History Manga / Azumi

* DeadlyGraduation: After his ten pupils successfully infiltrate a ninja village to learn ninjutsu and then wipe it out, Grandfather decides they're ready to graduate... by pairing off with their closest friends and then fighting to the death, an exercise intended to erase their ability to feel empathy. Azumi is forced to kill the boy she has a crush on.

* HeelFaceTurn: Shunjiro, one of Azumi's love interests, is seemingly killed by Sakon and resurfaces a couple of arcs having become the administrator of the Shogunate's gold mine, employing slave labour under harsh conditions. He keeps this last part a secret from Azumi and resumes his attempts to woo her, but she is reluctant to reciprocate. [[spoiler:It then turns out that Shunjiro is the true mastermind behind the group of ronin seeking to instigate a violent revolution, orchestrating it in order to lay the foundation for his new, perfect, industrialized country.]]

** Azumi is sent to spy on the activities of Konishi Shizune and assassinate him, but she ends up falling in love with him.

** In the following arc, Azumi finds herself caught up in a love triangle between her old flame Shunjiro and the charismatic Shizune. Tobizaru also becomes infatuated with her, but she is oblivious to this.

* TongueTrauma: When Yae is taken hostage by assassins trying to lure Azumi into a trap, she tries to commit suicide by biting off her own tongue so that Azumi won't have a reason to fight against impossible odds.

* ComicBookTime: The manga takes place across several years and shows Azumi's transformation from a preteen girl to a young woman.

* CuteBruiser: Azumi is noted as being beautiful by many characters... right up until they witness her effortless vivisect upwards of a dozen mooks.

* DwindlingParty: One by one, Azumi's comrades and eventually her mentor are killed, along with every love interest she makes. It gets to the point where she starts shunning people so they won't get caught up in her battles.

** Azumi develops feelings for Hideyori Totyomi, who she was supposed to assassinate.

** Tenaki, the Buddhist monk who was employing Gensai, is the one from whom he got this outlook.

* LoveTriangle: Azumi unwittingly becomes caught up in one between herself, Sakon,[[note]]Who's had feelings for her for some time but is dying of tuberculosis.[[/note]] and her friend Yae.[[note]]Who Sakon has been sleeping with as a substitute for Azumi, and who had fallen in love with him.[[/note]]
* ManChild: Hideyori Totyomi, who is a childlike, innocent man to the chagrin of his cruel and domineering mother, Yodo-dono. He was so head-over-heels in love with Azumi that when he learns she was an assassin sent to kill him he has a mental breakdown. The one time his mother gets him to man up is when she persuades him to fulfill his duty and commit seppuku after Tokugawa's forces destroy their mansion and Azumi tries to persuade him to leave his past as a noble behind and run away with her.

* MixedAncestry: It's speculated that Azumi has a European ancestor, due to her brown hair and dark blue eyes, which are frequently remarked upon.

* WarIsHell: As is its aftermath, as Azumi discovers through great pain and hardship. The first arc of the manga has Gensai Obata's team of ninja assassinating the vassals of the Toyotomi Clan in order to prevent them from dragging Japan back into another civil war, and the bandits Azumi continuously mows down are masterless samurai making a living the only way they can.

* DoubleWeapon: Azumi wields a peculiar sword with a katana blade on one end and a dagger on the other.

''Azumi'' is a manga series created by Yū Koyama that ran from 1994 to 2009, starring a young kunoichi living during the early [[JidaiGeki Edo Period]]. The early part of the manga shows her as sole girl in a group of ten war orphans - all boys - being trained as assassins by an elderly man they only know as Grandfather. When he deems them ready to graduate, Grandfather has them pair off with their closest friends... and fight to the death. Following that, Grandfather sends the five survivors, Azumi included, on missions to assassinate the vassals and supporters of the Toyotomi Clan, who oppose the newly-established Tokugawa shogunate and threaten to drag Japan back into civil war. And it only gets darker from there on out, as she starts to question the validity of her mission.

