History Anime / BambooBlade

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-->''Some fight for honor. They fight for sushi.''

'''''Note:''' This is not a trope about the ''shinai'', a bamboo practice sword used in Kendo practice (See NerfArm or WoodenKatanasAreEvenBetter for that). You will, however see quite a few of them in this series.''

Kendo instructor Toraji "Kojirou" Ishida was down on his luck. Stuck in PerpetualPoverty, he could barely make ends meet. Then there was a ray of hope. If he could assemble a team of female kendo students to defeat his old friend's team, he'd get free food for a year. Now he just has to find the team. Find it he does, in the form of Tamaki, a young prodigy. The rest of the team is equally eccentric. So begins ''Bamboo Blade'', a surprisingly well-done [[GamingAnime kendo]] anime mixed with DayInTheLife moments to create something greatly entertaining. The characters sell the show.

Based on a manga by Masahiro Totsuka. There is a {{Spinoff}} with all-new characters, ''Bamboo Blade B''.
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!!This show contains examples of:

* AdultChild: Toraji-Sensei, whose childishness makes you wonder how he got his job in the first place.
* AlphaBitch: Konishi and her three underclassmen. There was a rumor going around that they would often sabotage her opponents, such as putting thumbtacks in the opponent's shoes, or doing other things to keep them from fighting. While Konishi doesn't seem to be the mastermind behind it, she nevertheless seems to unofficially approve of the things the girls did since it often helps in her matches. [[spoiler: Unfortunately for her, those tactics don't work against Tama-chan, and Tama-chan probably unleashed more rage than usual because of Konishi's underhandedness. Konishi's spirit definitely seems to be broken after her fight with Tama.]]
* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: In the manga, Tama-chan's dad wastes no time busting out the photo album when her friends visit the dojo. Tama's silent pleading crosses the line into {{Woobie}} territory. Then he goes for the home video of her in the bath...
* ArtEvolution: Present in the manga. The lines become thinner and details better drawn. Tamaki in particular becomes less angular and cuter.
* AscendedFanboy: Rin and Tama both get to participate in the Blade Braver movie. They then get into an unscripted fight, but from the looks of the DistantFinale, it got cut from the film (along with Tama's line being redubbed due to her flubbing it).
* BadassAdorable: Tama-chan... just Tama-chan. {{Squee}}!! [[ImTakingHerHomeWithMe I'm Taking Her Home With Me]]!! She also counts as a CuteBruiser and EvenTheGirlsWantHer. During one episode, an opposing kendo squad squees and begs to fight her not to try to beat her but so that they can experience getting hit by her which is played up as very... euphoric. Ahem.
* BadassArmFold: Shinaider/[[spoiler: Silver Braver]] in the [[ShowWithinAShow Blade Braver]] [[TheMovie movie]].
* BalloonBelly: Satori in episode 17.
* BattleAura: Miyamiya's black one and Tama's heroic red one, most noticeably. The former gets a lampshade, as it comes complete with spooky laughter. It gets lampshaded a number of times during the series. She also comes in snake/dominatrix mode as seen when convincing Azumi to join the team; the force of her speech actually causes an seemingly audible explosion.
-->"Am I crazy, or was she covered in a black cloud?"
* BerserkButton: Konishi seems to press Tama-chan's after it seemed she was trying to help the latter, but then kept gloating about Tama's ankle injury. She totally deserved the fury Tama unleashed on her afterwards.
* BetweenMyLegs: In episode 14, of Miya-Miya framing Azuma, the shot emphasizing Miya's intimidation of Azuma.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: You couldn't find a nicer girl than Tamaki, but when [[spoiler:Konishi succeeds in getting Tama-chan to twist her ankle, then in their match later, forces her to put weight on it, she makes the mistake of gloating over it. Tamaki's subsequent DeathGlare nearly makes Konishi step back a pace. Then Tama's {{Kiai}} surprises everyone. Konishi tries to respond, only to ''freeze to the spot'' in fear when Tama shouts a second time. K's still trying to find an opening when [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Tama nails her so hard with a throat strike, she's knocked off her]] ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome feet]]''.]] You dared to dishonour kendo with your bad attitude? You must [[http://i.imagehost.org/0172/1050_CXC_06_png.jpg pay]].
