Gamaran

Gamaran (我間乱, Gamaran) is a shonen Manga written by Yosuke Nakamaru and set in ancient Japan.

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 alongside his companions Zenmaru Ichinose, Shinnojo Sakura and Iori Sengoku. However, something else seems to be going on in the fief of Unabara...

The manga features a good, clean art along with amazing fighting scenes avoiding some clichés typical of shounen manga.

In 2018, a direct sequel, called Gamaran: Shura (我間乱 : 修羅) came out and ran for two years, this time focusing on Iori Sengoku as he, Gama and new entry character Ran Ichinose (Zenmaru's sister) as they're involved in a brand new tournament organized by the Bakufu itself, aimed at finding out who's the strongest swordsman in the country. As expected however, the competition hides a bigger conspiracy, as not only the entire thing is a ploy aimed at getting rid of any threat to the government, but our heroes also have to deal with the legacy of Kurogane Jinsuke and his loyal Muhou Ryuu.

The Character Sheet is currently in progress.


 * Absurdly Sharp Blade: Zigzagged. While usually Gama's swords are deadly, he fails to cut armors or steel weapons at the first try.
 * Aloof Big Brother: Iori is basically this one to Gama (note that they're not blood-related).
 * Alternate Character Reading: Naosuke seems to love his trope, more often than not using kanji paired with an unusual furigana to mean different things or using katakana in lieu of hiragana for certain names and techniques. Best seen with the Five Forms of the Ogame Ryuu, all of which uses a katakana reading paired with mismatched Kanji (except for the Doukou no Kata).
 * Armor Is Useless: Averted: steel plates and chainmails can block a katana strike in normal circumstances, but the latter is easily dealt with by piercing attacks, while some of the Ogame Ryuu's stronger attacks can break through armor, though often by doing a number on the sword's edge.
 * Artistic License Martial Arts: While being mostly focused on the martial arts and avoiding otherwordly techniques and displays of power, there are still traces of artistic license or mistakes:
 * The introductory exposition done by Washizu Naosada mentions Judo Ryuu in Unabara... which is implausible, as Judo was officially founded in 1882, long after the Edo period.
 * The author talks of the Bisento as if it's simply a bigger and heavier version of the naginata. While this is true in certain martial art styles in Japan, this is Newer Than They Think. Historically, "Bisento" (眉尖刀) is actually the japanese name of a Chinese "Dadao" (big saber/glaive) weapon, Meijiandao, in the same way as the infamous Zanmato. Said Meijiandao is essentially the same as a naginata, with a slightly longer blade.
 * Nagamaki users seem to treat their weapons as glorified glaives, making them giant naginata wepons with a big emphasis on the size, weight and cutting power of the blade. In truth, Nagamaki is pretty much a greatsword with a longer handle, made to be easier to wield and handle.
 * As with other fighting mangas, rapiers are treated as if being super-flexible and able to wave and sway as they attack.
 * The unnamed giant Bakufu soldier with the scarred head refers to his weapon as a "Tetsubo" (Iron Staff), despite the fact that it's clearly a flexible, whip-like cudgel and that Tetsubo is just another name for the Kanabo.
 * Ass Shove: A Running Gag of Kashitaro has him fantasize about shoving apples/tangerines up a woman's ass, practice which obviously everyone else finds abhorring.
 * Asshole Victim: After seeing them all act as smarmy and entitled pigs, it's satisfying to see the Daimyo's sons being treated like crap and executed one after the other by Jinsuke's men.
 * Authority Equals Asskicking: In the Ryuu, the head is usually the most skilled fighter. The Daimyo tries to invoke Asskicking Equals Authority with the tournament, a philosophy also espoused by Jinsuke Kurogane with his Muhou Ryuu.
 * The Archer: The Nakaizumi Ryuu is focused on kyujutsu, employing special arrows that can break through most defenses, curve in midflight or even downright mutilate a man's arm with ease.Unlike most examples of this trope, the Ryuu's leader Arata Nakaizumi is very tall and muscular.
