History Main / WoodenKatanasAreEvenBetter

* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', you can transmogrify a [[http://www.wowhead.com/item=8178 Training Sword]] for any two-handed weapons to fit this trope. In terms of characters, there was the orc Broxigar Saurfang. After losing his axe, the demigod Cenarius gifted Broxigar with a wooden axe made of enchanted wood, stronger and sharper than steel. Broxigar would go down in history by using this axe [[spoiler:to wound ''Sargeras'', the Fallen Titan himself.]]

** Another Taiga likes this trick at well, being the sensei of a kendo dojo. It's said that in terms of stylistic skill, this Taiga is actually ''very'' good. However, she's a goofball and while her shinai is jokingly claimed to be a demonic blade, she has [[{{Muggles}} zero magical ability]], so no super powers.

[[quoteright:350:[[Anime/MagicalWarfare https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bokuten_6123.png]]]]

* ''Anime/MagicalWarfare'' provides the page image. Takeshi Nanase is skilled enough to parry and beat up enemies holding real swords using a bamboo sword.

* ''LightNovel/MagicalWarfare'' provides the page image. Takeshi Nanase is skilled enough to parry and beat up enemies holding real swords using a bamboo sword.

[[quoteright:350:[[LightNovel/MagicalWarfare https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bokuten_6123.png]]]]

* In ''LoveHina'', Motoko carries a wooden sword allowing her to use a series of potentially violent, boulder-splittingly strong spiritual techniques without harming living targets, which also fits in with the story's physical slapstick. She'd technically be too young to be allowed an actual sword, and has been waylaid a few times by street police who assume she must be using a "real" sword if she performs these feats in public.

** Discussed during the Raijuta arc, who treats his opponent with disdain for wanting to fight with a shinai (bamboo training sword) rather than a bokken (hard wood training sword). Since he whole-heartedly believes that the Kenjutsu is made to kill, he claims that the older training regimen with the dangerous bokken (which can potentially break bones or cause injuries) is vastly superior to the recent use of Shinai (which is much safer to use and thus makes Kenjutsu more avaible to people).

For those familiar with Japanese culture, KatanasAreJustBetter. For those who live in Japan, Wooden Katanas Are Even Better. Ever since UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi defeated Sasaki Kojirou with a bokken ([[RockBeatsLaser a practice katana made of wood]]), the wooden sword has become a symbol for the ultimate swordsman.

Sometimes they have the [[NerfArm impossible cutting power of the steel versions]], but usually these are more about the [[TheManMakesTheWeapon skill of the wielder]] than anything else, especially if he is so skilled that he can ''[[ScissorsCutsRock make]]'' a wooden sword cut as well as a steel one. Sometimes it's actually because the wielder is a TechnicalPacifist (though bokken are also a classic weapon of JapaneseDelinquents).

Bamboo shinai are also commonly used, and they are even lower impact because their construction allows for it to give more, and these often end up in the hands of younger characters.

This seems like an ImprobableWeapon, but wood can still be dangerous if sharpened enough (just like a javelin can be dangerous, or an arrow or spear without a metal tip). But even if it isn't, getting hit with a bokken is about the equivalent of [[BatterUp a baseball bat]] or axe handle, which means bones can be broken or worse, and shinai can cause concussions. Note how at least these days, those training with these weapons have to wear safety gear. In the right hands, a wooden sword is even capable of shattering a katana.

It should be noted that simply using one is not quite enough for this trope. The weapon has to stand up well. If it beats a steel weapon, it's definitely an example.

Interestingly, Musashi didn't really cut Sasaki Kojiro with his ''bokken''. According to ''Musashi'' by Eiji Yoshikawa, he actually cracked his skull with it. And, to add the insult to injury, it wasn't even a proper bokken: because Musashi was partying ''hard'' before the duel he not only got late to the agreed place, but in his hangover he '' forgot his bokken'' and had to jury-rig a replacement from a boat's spare oar. Presumably, the incredible cutting power is due to a [[RuleOfCool certain rule]].

* Busujima Saeko from ''Manga/HighSchoolOfTheDead'' uses a wooden sword for most of the series. She even kills Ishii Kazu with one hit after he is bitten protecting Marikawa Shizuka.

* [[BadassAdorable Taiga]] [[{{Tsundere}} Aisaka]] in ''LightNovel/ToraDora'' is more known for using [[CuteBruiser her fists]], but she also has a wooden katana which she pulls out at moments she considers to be the GodzillaThreshold.