** Yuuji stands his ground when three big, tough looking guys were sent to beat him up. Luckily for him, his DeathGlare and BadAssBoast with the stick scares them off.
* {{Bifauxnen}}: Maya and Karen can pull this off when they're wearing their kendo uniforms, though Maya looks more thuggish than the typical {{Bifauxnen}} character.
** Saya, of course, nearly quits the team when she misinterprets a compliment from Toraji-sensei to the effect that her height, strength and reach are comparable to a boy's.
* BishieSparkle: Miya-Miya is blindingly sparkling before she goes into yandere mode. Turned UpToEleven in the manga when she hears the club might appear on TV.
** [[{{Kawaiiko}} Erina]] has an ''[[PowerGlow aura]]'' of solid bishie sparkle.
** Tama-chan has these whenever she watches or talks about anime.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Ryoko Todo. Miya-Miya to a lesser extent. Konishi as well.
* BlackBlood {{Nosebleed}}: Reimi... somehow.
* {{Bokukko}}: Maya Yokoo.
* BoringInvincibleHero: For the first half of the show or more, the only one to give Tamaki any trouble at all is Ishibashi-sensei.
** [[spoiler: Also, Tama-chan was defeated by Erina]]
* BumblingDad: Sakaki's father is dismayed and confused by his daughter's abandonment of kendo in favour of [[IdolSinger idol (singer)]]-worship. He resorts to seeing an honest-to-Kami {{Onmyodo}} sorceress to exorcise the demon possessing her.
* CallingYourAttacks: Standard ''kendo'' practice.
* CantCatchUp: Miyamiya started kendo later than the rest, so she can't land a single hit on Tama-chan, much to her chagrin. By the twentieth episode, she still hadn't won a match and had only scored one point on Satori.
** ''The coach'' can't land a hit on Tama-chan.
*** Although in Ishida's case it's made clear he's not practiced properly since his match with Ishibashi ten years ago. Miya-Miya [[spoiler: ''does'' win a match, against Carrie in episode 25. And then their unofficial one with Carrie using two swords - played more for laughs than anything; "Such brute strength!", "No. The [[GratuitousEnglish 'power of love']]"]]
* TheCameo: Goro Taniguchi, director of ''{{Planetes}}'', ''GunXSword'', and ''CodeGeass'', plays himself in one episode.
* CatSmile: Kirino's standard expression.
* ClingyJealousGirl: Miya-Miya when Carrie shows up and starts smothering Dan-kun, and calling him Anderson. Carrie even threatens to "steal" Dan-kun away if she wins against Miya.
* ClosetGeek: Tamaki, the highly skilled kendo fighter, sure loves anime. She even does part time work in order to save up money for a limited edition series, [[spoiler: then unfortunately has to give it up when she realizes that her dad's birthday is up, and buys him a present instead.]]
* CloudCuckooLander: Kirino falls into this trope from time to time.
* CombatPragmatist: Ando and Konishi are both different versions; Ando breaks rules with tactics like tackling her opponent to the ground or stepping on their feet -- and gets away with it by playing them off as accidents. Konishi has her GirlPosse target her opponents before a match.
* CoolBigSis: Kirino's specifically described as an older sister to the other members of the club.
* CryCute: The main girls when they're crying.
* {{Dandere}}: Tamaki.
* DeathGlare: Several characters exhibit one, but usually Tama-chan or Miya-Miya (often accompanied with a BattleAura in her case).
* DemotedToExtra: In-universe example, both Yuuji and Dan-kun are constantly being reminded that they're not that important. They will usually [[LampshadeHanging point it out as well.]]
* DisturbedDoves: Tama-chan's ''{{kiai}}'' against [[spoiler: Konishi]] scares a flock of doves out of the trees near the contest hall.
* DitzyGenius: Kirino. Similarly-vague Dan-kun ranks second in his year... of 390 students.
* {{Dojikko}}: Satori.
* DreadfulMusician: Saya.
* DualWielding: Carrie outside of tournaments. Dan actually tries to get Korjiro to let him do this at one point.