 * Awesome but Impractical: Lampshaded early on by Gama when Masato Hyuga tries to intimidate him by snapping the handle end of his bokuto with sheer pressure from his thumb: while he admits that it's a pretty good display of strength, he openly asks how he think to use such strength in swordfighting.
 * An Axe to Grind: Agon and Hakuryu, from an unknown Ryuu. Shin actually point out how defending from such a weapon is dangerous with a mere katana. The former Sojin Ryuu members now use poleaxes as their weapons.
 * Badass: Lots of them, on both sides.
 * Handicapped Badass: Sakon Daimaru, who's left mentally retarded after the Training from Hell organized by his brother Ryuugo.
 * Badass Grandpa: Gensai Kizaki of the Kannari Ryuu, one of the strongest warriors of Unabara. Ditto for Kamedenbo Oizumi, who's far from his prime but stil a powerful opponent to face.
 * Bald of Awesome: Gama's master Kamedanbo. It has a cute turtle on the top in his first appearence.
 * Bald of Evil: Muraku Matsumoto, leader of the Kasanemanji Ryuu. Made into a joke by the author's assistant, who claimed that
 * Berserk Button: Don't call Senka "Pig".
 * BFS: Zenmaru's secret weapon, the Mystery Sword Kutaragi Sadanaga is a massive Odachi built with an extremely offensive fighting style in mind, which allowed the Ichinose founder to triumph in any battle.
 * Shingo Mido of the Myojin Ryuu wields Onidachi (Demon Splitter), a spear with a ten feet long handle and 3 feet long blade. Thanks to his rigorous training, he can move his spear as if it was part of his body.
 * Ryuhou Kibe, a.k.a. Ginki, the Silver Demon, wields the "Kokusosou" (Black Claws Comb) as his weapon of choice, consisting in a huge, octagonal iron kanabo with hooked spikes along the edges, a 2,60 meters long per 40 chilogram beast that he can, when going all out, wield with one hand only.
 * Former Gaun Ryuu members, lead by Ango Kuryu u, wield the nagamaki as their weapon of choice, though it's incorrectly emphasized as a polearm rather than a greatsword.
 * Inverted with Arimaru, who carries a short, normal-sized gauntlet sword in her right hand and wields an humongous iron shield with her other arm.
 * Muhou Ryuu commander Ginji Tatehara wields the unique Mystery Sword Kasumi Shirosada (White Choice in the Fog), a nodachi made with a peculiar blade of fine steel with a narrow back and broader tip made to emphasize speed and cutting power.
 * Big Bad: It's easy to see the Daimyo as one with the sinister-looking Nachi as his Dragon, but he's eventually overthrown by Jinsuke Kurogane, who plans to use his Muhou Ryuu to militarize Unabara and wage war to the Shogunate.
 * Big Damn Heroes: Zenmaru saves Naoyoshi from an assassin. Later, Gama pop up just in time to save Zenmaru from Jaki.
 * Blade on a Stick: Several Ryuu use spears of various kinds as their Weapon of Choice:
 * Gama's very first opponent is Baian Maki of the Tengen Ryuu, specialized in the naginata: this weapon is praised by their users one of the most versatile and useful weapons of all, outmatched only by firearms. The same Ryuu (and its founder Tojou Shungaku) also employ the japanese Bisento, a larger version of the naginata with a broader, heavier blade.
 * The Myojin Ryuu focus on spearmanship, with the only four official members wielding the Four Divine Spears, each with a unique gimmick and skill. Despite being composed of only four members, it's telling that they're considered one of the Five Dragons (strongest Ryuu) of Unabara.
 * The Sojin Ryuu used to employ the traditional Jumonjiyari spear (a ranseur-like spear with large, curved side blades) before being bested by Kurogane Jinsuke and recruited in the Muhou Ryuu, where their leader Riichiro had them adopt the western Poleaxe as their new weapon of choice.
 * Blood Knight: Downplayed, while not all warriors in the series are motivated exclusively by the love of battle, most of the strongest and most capable fighters throughly enjoys fighting.
 * Boisterous Bruiser: Zenmaru Ichinose, member of the Ogame Ryuu, is the most direct and powerful of the heroes.
