Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I\u2019m eager to check back in on the freewheeling adventures of Yaiba, Sayaka, and their increasingly bizarre companions, as we screen a fresh episode of Yaiba: Samurai Legend. When last we left off, Onimaru\u2019s ominous octet of oni had been largely dismantled, mainly owing to the fact that none of them were particularly threatening or malevolent in the first place. Seriously, a sea cucumber? Onimaru, I don\u2019t know what you were expecting.<\/span><\/p>\n All of that felt perfectly in line with Yaiba\u2019s fast-paced, lighthearted spin on shonen drama, a style that calls to mind the rambling, playful early days of Akira Toriyama\u2019s Dragon Ball. With much of modern shonen aspiring to a self-seriousness their narratives cannot begin to justify, it\u2019s refreshing to see a show that\u2019s just having fun with the template, offering endearingly non-threatening villains and then eagerly inviting them to join the good guys. And of course, all of this is made far more appealing through the kinetic animation and lush background design of Takahiro Hasui\u2019s impressive adaptation, which is clearly and effectively conjuring the nostalgic aesthetics of \u201880s anime. I\u2019m all for this reappropriation of dormant yet enduringly compelling styles, and eager to see what nonsense Aoyama cooks up next. Let\u2019s get to it!<\/span><\/p>\n Episode 6<\/b><\/p>\n We drop down in Nagoya, where the gang are enjoying some local snacks. Even Yaiba taking a bite here is ornamented with some delightful squashing and stretching<\/span><\/p>\n Sayaka posts some pictures to Instagram. Sorta comforting to consider how easy it is to modernize this narrative; the accessories and fascinations of teenagers may change, but adolescence is what it is<\/span><\/p>\n Mr. Slug makes his dramatic reappearance, realized through a dramatic fisheye shot that makes him as large and imposing as possible<\/span><\/p>\n But now he has a shell! How will they salt him now!?<\/span><\/p>\n Easily, it turns out. Fortunately, he\u2019s just the opening act for our incoming vampire, who\u2019s introduced through a dynamic cut realizing him reflected in the glass of these tall buildings. I suppose that means he\u2019s just vampire-themed, not an actual vampire<\/span><\/p>\n Even by Yaiba standards the boarding feels particularly sharp this episode \u2013 lots of interesting angles and quick transitions that emphasize the sense of dynamic motion, as well as dramatic low-angle shots with exaggerated foreshortening that create a greater sense of threat and impact for these oni<\/span><\/p>\n Apparently this episode was boarded and directed by Yuji Tokuno, a relatively new artist who has nonetheless directed episodes of Jujutsu Kaisen, Fire Force, and One Piece. He\u2019s clearly got a gift for energetic action boarding<\/span><\/p>\n Neat trick of using shadowy clouds of bats to facilitate transitions centered on this vampire oni<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe Unexpected Mr. Bat\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n More angular, aggressive compositions as we return post-OP. This first layout is excellent, using the sharp angles of Yaiba\u2019s hair, eyebrows, and sword to create a unified V shape, leading the eye first down to his blade, then up the line of the blade itself. The overall effect emphasizes Yaiba\u2019s killer instinct in this moment; his entire form is a knife aimed at his opponent<\/span><\/p>\n Our foe actually calls himself \u201cBat Guy\u201d in English. Love his shades<\/span><\/p>\n His mannerisms are delightful in general. His voice actor\u2019s going all-in on the absurdly over-enunciated English interjections<\/span><\/p>\n Ooh, another excellent visual trick \u2013 having this screen-in-screen of Yaiba\u2019s reaction cut through the composition like a bolt of lightning, emphasizing the absurd speed of this exchange while making the reaction itself look like a blade cutting through Yaiba\u2019s body<\/span><\/p>\n Nice expression work as Yaiba bitterly inspects his injury. Good to see more of a range out of him, now that he\u2019s actually being pressured in combat<\/span><\/p>\n Their aerial battle embodies this production\u2019s signature blend of old-fashioned animation techniques and new digital innovations, as their dramatic smears and Kaneda poses are captured by a spinning camera facilitated by the massive CG building beside them. The building does a fine job of lending some perspective to this exchange, giving us a sense of their actual speed and motion relative to a stable object<\/span><\/p>\n I also like that Yaiba\u2019s limitations here are so physically coherent \u2013 first he cannot fight his opponent because he can\u2019t take to the sky, now he can\u2019t unleash his powers because his \u201cwings\u201d limit his range of motion<\/span><\/p>\n Musashi introduces himself in kabuki style, with the speedlines transitioning to the orange-green-black combo of kabuki curtains. I wonder why those three colors came to symbolize kabuki theater?