Hey guys, it’s TheAndySan hurr with a long-awaited anime review!!
My review is not on Bleach or The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, but on an excellent little number called Bamboo Blade! Here is the slog of it on YouTube:
If you don’t have sufficient Internets or don’t want to hear my gay-ass voice, read on below:
Have you ever wished you could be in a Japanese high school? Yeah, you and me both, although the homework would kill me!! How about in a Japanese high school kendo club? Not sure? Well, it’s time to spin Bamboo Blade in your DVD player!
Bamboo Blade begins as the story of Muroe High School’s kendo club, instructed by Toraji Ishida, a hopelessly poor and unlucky fellow with a short-temper to boot, and his only member and captain of the kendo club, Kirino Chiba, a girl who’s energetic and always positive. When Ishida-sensai is challenged by his sempai who runs two kendo clubs at two different schools, Kenzaburō Ishibashi, he becomes determined to gather a 5-woman kendo team to defeat Ishibashi-sensai and win free Tokyo-style sushi for a year.
Muroe High School’s kendo club consists of:
Toraji Ishida – the down-on-his-luck instructor
The 5-women team
The 2-man team
The 5-woman team consists of:
Tamaki “Tama-chan” Kawazoe – the shy child prodigy
Kirino Chiba – the insanely positive captain
Miyako “Miya-Miya” Miyazaki – the cute girl with a dark side
Sayako “Sayo-chan” Kuwahara – the eccentric random girl
Satori “Satorin” Azuma – the talented but clumsy girl
The 2-man team is:
Yūji Nakata – a sincere and talented guy who looks out for Tama-chan
Danjūrō “Dan” Eiga – a small and slow guy who is Miya-Miya’s boyfriend
Story: 8/10
Although Bamboo Blade uses the ol’ Japanese high school premise, it’s much more than that. The story really captures what it’s like to be in a kendo club, alibiet with some out-of-the-norm occurances. It’s told with loving care and doesn’t go for excessive amounts of fanservice, not that there isn’t fanservice; it’s subtly tucked in without having it in the spotlight. I give it an 8/10 for an excellent take on a cookie-cutter subgenre.
Animation & Music: both 7/10
The animation quality definitely gets the job done, and it especially shines during the critical action scenes. The music is pretty catchy too. I’m totally diggin’ the ending theme’s dance-funk feel. I give both the animation and the music a 7/10 for a good, but not mind-blowing, job.
Characters: 10/10
This is where Bamboo Blade shines its brightest. The character development is top-notch and makes this anime definitely re-watchable. 10/10, no question.
Enjoyment: 10/10
I haven’t thuroughly enjoyed an anime from beginning to end like this since Love Hina! And the ending makes you beg for more when a second season is hinted at. 10/10 for pure enjoyment.
Overall: 8.4/10
Bamboo Blade is a breath of fresh air among the cookie-cutter high-school subgenre of anime. The characters develop nicely, the animation and music is satisfactory, and I would watch this again in a heartbeat.
Well, I’m gonna go chizzill with E & The Gang so I’ll see yooz guyz laterz! Bye!
TheAndySan
P.S: It’s been 34 days since www.theandysan.com has been up and 6 days since www.spicymelon.com has been up. If any of you guys use Digg, StumbleUpon,
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October 15th, 2009 at 00:00
[...] my full text review of Bamboo Blade, taken from TheAndySan’s Anime Review #2 – Bamboo Blade: Have you ever wished you could be in a Japanese high school? Yeah, you and me both, although the [...]