 * Boring but Practical: Some of the techniques are rather flashy and spectacular. Others are.... surprisingly mundane and efficient:
 * The Kyosen Ryuu "Tsukigakushi no Kamae" (Hidden Moon Stance) involves holding one's clutched hand in front of oneself, over the opponent: this way, the user can spot even the slightest movement from the opponent using his hand as a reference and react.
 * The Tengen Ryuu's "Tsubame" is a simple overhead slash that's extending as it'c soming down, extending the range. Baian's so practiced with this move he can turns such a simple movement in a death sentence.
 * The Souen Ryuu's entire tactic simply involves blocking with one sword and slash with the other. Not fancy, but sure effective.
 * The ultimate technique of the Gaun Ryuu has the user lift the nagamaki over his head by the very end of the pommel and slash forward with all the power and strength the user can muster. Simple, but mortally effective.
 * Bratty Half-Pint: Gama appears as this at first. He becomes more mature as the series proceeds.
 * Breakable Weapons: Given the sheer amount of strength employed by the fighters, it's not rare for all weapons to chip, wear down or even snap when hit with sufficient strength.
 * Bullying a Dragon: The Hyuga Brothers at the beginning doesn't take Gama seriously and mock him. Cue to Curb Stomp Battle.
 * Butt Monkey: Zenmaru, who's often compared to a monkey. When he grows out of this spot (while still remaining something of a comic relief), the Hyuga Brothers fill this void.
 * 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 (three stars), a set of three chains connected together. The Muhou Ryuu member Chuuji tries to use a set of chains to restrain Iori Sengoku.
 * Co-Dragons: Among the Muhou Ryuu Advisors alone, Jinsuke seems to consider the three former Ogame Ryuu members (Kai, Riko and Mario) this. Ranmaru Ito, Shimon Kudo and Shungaku Tojo are also his closest lieutenant among the Special Division members.
 * Combat Pragmatist: Many characters, even Gama himself. Given the life-threathening situations they usually get in, it's only natural that they'd fight to win at any cost.
 * Confusion Fu: The reason why Shinsuke Tsurumaru is so dangerous with his sword: unlike other techniques, his Souen Sharin (Twin Flames Wheel) doesn't have a standard stance and can be used to attack at anytime, making his style hard to predict.
 * Conservation of Ninjutsu: Zigzagged, while the heroes have no trouble taking on multiple opponents at a time, it's always when they fight enemies clearly beneath their level individually. During the Ayanaka Forest arc, Iori's nearly killed twice in a row when he's attacked in a row by Banri, Riichiro and Ango fighting as a team.
 * 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.
 * Curtains Match the Window: Zennosuke has red hair and red eyes. The red hair seems to be a trait of the Ichinose family.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: Naoyoshi, as his mother wasn't a noble and thus had to endure mockery and mistreatment by both his brothers and his father.
 * Dangerous Forbidden Technique: Many Ryuu have something of this effect, better examplified by the secret technique studied by Kashitaro, known as "Kamui":.
 * The Determinator: Gama vs the Nakaizumi Ryuu involves Gama covering the long distance separating him from Arata while having a wounded leg and while using a peculiar stance to deflect incoming arrows with the tip of his blade as they're about to hit him. The whole ordeal is so astounding that it gives Arata a breakdown.
 * Depraved Homosexual: Muraku Matsumoto: not only he often lusts after young and strong warriors, but he's also the unhealthy habit of killing them, doing God-knows-what to their bodies and then
 * Diagonal Cut: The typical result of a fight against a member of the Ogame Ryuu.
 * Double Jump: The Kyosen Ryuu's Koshuchou (Kick-Leap in the Void) uses a sudden midair footwork to dash from midair directly to the ground, allowing them to cover much more distance with a sudden movement.
 * Dual-Wielding: Averted by the Ogame Ryuu: they do carry around two sword, but only use one of them at time.
 * Agon and Hakuryuu come from an unknown Ryuu which makes use of twin axes. The former uses them for simultaneous attacks, the latter can throw one axe and attack with the other.
