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Translation & English Adaptation: Andria McKnight Touch-Up Art & Lettering: John Hunt Design: Paul Padurariu Editor: Mike Montesa |
On May 9, 2022, I began a journey that, to most people, may seem unimpressive—I watched the original Dragon Ball anime for the first time. Not Z, not Super, but the 1986 series, where Goku was a brash child with a tail, and the world was a wild blend of martial arts mayhem, toilet humor, and boundless imagination. It was equal parts ridiculous and brilliant, and it helped me understand just how deeply its DNA runs through shonen manga as a whole.
It also put something else into focus: Yaiba, Gosho Aoyama’s long-overlooked, sword-swinging action-comedy, first published in 1988 and finally receiving an official English-language release from Viz Media. I've known for years that Dragon Ball was the inspiration for Yaiba, but getting to experience Toriyama's version of Journey to the West was more than I expected. It opened my eyes to how much Aoyama was inspired by Toriyama. And it never ended. If you've read Detective Conan, you may have caught scattered references over the years—Ran’s Sea Cucumber Man phone charm, Shoji Okita and Takeshi Onimaru’s random appearances, that one case where Conan finds a Game Man and plays what seems to be a reference to the Game Boy game that Yaiba got in 1994—it all leads back to Yaiba. But this isn’t just a curiosity piece or a hidden footnote in Aoyama’s legacy. It’s a full-blown, chaotic gem.
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| Yaiba is immature and a little conceited. |
The story follows Yaiba Kurogane, a hotheaded 14-year-old raised in the jungle, who suddenly finds himself in modern Japan and immediately gets into sword fights, annoys everyone around him, and charges headfirst into danger. If this sounds like something out of early Dragon Ball, that’s no coincidence. Aoyama has been open about being a fan of Akira Toriyama’s work, and the influence is everywhere, right down to the gag-heavy pacing, over-the-top character designs, and the sheer sense of momentum. Like Goku, Yaiba is not the brightest, but he’s unstoppable through sheer willpower and absurd luck and skills.
While Aoyama would later become best known for his intricate murder mysteries and deductive logic, Yaiba is a gleefully chaotic series. The fights are loud, the jokes are nonstop, and every emotion is played at maximum volume. It’s a far cry from the calculating calm of Conan, but there’s still something unmistakably “Aoyama” about it—especially in the visual humor, which he excels at.
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| Yaiba getting attacked by the Kuro Oni (black demons) |
Of course, it’s a product of its time. First serialized in 1988, some of the humor hasn’t aged well, for lack of a better term. There are a few moments that rely on cultural stereotypes, which modern readers might find uncomfortable. However, most of the comedy remains effective through its physicality, absurd logic, and sheer expressiveness of the art. Aoyama’s characters are elastic, wild, and impossible to ignore. They exist somewhere between parody and sincerity, and the result is pure Saturday morning fun.
For readers coming from Detective Conan, Yaiba offers a fascinating contrast. Instead of a calculating teen genius turned child, we get a loudmouthed, sword-swinging jungle kid who wins fights by using the skills his father taught him. And yet, the two series share connective tissue—not just in Easter eggs, but in tone and structure. Aoyama clearly enjoys building out rivalries, running gags, and a slowly expanding world of recurring characters. You can see the beginnings of his style here, even if the story couldn’t be more different.
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| Despite his immaturity, he does have a sense of justice. |
That said, having access to the entire series (24 volumes total) digitally in Japanese has made the experience even more rewarding. Being able to compare the English release to the original Japanese has made us appreciate the effort Viz is putting into these editions, even with their imperfections. It’s exciting to finally be able to read this series legally in English, and we’re looking forward to continuing the journey volume by volume.
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| Comparison of a page from chapter 8. |
Reading Yaiba now feels less like opening a time capsule and more like discovering an alternate manga timeline—one where Gosho Aoyama didn’t become the face of murder mysteries, but leaned all the way into action-comedy absurdity. It may lack the emotional depth or complexity of some modern shonen titles, but it replaces that with a raw enthusiasm that’s hard to fake. It’s the kind of manga where you can feel Aoyama is having fun, and that energy carries through the page. It’s loud, messy, unfiltered, and packed with charm. For longtime fans, it’s a missing puzzle piece. For new readers, it’s a fast-paced throwback worth getting swept up in. Please check it out either in print or on the Viz Manga app. Pick up a copy, unsheathe your sense of humor, and prepare to battle—because this sword is as sharp as its punchlines.
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