<\/span><\/p>\n And Mr. Bat just immediately goes into adoring fanboy mode at meeting a famous swordsman. Love this guy, we need to keep him too<\/span><\/p>\n Lovely shading effects for Frog and Sea Cucumber\u2019s response to Musashi being turned by the enemy. The looseness of these scribbles and the variable line weight used to create heavy shadows really bolster the intensity of their expressions<\/span><\/p>\n God, these aerial sequences use the city backdrop so well. This episode\u2019s really setting a new standard for this production\u2019s action scenes<\/span><\/p>\n Another nice mix of low-angle and fisheye shots to convey Mr. Bat as master of this city, lording over it from above and dominating the composition from below<\/span><\/p>\n I like that our frog buddy is just doing the Thriller dance in the background<\/span><\/p>\n The aftermath offers Yaiba and Sayaka one of this production\u2019s rare, precious quiet moments, as they stare down at the canal and consider their next move. The icy blue night colors fit their mood well<\/span><\/p>\n Man, the layouts are just a delight this episode. Mr. Bat\u2019s return is realized through a multilayered composition that uses our heroes in the foreground as bookends to frame his triumphant appearance in the distance, with the darkness of their discussion now pierced by the cold blue light emanating behind him. Smart use of wracking focus, echoing this episode\u2019s general tendency to link all its transitions with tricks of visual geometry, always leading the eye towards the next subject<\/span><\/p>\n With our team on the run, the compositions then shift to emphasizing their entrapment, with Sayaka captured among the wooden slates of this window like she\u2019s looking through prison bars<\/span><\/p>\n Yaiba creates an opening by hiding in the top half of a suit of samurai armor. As with his initial clashes against Onimaru, Yaiba is specifically defined as a master of trickery \u2013 using whatever traps he can conjure, or whatever underhanded schemes might give him an edge against his opponent. It\u2019s a sharp, intentional contrast with the straight-laced Onimaru, and it\u2019s something Musashi has even praised him for \u2013 his understanding that only victory matters, and thus any method you can use to put your opponent off balance is fair game<\/span><\/p>\n Nice smeary character acting for Sayaka as she searches for Yaiba in the heavy wind. I do wish she had something meaningful to do in this encounter; considering Yaiba\u2019s trickery makes him both brains and brawn, she feels unfortunately superfluous<\/span><\/p>\n Ooh, <\/span>love<\/span><\/i> this shot panning slowly across the floor behind Sayaka, painting the battlefield itself as a magenta void in the distance. The imitation of focal depth, the wood grain effect on the floor, it all feels extremely cinematic<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re coming, Yaiba!\u201d Excellent, now Sayaka gets to spearhead the comeback sequence. There we go!<\/span><\/p>\n This fight continues to make strong use of the physical environment here, consistently complicating their exchanges through descents between rooftops, physical barriers, and hiding places. This is an excellent way to add unique dynamics and a sense of coherent progression to a fight; many great martial arts films are built off an understanding of scenery as an inherent source of conflict (Jackie Chan in particular loves this stuff, falling closer to Buster Keaton than his contemporaries)<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re a sore loser, Thunder Boy!\u201d Yep, that\u2019s Yaiba\u2019s trick. His style is the law of the jungle \u2013 a win\u2019s a win, whether that win\u2019s achieved via trickery or after a lot of running away<\/span><\/p>\n Speaking of trickery, his victory is achieved the same way \u2013 by recognizing and exploiting Mr. Bat\u2019s weakness to the sun<\/span><\/p>\n In spite of his victory, Yaiba seems troubled, saying he \u201cdoesn\u2019t have time for girls right now.\u201d This fight demonstrated his current weakness<\/span><\/p>\n And Onimaru is\u2026 becoming a nationally beloved public figure? You know what, these days I\u2019d buy it<\/span><\/p>\n And Done<\/b><\/p>\n Whew, that was one hell of an episode! In fact, I\u2019d say it was Yaiba\u2019s most impressive excursion so far, combining endless flourishes of fluid, character-rich animation with imaginative, energetic direction to pull off the show\u2019s best battle to date. All this aerial and rooftop commotion made phenomenal use of Nagoya as a setting, which in turn facilitated Yaiba\u2019s characteristic reliance on trickery and shameless jockeying for situational advantage. Putting Yaiba on the backfoot really amplified the tension here, and Yuji Tokuno capitalized on the situation to construct an episode where every composition told its own story, carrying the action forward with ever-amplifying visual energy. I\u2019ll definitely be keeping an eye on that guy!<\/span><\/p>\n This\u00a0article\u00a0was\u00a0mad<\/a><\/em>e possible by reader support<\/a>. Thank you all for\u00a0all that you do.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/September12114953.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
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<\/p>\nLike this:<\/h3>\n