 * Nikaido Masaku, head of the Souen Ryuu, has mastered the art of fighting with two swords at the same time, defining Boring but Practical with a style involving parrying with one blade and attacking with the other. Ironically, he's defeated when Shin himself uses both swords to fend off his attacks.
 * Tsuchiryuu's fighting style involves the use of twin Mandarin duck bill axes, using one weapon to catch and deflect incoming blades as he rushes in to attack with the second blade.
 * Dude Looks Like a Lady: Ranmaru Itou and Kosaburo Hyuga stands out.
 * Elemental Powers: Sort of: the techniques of the Ogame Ryuu are divided in five "forms": Thunder, Flame, Earth, Water and Sky. However they're just referring to the sword style, and have nothing of magical at all, making the "power" a motif, as follow:
 * Thunder has the Ikazuchi no Kata (written as "Raiden Form" ), focused on speed and multi-phased attacks to deliver a powerful, fast slash.
 * Fire has the Kagutsuchi no Kata (written as "Blazing Flame Form"), focused on strong, ample swings with enormous cutting power.
 * Sky has the Oboro no Kata (written as the "Empty Space Form"), focused on dodging attacks and move inside an opponent's range.
 * Water has the Mizuchi no Kata (written as the "Water Dragon Form"), focused on tricky attacks that alter the incoming slash to hit from a different angle or better momentum.
 * Earth has the Dokou no Kata (written as the "Earth Lord's Form"), focused on powerful slashes that can deflect enemy attacks and break through their defense.
 * Epic Flail: The Kasanemanji Ryuu specialize in the use of Kusarigama (chain and sickle). Specifically, Jaki's secret weapon looks a lot like a flail with a kama in lieu of a handle.
 * Everything's Better with Spinning: The Kosen attack, which turns the sword into a veritable drill.
 * Sasuke's technique, the Chigarami (Blood Tangle) has him thrusting the spear forward as he spins it at great speed, causing the whole weapon to weave and twist because of the asymmetrical shape of the head.
 * Banri Omiya uses spinning motions with his kudayari to deliver devastating, spiraling attacks that can turn around an enemy guard. The attack is aptly named "Jasen" (Snake Torsion) and has a double version, "Soujasen" (Twin Snake Torsion).
 * Evil Versus Evil: Subverted during the second round of the Tournament, where Gama finds himself cornered by both Muraku Matsumoto and Saizo Fujibayashi, both ready to take Naoyoshi's head. While at first it seems they're going to tag-team against Gama to keep he and Naoyoshi from running away, in the end Gama stands his ground, resulting in Muraku simply waiting the conclusion of the ongoing battle rather than trying to attack Gama while he's busy fending off Saizo and eventually decides to hinder Saizo as well.
 * Exotic Weapon Supremacy: Ryuu involved in "foreign martial styles" are mentioned. They seems to involve a fencing style and users of chinese weaponry.
 * Eye Scream: Gama does this to Junnosuke and (almost) Baian of the Tengen Ryuu.
 * Muraku is seen doing this to the Tamagakushi Mooks, slamming their orbits with his kusarigama.
 * Years before the series, Shinnojo managed to cut out Nikaido's eye despite being otherwise overwhelmed, earning the latter's sick respect. When they finally have their rematch, Shinnojo finishes him off by stabbing his sword through the intact eye.
 * After the timeskip, a group of dead bandits whose eyes and throats have been slashed open is a telltale sign of Muraku's passage.
 * During the final arc, learns that he has met his match when Zenmaru's attack snaps his sword and carves his eye out of the socket.
 * Family Theme Naming: Naosada Washizu, the Daimyo of Unabara, has about 30 sons. All of them have a name starting with Nao. (Naoyoshi, Naoshizu, Naoie and so on).
 * Fiery Redhead: Zenmaru Ichinose has bright red hair and is the most impulsive and emotional of the group
 * Five-Man Band: From volume 4:
 * The Hero: Gama
 * The Lancer: Shin
 * The Big Guy: Zenmaru
 * The Smart Guy: Both Shin and Naoyoshi
 * The Chick: Naoyoshi, though he doesn't fight himself.
 * Flash Step: The Third Technique of the Thunder Form, Narukami (Thunder God) involves this. It's also a One-Hit Kill according to Iori.