* DullEyesOfUnhappiness: Miya-Miya has them when Reimi is around her too long and constantly taking pictures.
* DumbBlonde: Subverted. Kirino may be a ditz but she's ranked 20th in her year.
* EagleLand: Carrie Nishikawa.
* EarlyBirdCameo: Satori passes by the Dojo in the first 5 minutes of the first episode. She then has a couple more cameos (and even does a next episode preview) before her formal introduction.
* EyesAlwaysShut: Konishi, before she reveals her true self. Dan-kun also counts, and [[spoiler: is just as scary when he opens his eyes]].
* {{Fangirl}}: Tamaki and anime. See Episode 11 for the sparkly proof.
** That's nothing. Check out episode 21.
* TheFakeCutie: The idol Ryoko Toda. One of her manager's duties is to let her ''beat'' him, brutally, every time she gets upset so she doesn't hurt herself or her image tearing apart dressing rooms and other people. She isn't throwing weak shots either, he's just enough of a tank to take it. When she's not doing this she's a [[StepfordSmiler perfectly calm and polite]] young woman.
* FanNickname
** Lion-tan: Kirino, for her general [[CatSmile appearance]] and demeanour.
** [[TengenToppaGurrenLagann Kamina]]-sensei: Coach Kojirou, for his [[HeyItsThatVoice voice]].
* FiveManBand
** Tama, as the most skilled, is TheHero.
** Kirino, as Tama's much less serious foil, is TheLancer.
** Satori, [[BookDumb despite getting horrible grades]], is TheSmartGuy.
*** She also seems kind of like a SixthRanger.
** Saya is the tallest and strongest of the girls; TheBigGuy.
** Pink Miyako is TheChick. Black Miyako is AxeCrazy.
* FootFocus: Taken [[UptoEleven to extreme amounts]]. It's harder to find an episode where there aren't close-ups of the girls' bare feet (if there even are any).
* ForeignFanservice: Carrie. Just Carrie.
* FuroScene: ''Cruelly'' subverted in Episode 15: wherein fanboy expectations are built up by its title, only to have 3 shots of shampoo bottles appear in the actual episode without ''any'' of the expected FanService.
** This is remedied in the DVD specials, albeit still with lots of {{censor steam}}.
** ...Any chance those are up on YouTube, or something...? I'm just askin'.
** Yes, and here it is, enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PSYtiuFJIc
* {{Gainaxing}}: Miya-Miya jogging in Episode 21. Funnily enough, Saya, who has visibly the best-endowed bust of all the girls, never falls victim to this trope.
** She does, in the opening. It's nothing compared to Miya-Miya's scene, though.
* GamingAnime
* GenkiGirl: Both Saya and Kirino qualify.
* TheGlomp: Poor Tama-chan gets double-glomped by Kirino and Saya in episode 7. And again in episode 25.
* {{Gonk}}: Dan-kun and Reimi's mother.
** Really, as far as gonks go, Dan-kun is not too bad, possibly could be considered UglyCute. I mean, he's short and has a head that looks like an onigiri, but other than that he looks alright.
** There's also the girl that Saya and Kirino initially mistook for Satori, who basically looked like a gigantic middle-aged crossdressing man with a schoolgirl's voice.
* HarshWordImpact: A Harsh Word Laser Beam, courtesy of Black Miya.
* HeroicBSOD: Tama-chan goes through one in episode 23, which causes Kirino to suffer one as well in the next episode. Both recover at the end of episode 24.
* HotMom: Almost every mother who has appeared onscreen, notably Tama-chan's practically ''angelic'' young mom. Astoundingly enough, even '''Toraji-Sensei's''', who is in her '''mid-fifties''', resembles (and acts like) an '''extremely''' cute ChristmasCake who is fond of collecting teddy bears like a teenage girl.
** Subverted with Reimi's mom, who is a {{Gonk}} and an annoying, hateful bitch.
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Every anime episode is titled with "X and Y". Manga chapters are generally titled with 'Character Name And <His Or Her> X'.
* IncrediblyLamePun: Everyone is stopped in their tracks by the awfulness of one of Satori's puns.
* KavorkaMan: Dan. He takes it on himself to dispense pearls of wisdom concerning women to Yuuji and Toraji-sensei, who are predictably upset.
