Samurai Harem: Asu no Yoichi

Samurai Harem: Asu no Yoichi (明日のよいち!) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yū Minamoto. It has been serialized in Monthly Shōnen Champion since October 2006. The manga is licensed and released in Chinese by Sharp Point Press. The manga is licensed in North America by Tokyopop as Samurai Harem: Asu no Yoichi!.

It has been adapted into an anime series by AIC and was broadcast in Japan on TBS between January 8, 2009 and March 26, 2009.

Plot
After learning martial arts in the mountains for 17 years under his father's teachings, Yoichi Karasuma's father orders Yoichi to learn martial arts with the Ikaruga family in the city, as he has nothing left to teach him. The current head of the Ukiha Divine Wind Style Swordplay school of martial arts, Ibuki Ikaruga, and her siblings gradually accept Yoichi as a freeloader at their dojo. In addition to domestic problems, Yoichi deals with Washizu's jealousy of Ibuki and Yoichi's supposed relationship and his school life.

Characters



 * Yoichi Karasuma (烏丸 与一)
 * A high school sophomore who is also a young swordsman and has moved away from his mountain life to live with the Ikarugas in the city. He is a very active person who actively enjoys martial arts with swordsmanship in particular. Due to his early childhood in the mountains with his father, he does not know the current customs in Japan or to act around a girl. He is very honorable, which is shown when he addresses everyone with the dono (殿) honorific. However, due to constant misunderstandings, Ibuki, in particular, constantly attacks him under the assumption that he had done something perverted. He is usually seen wearing a Japanese martial arts uniform and a wooden sword. He is a freeloader at Ikaruga Dojo and is a student of the Ukiha Kamikaze Swordplay (Soaring Wind, Divine Wind Style). He attends the private school Yoku-Ryou Gakuen with Ibuki and Ayame, and he's in the same class as Ibuki and Washizu. He recently was forced to join the Acting Club and was initially paired with Ibuki to play the main hero and heroine of a love-play, but Ayame took over Ibuki's role afterwards so she could get closer to Yoichi. He always gets nosebleeds after unintentionally doing or seeing something perverted, usually the latter.
 * A high school sophomore who is also a young swordsman and has moved away from his mountain life to live with the Ikarugas in the city. He is a very active person who actively enjoys martial arts with swordsmanship in particular. Due to his early childhood in the mountains with his father, he does not know the current customs in Japan or to act around a girl. He is very honorable, which is shown when he addresses everyone with the dono (殿) honorific. However, due to constant misunderstandings, Ibuki, in particular, constantly attacks him under the assumption that he had done something perverted. He is usually seen wearing a Japanese martial arts uniform and a wooden sword. He is a freeloader at Ikaruga Dojo and is a student of the Ukiha Kamikaze Swordplay (Soaring Wind, Divine Wind Style). He attends the private school Yoku-Ryou Gakuen with Ibuki and Ayame, and he's in the same class as Ibuki and Washizu. He recently was forced to join the Acting Club and was initially paired with Ibuki to play the main hero and heroine of a love-play, but Ayame took over Ibuki's role afterwards so she could get closer to Yoichi. He always gets nosebleeds after unintentionally doing or seeing something perverted, usually the latter.

Ikaruga family

 * Ibuki Ikaruga (斑鳩 いぶき)
 * Ibuki is a high school sophomore who becomes a self-appointed head of the Ikaruga family. She is popular at school due to her beauty. She becomes a maternal figure for the Ikaruga family since their parents went overseas at an early age. She secretly likes Yoichi but is the first to attack him for no reason as well as circumstantial reasons, usually when it involves other girls. She is good at studies, sports, and martial arts. She is the Assistant Instructor of Ikaruga Dojo, which teaches Ukiha Kamikaze Swordplay. There are only five students in her dojo due to her violent nature. However, she treats children in a maternal fashion. It is revealed in chapter 19.5 of the manga that her violent nature developed when her parents left Ibuki to look after her siblings at an early age.
 * Ibuki is a high school sophomore who becomes a self-appointed head of the Ikaruga family. She is popular at school due to her beauty. She becomes a maternal figure for the Ikaruga family since their parents went overseas at an early age. She secretly likes Yoichi but is the first to attack him for no reason as well as circumstantial reasons, usually when it involves other girls. She is good at studies, sports, and martial arts. She is the Assistant Instructor of Ikaruga Dojo, which teaches Ukiha Kamikaze Swordplay. There are only five students in her dojo due to her violent nature. However, she treats children in a maternal fashion. It is revealed in chapter 19.5 of the manga that her violent nature developed when her parents left Ibuki to look after her siblings at an early age.