 * 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, has a prominent hooked nose.
 * Gonk: Several people, most notably Jaki and Agon.
 * 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.
 * Heel Face Turn: Riko Murasame ultimately betrays the Muhou Ryuu and decides to give the Ogame Ryuu a chance upon seeing how Gama proved him wrong on his belief that the Ogame Ryuu alone could not grow anymore.
 * Hoist by His Own Petard: Ryuugo Daimaru
 * Iaijutsu Practitioner: The Kannari Ryuu, one of the Five Dragons, is focused on Iaijutsu and has some pretty exotic techniques, such as the Nagisengetsu (Placid Crescent Moon), which involves throwing the sword at the opponent to break their posture, grab the handle and perform a drawing attack.
 * Idiot Hero: Subverted by Gama, who's quite smart despite being fourteen years old.
 * In-Series Nickname: "My name is Shinnojo Sakura, but everyone calls me Shin".
 * It's Personal:
 * Jerkass: Many of the warriors of Unabara. Also Naoyoshi's brothers.
 * Katanas Are Just Better: Averted, while katana are widespread and frequently used, they're never depicted as having an inherent advantage over other weapons in any field. In fact, it's more common to find weapons that give sword users a hard time.
 * Kid Samurai: Gama, though technically he's a Ronin. Zenmaru is around his age and actual heir of a proper family, so he actually counts.
 * Knight of Cerebus: Iori Sengoku is a weird example of a Knight of Cerebus Mentor.
 * Lightning Bruiser: Gama. Fittingly, his preferred style is the Ikazuchi Kata (Lightning Form), which focus on speed.
 * Made of Iron: Gama during the series survives an inhuman amount of punishment and several wounds that could have been lethal.
 * Master Swordsman: Gama is quite skilled, but Iori and Jinsuke are far more powerful, the latter being so skilled that even a nameless, simple slash can be delivered with zero warning and tremendous speed and power.
 * Mismatched Eyes: Jaki. One of his eyes is normal, the other one has black sclera and white iris.
 * Missing Mom: Gama's mother, from whom he apparently inherited his dark blue hair.
 * The Mole: Later on in the series, a third party gets involved in the story and it's implied that there are traitors within the Muhou Ryuu.
 * Ms. Fanservice: Senka.
 * Multicolored Hair: Nachi: the right half of his hair is white, the other half is black.
 * 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.
 * 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. The Muhou Ryuu has Tsukikage, Tsuchiryuu and Jinkuu as powerful and devious onmitsu, the latter two being also experts of foreign martial arts. In his notes, Naosuke mentions he found them difficult to use, as "a ninja can do anything".
 * Oh Crap: Given the nature of the series, this happen often.
 * Old Master: Kamedanbo Oizumi, master of the Ogame Ryuu's dojo.
 * One-Man Army: Many of the most powerful warriors of Unabara are this. At one point Nachi downright admits that he thinks that each member of the Special Division can take down the garrison of a small fief on their own. Deconstructed when Iori assaults the Unabara Castle on his own: while he did reach the main keep after slaying everyone in his way (around a hundred soliders and commanders), Ango is quick to point out that he didn't made it unscathed and that he's actually hiding a serious wound.
 * Orochi: Jaki and Kotaro's combo attack. It involves hitting a target with their flails from opposite directions.
 * The Paralyzer: Two big examples:
 * Ninja leader Saizo Fujibayashi is known as "Konbaku no Saizo" (Soul-Binding Saizo) for the dreaded secret technique of the Tsukigakushi Ryuu, the Fudo Kanashibari no Jutsu, which allows him to block the movement of his enemies through seemingly unknown means.
 * Former head of the Genkon Ryuu and now Muhou Ryuu Special Division member Kiyomori Yamanoue is known as the Evil Fist King and thanks to his extremely strong fingers he can employ to slam the targer's pressure points, leaving them unable to fight him back. He calls the technique "Tenmyakukisatsu" (Heavenly Pulse Killer).
 * Quirky Miniboss Squad: Usually the members of a Ryuu, ranging from two to four or five members.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Zenmaru and Shinnojo.
