Why are samurai swords so darn cool?! I’m sure old Sigmund would have some cock-and-balls Freudian theory to explain it. But I have another theory: only a badass swings a katana more than once. In Blue Miburo, a badass samurai bunch is swinging their katanas and cleaning up the streets of Kyoto. If you want to keep up with Blue Miburo, you should know a few things.
Quick-Slice Synopsis
Blue Miburo (or Ao no Miburo from the Japanese 青のミブロ or, more helpfully, The Blue Wolves of Mibu) retells the historical events around the men who would become the famous Shinsengumi, a police force of honorary samurai who were (spoiler alert) ultimately betrayed and defeated.
But Blue Miburo wouldn’t be worth watching if it didn’t have a unique twist on the historic tale it comes from. The main twist comes from Nio (Shuuichirou Umeda), the Mibu Rōshigumi’s youngest and newest recruit. His struggle to live out his sense of justice will be the main thread driving the story forward. His adventures are our ticket to a historic origin story. The origin story of the Shinsengumi.
A Brief History of the Shinsengumi
The Shinsengumi. You might have heard of the Shinsengumi from anime like Gintama, Golden Kamuy, or Rurouni Kenshin if you’ve been an anime fan for a while. The Shinsengumi even featured in the Fate/Grand Order mobile game. The ronin of Mibu have influenced Japanese pop culture similarly to how Arthurian legends influenced western pop culture. But who were these famous swordsmen?
Before the Shinsengumi, the Rōshigumi were swordsmen drawn from various sword schools in Edo. The Tokugawa shogunate commissioned them to protect the fourteenth Shogun on a momentous trip to Kyoto. A meeting between the emperor and the Shogun hadn’t happened in over 200 years!
The Rōshigumi offered farmers the chance to become samurai by joining their elite group, even though many members were already masterless samurai. It was an unusual ticket up the ranks.
Many of the Rōshigumi were loyal to the emperor, even though the Shogun paid the bills. With their mission complete, some of the Rōshigumi remained behind in Kyoto and formed a new group stationed in Mibu, a village southwest of Kyoto. The Mibu Rōshigumi.
Warning Signs
1862 was a historic slow-motion moment of dread. Like watching a toddler across the room thrust their snot-covered finger toward a wall socket. The Shogun must have been desperate to recruit his bodyguards from low-level samurai and farmers. And to walk into the fomenting powder keg that was Kyoto after Perry’s black ships must have taken some courage.
War was moments away, the same war that would end the samurai once and for all.
I’ve Heard This Story Before
Hey, that’s the plot of Last Samurai, isn’t it? I bet it is.
And, if the story of the Shinsengumi sounds like the events surrounding the 47 ronin, then you’re drawing similar parallels many have. What cemented the revenge story of the ronin in the hearts of Japanese and Western audiences is the same thing that makes the Shinsengumi so appealing: honor.
Sharp Samurai Thingies for Stabby-Stabby and Slashy-Slashy
Are you the katana-owning kind of otaku? Blue Miburo might be for you.
Might be?
Blue Miburo is a show for samurai history nerds. You’ll appreciate the show if you own a copy of Musashi’s The Book of Five Rings or have read The Way of the Samurai by Inazo Nitobe. Blue Miburo asks Western fans to do minimal Wiki-diving. And you’re the kind of fan who will.
The few fight scenes in Blue Miburo might disappoint you if you’ve watched too many Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episodes and judge a show by the amount of blood spilled. This isn’t American Ninja or Kill Bill, and you won’t get any geisha-sponsored fan service either (you dirty gaijin). That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch the show. You might learn something.
Stories Can be Sharp, Too!
Man! I will fold like an origami crane if I hear a good tale. If you’ve read a bunch of my reviews, you’ll know that the quickest way to a four- or five-star Megumi Rating is with a good story.
Why does storytelling matter? Ultimately, stories are a transaction between human creators and a human audience. The best stories resonate with us because the creators connect with us. A story that doesn’t connect with us isn’t necessarily bad, but that story won’t evoke any squishy emotions. Also, we want memorable anime to entertain us. Time and attention are rare commodities, so we’re always happy to spend ours when the drama is good.
Stories of chivalrous knights (or samurai) are timeless. We love seeing heroic warriors fighting for a good cause. But these stories might be up against changing times, as people seem to care less about honor, manners, and reputation. However, I think we understand respect deeper than we sometimes let on. People learn manners, which stem from respect for others and society, but they inherently possess respect.
The samurai of Blue Miburo have personal codes and something to fight for. A whole lot to fight for. Because the story is based on historical events, we know the Mibu ronin will use their twinned swords and fighting skills to solve the problems coming their way. I’ve popped my popcorn, and it’s hot! Bring on the fight.
Samurai Fans Shouldn’t Miss Blue Miburo?
Shonen fans who love a dose of history with a dash of swordplay will find Blue Miburo pitched just right. That’ll put it outside the sights of most J-List fans, unfortunately. Because it’s a great anime with a lot of heart.
Maho Films produced the anime, and Kumiko Habara directed it. Kenta Ihara wrote the script based on the manga originally written by Tsuyoshi Yasuda (Over Drive).
You can watch Blue Miburo on Crunchyroll with various subtitles. The anime is unavailable in some territories, but “Very Persistent Networking” will take you the distance. Blue Miburo cuts through the competition to earn an honorable four on the Megumi Bar!
Are you a samurai geek? Or do you limit your anime watching to stories with “plot” and “backstory?” Tell us in the comments. Nobody’s judging.
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