* InLoveWithTheMark:
** Azumi develops feelings for Hideyori Totyomi, who she was supposed to assassinate.
** Kiku, a cross-dressing BadassGay assassin who joins up with Azumi intending to befriend her and then kill her when she lets her guard down. Kiku, much to her confusion, falls in love with Azumi and ultimately can't go through with it.

* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Characters who are enemies early in the manga occasionally reappear as allies - albeit usually temporary ones - later on. Most notably is Inoue Kanbee, a samurai initially seeking to avenge his master, who was one of Azumi's assassination targets.

* KnightTemplar: Gensai Obata, the man Azumi refers to as "Grandfather", staunchly believed [[MyMasterRightOrWrong the Tokugawa shogunate was doing what was right for Japan]] and that everyone else taking power was going to plunge the country back into civil war. He maintains this outlook despite having a hit put on him, and only as he's dying does he question his blind faith before realizing it's a setup to manipulate Azumi into seeking revenge against the shogun.

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: It's made to appear that the Tokugawa Shogunate is behind the repeated assassination attempts on Azumi that wound up killing her Grandfather, but it's a secret plot by the Munemori clan, a noble family wanting to manipulate her for their own purposes.

* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Characters who are enemies early in the manga occasionally reappear as allies - albeit usually temporary ones - later on.

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: It's made to appear that the Tokugawa Shogunate is behind the repeated assassination attempts on Azumi that wound up killing her Grandfather, but it's a secret plot by a noble family to manipulate her for their own purposes.

* ComicBookTime: The manga takes place across several years and shows Azumi's transformation from a preteen to a young woman.

* InLoveWithTheMark: Kiku, a cross-dressing BadassGay assassin who joins up with Azumi intending to befriend her and then kill her when she lets her guard down. Kiku, much to her confusion, falls in love with Azumi and ultimately can't go through with it.

* MasterSwordsman: Several skilled warriors are introduced, but by the time she's on her own Azumi's bujutsu vastly outstrips ''everyone else'', letting her mow down dozens of opponents at once.

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: It's made to appear that the Tokugawa Shogunate is behind the repeated assassination attempts on Azumi that wound up killing her Grandfather, but it's a secret plot by the a noble family to manipulate her for their own purposes.

''Azumi'' is a manga series created by Yū Koyama that ran from 1994 to 2009, starring a young kunoichi living during the early [[JidaiGeki Edo Period]]. The early part of the manga shows her as sole girl in a group of ten war orphans - all boys - being trained as assassins by an elderly man they only know as Grandfather. When he deems them ready to graduate, Grandfather has them pair off with their closest friends... and fight to the death. Following that, Grandfather sends the five survivors, Azumi included, on missions to assassinate the vassals and supporters of the Toyotomi Clan, who oppose the newly-established Tokugawa shogunate. And it only gets darker from there on out, as she starts to question the validity of her mission.

* BecomingTheMask: Kiku's friendship with Azumi was a charade in order to make her let her guard down... until it stopped being a charade.

The manga won an Excellence Prize at the 1997 Japan Media Arts Festival and the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1998, and received two film adaptations: ''Film/{{Azumi}}'' in 2003 and ''Azumi 2: Death or Love'' in 2006. It also received a UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 game adaptation called

''Azumi'' is a manga series created by Yū Koyama that ran from 1994 to 2009, starring a young kunoichi living during the early [[JidaiGeki Edo Period]]. The early part of the manga shows her as sole girl in a group of ten war orphans - all boys - being trained as assassins by an elderly man they only know as Grandfather. When he deems them ready to graduate, Grandfather has them pair off with their closest friends... and fight to the death. Following that, Grandfather sends the five survivors, Azumi included, on missions to assassinate those who stand in the way of the Tokugawa shogunate. And it only gets darker from there on out, as she starts to question the validity of her mission.

* CuteBruiser: Azumi is noted as being beautiful by many characters... right up until they witness her effortless vivisects half upwards of a dozen mooks.

* DepravedBisexual: Bijoumaru, the arrogant, sadistic, and ''very'' flamboyant iaido master hired to kill Azumi and Gensai.