 * Sadist Teacher: Iori is noted for being very skilled but also very brutal.
 * Samurai: Many characters.
 * 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 (Though is written with different kanji).
 * In his notes, the author describes Sakon's fighting style as similar to that of an Evangelion.
 * Sinister Scythe: Another use of the weapons of the Kasanemanji Ryuu. In a realistic way, the sickle is portrayed as a last resort, melee weapon, unfit for defense.
 * Slasher Smile: All too common when powerful warriors think they've got the upper hand.
 * Smug Snake: Naosada the tenth son of the Daimyo. Most of the other sons balance between this and Dirty Coward.
 * The Smurfette Principle: There are very few female characters, mainly the women of the Ogame Ryuu and Juren Village (Senka, Mika and Yumeji), Naoyoshi's mother and, per Word of God, Arimaru.
 * Sore Loser: Ryuugo Daimaru, made more despicable by the fact that he's the one who fought the least out of his companions.
 * Stock Ninja Weaponry: The Tamagakushi Ryuu employ shuriken, kunai and shortswords in battle.
 * Stone Wall: Former Ogame Ryuu Riko Murasame is an expert in defensive techniques and has created a special, unbreakable defensive stance he calls "Kagi no Torou" (Hanging Lantern). To improve further his skill, his personal sword is called Genbou and has a serrated edge to catch and block enemy swords.
 * Super Senses: In Gamaran's universe, there are a handful of warriors who are born with peculiar eyes, known as the "Eyes of Divine Perception", so keen they can distinguish any minimal movement they're watching and are an essential help to fighters.
 * Ted Baxter: 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-.
 * Training from Hell: The first part of Kashitaro's training on Juren Mountain involves being stabbed with a special types of needles devised by the boy so that they only hurt if the wrong type of movement is done, forcing the trainee to learn how to move the different muscles and improve his techniques.
 * 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.
 * Tournament Arc: The entire first part of the manga is focused around a tournament. It all ends when Jinsuke reveals himself and takes over Unabara.
 * Turtle Power: Ogame Ryuu means "Great Turtle School", and the Turtle it's his symbol.
 * Undignified Death: Invoked by the Maruyama Brothers, a trio of brothers who fight with unusual swords: they love to mutilate and cut up their opponents to shreds, giving them all an horrible death.
 * The Unfavorite: Naoyoshi.
 * Villainous Breakdown: Not all the warriors take defeat in stride:
 * When Sakon is mutilated by Gama, Ryuugo throws a fit and calls him useless.
 * Naokatsu Washizu has a complete mental collapse when he realizes that Banri has just left him to die, letting the Ogame Ryuu win and thus giving Naoyoshi the right to kill Naokatsu for his head.
 * Ango Kuryuu, who fixated himself on defeating Iori, loses so much control after having his secret weapon broken that he's ready to perform a suicide attack to make sure Iori doesn't walk away alive.
 * Wax On, Wax Off: Parodied when the Hyuga brothers complain to Senka about the fact that ever since they joined the Ogame Ryuu dojo they've done nothing but cleaning, cooking and doing laundry. Senka smugly claims that each day spent at the Ogame Dojo is a day of training, making them believe that all the effort they daily go through is going to make them stronger. By the time Iori returns and they try to scare him off, he brutally drops the bomb that doing laundry all day will only improve their housekeeping skills and knock Masato out cold.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy: Baian Maki and Ryuugo Daimaru.
 * Why Won't You Die?: Gama has a moment like this when
 * World's Strongest Man: Jinsuke Kurogane, "Slayer of a Thousand Men", is hyped and feared as the most powerful warrior of the land.
 * Yamato Nadeshiko: Senka.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Gama has dark blue/purplish hair. Other examples include inexplicably blonde and red-haired guys and Saizo Fujibayashi, who has green hair.
 * You Have Failed Me...: Ryuugo to Sakon.
 * You Have Failed Me...: Ryuugo to Sakon.


 * Action Girl: New entry and protagonist Ran Ichinose, Zenmaru's sister, is extremely talented with a sword and able to win easily against normal practictioners. She's however overshadowed by far stronger characters like Iori, but still fights to compete in the Bakufu Tournament.