 * Ayame Ikaruga (斑鳩 あやめ)
 * Ayame is a freshman in high school and Ibuki's younger sister. She has a shy, tsundere personality and is acutely aware of her small breasts when compared to those of her siblings. It took a while for her to like Yoichi romantically and she tries to help him at times while saying it was for no particular reason. She is bad with household chores in general. She dislikes being compared to Ibuki as she is constantly overshadowed. She has kissed Yoichi twice while he was unconscious during the performance of the play (the first unintentional and the other intentional).
 * Ayame is a freshman in high school and Ibuki's younger sister. She has a shy, tsundere personality and is acutely aware of her small breasts when compared to those of her siblings. It took a while for her to like Yoichi romantically and she tries to help him at times while saying it was for no particular reason. She is bad with household chores in general. She dislikes being compared to Ibuki as she is constantly overshadowed. She has kissed Yoichi twice while he was unconscious during the performance of the play (the first unintentional and the other intentional).


 * Chihaya Ikaruga (斑鳩 ちはや)
 * Chihaya is a 15-year-old, 3rd year junior high school student and the second youngest (and most sexually frank) of the Ikaruga family. She is also a professional mangaka who uses her siblings and Yoichi as a basis for her manga by manipulating events to bring about satisfying resolutions. She also seems the most knowledgeable about relationships out of the sisters as she flirts with Yoichi while poking fun at the others. She is the only person in the Ikaruga family to wear glasses. Her signature hair antennae are reminiscient of Naru Narusegawa's from Love Hina.
 * Chihaya is a 15-year-old, 3rd year junior high school student and the second youngest (and most sexually frank) of the Ikaruga family. She is also a professional mangaka who uses her siblings and Yoichi as a basis for her manga by manipulating events to bring about satisfying resolutions. She also seems the most knowledgeable about relationships out of the sisters as she flirts with Yoichi while poking fun at the others. She is the only person in the Ikaruga family to wear glasses. Her signature hair antennae are reminiscient of Naru Narusegawa's from Love Hina.


 * Kagome Ikaruga (斑鳩 かごめ)
 * Kagome is the youngest of the Ikaruga family and an elementary school student. She is clumsy and does the washing up for the rest of the family. She has a shy personality and is very talented in cooking. Her breasts are bigger than Ayame's, so she binds her breasts to hide them.
 * Kagome is the youngest of the Ikaruga family and an elementary school student. She is clumsy and does the washing up for the rest of the family. She has a shy personality and is very talented in cooking. Her breasts are bigger than Ayame's, so she binds her breasts to hide them.

