin Boo arc.
  • The Boss of the Underworld (which is not Hell, but a kingdom of misterious hooded beigns situated underground) is slightly similar to Kami.
  • According to Aoyama, Yaiba himself is modeled after Teppei Uesugi from Ore wa Teppei
• 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!
• 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.
• 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 Crab: 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 Evil:
  • 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".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Historical Domain Character: Many, including, Miyamoto Musashi, Sasaki Kojiro, Fuuma Kotaro and Yagyu Jubei. Hattori Hanzō gets a cameo during the Oda Nobunaga Tournament.
• 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.
• 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:
  • Spiderman once used various cooking tools as weapons, and later he threw at Yaiba a flurry of Baseball balls.
  • The one-shot villain Mister Onick uses two colossal gloves with his "Hand Power!" magic, which can bend metal objects and blades.
  • Goemon Ishikawa's arsenal included not only a sword, two Fuuma Shuriken and two Sais, but also his Kiseru (pipe) and a steel umbrella used as shield.
  • The Moon Bunnies weapon of choice is a cotton fioc-like club. Gekko has a more badass one which doubles as a javelin and a Bazooka.
• 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 Flight: Just Add Spinning!: During the Legendary Orbs arc, it is revealed that the Starfishman, a former Hakki, can use spinning in order to fly around.
• 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 Manipulation: 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.
  • All the Moon Bunnies are a literal example, but the Black Rabbit Gekko is the Ur-Example.
  • Also the Snowman Soldier, who looks innocent and goofy but is really dangerous.
• Kiss of Death: Kaguya needs to suck the "youthness" out of women by kissing them. Yup, you heard that...
• Large Ham: Goemon Ishikawa. Ah-Hem: THE FEARSOME AND FAMOUS GOEMON ISHIKAWA.
• 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.
• Light Is Not Good: Gekko's name means Moonlight, but he's evil as hell. Plasma is a straight example.
• 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 Cloud Cuckoo Lander
• 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!?? Too Dumb to Live.
• 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..
• 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.
• Mooks: The Black Onis are this.
• Moon Rabbit: A whole race of them.
• Never Mess with Granny: Despite being frequently offscreen, Sayaka's Grandma 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.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • In the end, it's all Yaiba's fault that 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.
• Noble Bird of Prey: Kotaro Fuuma's true form is that of a Hawk-Man. Yaiba almost got killed by him.
• Non-Human Sidekick: Kagetora the Tiger and Shonosuke the Vulture. They both served as Yaiba's mounts.
• The Obi-Wan: Musashi Miyamoto himself looks after Yaiba's training.
• Oh, Crap!: Everyone has one when Kaguya uses Fusion Dance with Planet Earth..
• Ominous Floating Castle: Onimaru's Fortress. Normally it rest on the top of Mount Fuji.
• One-Winged Angel: All the Resurrected Swordsmen, Kaguya.
• Orochi: and now you know who's the Evil Creature Onimaru wants to unseal.
• Our Dragons Are Different: Also the White Dragon summoned by Ryujin's Sword.
• 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..".
• Paper-Thin Disguise: A Running Gag in the series. The Spiderman is the greatest offender. Yet, he's always successful.
• Pendulum of Death: Used twice as part of a Death Course, first in Ryuujin's labyrinth test, then on the bridge leading to the Oda Nobunaga's tournament grounds on Yoroi Island. In the latter's case, it's part of a test to gauge the strength of the partecipants. In the former's case, they force the heroes to go forward to hide the fact that the exit of the Labyrinth is the entrance itself.
• Person of Mass Destruction: Onimaru, Gekko, Jewel, eventually Yaiba. When you are capable of this, you qualify.
• Playboy Bunny: One of Shiro's Transformations. And Princess Kaguya of course.
• Playing with Fire: The Fire Orb, and Burner the Fire Demon.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Yaiba. Small but awfully powerful!
• Precision F-Strike: Batman said "God Damn" as he's sliced in half by Yaiba's Senpuken (whirlwind sword).
• Prehensile Hair: Kaguya's trump card against Onimaru and it worked.
• Pretty in Mink: Princess Kaguya's bunny suit, cape, and gloves are trimmed with white fur.
• Punny Name: Many of them. Often with Bilingual Bonus
  • The main one is Professor Kanabo ("Mano de Hierro" in the Spanish dub), whose name literally means "Iron Club". Kanabo's were said to be Oni's weapon and there are many japanese proverbs about Oni's with Iron Clubs being stronger or even invincible. Lampshade Hanging by Spiderman.
