Spring 2025 Preview – YAIBA: Samurai Legend

One of the most interesting anime adaptations of 2025 has to be the reboot of the anime adaptation of Gōshō Aoyama’s Kenyū Densetsu YAIBA (Brave Samurai Legend YAIBA). With 17 million copies in circulation, the original YAIBA manga was clearly very popular when it ran from 1988 to 1993, but for some reason, this hype train might have completely skipped over the majority of anime fans outside of Japan. VIZ Media announced at New York Comic Con in October last year that it has licensed the YAIBA manga for release in English for the very first time in the series’ history, with the first volume coming out this July, while the anime hits Netflix and Hulu in April.

Coming from the mind who gave the world one of the longest-running manga series in history with Detective Conan (known in English-speaking countries as “Case Closed“), what can we expect from the upcoming YAIBA: Samurai Legend, over 30 years since its initial adaptation?

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What is YAIBA: Samurai Legend About?

A Sparring Match Goes Supernatural

YAIBA: Samurai Legend follows the titular character, Yaiba Kurogane, a teenager who has spent his days training in the jungle in order to become a bona fide samurai. Circumstances bring him back to Japan, where he lives with the Mine family, who are connected to his father, Kenjuro, baffling the daughter Sayaka with his rambunctiousness and high energy. On their way to school one day, Yaiba has a fated encounter with kendo practitioner Takeshi Onimaru. The two clash, and, as if in response to their energy, two ancient spirits are released into the world once more: Fujinken, the Wind God’s Sword, and the Raijinken, the Thunder God’s Sword, supernatural blades that have come together in conflict since time immemorial, finding themselves clashing once again. The truth behind the ancient blades will soon be revealed.

YAIBA Background Information

About the Upcoming Anime Series

The original YAIBA manga was published in Shogakukan’s Weekly Shōnen Sunday from September 1988 to December 1993, running for 24 volumes. In 1993, the series won the 38th Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen category, and by May 2024, YAIBA had over 17 million copies in circulation. The series was republished in 2001 and again in 2005, with the upcoming July release of YAIBA’s first volume being the series’ first-ever official English release. The original YAIBA anime was produced by the now-defunct Studio Pastel (Initial D), running for 52 episodes from April 1993 to April 1994.

The upcoming YAIBA anime is produced by WIT Studio, famed for their debut production, the first three seasons of Attack on Titan; with Bamboo (background art, CHAINSAW MAN) working on the series’ backgrounds. The series is directed by Takahiro Hasui, who has directed and created storyboards for several episodes of BONES-produced Mob Psycho 100; with series composition by Tōko Machida (series composition, Chaika – The Coffin Princess); character designs by DANDADAN alien and yōkai designer Yoshimichi Kameda, who also serves as chief director on YAIBA; with music by Yoshiaki Dewa and Yutaka Yamada. The cast includes:

• Minami Takayama as Yaiba Kurogane
• Manaka Iwami as Sayaka Mine
• Yoshimasa Hosoya (Reiner Braun, Attack on Titan) as Takeshi Onimaru
• Atsushi Miyauchi as Raizō Mine
• Gō Inoue as Kojirō Sasaki
• Isshin Chiba (Jin Kazama, Tekken franchise) as Kagetora
• Junichi Suwabe (Sukuna, Jujutsu Kaisen) as Musashi Miyamoto
• Kana Ichinose as Namako Otoko (Sea Cucumber Man)
• Katsuyuki Konishi as Kenjūrō Kurogane
• Kimiko Saitō as Fuji Mine
• Kōsuke Echigoya as Shōnosuke
• Rina Satō as Shizuka Mine
• Shūhei Sakaguchi as Kumo Otoko (Spider Man)
• Takeharu Ōnishi as Gerosaemon Gerota

YAIBA: Samurai Legend is set to premiere on April 5, before the timeslot of the other Gōshō Aoyama anime adaptation, Case Closed; while a theatrical screening of YAIBA was shown in Japan on March 13. On March 8, it was revealed that YAIBA will stream on Hulu and Netflix when it drops.

Expect a Visual Feast

WIT Studio’s Unmistakable Touch Will Be The Series’ Biggest Weapon

Falling into the giant torrent of reboots that have been coming out in the past decade or so, YAIBA’s strongest weapon going into its April 5 premiere is the fact that it was produced by the studio that did what many fans argue was the more visually striking part of the Attack on Titan anime adaptation. The studio has since gone from strength to strength, with Moonrise, a sci-fi anime by the studio, also coming out this Spring season. Based on the trailers and visuals that have been released for YAIBA, the series promises something highly engrossing and enjoyable to look at, with dynamic camera angles, effects and choreography for fights making for some great visuals that really accentuate Aoyama’s characteristic art style that really makes viewers understand the connection to Case Closed at first glance.

It’s a battle shōnen series of a bygone era, which could turn out to be more of a breath of fresh air, with a more lighthearted approach than some of the major titles of the past few years. The series sets up a straightforward clash between good and evil in which our bright and peppy hero must prevail to save not only the world, but Onimaru as well. Perhaps we can expect a good ol’ power of friendship series with the upcoming YAIBA: Samurai Legend, which, after the success of titles like Dragon Ball: DAIMA, the feel of nostalgic anime revamped to suit contemporary aesthetic tastes might just be what the doctor ordered.