Manga / Gamaran

Gamaran (我間乱, literally "Gama's Uprising") is a shonen manga written and illustrated by Yosuke Nakamaru and set in ancient Japan. It was serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine from 2009 to 2013, and compiled into 22 volumes.

Long ago, there was the region of Unabara, also known as "The Demons' Lair", because many powerful warriors hailed from here, as well as countless martial arts of any kind. In order to choose a worthy ruler amongs his many sons, the Daimyo of Unabara Naomasa Washizu decides to start the great Unabara Tournament: each of his sons will hire a "Ryuu" (School) whose warriors will fight for their master in order to make them Daimyo and find out once and for all which style is the strongest.

The story focus on Naoyoshi, bastard son of the Daimyo who wants to clear his name (his mother wasn't a noble). Looking for the powerful swordsman Jinsuke Kurogane, the "Killer of a Thousand Men", he ends up hiring his son Gama, the young but skilled swordsman of the Ogame Ryuu. Along with allies and foes, Gama will fight his way to the top in order to make Naoyoshi the new Daimyo and show the world the might of the Ogame Ryuu.

In 2018, a sequel began serialization in Magazine Pocket under the name of Gamaran Shura, set two years after the end of the series, mostly focused on secondary character Iori Sengoku, as he's dragged in a grand tournament set up by the Shogunate and featuring the 100 strongest warriors recognized by the government, with the title of Strongest of the Land at stake. However, there's something more sinister in the air....

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Gamaran contains examples of:

• Absurdly Sharp Blade: Zigzagged. While usually Gama's swords are deadly, he fails to cut armors or steel weapons at the first try.
• Action Girl: Yumeji, though she's not very powerful. Technically, Arimaru is one as well. The sequel series introduces swordswoman Ran Ichinose right from the first volume, and even though she's Overshadowed by Awesome by Iori, she vows to learn the 5 techniques of the Ogame School herself.
• Aloof Big Brother: Iori is basically this one to Gama (note that they're not blood-related).
• Alternate Character Reading: A sort of staple of the series, characters in this series tend to have names with unusual kanji and readings, but also for techniques and weapons. For examples, four of the five techniques of the Ogame school are written with certain kanji which don't actually match the katakana, such as Ikazuchi (Lightning) written as "Raiden" (Thunder and Lightning), Kagutsuchi (Shinto God of Fire) written as "Scorching Flame", Oboro (Haze)as "Kyooku" (Emptiness) and Mizuchi (Water Serpent) as "Suiryuu" (Water Dragon).
• Anachronism Stew:
  • Agon's axe attack is named "Tomahawk"^note  written in kanji as "throwing axe" though (which is a weapon only used by American Indians)
  • Kashitarou wears what seems to be perfectly functioning modern glasses. (Yes, glasses has been around since 1100 at least, but his look too much modern by comparison.)
  • In the first chapter, the Daimyo mentions the Shigen Ryuu of Judo. Except that, Judo was formally invented in 1882, about a century later if not more.
  • While the Japanese Bisento does exist, the historical Bisento was merely the Japanese name for a Chinese polearm which was based on the naginata and nearly identical. The usage of Bisento in Japanese Martial Schools is Newer Than They Think.
• Anime Hair: Is not uncommon to see people with odd-looking hairstyles. In Shura, assassin Raio has red hair resembling a flower, while another tertiary character, Yoshimori Genu, has flame-shaped white hair.
• Armor Is Useless: Averted: steel plates and chainmails can block a katana, so that some extra work is required.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Considering that most of the characters are martial artists of various types, they're all over the place.
• Badass Crew: Jinsuke's personal Corps and Advisors. Shura has the Genkai Tenpei, a team of natural born martial artists serving the Bakufu and trained in exotic fighting styles.
• Bald of Authority:
  • Muraku Matsumoto is the bald leader of the Kasanemanji Ryuu.
  • In the sequel series Shura, Ise Ramon is the bald leader of the Genkai Tenpei, a team of natural born martial artists serving the Bakufu and trained in exotic fighting styles, and easily one of the strongest fighters in the setting.

• Berserk Button: Don't call Senka "Pig".
• BFS:
  • Zenmaru's secret weapon, the Mystery Sword Kutaragi Sadanaga is a giant, heavy oodachi designed for purely offensive efforts. It is the signature weapon of the Ichinose clan.
  • Shingo Mido of the Myojin Ryuu wields Onidachi (Demon Splitter), a ten feet long spear with a 3 feet long blade.