%%* Busujima Saeko from ''Manga/HighSchoolOfTheDead'' uses one for most of the series. She even kills Ishii Kazu with one hit after he is bitten protecting Marikawa Shizuka.

* {{Subverted}} by Zote of ''VideoGame/HollowKnight''. his Life Ender is a hand-made wooden nail, but it is completely incapable of hurting anyone, [[spoiler:including the player]]. DoubleSubverted when [[spoiler:you fight the BonusBoss Grey Prince Zote, who is actually capable of hurting you with his nail.]]

* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh!'' has the Bamboo Sword line of cards. The Broken Bamboo Sword does absolutely nothing, while the Cursed, Golden, Burning, and Soul-Devouring Bamboo Swords require the Broken one but have incredibly strong effects to make up for it. Golden Bamboo Sword's ability to draw two cards, combined with Cursed Bamboo Sword's searching, has made it one of the more notoriously effective draw engines in the game.

* UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi himself is an example of how potentially deadly a bokken can be; tales of his exploits often indicate that he employed wooden swords to lethal effect. The most famous example of this is his use of a bokken against his rival, Sasaki Kojirou, in their fight on Ganryuu island that he carved from a spare oar on the boat he rode in on the way over. This is an example of tactical brilliance as Musashi deliberately carved his weapon to be slightly longer than Kojirou's infamous "drying pole" (Sasaki usually used a ''[[EveryJapaneseSwordIsAKatana nodachi]]'' — a sword that was considerably longer than the average katana) in order to overcome Kojirou's reach advantage.

* [[TheBigGuy Bontenmaru]] of ''Manga/SamuraiDeeperKyo'' wields a wooden sword, which confuses [[TheChick Yuya]], until the guys in the party explains that it makes him even ''stronger''--he has to work so hard to turn his blade against metal ones that he's easily one of the most skilled of the group.

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* It's amazing what [[RetiredBadass Gintoki]] from ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'' can do with [[WeaponOfChoice Lake]] [[InfinityMinusOneSword Touya]], his curry-scented, [[LethalJokeItem totally replaceable wooden sword]] ([[TreesIntoToothpicks made from the wood of a 10,000 year old diamond tree, albeit]]) that he purchased off of an infomercial.

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* In the final arc of ''Manga/{{Yaiba}}'', the eponymous character participates in a nation-wide samurai contest with a wooden sword in hopes of meeting and defeating his father Kenjuro, [[spoiler:whom his purported long-lost sister Moroha claims to be an impostor who had killed their real father and kidnapped Yaiba as a child]], in the finals. He manages to best numerous powerful fighters [[spoiler:including his former comrade, Jubei]] who fought using real sword, and fights his hardest match in the finals against [[spoiler:Onimaru, who had trained under Kenjuro]], also wielding a wooden sword.

* Musashi is a playable character in the ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'' and ''VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi'' series from Koei. His starting weapon (in earlier games) is two wooden swords and his ultimate weapon is a large, wooden boat oar. (Along with a smaller jitte-like sword).

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'' has MasterSwordsman Syrio Forel use a wooden sword to knock down several armored enemies. Deconstructed in that, when a halfway-competent swordsman comes at him, the sword [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome breaks]].

* ''Manga/HellsParadiseJigokuraku'' has Jikka, the third-rank of the [[TheExecutioner Yamada Asaemon clan]]. A lazy and irresponsible douchebag, he sold off his sword to pay his whores and replaced it with a bamboo sword. No one noticed this because he can perform the clan's renowned single-strike beheading with his bamboo sword as though it was steel.

%% Image selected per image pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1391272372025385200
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* Wooden Sword Ryu in ''Manga/ShamanKing'' wields a wooden sword, and the trope is played with quite a bit: initially, he's just a punk with a sword, but he eventually becomes a shaman and [[TookALevelInBadass demonstrates that he's not so weak after all]].
* When Thor is stuck as a human in ''Manga/MythicalDetectiveLokiRagnarok'', Mjollnir disguises itself as a wooden sword.
* Although it's a ''shinai'' made of bamboo, ''[[Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena Utena]]'' uses one to win Anthy as the Rose Bride. Bonus points in that she didn't expect a duel with actual swords, and that her shinai was cut to a stub almost immediately, but she won the match anyway.
* Hinagiku in ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'' has "The Wooden Masamune".

