Summary

Yaiba's relentless pursuit of a duel pushed Onimaru to become a demon and villain.
Yaiba's stubbornness led to the release of the Fuujin Sword, endangering the world.
The show is essentially about Yaiba's journey to undo the chaos he caused.

The third episode of YAIBA: Samurai Legend raised the stakes in a big way after showing Onimaru’s transformation and willingness to use powers to destroy all those around him. However, Onimaru’s thoughtless destruction of Sayaka Mine’s school is somewhat comparable to the protagonist Yaiba’s lesser-stakes rampage just an episode before.

Yaiba’s stubborn and tenacious attitude in the last episode ironically makes him responsible for setting off the whole chain of events that lead to the creation of the show’s villain. Humorously, one could consider Yaiba entirely at fault for creating the problems that he is the only one who can solve in YAIBA: Samurai Legend.

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Yaiba Taking Things Too Far

How He Pushed Onimaru to the Edge

yaiba onimaru school — Yaiba and a demon-possessed Onimaru clash in front of the school. (YAIBA: Samurai Legend)

Likely owing to his upbringing in the jungle, Yaiba has no sense of boundaries when he takes something too far. The early episodes set this up, as Yaiba will relentlessly insist on something until he gets his way. When Yaiba first meets Onimaru, the latter refuses to agree to a duel with him, considering him too weak to be worth acknowledging.

Yaiba attempts to use all kinds of dirty tactics to change his mind, but it seems not to work at first. These efforts eventually culminated in Yaiba stealing Onimaru’s training gear, almost killing him with a crossbow trap, and trying to seal him in a hole in the ground.

However, Onimaru still refused to give him the duel that he wanted until Yaiba went to his house and tore everything up. It was at this point that Onimaru finally decided to accept the dueling challenge. The clash between the two caused untold destruction across the city, but in the end, Onimaru was struck in the head by the practice sword, and Yaiba declared victory.

After having his expectations subverted by Yaiba’s dirty tactics, Onimaru becomes plagued by mocking visions of him. These visions cause him to strike out in anger and accidentally discover a demonic sword buried under his family's estate. It was only Onimaru’s burning hatred for Yaiba that compelled him to grab the sword, transforming him into a demon and kick-starting the trouble for the show’s protagonists.

Importantly, we see how Onimaru, despite his name, is actually a normal, caring guy. He diligently feeds his birds and takes care of his family's estate. He also reacts like anyone would at Yaiba’s pranks and dirty tricks, trying not to match his insane energy while putting a stop to him. This newest adaptation makes it seem like, if not for Yaiba’s interference, Onimaru would never have had a reason to grab the demon sword and be possessed.

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By Naledi Ramphele

Becoming Chosen

Yaiba’s Journey to Undo What He Caused

yaiba bandaid — Yaiba cries after his defeat to Onimaru. (YAIBA: Samurai Legend)

While Yaiba’s influence on Onimaru may have been the cause of him turning into a demon, it’s also possible that such an outcome would be inevitable. This is demonstrated in episode 3, where we see Yaiba being the only person in centuries for the Raijin Sword to accept as its master. Musashi Miyamoto had been tirelessly protecting the sword, only for Yaiba to come along and quickly snatch it up.

“No Thunder God is gonna get the best of me… Show yourself, oh, God of Thunder! Let’s fight!” -Yaiba, while holding the Raijin Sword.

However, Yaiba is not ready to accept the sword’s power, nearly being transformed into a demon just like Onimaru, until Musashi stops his lightning rampage. It was Yaiba’s stubborn personality that got him into this mess, but this same character trait cannot overcome the Lightning Oni’s power alone.

It seems like Yaiba’s quest to defeat Onimaru and undo the release of the Fuujin Sword may also make him change his prideful and stubborn attitude along the way. In this way, his physical journey to master his new sword may mirror his mental one. If he had been more considerate of others, the Fuujin sword and a demon-empowered Onimaru may not have been unleashed on the YAIBA: Samurai Legend world in the first place.

Yaiba: Samurai Legend can be streamed on Hulu.

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TV-14

Anime

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Release Date: April 5, 2025
Network: Nippon TV, YTV
Directors: Hiroyuki Tanaka, Tomoko Hiramuki, Masao Kawase, Hitomi Ezoe, Rei Nakahara, Maho Ishikawa
Writers: Eiji Umehara