Yaiba: Samurai Legend

Episode 12

With Onimaru escaping to the skies after his big battle with Yaiba last week, I'd hoped he'd be put on the back burner, or at least change up his game a little after getting his sword destroyed. Sadly, it's the same old, same old with him as he's gone right back to his goals of world conquest. If Onimaru isn't becoming more than an evil overlord, I'm not in a rush to get there. Thankfully, this episode provides a neat little distraction in the form of Yaiba's long-lost fiancée. While I'm a bit divided on what her presence might mean for the future, it makes for one of the show's funnier escapades.

Between losing the Thunder God Orb and lacking a way to get to Onimaru's castle in the sky, Yaiba is left with no other choice but to do extra training. Considering that we had Yaiba learn a signature attack only just a couple of weeks ago, jumping another training arc seems excessive, so I'm pretty okay that this one was largely played for laughs and gave the animators an excuse to play around a bit as he's saddled with doing chores for “strength training” (the giant iron clogs Yaiba has to wear with during grocery shopping were particularly great). While all this is going on, Sayaka's family dojo is suddenly challenged by a mysterious swordswoman, and she quickly reveals herself as Yaiba's self-proclaimed fiancée, Yamoto Nadeshiko, who wants to turn the dojo into their love nest.

Although I'm far from knowledgeable enough on Japanese history or culture to know for sure, with how much this show has otherwise demonstrated its love of ripping on Japanese history with its characters, I can only assume that Yamoto here is meant to be a reference to the term “Yamato Nadeshiko”. It refers to a long-outdated ideal of a woman who “embodies traditionally feminine virtues” (i.e., a submissive housewife). This certainly isn't a show that's out to challenge gender norms, but I can respect the joke of taking a girl with an adjacent name and turning her into a strong-willed swordfighter. She also proves that she isn't nearly as dainty as her presumed reference, as she manages to keep up with Musashi and Kojiro, who end up being handily defeated in short order. It helps that, for as strong as those two are, they still can't help but get in their own way, as Kojiro is too reliant on his magic sword to be able to win a normal kendo duel, and Musashi only lasts about three seconds before throwing his back out. Both are pretty hilarious, and while it would have been very easy for the show to play all of this strictly for laughs, I appreciate that we still get some good battle animation sprinkled between these gags.

With those two down, this leaves Sayaka as the only remaining fighter, and with how clear the skill gap is between them, even she recognizes that she doesn't stand a chance. During all this, we learn a little more about the nature of Yaiba and Yamoto's “engagement.” Young Yaiba once saved the latter from a tiger when she got lost in the jungle as a child. She was smitten pretty much immediately and started following him around, but Yaiba wasn't interested in having a partner who wasn't a good fighter, so she decided to dedicate herself to getting stronger if he agreed to someday marry her.

For anyone with even a casual degree of knowledge about early Dragon Ball, this should all sound extremely familiar as it mirrors Kid Goku's accidental engagement to Chi-Chi almost perfectly. It's not like the show has ever been subtle in how much of Yaiba's character is inspired by Kid Goku, and if Yaiba is going to be a proper homage, then it only makes sense for him to also have a childhood fiance that he conveniently forgot about. However, the joke doesn't track quite as well s it does in Dragon Ball, as Yaiba has behaved as though he's never been around any other girls before meeting Sayaka, and given how frequently he's harassed her despite her not exactly being a swordmaster, I don't buy Yaiba valuing strength in a partner over anything else. Even so, I can't deny that this did all culminate in a pretty great punchline as the moment Yaiba shows up, he not only distracts Yamoto long enough for Sayaka to win with a sneak attack, but reveals that he confused Yamoto's marriage proposal for thinking she runs a soba shop and has been blissfully unaware of it entire time. The shock of both losing and learning that her beloved has no idea about their supposed engagement are enough for Yamoto to call it quits, but when Yaiba turns out to be impressed by her strength and says how much he loves strong people, she decides to force herself into Sayaka's home and continue trying to win him over. I can't say I'm very interested in this new love triangle when I'm not even sure I like Sayaka and Yaiba as a pair to begin with. Still, giving Sayaka something extra to do is better than nothing at all.

In the short term, we've got a new adventure ahead as Yaiba's dad returns to tell him about another powerful orb called the Dragon God Orb. This one can grant its user the power to fly, which is just what Yaiba needs to reach Onimaru and settle the score once and for all. However, even with Yamoto having access to a map of some potential locations, none of them are sure exactly where it is, so we're in for another road trip as they decide to scour each of them for clues. This is a solid lead-up into the next stretch of the show, but I'm not sure if I'm down for another lengthy fetch quest. I'd at least like to see the show shake up the formula enough to avoid making this too much of a retread. My confidence in that happening isn't exactly high, but this episode gained just enough goodwill from me that I'm willing to give it some benefit of the doubt.

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Yaiba: Samurai Legend is currently streaming on Netflix and Hulu on Saturdays.