  • The nagamaki weapons used by the Gaun Ryuu are pretty large and massive, even more so than real life ones.
  • All the members of the Muhou Ryu's 47th Corps wield oversized swords thanks to their strength-boosting drug, while their commander Ryuho swings around an 8 feet long iron club with one hand.
  • In Shura, one of Iori's first opponents is Shiba Hien, who use the stole sword Monohoshizao Masamune (a long nodachi with the maki-covered hilt extending for a while past the tsuba, allowing it to be used like a zweihander.
  • Homare, the resident Action Girl of the Genkai Tenpei, wields a humongous claymore as her weapon of choice when she's not using her fists.
  • Genra of the Genkai Tenpei wields a humongous iron oar as his weapon of choice, claiming that's the perfect weapon for crushing people.
• Big Bad: It's easy to see the Daimyo as one with the sinister-looking Nachi as his Dragon. Later Jinsuke takes the role. Shura has the uncanny little brother of the Shogun, Hiramatsu Tadaie, a natural born warrior with an unmatched strength and talent for martial arts.
• Big Damn Heroes: Zenmaru saves Naoyoshi from an assassin. Later, Gama pops up just in time to save Zenmaru from Jaki. Post Time Skip, Kashitarou saves Zenmaru from Kiyomori.
• Bittersweet Ending: The Shogunate invasion has completely destroyed Unabara, but the main heroes and even some of the antagonists survived, free to carry on their lives.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Zenmaru Ichinose, member of the Ogame Ryuu.
• Bratty Half-Pint: Gama appears as this at first.
• Breakable Weapons: Gama breaks his longsword many times. Justified, as the swords from the Edo and Muromachi periods were often mass-produced and thus of inferior quality compared to the older katana.
• Bullying a Dragon: The Hyuga Brothers at the beginning doesn't take Gama seriously and mock him. Cue to Curb-Stomp Battle.
• The Bus Came Back: With the reprisal of the series in 2018, the remnants of the Muhou School return into action, as well as many other folks.
• Butt-Monkey: Zenmaru, who's often compared to a monkey. From the other schools we have Eima Yakushiji (Tengen Ryuu) and Ichiou Jinno (Myojin Ryuu).
• Calling Your Attacks: Averted. At least, the characters don't scream the name of their current attack, but it does appear around them while they're performing it for the audience's benefit. Basically is more like "Thinking Your Attacks".
• Chain Pain: Kotaro's secret weapon is Mitsuboshi (Orion's Belt), a set of three chains connected together.
• Charles Atlas Superpower: Iori, who's frequently compared to a demon or a monster.
• Combat Pragmatist: Many characters, even Gama himself. Shinnojo for example manages to kill Juho Maniwa while the latter is distracted by Ichiou.
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • Gama dealing with the low-level opponents results in this. Also Iori vs Gama (Iori wins) and Zenmaru and Shin vs Agon and Hakuryu. Both Gama and Zenmaru are on the receiving end thanks to Ranmaru and Kai, respectively.
  • Generally speaking, whenever a small fish tries to take on someone much more powerful and experienced than them, this is the inevitable result.
• Curtains Match the Window: Zenmaru and Naoyoshi (red) and Saizou (green eyes and hair).
• Dark and Troubled Past: Naoyoshi, as his mother wasn't a noble. Other characters like Ryuho Kibe, Sakon Daimaru and even Gama himself suffered this.
• Dangerous Forbidden Technique: Many Ryuu have something of this effect. Usually is a hard-to-dodge attack that may leave them vulnerable in case of failure.
• The Determinator: Gama most of the time. Zenmaru has also shown to have some determination himself.
• Diagonal Cut: The typical result of a fight against a member of the Ogame Ryuu.
• Dual Wielding: Averted by the Ogame Ryuu: they do carry around two swords, but only use one at a time. Agon and Hakuryu dual wield axes, and Masato's Souen Ryuu focuses on using both the longsword and the shortsword. According to him, this style offers a great defense. Later, Ichida Maruyama wields the twin blades Aogasumi, Sekiryu and Seirin dual wield Iron Whips while Muraku Matsumoto's secret weapon consists of using two weighted chains in battle.
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: Ranmaru Itou and Kosaburo Hyuga stands out. Also Banri Omiya and Tagosaku. In Shura, we have minor villain Ikki Oobayashi (whose name even contains the kanji for "Princess") and Hyogo Shakujii.