* Suzuka from ''Manga/OutlawStar'' also has a wooden sword, which might as well be a lightsabre considering how she uses it to cut or block almost anything, including cutting a bus in half, standing in front of it, straight down the middle, causing it to separate and go past her, one half on each side. In this case the blade's just a conduit for her KiManipulation, and she was able to take down several armed combatants by using her sword fighting moves while using an ordinary lead pipe. Basically, if Suzuka has it in her hands, she can use it to slice ANYTHING in half. Suzuka claims this to be "[[CharlesAtlasSuperpower a simple feat of strength]]", but nobody else in the series (even ones with SuperStrength exceeding her own) shows the ability to make clean slices using dull objects.
* In ''Manga/RealBoutHighSchool'', Samurai Girl Ryoko Mitsurugi's skill with her wooden sword has to be seen to be believed. And that was ''before'' she figured out she could use KiManipulation.
* Tatewaki Kuno of ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' can cut through ''stone walls'' with his bokken, an in his first fight, he nearly decapitated Ranma. One wonders why he even bothered to upgrade to an actual katana in his second-to-last appearance in the manga.
* ''Manga/RurouniKenshin''
** Kaoru manages a pretty impressive performance in the Kyoto Arc, and manages to beat Kamatari Honjo with the broken handle of her bokken. She refers herself as the assistant master of the Kamiya-Kasshin Style, the master is her father who's dead. Ignoring sexism against women's abilities in combat, that means that she is ''the master of an entire style of japanese swordfighting'', and WordOfGod is that by real world standards she's actually quite powerful, but against freaks like Kenshin and Sannosuke she CantCatchUp.
** There's also her student Yahiko, who's fought his every battle (against airborne bombers, assassins, and a huge guy with a cannon-arm) with a shinai. And in both cases it's made very clear that Kaoru and Yahiko fight at a distinct disadvantage, and that they'd be much more powerful with real weapons. However, since they believe that swords are meant to protect instead of harm, their fighting spirit and skill bridge the difference. In the Kyoto Arc, Yahiko, a 12 year old kid had to fight by himself a flying guy who tossed explosives. It's even lampshaded in the manga: "When Kenshin was 12, he was still training, and Sano only had minor street fights at that age, but you have fought Henya and survived harder fights. You are the strongest 12 years old boy in the history". And he only have a stick to fight. In the spinoff one-shot ''Yahiko no Sakabato'', Yahiko has inherited the titular ''sakabato'' (reverse-bladed sword, [[TechnicalPacifist Kenshin's]] signature weapon), but he doesn't even draw it until the last few pages. Instead, he's taken [[TookALevelInBadass so many levels in badass]] during the timeskip that he can beat up two goons wielding real swords with a bamboo practice sword, all without breaking a sweat.

* Since it focuses on kendo clubs, shinai are the primary weapons of choice for the cast of ''Manga/BambooBlade.''
* Katsuhito (or Yosho) tends to use these in the various ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' franchises. He keeps these on hand more often than steel swords or {{Laserblade}}s that wander around. And on occasion he's been shown slicing mecha open. (On another, in the manga, after chopping up a futuristic fighting robot, ''his'' sword falls apart in pieces.)
** Though the fact that he is [[spoiler:a WarriorPrince of a star nation whose [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething royalty]] are a living, breathing {{Physical God}}s]] generally makes the matter irrelevant.
* [[TheBigGuy Bontenmaru]] of ''Manga/SamuraiDeeperKyo'' wields a wooden sword, which confuses [[TheChick Yuya]], until the guys in the party explains that it makes him even ''stronger''--he has to work so hard to turn his blade against metal ones that he's easily one of the most skilled of the group.
* ''Manga/SamuraiHaremAsuNoYoichi'', based around a martial art style using a wooden sword. The title character and the eldest two of the main family use wooden swords, and the eldest is a teacher, and has the youngest as one of her students
* Kunieda Aoi from ''Manga/{{Beelzebub}}'' uses a bokken that can ''cut through anything''. One of the other characters even mentioned her sword style as being deadlier than using a real sword.
** They take this trope to another level when Aoi fights a fellow wooden katana user: she manages to slice his sword using ''a ruler''.
* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in an episode of ''Anime/LupinIIIPartII''. When [[{{Ronin}} Goemon's]] Zantetsuken katana is stolen and used to attack the protagonists (held by a rocket robot, no less), Goemon confidently brings a simple bokken to the fight. As he is probably [[WorldsBestWarrior the best sword fighter in the world]], [[EpicFail his immediate defeat is quite shocking]].
* Mina Hazuki, from ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'', has the ability to turn objects into [[EnergyWeapon energy weapons]], which can cut through most materials with ease. Her preferred weapon is a bokken which she transforms into something that looks like a LaserBlade katana.