* KendoTeamCaptain: Kirino, officially.
** And Dan in the {{distant finale}}.
* {{Kiai}}: Tama-chan uses one when she faces off against [[spoiler:Konishi]]. It is ''fearsome''.
** It is used less spectacularly in every match. Tamaki's ''Men!'' is the most common.
* LargeHam: Saya, especially when she's in drama queen mode.
* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: At the end of the ending credits, even. Given that Rin took her place, one wonders how [[spoiler: Sakaki Ura]] will fit into the anime continuity...
* LawyerFriendlyCameo: [[{{Scryed}} Famous]] [[{{Planetes}} director]] [[GunXSword Goro]] [[CodeGeass Taniguchi]] plays himself in the anime, replacing a lawyer un-friendly cameo by HayaoMiyazaki in the manga.
* LesYay: Depending on how you interpret Saya and Kirino's RomanticTwoGirlFriendship. The scene late in the anime when Saya, [[spoiler: after interrupting Kirino drafting her resignation from the ''kendo'' team]], pushes Kirino down onto her bed is especially fraught.
* MaleGaze: Used consistently throughout. A very obvious example is the beginning of episode 11; Saya and Kirino discuss their potential fifth squad member, while the camera focuses exclusively on their breasts and thighs. However, it's implied that it was because Kirino was jealous of Saya's bust size (as she folds her arms to accentuate them)
* {{Meganekko}}: Satori, subverted by the fact that her glasses are fake. She thinks wearing glasses will make her smarter...
* MissingMom: Tamaki's deceased mother, a kendo practitioner -- which is a plot point.
* MoodWhiplash: The end of episode 15 compared with the rest of the episode.
* MoralityChain: Dan. Whenever he's not around, Miya-Miya's {{Yandere}} tendencies surface.
* {{Moe}}: Tama-chan all the way!!
* NobleWomansLaugh: Kirino does one after revealing her plot to cause Azuma to reignite her interest in kendo. She also puts a fan over her mouth as well.
* NoseBleed: Reimi suffers them around Miya-Miya.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: "Miya-Miya" is only a persona Miyako takes on when her boyfriend's around -- she's really a sarcastic {{delinquent}}.
** Coupled with WillfullyWeak, Erina practically emits these tropes. That is, until Tama-chan forced her out of it and brought her back which resulted in Tama's loss.
* OfficialCouple: Dan and Miya-Miya.
* OhCrap: [[spoiler:[[http://j.imagehost.org/0979/bb_ch54_pg13.jpg Konishi's]]]] face is priceless. You ''did'' make Tama-chan angry.
** Happens in the anime as well. Tama's fury essentially caused Konishi to suffer a VillainousBSOD.
* TheOneGuy: Yuuji.
* OnlySixFaces: Five or so new characters introduced since the end of the anime, aside from the side characters. Telling them apart is difficult.
* {{Otaku}}: Tamaki and Rin, both on the subject of ''Blade Braver''.
** In a broader sense, ''every'' main character can be seen as a kendo-otaku. Miyako actually convinces (read as: bullies) Satori into rejoining the kendo team by saying, "If you're going to be a loser anyway, be a ''kendo''-obsessed loser!"
** [[spoiler:Sakaki Ura]] and her idol obsession. Creepy.
* OverprotectiveDad: Tamaki's dad has a hard time letting go of his little girl, especially if it concerns Yuuji.
* OvershadowedByAwesome: Yuuji Nakata qualifies for this, as being ''TheOneGuy'' isn't sad enough. It's clear that he has remarkable skills and discipline in Kendo, is one of the strongest students in the dojo as the few fights he has been in ended with him beating the opponent with little to no effort, but this show/manga is mainly about cute female kendo practitioners and their everyday life. In the end Yuuji is more of a possible love interest for Tama than anything else.
* PaperThinDisguise: During the first practice match, Tamaki is asked to leave and return, pretending to be a different student. Despite Toraji's obvious BlatantLies, Kenzaburo and his students see right through the disguise. He even calls them out on it after her second match.
* PostEpisodeTrailer: {{Chibi}} versions of the characters deliver a short skit, followed by the next episode's title. Quite fun to watch.