• Elemental Motifs: The Five Sword Forms of the Ogame School are themed each after one of the five elements and focuses on a certain aspect of swordsplay:
  • Ikazuchi no Kata (Thunder God Form) is the style themed after Lightning and focused on incredibly fast attacks and techniques emulating a Flash Step.
  • Kagutsuchi no Kata (Scorching Blaze Form) is the style of straightforward assault capable of delivering powerful sweeping attacks with amazing cutting power.
  • Oboro no Kata (Void Space Form) is the most defensive style, focused on sudden body movements which allow the user to perform a Deadly Dodge on incoming attacks.
  • Mizuchi no Kata (Water Dragon Form) is the style of water, and all his attacks are tricky techniques hard to pull of but capable of changing direction and speed mid-combat to hit the opponent where his guard is low.
  • Doukou no Kata (Earth Lord Form) features incredibly powerful and strong spinning slashes, but unlike the second form, this focuses on sheer brute force to smash through the enemy's weapons and break their stances, with only the strongest technique being able of dealing a fatal wound.
• Enemy Mine: Post Time Skip, both Gensai Kizaki from the Kannari Ryuu and Arata Nakaizumi are willing to help the Oogame Ryuu in their battle against the Muhou School.
• Epic Flail: The Kasanemanji Ryuu specializes in the use of Kusarigama (chain and sickle). Specifically, Jaki's secret weapon looks a lot like a European medieval flail. Chuuji of the Muhou School also employs a flail as his trump card. Shura features two examples in the Genkai Tenpei, a set of Chinese meteor hammers wielded by the leader, Ise Ramon, and an actual medieval flail (the long, staff-like variant with a short chain and a long cilindrical weight).
• Every Japanese Sword is a Katana: Subverted plentifully, the series usually call the main swords used by the heroes "tachi" and features a big variety of Japanese blades such as kodachi, wakizashi, nodachi and nagamaki. The sequel even has one character fighting with an old-school tsurugi sword and using its unique pommel shape to deliver deadly attacks.
• Exotic Weapon Supremacy: Ryuu involved in "foreign martial styles" are mentioned. So far they're all members of the Muhou Ryu and include Suzunosuke Mamiya (rapier), Riichiro and the former Soujin School members (halberds) and the corps who attacked Gama inside the inner city, whose weaponry include flanged maces, iron whips and scimitars. Shura introduces more, including Magami Raio (wields multi-bladed Urumi), Ikki Oobayashi (a three-section staff tipped with a broad machete-like blade) Shakujii Hyogo (a Buckler to use with his sword) and Momose Shiro (a western Longsword). All members of the Bakufu's personal assassin corps, the Genkai Tenpei, have mastered fighting styles with either Chinese or European weapons such as meteor hammers, falchions, flails, greatswords and poleaxes. It is also confirmed that Tsuchiryuu was one of them.
• Eye Scream: Gama does this to Junnosuke and (almost) Baian of the Tengen Ryuu. Muraku is seen doing this to the Tamagakushi mooks. In short, there are plenty of examples.
• Family Theme Naming: Naomasa Washizu, the Daimyo of Unabara, has about 30 sons. All of them have a name starting with Nao. (Naoyoshi, Naoshizu, Naoie and so on).
• Fighting Series: Unlike most series, attacks and techniques are extremely well-detailed: even an apparently useless slash can actually turn into a deadly combo.
• Fiery Redhead: Zenmaru.
• Flash Step: The Third Technique of the Thunder Form, Narukami (Thunder God) involves this. It's also a One-Hit Kill according to Iori. Is actually about moving out of the opponent sight.
• For the Evulz: Many warriors likes to kill or maim their opponents for trivial matters, including Baian, Junnosuke and Gensai.
• Gag Nose: Arata Nakaizumi, the leader of the Nakaizumi Ryuu.
• Genius Bruiser: Kashitarou, secret master of the Ogame School, he apparently mastered all the five forms and even invented a sixth, called "Kamui", a counter-attack form.
• The Ghost: One of the Five Dragons, the Urabe Ippou Ryuu, is mentioned as "the Strongest of the Five Dragons" during the second round of the tournament. However, it doesn't make even the slightest appearence, nor we're told what happened to them. True, the Muhou Ryuu has exterminated all the opposing schools in town, but they could have gotten away as Arata and Gensai did.
• Gonk: Several people, most notably Jaki and Agon. Arimaru however takes the cake.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Naomasa Washizu has a badly-stitched scar on his scalp. Nachi has a strange line on the left side of his face, but it's unknown if it's actually a wound or some sort of skin disease.
