Bamboo Blade (Manga/DVD)

A group of girls take up kendo, the age-old sport descended from the samurai in Bamboo Blade.

The original manga was written by Masahiro Totsuka with illustrations by Aguri Igarashi. The anime adaptation is done by Anime International Company Inc's AIC A.S.T.A. division (Gun X Sword, Tenchi Muyo and Ah! My Goddess).

The story focuses on Toraji Ishida, a young high school teacher and instructor of the school's extra-curricular kendo club. Toraji is down on his luck, surviving on instant ramen and care packages from his family.

While eating out with a former classmate who teaches at another school, he places a bet on whose female kendo students are better.

But there's a problem: there are only two girls in Toraji's kendo club and one of them hasn't attend any meetings for a while.

While lamenting the fact that he has rushed into this wager too quickly, a girl with incredible kendo skills appears in his life. Tamaki Kawazoe is the daughter of the head of a kendo training centre.

Unfortunately the introverted Tamaki refuses to join the high school club as she doesn't see kendo as a hobby but as a household chore like doing the laundry.

But when a male club member uses kendo to bully new club members, Tamaki can't resist teaching him a lesson.

Tamaki has a strong sense of justice and righteousness, and is soon persuaded to put her skills to good use and become a full-time club member.

Follow Tamaki and her fellow club members in action on DVD or read the manga to see what happens next in this comedy.