* In ''Anime/SkyGirls'', Otoha takes down a purse-thief with her wooden sword. She didn't know the thief was armed with a switchblade. Karen helped out by clumsily lobbing her bag at the crook, stunning him and allowing Otoha to deliver a nice thwack.
* [[BadassAdorable Taiga]] [[{{Tsundere}} Aisaka]] in ''LightNovel/ToraDora'' is more known for using [[CuteBruiser her fists]], but she also has a wooden katana which she pulls out at moments she considers to be the GodzillaThreshold.
** In the first instance she realizes she accidentally left her love letter to Kitamura in Ryuuji's bag, so that night she breaks into Ryuuji's house and tries to whack him on the head with her sword in the hope it will give him amnesia.
** Further along, after [[spoiler:Sumire rejects Kitamura's confession]], Taiga gets angry on the confessor's behalf and challenges the rejector to a sword fight. The challenged borrows a ''shinai'' to use against Taiga's ''bokuto'', and a ferocious brawl ensues.
* Used in ''Manga/{{Holyland}}'' by Taka the kendoka.
* Busujima Saeko from ''Manga/HighSchoolOfTheDead'' uses one for most of the series. She even kills Ishii Kazu with one hit after he is bitten protecting Marikawa Shizuka.
* A rather large variant is the preferred weapon of Hazumi Jinno in ''Anime/BakuenCampusGuardress''

* In ''Manga/TorakoAnmariKowashichaDameDaYo'', Suzume's most prized possession is a wooden sword she purchased with her savings. She talks it up a great deal, naming it the demon blade Muramasa, but neither it nor she have any special qualities. When she fights Torasawa, the battle consists solely of Suzume whacking her with her sword until she either gets too tired or the sword breaks. When the latter happens, Suzume starts bawling.
* ''Manga/HellsParadiseJigokuraku'' has Jikka, the third-rank of the [[TheExecutioner Yamada Asaemon clan]]. A lazy and irresponsible douchebag, he sold off his sword to pay his whores and replaced it with a bamboo sword. No one noticed this because he can perform the clan's renowned single-strike beheading with his bamboo sword as though it was steel.

* In the opening of ''Film/RoyalWarriors'', Michelle Yip (played by Creator/MichelleYeoh), near a cultural parade in Tokyo, beats up a group of thugs (armed with ''real'' machetes) using a bokken she retrieved from the festival.
* Horrifyingly averted and deconstructed in ''Film/{{Harakiri}}'' when a samurai is forced against his will to commit {{Seppuku}} ''with a dull bamboo-blade''; the blade is cheap, not suitable to the task at all, and the people forcing this on him [[MakeAnExampleOfThem have no intention of minimizing his suffering]], so he dies in total agony.

* Fighters in the ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' series by Brandon Sanderson tend to use wooden dueling canes in lieu of metal swords because the magic users in the setting can manipulate metal. Having metal on you just makes you more vulnerable to ass-kicking.

* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', DualWielding wooden katanas are Lloyd Irving's starting weapons, meaning they are the weakest weapons he can possibly equip (except for the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Nebilim]] before unlocking its true power). If you don't unequip them until a certain point in the game (thus fulfilling the "more skilled wielder" version of the trope), you unlock a title for Lloyd.
* Musashi is a playable character in the ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'' and ''VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi'' series from Koei. His starting weapon (in earlier games) is two wooden swords and his ultimate weapon is a large, wooden boat oar. (Along with a smaller jitte-like sword).
** In the first ''Samurai Warriors'' game, Date Masamune also battles with a pair of bokken. In later editions, though, he wields a cutlass [[TheMusketeer and a pair of handguns]].
* In the ''VideoGame/SoulCalibur'' series, a bokken is Mitsurugi's joke weapon in 3, and a shinnai in 4. They make a delightful ''plok'' sound, yet are still perfectly capable of impaling someone to the hilt. Nightmare or Sigfried sometimes have an actual (uncarved) galley oar, both of these are explicit references to the original UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi.

* Amano from ''VideoGame/TheLastBlade'' uses a seemingly simple wooden stick to bash and whack about his opponents. It also conceals [[HiddenWeapons a sword]] which he only uses in exceptional circumstances.

* As his name might imply, [=KendoMan=] from ''VideoGame/{{MegaMan Battle Network 4|RedSunAndBlueMoon}}'' uses a shinai as his weapon of choice, and it hurts just as much as most of the actual swords do. Justified, however, as the ''Battle Network'' games' fights take place inside computers; swords don't do damage by actually cutting things, they do damage simply because they're programmed to do so, making his weapon no different from any other melee weapon.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' has an unlockable wooden sword that initially deals as much damage as a fully-upgraded default blade and has a chance to knock-out enemies, resulting in a higher "no kills" rating. [[NoExportForYou Japan-exclusive DLC]] also adds a "Snake Soul" version which apparently [[LivingWeapon has the soul of the now-deceased Solid Snake inhabiting it]], causing it to randomly play Snake's voice clips from previous games with a swing.

