Kenyuu Densetsu Yaiba

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. The 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. The 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. Though 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. Overall, 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.