A teenaged boy on a quest for martial arts knowledge ends up in a dojo in the big city--with four super-hot women, in this series based on the popular Japanese anime.
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Welcome to the modern world, Yoichi,
This review is from: Samurai Harem: Asu no Yoichi Volume 1 (Paperback)
The word "harem" in the title should clue you into what you can expect from "Samurai Harem" (Japanese title "Asu no Yoichi" meaning "Tomorrow's Yoichi.") Yes, it is that kind of manga.
The set-up has 17-year old Yoichi Karasuma, who has spent his entire life deep in the mountains training to be a bushi warrior, being sent into the city by his father. His father feels he has nothing more to teach Yoichi, who must now test his skills and resolve in a different manner. With a letter of introduction, Yoichi arrives at the home of the Ikaruga dojo, ancient allies of the Karasuma family. Almost entirely abandoned, the dojo is now the home of the four Ikaruga sisters, only one of whom maintains the family's martial traditions. Hijinks ensue. The conflict and comedy of "Samurai Harem" comes from Yoichi's naivety and old-fashioned ways conflicting with the girls and the modern world. Yoichi still dresses and lives like a old-style samurai, and has never spoken to a girl before or lived with electricity or gone to school. Even though he is a master of the blade, he is pretty much a clumsy oaf with everything else, and about twenty pages into the book he finds himself with panties on his head and his hands in places they shouldn't be, all while trying to explain to the eldest sister Ibuki that it isn't what it looks like. It is a familiar situation, crossing Love Hina with Ranma 1/2although Yoichi is a much more earnest character than Ranma or Keitaro. Yoichi is conflicted between his desire to walk the true path of the bushi, and the sudden desires for something softer and sweeter that he had never had to deal with before isolated in the mountains. His supposed rival, a local tough guy named Washizu, isn't quite sure how to deal with Yoichi. Yoichi beats Washizu soundly every time they brawl, but Yoichi seems to treat the encounters as fun rather than the beat-down Washizu wants to deliver. The four Ikaruga sisters all have distinct personalities and their own way of reacting to Yoichi. Eldest sister Ibuki (the main target for Yoichi's affections) is large-chested and good-natured, but prone to excessive fits of violence that leave everyone feeling the smack down. Next sister Ayame is a sarcastic modern girl addicted to her cellphone, although some of her harshness is a screen for her deep shame at being so flat-chested and always second-best when compared to Ibuki. Sister number three Chihaya is a glasses-wearing bookworm who aspires to be a manga artist. She comes off as one of the most interesting characters, as she realizes that she has found herself in the middle of a typical manga storyline and decides to manipulate circumstances to the most outrageous effects, so that she can use it for her artwork. Last up is the typical sweet and shy youngest sister, Kagome, who is a dead-ringer for Shinobu from Love Hina and also can't seem to keep her underpants off of Yoichi's head. Formulaic? Totally. But you either like the formula or you don't. I like it, and thought that "Samurai Harem" delivered a good variation on a favorite theme. Cute girls in compromising positions, some samurai action (but not too much), decent characters and a fun storyline..."Samurai Harem" isn't going to go down as one of the greatest manga of all time, but it is definitely worth the read if you like the genre.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
dippy,
By
This review is from: Samurai Harem: Asu no Yoichi Volume 1 (Paperback)
I went on a rampage when Tokyo Pop went out of business and captured all 8 volumes of Samurai Harem at once. It appears to be very popular. As a harem comedy, it pales compared to e.g. Love Hina. The girls have freakshow boobs and the female lead is Lum/Naru, the second daughter is stereotypical tsundere (I've had enough of those), the third is Kitsune/Koalla Su and the last is too young, no really, too young to be an object of desire (kinda creepy). The Samurai, who is good at everything, is not a character I identify with. He gets into the same sort of trouble as Keitaro by falling all over the girls, but is a samurai really that uncoordinated? He's not everyman, he's a fricking genius samurai! It is so formulaic... On the positive side, having an old-school samurai as the harem focus is a twist. It had a lot of polygonal love stories, reminiscent of High School Rumble, which is fun. I read them through, they were entertaining and not too embarrassing. I guess the one's reading it are too young to know it's hackneyed. Or could it be that there is still someone who hasn't seen enough physics-defying boobs, yet? Wait, should I be panning this? Someday I'm gonna want to sell these things... ^_^) If you like harem samurai, I'd go with Sumomo Momomo, which is a lot more fresh and funny. Or if you haven't read Love Hina: this is the best harem comedy of all time! Or if you prefer pure love harem, the go for Oh! My Goddess (Ah! My Goddess) which is an incomparable delight and still running!
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