* You can purchase a bokuto from the Gold Saucer in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV''. Whether it's "better" is zig-zagged; on the one hand, it's a level-1 weapon, with the appropriate low stats, and is incredibly weak when used on its own, especially considering the class it's used with starts at level 50 and the starting katana deals eight times as much damage. On the other, this is because it's not ''supposed'' to be used on its own; rather, you're meant to use a glamour prism to make a higher-level weapon look like it, at which point you can effortlessly cut down {{magitek}} monstrosities and demons from another dimension with it.
* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': Mandricardo tends to wield a wooden sword. Thanks to his Noble Phantasm, Serment de Durandal, anything he holds gets the strength and cutting power of the legendary sword Durandal, so his weapon inflicts serious damage. However, his weapons do not inherit Durandal's durability, so they tend to break and force him to get a replacement.
* In ''VideoGame/SevenSamurai20XX'', Jodie's sword Jambiya is apparently made of sharpened wood. In a slight subversion, the sword isn't exceptionally deadly or else, but Jodie heavily customized it so that even a normal woman such as herself could wield it with efficiency.
* {{Subverted}} by Zote of ''VideoGame/HollowKnight''. his Life Ender is a hand-made wooden nail, but it is completely incapable of hurting anyone, [[spoiler:including the player]]. DoubleSubverted when [[spoiler:you fight the BonusBoss Grey Prince Zote, who is actually capable of hurting you with his nail.]]
* In ''VideoGame/Nioh2'', all 11 weapon types have a Wooden iteration: Wooden sword, wooden axe, etc. These are primarily used in dojos against certain masters to learn secret arts and such. As a rare drop, you can get wooden weapons or the smithing text to craft your own, and use them throughout the rest of the game. They are somewhat weaker in attack power, but they are fully capable of neutralizing humans and demons alike. As they are functionally the same as every other weapon, they can have elements and attributes attached to them, including possibly being [[EvilWeapon yokai-possessed]]!
* ''VideoGame/ForTheKing'': The [[WarriorMonk Monk]]'s StarterEquipment includes a bokken that deals above-average damage compared to other starting weapons and can cast an AntiDebuff effect on allies.

* The ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' Cardboard Tube Samurai takes it even further.

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' had an episode where Jack faces a poser named [[BlaxploitationParody Da Samurai]] who challenges him into a duel. Jack insists they battle with bamboo sticks instead of blades. The wannabe takes a beating and draws his real sword, which Jack defeats with the same bamboo stick.

* [[BadassAdorable Taiga]] [[{{Tsundere}} Aisaka]], from ''LightNovel/ToraDora'', is sometimes seen wielding something similar to a wooden katana. She doesn't actually use it much over the course of the anime, though. She's much more effective with [[CuteBruiser her fists]].

* In the Creator/ChrisClaremont[=/=]ComicBook/FrankMillersWolverine miniseries, Mariko's father regards Logan with such contempt that he refuses to use a metal sword to beat him into submission. Note that this was the very first such major solo for Wolverine, so when the sword cut him through his torso, it challenged even his healing factor, which [[PopularityPower wouldn't happen these days]].

* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in an episode of ''Anime/LupinIIIPartII''. When [[{{Ronin}} Goemon's]] Zantetsuken katana is stolen and used to attack the protagonists (held by a rocket robot, no less), Goemon confidently bring a simple bokken to the fight. As he is probably [[WorldsBestWarrior the best sword fighter in the world]], [[EpicFail his immediate defeat is quite shocking]].

* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in an episode of ''Anime/LupinIIIPartII''. When [[{{Ronin}} Goemon's]] Zantetsuken katana is stolen and used to attack the protagonists (held by a rocket robot, no less), Goemon confidently bring a simple bokken to the fight. As he is probably [[WorldsBestWarrioe the best sword fighter in the world]], [[EpicFailhis immediate defeat is quite shocking]].

* Played in an episode of ''Anime/LupinIII''. When Goemon's katana is stolen and used to attack the protagonists (held by a rocket robot, no less), Goemon confidently bring a simple bokken to the fight. As he is probably the best sword fighter in the world, his immediate defeat is almost shocking.