Saturday, February 27, 2010

Remembering Yaiba











Never to be mistaken as a lesser clone of Son Goku, this pre-pubescent kid knows how to wield the sword of the Thunder God. Born and raised in the jungle, Yaiba was sent to the city to study new techniques in sword fighting from his mentor Musashi. The first antagonist, Takeshi, is a former schoolmate of the heroine Sayaka. She is related by blood to Musashi. One day, Yaiba challenged Takeshi to a duel after the former bullied him in school. Takeshi was defeated. Determined to avenge his honor, he gets possesion of the Devil Wind sword which is a family heirloom. With powers rivaling those of Yaiba's, their second battle ends in a stalemate. Both swords get broken. I cannot recall exactly why other orbs were needed to power Yaiba's sword during the second arc. What I remember are the funny enemies bringing comic relief to the rest of the series.

I was in second year high school when Yaiba was aired on television. It was on ABC-5 and my mom's student knew one of its Filipino dubbers. I wanted an autograph and my mom's student volunteered to hand over the paper to the person behind the voice of Sayaka. But it was forgotten shortly after a semester has gone.

I have lots of memories of Yaiba that I consider it one of my unforgettable classics. From the humor it brings; (the enemies were clumsier and dumber than the no-care-in-the-world allies of the main character) the spoofs and cultural references about Japan; (television sets were branded Ony instead of Sony; tea ceremony performed by the antagonists themselves) and the pleasant, often dysfunctional characters who mostly sided with Yaiba at the end of the series (where would you find an anime where the final antagonist is a pretty female dressed in a playboy bunny costume and leads an army of anthropomorphic bunnies wearing sharp suits and dark sunglasses) was worth every weekend afternoon stuck at home.

There are many things to rekindle (not to mention the friendships I have forged among the kids who watched this anime) that I'd search every DVD store in Quiapo just to find a boot copy.

Sadly, none is available.

So while waiting for a miracle to happen, what I can cherish for now is an opening song clip which, fans like me might still remember from a generation long ago.




10 comments:

Chip said...

Ang gusto ko eh yung sandals nya hehehe. Sa kanya ko naunang nagustuhan yung Japanese sandals na mukhang upuan hehehe.

engel said...

i don't remember ever being addicted to the show. my clasmates were. but i don't think i've seen an episode of it.

red the mod said...

It always seemed as if each episode was a social commentary of some sort. How the characters are caricatures of society's stubborn mannerisms. Or was I just too imaginative then? I was in gradeschool. And it used to air right about the time I arrive home.

Jinjiruks said...

haha. kakatawa talaga yan. sarap gayahin ng boses ni Yaiba. those were the days. panahon rin ng astroboy, inhumanoids, visionaries!

itsMePeriod said...

sa kabila ng lahat ng differences natin

meron din naman pala tayong similarities

at kabilang pala rito

ang fascination sa makulit na nilalang na si yaiba

(i remember elem ako nun at sa sobrang kasikatan ng yaiba, may nabibiling tex at pogs na ang design ay yaiba..meron din mga damit at short na nabibili sa palengke na ang design ay yaiba)

Menthos said...

ah yes, yaiba... those were the days indeed...

I will never forget the sword with a hole where the crystals are placed. Takeshi's effort to foil yaiba again and again...

yes, staying at home during those days are all worth it..

Menthos said...

HAHA!!! thanks for this post! I found some yaiba episodes online and are being downloaded as I write this!

also, you might be interested in reading the manga at onemanga.com/yaiba

Mugen said...

Padsiefoot:

Yeah ang kanyang sandals na lumilipad. Hahahaha!!

Engel:

Of course, you were into DC Comics and Marvel at that time, right?

Red the Mod:

I wasn't able to dig deep into its subconscious message at a young age, but one thing I'm certain is that it opened my eyes to how the Japanese try to preserve their culture by incorporating their values into modern medium.

Mugen said...

Jinjiruks:

Hehe hindi ko alam yung inhumanoids. Pero tama ka, funny yung boses ni Yaiba. Kaya ko pa nga siya gayahin hanggang ngayon. Lol.

Erick:

Ang tanong, bumili ka ba at nangolekta ng mga text na iyon?

John:

Its good you found some Yaiba episodes in the internet. I live in the stone age so my connection won't allow me to tap the resources found in the Internet.

Thanks for dropping by.

itsMePeriod said...

YAP I DID.

pero kasama ng ilang laruan at tex ko nung bata ako, ipinamigay ko rin sa ilang mga batang kalye na tinuturuan ko nuon bago ako naghayskul

i still remember the old lady na nagbebenta nuon sa labas ng gate ng school..si 'darling'..darling kasi wala siyang ibang matandaan na pangalan ng suki niya kaya 'darling' ang tawag niya