 * Genkai Tenpei member Homare is a huge, well-muscled woman who's one of the strongest members of the organization and able to match some of the strongest male characters blow for blow with either fists or her sword.
 * Aluminum Christmas Trees: Hyogo Shakujii wields the unusual combo of a buckler shield and a katana. While it may sound absurd, shields were actually used in medieval Japan, albeit not extensively and they were usually rectangular and small. Still, fighting with a katana and a shield in combo was not an impossibility.
 * Artistic License Martial Arts: Shiro Momose's sword is referred to as a "Longsword", despite being only the size of a standard arming sword (he does wield it with both hands, however).
 * Badass Crew: The Genkai Tenpei (Limit-removed Divine Soldiers) are a team of Shogunate warriors, all the elites are picked up for their strength, skill and unusual bodies and trained extensively in all kinds of martial arts, including use of foreign weapons from Europe, China or India. Their strength is shown to be superior even to the Muhou Ryuu's elite and their leader alone was able to infiltrate Unabara during the final battle and slay over 100 officers unaided.
 * Beware the Silly Ones: Ouka looks like a caricature of Astroboy with a rather low IQ and tendendcy to make pidgeron-like sounds even when alone. He hides a rather scary Slasher Smile and is skilled enough to give Tsuchiryuu (who fought the extremely powerful Gensai Kizaki unscathed) a good fight.
 * BFS: The first opponent of the Hakka Bakken fought is Hien Shiba, who wields the long zanmato "Monohoshizao Masamune". Unlike Zenmaru's heavy and powerful sword, the Shiba sword relies mostly of speed, grace and dexterity to be used in combat and has an extra area of handle to be used for half-swording.
 * Genkai Tenpei's woman warrior Homare is introduced in combat carrying a large western-sized greatsword. She later reveals that the blade is a Montante (spanish for generic longswords).
 * The second in command of the Genkai Tenpei, Genra, uses a huge iron oar as his personal weapon. It's surprisingly deadly.
 * Big Bad: In a case of Evil Versus Evil, the series features two main antagonists: the Shogun Tokugawa Tsunamitsu, who organized the tournament to hire potential warriors and get rid of all potential threats, and the Daimyo of Suruga and Tsunamitsu's half-brother Tadaie Hiramatsu, a natural born, inhumanly strong fighter whose presence is a living threat to the Bakufu and ends up being Iori and Gama's enemy.
 * Blade Lock: Weaponized by users of western swords (Shiro, Karai and Homare), who all employ the "Bind" technique to lock their sword against the opponent's blade and make them lose their balance. Kyoyasai Yagira has a similar technique with his katana, called Tsubazeriai (Hilt-Crushing Stance)
 * Blood Knight: Tadaie first touched a sword when he was 2 and since he was 12 he was able to fight on par with adults. Unlike Jinsuke, who showed a philosophical side and desire to establish his own government, Tadaie's only concern is fighting.
 * Break the Badass: During the first round of the tournament,
 * Call Back: Several to the previous series:
 * Once again, the heroes join a tournament where not all is what it seems.
 * One of the early opponents is a shinobi using an atypical technique to compensate his lack of offensive skills.
 * The Beninuki Divine Spear makes a reappearence, this time wielded by its original user Kitaro Mashima, Sasuke's lover looking for revenge.
 * The warriors partecipating to the first round of the Tournament include a massive warrior with unusual hair using a Omi-yari (large-bladed spear) and a spearman using a western halberd.
 * One of the shogunate eites uses a nagamaki, just like Ango Kuryuu did.
 * Charles Atlas Superpower: Tadaie is so powerful he can literally break skulls open with his fists and snap a man's arm by punching it really hard.
 * Co-Dragons: Tadaie has his closest friends and vassals, his sword instructor Rando Shakujii and the extremely strong Bihoumaru. Similarly, the Shogun can count on his own sword teacher Kyoyasai Yagira and the current leader of the Genkai Tenpei, Ise Ramon.
