Bamboo Blade
A perpetually broke high school kendo (Japanese fencing) instructor, Mr Kojiro, ends up in a wager with his friend and former classmate, also a kendo instructor. The contenst: Whose five-girl kendo team can reign supreme? The prize: A year’s supply of premium sushi; quite a prize to the starving Kojiro-sensei. But can his team actually win? When he manages to recruit fencing phenom Tamaki on his team, things look… well, a little less hopeless.
The series’ title is in reference to the shinai, the bamboo sword-like sticks used to strike the opponent in kendo. (There is no live steel or “real” swordfights in Bamboo Blade; at least, none so far.)
Bamboo Blade is a great title, with fun characters and well-rendered action. And - surprise! - even though most of the main characters are high school girls, the requisite fanservice this typically implies is gracefully absent (unless you’ve got a thing for girls in traditional full-body fencing armor). Toss in the lack of “real” violence, and you have a comic which is very easy to read and enjoy.