• Handicapped Badass: Sakon Daimaru, who's left mentally retarded after the Training from Hell organized by his brother Ryuugo.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Kai, who jumps in front of his brother in order to save him from Mario's sneak attack.
• Historical European Martial Arts: Shura features more characters using weapons imported from Europe in the hands of certain fighters (with some Artistic License here and there): Momose Shiro, Karai and Homare are seen employing western swords, respectively a longsword, falchion and greatsword (the former two even make use of "binding" to push agaisnt their opponent's lighter swords and break through their guard), while Seiya Zoin uses an halberd in combat (designed to look more like the European ones) and Sendo wields a two-handed, tresher-like flail. Another fighter, Hyogo Shakujii, mixes things up by using the unusual combo of a traditional katana wielded with a buckler shield (using the latter to block or deflect attacks and countering with the former).
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Ryuugo Daimaru is killed by his own brother/living weapon Sakon.
• Idiot Hero: Subverted by Gama, who's quite smart despite being fourteen years old.
• Instant Expert: One of the many factors making Tadaie so scary is his uncanny ability to understand the workings of any weapon he sees in action in a short amount of time, best seen when he takes Raio's Urumi Shiva (which is a custom-made blade with twin heavier blades) and uses it with enough skill to give Iori an hard time.
• In-Series Nickname: "My name is Shinnojo Sakura, but everyone calls me Shin".
• It's Personal: Gama means to kill his father with his own hands. Ultimately he realizes that Jinsuke's death won't bring him anything and settles for surpass his legacy on his own.
• Jerkass: Many of the warriors of Unabara. Also Naoyoshi's brothers.
• Katanas Are Just Better: Usually averted: while the nearly-invincible heroes do carry katana (which is logical since it's set in Edo period Japan), many weapons actually have an edge against swords, like chains and poleweapons. In Shura, staff-user Sakutaro Nagoshi actually looks down on swordsmen, since his steel cane allows him to break most swords with easy and all the members of the super elite secret corps Genkai Tenpei wield foreign weapons.
• Kid Samurai: Gama. Also Shimon Kudo and Niina Gakushin, from the Muhou School.
• Knight of Cerebus: Iori Sengoku is a weird example of a Knight of Cerebus Mentor. A straighter example would be Muraku Matsumoto.
• Lame Comeback:
  • Iori is the only person who can turn a Lame Comeback in an awesome moment. Shinsuke is about to take on the tired Kamedenbo and Gensai, saying "Go to hell" as he moves in for the kill. Then, Iori jumps in the fray just in time saying "YOU go to hell!" and actually wounds him.
  • Much later, as Mario Kujou faces Zenmaru, he coldly tells him that he needs a reality check. Zenmaru replies that he is going to need a reality check.... then he nearly beheads him with one blow.
• Lightning Bruiser: Gama. Fittingly, his preferred style is the Ikazuchi Kata (Lightning Form), which focus on speed. Many other warriors relies on speed or fast attacks.
• Made of Bologna: Despite much wielding of katanas, no innards are seen nor do internal organs spill out. One glimpse of brains occurs when a random passerby's skull is struck by Jaki's Epic Flail.
• Made of Iron: Gama, despite his age, is very hard to kill. Other notable examples include Ryuuhou Kibe (though mostly drug-induced), Iori Sengoku (stabbed his own thigh to stop an enemy blow) and Muraku Matsumoto (still conscious after getting hit by a twirling katana in his midsection).
• The Man Behind the Man: Jinsuke and Yukio are behind the whole Unabara Tournament thing, which leads to the assassination of all the Washizu clan except for Naoyoshi, who's kept alive as a Puppet King for the Muhou Ryuu so that they can control Unabara.
• Martial Arts Staff: The series has a couple of sadly misbegotten staff users in the same team of the Muhou School: the first, Tagosaku Yamashita, tries to attack Iori with his personal bo staff (has a spiral pattern and edged ends) but is quickly stopped and killed. Subverted by his master Maniwa, who is a bojutsu practitioner but employs a spear with the same movements. Sequel series has Sakutaro Nagoshi of the Nagoshi Ryuu, an expert of jojutsu who fights with a steel staff hard enough to allow him to easily defeat normal swordsmen with ease by breaking their weapons.
• Master Swordsman: Gama is quite skilled, but Iori and Jinsuke are far more powerful. As former elites of the Ogame School, both Mario Kujou and Riko Murasame are one as well, with the former having mastered all the forms of the Ogame School and the latter being literally immune to all their attacks due to his absolute defense "Kagi no Tourou".
