Comics / Manga

Bamboo Blade Volume 9

By Chris Zimmerman
June 30, 2011 - 22:51

Tensions are running high as the Muroe High Kendo club prepares for the inevitable showdown with their rivals from Kamasaki High. In order to ensure that every member is at their best, the Muroe team meets with the Kamasaki squad for Kendo practice to determine the extent of each member’s strength.

Satori is first to test her skills against Narumi Chikamoto. The match is difficult one, with both combatants proving to be equal in skill, however after an extended match and more than a few close calls, Satori manags to pull out the win. Unfortunately the celebration is held to a minimum as there are still six more opponents waiting in the wings.

Next up is the schizophrenic Miyako Miyazaki. Once again readers are treated to a back and forth match with talk of Miyako’s progression in Kendo and her growth as a determined Kendo practitioner. As the match intensifies, Miyako demonstrates the true depths of her skill, shocking everyone with the precision of her strikes.

With every match Kamasaki see’s their misfortunes accumulating. In the end it all comes down to Kawazoe against Iwahori with both sides watching earnestly. Kamasaki’s frustration at themselves for having failed to score a single win is matched only by Muroe’s joy at having come so far. The final match stretches into several, with Tamaki effortlessly out matching her opponent on multiple occasions despite his protests of foul play.

This volume of Bamboo Blade serves as a setup to show readers the character’s advancement from students to full-fledged pros. Even though it lacked any significant progression in terms of the plot, the slight touches of humor that continue to pervade the series coupled with the high action quotient offered from the seven matches should prove suitable to those who have been following the series since its inception. Still, with the pacing of the matches makes the volume feel as though its meandering along, giving the impression that the creators are just trying to pad out the series with as much matches as possible until the next big plot development.

Rating: 8 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12