** [[GratuitousEnglish FOOOOREVEEEEEEEER!!!]]
* PsychoForHire: [[spoiler:Miyako's main reason for kendo is that she enjoys inflicting pain on people.]]
** Which is oddly ironic given that the person she seems determined to ''kill'', Toyama, also fits the bill as a PsychoForHire who really likes inflicting pain. Some time, we might see who is the better Psycho.
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Shinaider to the Bravers in the ShowWithinAShow, Blade Braver.
* TheQuietOne: Tamaki
* ThePowerOfLove: Miya-miya uses this to defeat Carrie during their unofficial duel.
* RecurringExtra: Much like ''{{Trigun}}'', a cat appears at least once in every episode.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Averted with the friendly, likable Kirino.
* TheRival: Rin to Tamaki, Carrie to Miya-Miya. In the manga [[spoiler:Sakaki Ura]] seems to be getting set up for this role over Rin.
** [[spoiler: In the last volume of the manga Erina requests Tama to become Sakaki's rival because she needs one to keep interested in Kendo and Tama is just about perfect for the role. ]]
* RivalDojos: Ishibashi-sensei and the Machido High girls serve this function to the Muroe team, but their second appearance has them attending a training camp [[GoKartingWithBowser (read: having a sleepover)]] with Toraji-sensei's girls.
* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: Saya and Kirino have been really close friends for a long time. When training, they're almost always together.
** Saya also seems to have a mild crush on Kirino, causing {{love bubbles}} to appear when she thinks of her.
* RubberFace: Happens quite a few times with Tamaki.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: The old hag who uses her position as the superintendent's next-door neighbor to pursue her vendetta with Toraji-sensei.
* SaveOurClub: At the start of the series, Kirino was the only member who regularly showed up to practice.
* SayMyName: Constantly, complete with LoveBubbles. Although the occasional variation does creep in.
** "Miya-Miya!"
** "Dan-kun!"
** "Miya-Miya!"
** "Anderson!"
** "Anderson?"
** "Carrie?"
* {{Sentai}}: Not just ''Blade Braver''; Toraji assigns the girls team colors early on. Tama is Red, Saya is Blue, Kirino is Yellow, Satori is Green, and Miyamiya is Pink/Black.
* SempaiKohai: Satori and Tama are psyched to have ''kohai'' in the three-months-later final episode.
* SequelHook: The last shot of the anime shows Tamaki and a long-haired girl turning their heads toward each other.
** The unknown girl is [[spoiler:Sakaki Ura]] from the manga, who is [[spoiler:fated to fight Tamaki some day soon]].
* ShowWithinAShow: ''[[SuperSentai Chouken Sentai Blade Braver]]''[[hottip:* :Despite the similarity of its name, it has nothing to do with ''KamenRiderBlade''([='=]s first theme song).]] and its spinoff, ''[[{{Toku}} Super Space Squad Cosmo Thirteen]]''. There's a few others, like ''Material Puzzle'' and ''Magross'', as well.
** BigBad: Death Armor
** HumongousMecha: Braver Robo
** NobleDemon: Shinaider
*** He also has an [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou "only I can defeat you"]] attitude towards the hero -- one episode shows several instances of him saving the team before he invokes this trope almost word for word [[TearJerker as he dies.]]
** PowerTrio
** PunnyName: Shinaider. It sounds a lot like 'Schneider', but he uses ''[[WoodenKatanasAreEvenBetter shinai]]''. [[DontExplainTheJoke Geddit]]?
*** 'Schneider' is a relatively common name in German speaking countries, similar in origin and meaning as the English surname 'Taylor'. However, the name derives from the German word 'Schneiden' which means 'to cut' (as in cutting cloth). Thus his name may also mean 'Cutter'.
** [[SixthRanger Fourth Ranger]]: Silver Braver [[spoiler: AKA Shinaider]].
** TheMovie: Tamaki gets to be an extra.
*** Which features a DistaffCounterpart to Shinaider, who ends up getting StuffedIntoTheFridge, which facilitates his [[spoiler:resurrection and HeelFaceTurn]].
* SickeninglySweethearts: Danny and Miya-Miya.
