Gosho Aoyama Reveals Swordsmanship Connection Between Shin Samurai Tale YAIBA and Detective Conan

On August 18, manga creator Gosho Aoyama attended a special ema dedication ceremony at Tokyo’s Sensoji Temple for the new anime Shin Samurai Tale YAIBA. After presenting a large ema featuring characters from the series, he spoke in an interview about the shared swordsmanship depictions in YAIBA and Detective Conan, recalling the research behind techniques linked to characters such as Heiji Hattori and Okita.

Behind-the-Scenes of Swordsmanship Depictions

When asked whether he would rather be a samurai or a detective, Aoyama replied realistically that both were difficult in today’s world. He expressed hope that audiences, including kendo practitioners, would enjoy the anime. Reflecting on Detective Conan, he recalled how Heiji Hattori was tied to the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu school and Okita to the Tennen Rishin-ryu, noting that he had studied these martial arts extensively at the time, though joking that he has since forgotten many details.

Links Between YAIBA and Detective Conan

Aoyama also spoke about Jubei Yagyu’s appearance in YAIBA. He admitted that in the manga, he had casually depicted a scene where Musashi and Kojiro react to Yagyu’s stance, without properly drawing the school’s technique. Later, when creating Detective Conan, he took care to depict the sword style more accurately, underscoring how his approach to martial arts research evolved across works.

The “Gosho Aoyama Hour” on Saturdays

Currently, Shin Samurai Tale YAIBA airs on Saturdays at 5:30 p.m., followed by Detective Conan, forming what has been called the “Gosho Aoyama Hour.” While asked if this was the happiest time of his career, Aoyama modestly said he felt more embarrassed than proud. He noted there had previously been a similar programming block with Magic Kaito and Detective Conan, jokingly describing the experience as “fun and fresh,” while imagining his weekend as watching YAIBA, then Conan, and then having dinner.

About Shin Samurai Tale YAIBA

Based on Aoyama’s manga serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday from 1988 to 1993, YAIBA tells the story of Kurogane Yaiba, a wild young samurai who returns to Japan after training in the jungle, pursuing strength and facing rival Takeshi Onimaru. The series reached over 17 million copies in print, with a TV anime broadcast from 1993 to 1994. The new anime marks its first completely new adaptation in 31 years, with Aoyama supervising the scenario.

Source : ORICON NEWS