What is it about girls with weapons that attracts men?
Last season we had Claymore, and this season we have Bamboo Blade. Now, these shows are shows that couldn’t be as far apart from each other as possible, but at least they have one thing in common – girls/women with swords.
It’s unfair to compare Bamboo Blade with Claymore because Claymore has a great plot, strong characters, desperate situations, smart strategies and emotional depth. Bamboo Blade at its best is a light hearted comedy with quirky if somewhat cliche characters, and at its worst…Well, I actually haven’t found anything bad or awful about this show yet.
Everything in this show is likable. Some of the elements are cute, and clearly aimed toward today’s Otaku tastes. The classic Kendo anime/manga were all about passionate boys and teenagers fighting their way to the championship round, encountering opponents with impossible speeds and attacks, and if I remember correctly, some of the opponents even fight like a certain elfin character in Claymore with strikes fast as lighting…XD
But Bamboo blade features a group of very cute girls with some typical personalities – fun and pleasing personalities, sure, but typical nonetheless.
This episode is likable because of the cute charm of Tama-chan.
Having a part-time job for the first time can be intimidating at the beginning. But it usually turns into a bore after some time. As a store clerk that rings even more true. A noob at her first part time job as a clerk will probably act extremely polite and careful for the first 5 to 10 customers, and after that, her true personality will begin to show, of course professionalism helps in working at any job.
In this episode, an ordinary plot turns into something amusing when we get to look at Tama-chan’s imaginations, which makes a rather boring and plain situation more interesting. Without these imaginative sequences, half of this episode would’ve brought me to sleep.
I’ll say though, my favorite character so far is still Miya-Miya. She can scare the shit out of the veterans of the club with her dark side (yoma-side? Hahahaha), but she’s pretty, even her feet are pretty (as the other two members of the club say), which is very similar to her real-life counterpart, Kuwashima Houko. It used to be that in real life Houko-chan wasn’t the easiest person to get along with, at least not for the average Japanese, because she used to be more “truthful” than what her society found acceptable. A common false perception among some in the seiyuu fan community was that she can get a little bitchy. I think in the western society her personality would be pretty normal.
Whatever the truth is, she’s obviously playing this character very well. Miya-Miya really longs to freely be a regular girl, with a temper, strong likes and dislikes, and sometimes, it looks to me that she wouldn’t mind being a biker chick with a nasty attitude. Damn, she knows how to ride that bike, even with that fat, stumpy dude in the side car she rides like the wind. With great stamina and a dark side in her personality, I really hope she somehow learns a super technique that enables her to perform infinite lighting-fast strikes at once with a shinai in one hand while reading the energy pattern of her opponents…Wait, I’ve seen that plot before! XD
The rest of the episode couldn’t keep me interested for long. Toraji’s wacky antics didn’t really impress me. What his sempai said, however, was interesting: “It’s better if Tamaki loses a battle.” Well, when a person wins every battle she ever fought, inevitably she’ll become arrogant and will not improve in her skills. That’s just the fact of life.
My guess is Tama-chan will lose a bout in the future against the opponents from the other school that Kenzaburōteaches. With 26 episodes there seems to be plenty of material to work from. Either this show will stay mostly relaxed, little wacky, and sometimes serious, or they’ll get to some tournament and become all serious later. Anyway,
81% recommended.