 * Cool Sword: A number of peculiar swords are used in the series:
 * Raio Magami employs two different urumi in combat, one with three blades and one with a single, bigger blade.
 * After defeating Shinnojo in a sparring match, Gama earns the treasure sword of the Ogame Ryuu, the Senka Muramasa.
 * Shiro Momose learnt western swordsmanship on his own and uses a Longsword in battle.
 * Ouka wields a tsurugi, a very old Japanese sword with a straight blade and a big pommel, having a different center of balance; thanks to this feature, Ouka can perform peculiar sword attacks and swings.
 * Karai of the Genkai Tenpei uses a falchion with great skill, paired with his fast movements and athletic attacks.
 * Homare of the same group as Karai uses a massive Montante as her sword of choice.
 * Dual-Wielding: To make up for her lack of sheer strength, Ran is not above using two swords at once when she fights, or wield a sword in one hand and thrown shuriken in the other.
 * Raio Magami can wield two different Urumi in his hands: in one hand he has the light, three-bladed Brahma, in the other he has the massive, heavier Shiva. One of his attacks consist in a simultaneous slash from both arms, resulting in four blades swinging at the victim from different sides.
 * Sanjin of the Genkai Tenpei fights with dual bhuj, Indian axes with a knife-ike blade. They even hide a dagger in the handle for emergencies.
 * Genkai Tenpei member Sendo's true fighting style is called "Partisan Twin Sojutsu", which involves him wielding two partisans at the same time (holding them in the middle) and using them in tandem for a series of slashing and stabbing motions.
 * Evil All Along: Turns out, Nachi was actually on the Bakufu's paycheck this entire time, being introduced at the Shogun's side.
 * Exotic Weapon Supremacy: New entry Raio Magami employs Indian weapons in combat, mostly flexible urumi swords alongside traditional daggers and a katar to replace his missing hand during his second appearence. Later we get to meet the Genkai Tenpei, a cadre of incredibly powerful warriors serving the Shogunate, each trained to use foreign weapons, which give them an edge against fighters used to deal with standard weapons from Japan.
 * Improbable Weapon User: Genra's weapon of choice is an Iron Eiku (Steel Oar): a big oar made entirely of iron. Despite sounding incredibly heavy and impractical, it's portrayed as deadly in his hands, as he can swing that beast with enough strength to actually cut his victims.
 * The Mole:
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: Hien Shiba could be a deadringer for the swordsman Sasaki Kojiro, while Kyoyasai Yagira's ability, reputation and status as swordmaster of the Tokugawa makes him a lookalike for the Yagyu clan leader and master swordsman Munenori Tajimanokami.
 * Not Just a Tournament: This time, while the main plot features a tournament, it's clear from the start that there's a lot of political intrigue weaved in.
 * The Remnant: A sideplot of the series features the survivors of the Muhou Ryuu trying to regroup to carry on Jinsuke's legacy, wanting to make Gama their new leader.
 * The Reveal: An important one later on, when we learn that
 * We also learn something about the two mysterious shinobi of the Muhou Ryuu, Tsuchiryuu and Jinkuu:
 * Split Personality: Genra, Ramon's second in comand. Normally he's very calm and analytical and wears a veil on his face adorned with several Tao symbols. When he removes the veil, this triggers his second personality, the ruthless and blood-thirsty Zenra.
 * Stay in the Kitchen: Explored trope with Ran: on one hand she's quite skilled and far more competent with the sword than many other male warriors, but against monsters such as those found among the Bakka Hyakken she's hopelessly outmatched. Despite Iori's warnings though, she still braves the battlefield alongside him and even manages to win a one-on-one match against the bigger and more imposing Burai Udo.
 * Villainous Valor: Rando and Bihoumaru are extremely loyal to their master and friend Tadaie, to the point of referring to him as a walking god of war, and will go to extreme lengths to protect him. Likewise, Kyoyasai Yagira is extremely loyal to the Shogun, even if said loyalty is misplaced, and genuinaly loves his underling Rin like a son.
 * Wham! Shot: The seemingly foreign Hanjiro Okamoto, cornered by Sakutaro and his sword-snapping iron cane, decides to resort to his ace in the sleeve: