Summary:

Honestly, I did not know what to expect from Bamboo Blade when it was announced for the fall season. It was not on my “to watch” list, but nor did I form an opinion of any sort by looking at previews. However, I heard plenty of good things about this anime, so I decided to check it out. I must say, I was pretty impressed by it. By the end of the first episode, it had me wanting more.

The anime seems to be primarily a comedy and pretty a good one too so far. It is about a kendo club on the decline since most of the members left or graduated. The instructor of the kendo club, Toraji, is rather unenthusiastic and does not care much about the club, in contrast to the only active member and captain, the hyper Kirino, who has the ambition to reach the nationals some day.

Things change when one night, Toraji’s friend, another kendo instructor challenges him to assemble a team of five girls to duel with his team of five girls. The reward is free sushi for a year for Toraji if his team wins, which is good news for him since is flat-broke and couldn’t even afford a light bulb to replace the one he smashed. Reinvigorated by the offer, Toraji decides to take Kirino (who is surprised by his enthusiasm) along to scout out potential members the next afternoon, although his reason is selfish.

As they were walking along the in their search near school that afternoon, for some reason or another, a football, a baseball, and tennis ball simultaneously flies in their direction, bound to hit them. On top of that, the vice principal was falling towards them too (lol). Tamaki, a girl who happened to be close by, intercepts the projectiles with a broom and cleanly knocks the objects away, including the vice principal—right back to and through the window of the building he fell from. This had me laughing like crazy. Toraji was, not without a reason, impressed by Tamaki’s great display of skill, so he asks her to join the club, however, Tamaki flatly refuses. “She felt kendo was a chore because she does kendo at home all the time,” explains her friend Yuuji who joined the club only the day before.

Anyway, the next day, the headstrong Kirino arbitrarily decides to drag Tamaki to the kendo club anyway, in spite of Tamaki’s (meek) objection. As they arrive, the pair notices Toyama, an inactive club member, who showed up just to bully another newcomer Eiga (who has a hot girlfriend for some reason) by striking him excessively hard, for example. Kirino asks him to stop beating up Eiga, but Toyama refutes, “You’re the one who’s always telling me to work hard; I’ll do it my own way!” Tamaki, who has a great sense of justice and morals, dislikes what’s she sees and declares “I will be joining the kendo club temporarily!” as she is getting ready to teach Toyama a lesson apparently. At this point, the episode ends.
Thoughts:

Bamboo Blade is likely one anime I’ll keep, judging from how the first episode progressed. The premise is pretty interesting and the characters are fun, especially Tamaki who is awesome. She’s the type of character who is very quiet, but kicks ass without breaking a sweat.

As for the plot, the story was pretty easy to follow; the scene sequences were pretty coherent. Animation-quality is top-notch and the laughs are great, but one has to see the anime to appreciate the jokes, since my descriptions do not do justice to them.

I can’t wait to see what Tama-chan and the gang has in store for the next episode. I highly recommend it for everyone who’s looking for a good comedy to watch.

Tama-chan!! Seigi!!

-Kyokii