* SkilledButNaive: Tamaki is an absolute prodigy when it comes to swordplay, but is hopelessly naive in other situations.
* SleepCute: Happens with Tamaki and Rin in episode 21.
* StanceSystem: Variation: the use of the [[SwordOverHead ascension stance]] is a plot point. [[spoiler:Tamaki's mother used to use it; when Toriajou switches to it in his match with Tamaki, she's so distracted by the sight, she loses.]]
** In the manga, Koujiro recommends it to Saya, to make use of her height and strength.
* StalkerWithACrush: Reimi. And in recent chapters, [[spoiler:Sakaki Ura]].
* StepfordSmiler: Kirino doesn't have much to angst about, but when her mom passes out due to overexertion [[spoiler: and the kendo team is at risk of being shut down]], it's revealed that she breaks out the Type A routine when things like this happen (usually when she gets sick.)
* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: Carrie Nishikawa speaks English with a strong, but not horrible, accent.
* SuperDeformed: To emphasize their upbeat and extremely immature personalities, Kirino-Sempai and Saya spend over half their screentime in this form, with Tama-Chan occasionally doing so to accentuate her ''already'' adorable innocence.
** Also, as a possible form of PaintingTheFourthWall, Dan is ''permanently'' in SuperDeformed state as a source of his Gonkiness. He is even ''called'' deformed in-series, and requires special equipment because of it.
* TitleDrop: Saya wears a shirt that says "Bamboo Blade" at one point in the anime. It's also dropped during the training camp episode. Neither occurrences have any significance.
* TournamentArc: Several tournaments throughout the series.
* TomboyishSidetails: Argubly Tamaki.
* TranquilFury: Tama-chan most of the time. Kirino does this when her mother was hospitalized, and then inadvertently fell out of it when her brother shouted to her before her fight that their mother was going to be okay after all.
* UglyGuyHotWife: Except for not being married, Dan and Miya-Miya clearly qualify.
* UnknownRival: Ryoko Toda towards Erina Sawamiya, through and through. GeniusDitz Erina consistently thrashes Ryoko in anything athletic, but when Erina mentions that she's never tried kendo... well, you can see where this is going.
* ValleyGirl: The dub turns Carrie into one, her heavy use of slang terms preserving the language barrier between her and Miya Miya since they're ''both'' speaking English.
* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: Miya-Miya towards Dan-kun usually.
* WhamEpisode: Episode 23.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome: In the manga, GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger. Scholarship Point-Making [[http://i.imagehost.org/0517/bb_ch49_pg19.jpg BEEAAAAM]]! Also occurs in the anime with even more theatrics. Even Miya Miya is somewhat amazed at her ability and that Satori will now do whatever she wants.
* {{Yandere}}: Miya-Miya and Sakaki Ura. To a far lesser extent, Danny; when the sensai tries to push Miya-Miya harder than Danny feels is necessary, Danny cracks open his eyes and we see the exact same evil aura that Miya-Miya gets. It's entirely possible that both, ironically, are hiding their HeroicSociopath tendancies from each other.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Both Yuji and Rin's hair is blue, Tama's is purple, and Azuma's is orange-red.
* YourHeadAsplode: Tamaki does this to [[spoiler: a training dummy that looks like]] Kojirou with a head strike, complete with DelayedExplosion. They [[LampshadeHanging point out that]] it's a bad omen, which Ishida-sensei tries to brush off, as he's likely to lose his job because a run-in with the {{Gonk}} lady at the supermarket who happens to be neighbors with his school superintendent's wife.
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* HeroicBSOD: Tama-chan goes through one in episode 23, which causes Kirino to go through one as well in episode 24. Both recover at the end of episode 24.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Ryoko Todo. Miya-Miya to a lesser extent.

* YourHeadAsplode: Tamaki does this to [[spoiler: a training dummy that looks like]] Kojirou with a head strike, complete with DelayedExplosion.

* ArtEvolution: Present in the manga. The lines become thinner and details better drawn. Tamaki in particular becomes less angular and arguably cuter.

* YourHeadAsplode: Tamaki does this to [[spoiler: a training dummy that looks like]] Kojirou with a head strike.