* KillTheOnesYouLove: Azumi frequently finds herself forced to kill her love interests.

* MasterSwordsman: Several skilled warriors are introduced, but by the time she's on her own Azumi's bujutsu vastly outstrips ''everyone else''.

* MusclesAreMeaningless: Azumi is noted multiple times to be so slender she logically couldn't stand against the beefcake samurai she fights against. She continuously proves everyone wrong.

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: It's made to appear that the Tokugawa Shogunate is behind the repeated assassination attempts on Azumi that wound up killing her Grandfather, but it's a secret plot by the a noble family to manipulate her for their own purposes.

* ChasteHero: Azumi was so naive as a young teen she didn't even know what the differences between boys and girls were, having been raised in complete isolation from the outside world. Made worse, every man she falls in love with is killed, usually right in front of her.

* ChildSoldiers: Azumi and her companions are trained as ninja before they hit puberty.

* DepravedBisexual: Bijoumaru, the arrogant, sadistic, and ''very'' flamboyant iaido master hired to kill Azumi and Gensai. Kiku starts off as a gay transsexual, but finds herself falling in love with Azumi even though she's supposed to assassinate her.

* KnightTemplar: Gensai Obata, the man Azumi refers to as "Grandfather", staunchly believed [[MyMasterRightOrWrong the Tokugawa shogunate was doing what was right for Japan]] and that everyone else was going to plunge the country back into civil war. He maintains this outlook despite having a hit put on him, and only as he's dying does he question his blind faith before realizing it's a setup to manipulate Azumi into seeking revenge against the shogun.

* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: It's noted early on that Azumi and her companions are thoroughly brainwashed by their "Grandfather" into believing that [[KnightTemplar all the people they're killing are bad and deserve to die]].

* DeadlyGraduation: After his ten pupils successfully infiltrate a ninja village to learn ninjutsu and then wipe it out, Grandfather decides they're reay to graduate... by pairing off with their closest friends and then fighting to the death, an exercise intended to erase their ability to feel empathy. Azumi is forced to kill the boy she has a crush on.

* KnightTemplar: Gensai Obata, the man Azumi refers to as "Grandfather", staunchly believed [[MyMasterRightOrWrong the Tokugawa shogunate was doing what was right for Japan]] and that everyone else was going to plunge the country back into civil war. He maintains this outlook despite having a hit put on him.

* MasterSwordsman: Several skilled warriors are introduced, but by the time she's on her own Azumi vastly outstrips ''everyone else''.

Azumi is a manga series created by Yū Koyama that ran from 1994 to 2009, starring a young kunoichi living during the early [[JidaiGeki Edo Period]]. The early part of the manga shows her as sole girl in a group of ten war orphans - all boys - being trained as assassins by an elderly man they only know as Grandfather. When he deems them ready to graduate, Grandfather has them pair off with their closest friends... and fight to the death. And it only gets darker from there on out, as she starts to question the validity of her mission.

* DangerouslyShortSkit: Azumi wears a thigh-length kimono and frequently ends up exposing her underwear when she fights.

* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Azumi was in love with Nachi, the boy she had a crush on. She later falls for her fellow companion Ukiha, but is forced to kill him by Yodo no Kata.

* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: It's noted early on that Azumi and her companions are thoroughly brainwashed by their "Grandfather" into believing that [[KnightTemplar all the people they're killing are bad]].

Azumi is a manga series that ran from 1994 to 2009, starring the titular character, a young kunoichi living during the early [[JidaiGeki Edo Period]]. The early part of the manga shows her as sole girl in a group of ten war orphans - all boys - being trained as assassins by an elderly man they only know as Grandfather. When he deems them ready to graduate, Grandfather has them pair off with their closest friends... and fight to the death. And it only gets darker from there on out.

* ChasteHero: Azumi was so naive as a young teen she didn't even know what the differences between boys and girls were, having been raised in complete isolation. Made worse, every man she falls in love with is killed, usually right in front of her.