Yaiba

Yaiba: Samurai Legend
Kenyuu Densetsu Yaiba

Manga7.51616 votes24 volumes · 255 chaptersFinished

AdventureAward WinningSamuraiShounen

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About this title

Synopsis

The light-hearted manga is about an adventuring samurai named Kurogane Yaiba who knows how to be a samurai, and little else. Yaiba lives with his father, Kenjurou, in the forest. One day, while Yaiba was eating, a troop of gorillas came to attack. Yaiba and his father escaped and hid inside a box, but they didn't know that the box was full of pineapples and was going to be transported into the city. In the city, Yaiba finds out that he is a legendary warrior and has to fight the evil of a demonic looking high-school student named Takeshi. The people that Yaiba meets along his journey to become a true samurai encourage him, train him, or inspire him to greatness, though at heart he is still a child, and his incredible skill with a sword is matched only by his kindness towards his friends. Though, he tends to leap before he looks, and his thick-headedness tends to turn potential allies into enemies, though his friends soon clobber him, and salvage the situation. This unlikely group embarks on a host of incredible adventures where they meet legendary figures from Japanese history, and finally overcome impossible odds, and put everything on the line, to save the entire planet from a threat not of this world. It's a story of love, friendship, hard work, and never giving up. (Source: Wikipedia)

Publication notes

Yaiba won the 38th Shogakukan Manga Award in 1993. The series has been published in English as Yaiba: Samurai Legend by VIZ Media under the Shonen Sunday imprint as 2-in-1 omnibus volumes since July 8, 2025.

Published

Aug 24, 1988 to Nov 17, 1993

Authors

Aoyama, Goushou

External links

MyAnimeList page Wikipedia

MAL rank: #3389
Members (MAL): 4,453
Favorites (MAL): 59

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Adaptation

Main characters

Yaiba Kurogane25 fan favorites
External profile
Yaiba lives with his father, Kenjurou, in the forest. One day, while Yaiba was eating, a troop of gorillas came to attack. Yaiba and his father escaped and hid inside a box, but they didn't know that the box was full of pineapples and was going to be transported into the city. In the city, Yaiba finds out that he is a legendary warrior and has to fight the evil of a demonic looking high-school student named Takeshi Onimaru. (Source: Wikipedia)
Sayaka Mine10 fan favorites
External profile
Sayaka is the second protagonist of Yaiba and Yaiba's unlikely love interest. She originally had not intended to join Yaiba's journey, and simply found herself tied to Kagetora with Yaiba going towards the Thunder God's sword when she woke up. (Source: Wikipedia)
Takeshi Onimaru5 fan favorites
External profile
Takeshi is the primary antagonist of Yaiba. Originally a gifted high school swordsman, but when the fight he had with Yaiba ended in a draw, he made himself train harder. He eventually found a hidden basement containing the statues of Thunder God and the Devil Wind which was holding a sword. Upon wielding the Devil Wind sword, he was possessed and grew horns, turning into the Devil Wind incarnate. Although he uses the Devil Wind sword, he gave it to Yaiba upon acquiring the "Mao-Ken" Black Moon sword. Like all good villains, Onimaru has entire hordes of faceless minions who are nothing more than humanoid black bodies with eyes, mouths, and a single horn sticking straight up from the center of their head. (Source: Wikipedia)