• Meaningful Name: The leader of the Hundred Swords in Shura is the disowned little brother of the Shogun but his family name is Hiramatsu... which reverses the kanji for "Matsudaira", the Tokugawa's previous name.
• Missing Mom: Gama's. The only thing we know of her is that Gama took his hair color from her.
• Ms. Fanservice: Senka and Miika.
• Named Weapons: Most of the unique weapon users give a special name to their weapons, such as Ango Kuryuu (With his Nagamaki Tatsugiri and Choushimaru), the Maruyama Brothers with their Swords, the Four Divine Spear's lances and the Sadanaga swords. This is continued in the sequel, where it's revealed that the Ogame Ryuu itself has one, the katana owned by the founder, Senka Murasame.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Jinsuke Kurogane. KILLER OF A THOUSAND MEN. The "Five Dragons" (five strongest Ryuu) of Unabara counts as a In-Universe example. Unabara itself is known as the "Demon's Haunt".
• Ninja: Some Ryuu practice Ninjustsu, namely the Mugen Ryuu, Jouchi Ryuu and the Tamagakushi Ryuu. The last one also averts the Highly-Visible Ninja stereotype and actually use realistic ninja techniques. Inside the Muhou Ryuu we have Tsuchiryuu and the rarely seen Jinkuu. The author claimed that he was worried, since he thought that ninjas can do pretty much anything, but can be difficult to employ.
  • Shura has the veteran Iga Ninja Momochi Sanpeita, a crafty old codger who makes full use of poison, traps and hidden weapons to nearly kill the stronger and fittier Zenmaru.
• Not Just a Tournament:
  • In the first series, the Unabara Tournament is introduced as a way to pick a successor among the Daimyo's sons. It's actually a ploy of Jinsuke to hire powerful Ryuu and make a coup d'etat.
  • In Shura, the Shogunate Tournament to declare the Strongest Warrior in the Country hides a plan to lure out the remnants of the Muhou Ryuu and eliminate them alongside the strongest threat to the Shogun, the Daimyo of Suruga Hiramatsu Tadaie. The Muhou Ryuu also plans to carry on Jinsuke's will and take advantage of the Tournament to murder the Shogun and take over Edo.
• Oh, Crap!: Given the nature of the series, this happen often. In Chapter 28 all the sons of the Daimyo have one when they found out that in order to win the second part of the tournament the winner must bring the head of one of them to the castle.
• Old Master: Kamedenbo Oizumi, master of the Ogame Ryuu's dojo.
• One-Man Army: Many of the most powerful warriors of Unabara are this. The members of Jinsuke's Special Corps are said to be strong enough to wipe out the garrison of a small fief on their own, and the Genkai Tenpei from the sequel makes them look like amateur in comparison.
• Power Born of Madness: Mashima Kitaro, Sasuke's brother, is already pretty deranged on his own, but after suffering the very same wound Sasuke did he snaps, starts behaving as if he's channeling Sasuke and proceeds to fight without any restrain, going all out in a frightening display of power that comes this close to slay Iori, who gives him a nine out of ten after finishing him off.
• Quirky Miniboss Squad: Usually the members of a Ryuu, ranging from two to four or five members.
• Red Baron: Jinsuke "Slaughterer of a Thousand Men", "Demon Splitter" Shingo, Sasuke "The Crinsom Extractor", Ryuho "The Silver Ogre" and so on.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Zenmaru and Shinnojo. In the Muhou School, there are Kiyomori and Shinsuke, and also Mario (Blue) and Kai (Red).
• Redemption Equals Death: Kai Ichinose dies protecting his brother and showing his real worth.
• Sadist Teacher: Iori is noted for being very skilled but also very brutal.
• Samurai: Technically, most of the warriors of Unabara are ronin, but warriors from the Shogunate do appear. Shura has more characters who are proper Samurai, such as Yagira Kyoyasai, the sword instructor of the Tokugawa clan.
• "Shaggy Dog" Story: Zenmaru's whole objective since his appearence was to become strong enough to surpass even his brother Kai, but still cared for him and wanted him to live. When he finally manages to prove his strength by killing Mario Kujou, his brother, who was severely injured in the battle due to a Heroic Sacrifice, can only compliment him for surpassing him before dying in front of him.
• Shout-Out:
  • The Kyosen Ryuu use a martial art that can damage internal organs and cause a painful death. Hokuto, anyone?
  • Furthermore Gama share his surname (and role) with Yaiba.