  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.
• Raijū: Shiro Amakusa turns into a giant, six tailed weasel with huge claws for his showdown with the Kid Samurai. However, he doesn't gain any thunder-related ability.
• 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.
• Reset Button: After Kaguya's and Orochi's arc everything is back to normal, despite all.
• Rival Turned Evil: Takeshi Onimaru.
• Rubber Man: 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 Cool: Seriously, some of the stuff that happens in this manga can be really over-the-top sometimes...
• 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!!!"
  • Hilariously, when Onimaru is fred by the demonic possession, he claims that his armor looks ridiculous.
• Sealed Evil in a Can:
  • Onimaru is frozen by Kaguya's Carbon Freeze Cannon. also Kaguya and Orochi later.
  • Also Gekko, who was imprisoned for trying to take over the moon in the past and was released to fight Yaiba.
• Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can: Kaguya is locked into the Dragon Prietess's body.
• Secret Test of Character: Yaiba is forced to choose between the last of the Legendary Orbs and saving all of his friends that have been falling in each of the trials. Yaiba chooses the latter, and he earns the Legendary Orb because of this.
• Self-Duplication: Burner can make four clones of himself made out of flames.
• Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains: Princess Kaguya's outfit compared to the heroes' outfits.
• Shock and Awe: The Raijin Orb. Only Yaiba, The Chosen One can use it safely... oh, Onimaru as well..
• Shoulders of Doom: Everyone with a cloak.
• Shout-Out: Seen here
• Simultaneous Blade Spam: The Toujin (Battle Blade) attack can do this, but with etheral blades which distract the opponent.
• Sinister Scythe: Basho has a cool scythe. Also Diamond's weapon. Doubles as a Energy Weapon.
• Slasher Smile: Silver and Gold do this a lot.
• Stock Ninja Weaponry: Kotaro uses a lot of ninja weapons, including a Shinobigatana, kunai, shuriken and even a Kusarigama. Later, Ishikawa Goemon is shown using kunai, smoke bombs and sai.
• Super-Intelligence: Diamond, the Genius Soldier to the point of Combat Clairvoyance. Also Sapphire the Skilled Soldier, which can replicate each and every technique as she sees it in action.
• Super Mode: Yaiba has done this various times.
• Taken for Granite:
  • Basho uses magical needles that turn people to stone. Apparently, making staues was a Hobby of his...
  • Also Onimaru after getting blasted by the Carbon Freeze Cannon.
• Taking the Bullet: Onimaru to Yaiba of all People!!! Also Emerald..
• Taking You with Me: All the Pyramid Soldiers explode after being killed. Later Ryuujin trapped in the Super Delta Zone charges Dark and absorbs him too inside the barrier, which send them both in another dimension.
• Tanuki: The guardians of the Golden Orb, who later help Yaiba against Kotaro. They also have Gag Testicles. The spell of the Tanuki is "pon poko pon poko pon poko pon poko ....."
• Team Pet: the Seacucumberman. yes, he actually exists. And is as lame as it sounds.
• That's No Moon: When Yaiba and Onimaru see that Kaguya's true head on her "body".
• Threatening Shark: Moon General Mikazuki "merge" with a shark in order to fight Yaiba underwater.
• Tiger Versus Dragon: During the battle vs Amakusa, Yaiba turns into a little humanoid dragon and Shiro into a huge white tiger.
  Musashi:" This is indeed the battle of a Tiger against a Dragon.."
  Kojiro:" I don't think so...".
• Took A Level In Bad Ass: Yaiba over time. Onimaru after turning into a Oni. Sayaka mastering the Water Demon Longsword and containing Kaguya inside her body..
• Tournament Arc: The Oda Nobunaga Tournament arc. Which is also the final arc in the series.
• 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 fiendish 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!
  • also Kaguya's and Orochi's Breath Weapon.
• 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.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Boss mainly becaues Humans Are the Real Monsters and he want to stop their pollution of Planet Earth..
• Weredragon: Yaiba's first attempt to use the Gold Orb powers turned him into a small dragon.
• 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.
• Wicked Weasel: Expecially if we're talking of a Giant Six-Tailed Weasel (Raiju) with huge claws.
• 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.
• 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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