  • According to Word of God, Sakon's fighting style is similar to those of an Evangelion.
  • One of the Hyakken, Ouka, resembles an evil version of ''Astroboy.
• Sinister Scythe: Another use of the weapons of the Kasanemanji Ryuu. The divine spear Beninuki (Crinsom Extractor) is a kata-kama scythe, resembling the original deal.
• Slasher Smile: Jinsuke, as shown in a image.
• Smug Snake: Naosada the tenth son of the Daimyo. Most of the other sons balance between this and Dirty Coward. While Kai at first seems a good example, is later revealed that Mario is one.
• Sore Loser: Ryuugo Daimaru. Mario Kujou, who quickly descends from the second strongest of the Ogame School to "that vile scumbag taking advantage of reinforcements, helpless brothers and sneak attacks to achieve victory".
• Spectacular Spinning: The Kosen attack, which turns the sword into a veritable drill. Furthermore, all the techniques of the Doukou no Kata involve a powerful spinning motion applied to the sword to break through enemy weapons and their posture.
• Stock Ninja Weaponry: The Tamagakushi Ryuu employ shuriken, kunai and shortswords in battle. Averted by Tsuchiryuu and Shinkuu, whose weapons are a couple of Deer Horn Daggers and some sort of polearm/long staff. In Shura, veteran shinobi Sanpeita Momochi uses a vast array of shuriken, makibishi, traps and even poison in the form of his own poisonous hand.
• Stock Wushu Weapons:
  • When the Daimyo mentions schools teaching foreign martial arts, the picture shows both a silhouette with a rapier, a nine-section whip and a dao, while a later picture showing some fighters in the back has a muscular man with stereotypical braided hair carrying a dao.
  • The assassins Hakuryuu and Agon not only have short names which may actually be translations of Chinese ones, but also fight with twin axes.
  • Muhou Ryuu elite Tsuchiryuu wields two deer horn daggers ^note  though they're not identified, nor given a name and Gensai remarks that his fighting stance and movements are those of the martial arts from the continent.
  • In Shura, most members of the Genkai Tenpei who don't use european weaponry rely on Chinese martial arts and weapons, which gives them a huge advantage over most of their opponents relying on Japanese weapons. Among them, Sanjin wields a one-handed dadao weapon, while their leader Ramon has shown proficiency with both martial arts, meteor hammers and steel claws. It's also confirmed that Tsuchiryuu was a former member.
• Small Name, Big Ego: The Hyuga brothers at the beginning. Also many members of the Kyosen Ryuu and Tengen Ryuu.
• Theme Naming:
  • All the Daimyo's sons have a name starting with Nao-.
  • All the members of the Myojin school have a "divine/sacred" theme in their namings: Shingo Mido and Jinno (both meaning god), Sakakibara Sasuke (Sakaki is a type of sacred tree) and Omiya Banri (Miya = Temple).
• Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Zenmaru kills an assassin by throwing his shortsword at him. Later Agon tries to do the same with his "Tomahawk" attack, but fails.
• Time Skip: Jinsuke would have destroyed the Ogame Ryuu right after the tournament, but Iori "persuaded" him to give them a year to train and prepare.
• Tournament Arc: Starts with one for about seven volumes, then in chapter 69 when the Muhou school takes over Unabara.
• The Unfavorite: Naoyoshi, being the son of a concubine, got treated like crap by his own siblings and family: he was frequently beaten, openly insulted and was the only son to be punished whenever they did something wrong.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Plenty of characters who survive their defeat in combat or the destruction of their Dojo often disappear from the story, leaving their fate ambiguous, such as Daimaru Goro, Jinno Ichiou, the other members of Kasanemanji School and the entire Urabe Ippou Ryuu. By the very end, is unclear how many Muhou Ryuu members escaped the Shogunate.
• Where The Hell Is Unabara?: At first, the location of Unabara is rather vague, but is eventually revealed to be somewhere in Kyushu.
• World of Badass: Unabara is filled with martial schools of all kinds, resulting in tons of Badasses everywhere.
• X-Ray of Pain:Frequently used to show the bones of fighters being broken by attacks, usually the ribs. Variations that show more than just the bones are seen twice:
  • When the Ninja Saizo explains his paralyzing Fudo Kanashibari no Jutsu (which involves blocking the joints with a tiny but sturdy needle)
  • When Kiyomori's nerve-hitting attack is explained.
• You Have Failed Me: Ryuugo to Sakon. It costs him his neck. This is also Jinsuke's attitude towards anyone who tries to run away in battle.

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