Classmates

 * Ryou Washizu (鷲頭 涼)
 * Washizu (also known as Wa-san) is Ibuki's classmate and a famous delinquent. At the beginning of the manga, Washizu was depicted as a loner, and the only friend he had was Torigaya. As the manga progressed, Washizu started being friendly to other people around him. Washizu has a crush on Ibuki and sees Yoichi as a perverted pimp who plays around with many girls, including Ibuki. He despises him because of his misunderstanding of the relationship between Yoichi and Ibuki. However, he occasionally teams up with Yoichi to fight a common enemy. Instead of confessing to Ibuki, He accidentally confessed to Ibuki's sister, Ayame, and they started acting as a comic relief of the manga. They usually think together for how they could get close to their respective love interests (Ibuki for Washizu, Yoichi for Ayame). The "Washizu Fantasy Channel" in the manga and "Washizu Vision" in the anime are Washizu's misinterpretations of the situation, usually concerning Ibuki. They can also be Washizu's fantasies.
 * Washizu (also known as Wa-san) is Ibuki's classmate and a famous delinquent. At the beginning of the manga, Washizu was depicted as a loner, and the only friend he had was Torigaya. As the manga progressed, Washizu started being friendly to other people around him. Washizu has a crush on Ibuki and sees Yoichi as a perverted pimp who plays around with many girls, including Ibuki. He despises him because of his misunderstanding of the relationship between Yoichi and Ibuki. However, he occasionally teams up with Yoichi to fight a common enemy. Instead of confessing to Ibuki, He accidentally confessed to Ibuki's sister, Ayame, and they started acting as a comic relief of the manga. They usually think together for how they could get close to their respective love interests (Ibuki for Washizu, Yoichi for Ayame). The "Washizu Fantasy Channel" in the manga and "Washizu Vision" in the anime are Washizu's misinterpretations of the situation, usually concerning Ibuki. They can also be Washizu's fantasies.


 * Keita Torigaya (鳥谷 恵太)
 * Keita is Washizu's only friend until Washizu started opening himself to other people. She usually acts cocky and arrogant when she is with Washizu and is very fond of children. In the anime, she unusually (and unexplainably) shrinks, which only Washizu notices. In the end of the anime, she unexplainably reveals she is a girl, which was extremely shocking to Washizu.
 * Keita is Washizu's only friend until Washizu started opening himself to other people. She usually acts cocky and arrogant when she is with Washizu and is very fond of children. In the anime, she unusually (and unexplainably) shrinks, which only Washizu notices. In the end of the anime, she unexplainably reveals she is a girl, which was extremely shocking to Washizu.

Tsubame Benten Ryuu Dojo

 * Tsubasa Tsubame (燕 つばさ)
 * Tsubasa is the next heir of the Tsubame Tenryu Ryouge, a martial arts school threatening to collapse due to lack of funds, and was originally hired by Ukyou Sakinomiya to assassinate Yoichi. She is a clumsy and shy girl who dreams of having a normal life. She has a crush on Washizu because he was the first one who treated her normally, but she gets hurt deeply after hearing Washizu saying that he hates martial arts. She insisted to her subordinate Angela that she should go to the same school as Yoichi so she would have a good opportunity to assassinate him, although her true motive was to be a normal high school girl. In one incident, she slices a soccer ball heading towards her in front of her classmates due to her instincts and gets depressed because everyone became silent. Yoichi openly greets her to ease the tension of the scene, and everyone else follows suit. After school, Angela ripped Tsubasa's clothes off in public, causing her to turn into a deadly martial artist in a trance-like state due to her embarrassment and attacks Yoichi at Angela's orders. However, when Washizu interrupted their fight, Tsubasa broke out of her trance and fled the scene crying from humiliation. Later, she told Angela that she hates both martial arts and Angela. But the next day, she forgave Angela and started a ramen shop with her. Like Washizu, she has her own version of the Washizu Fantasy Channel/Washizu Vision called the Tsubame Fantasy Channel ("Tsubame Vision" in the anime). Her full name translates to "Swallow's Wings" or "Wings of a Swallow" in Western order.
 * Tsubasa is the next heir of the Tsubame Tenryu Ryouge, a martial arts school threatening to collapse due to lack of funds, and was originally hired by Ukyou Sakinomiya to assassinate Yoichi. She is a clumsy and shy girl who dreams of having a normal life. She has a crush on Washizu because he was the first one who treated her normally, but she gets hurt deeply after hearing Washizu saying that he hates martial arts. She insisted to her subordinate Angela that she should go to the same school as Yoichi so she would have a good opportunity to assassinate him, although her true motive was to be a normal high school girl. In one incident, she slices a soccer ball heading towards her in front of her classmates due to her instincts and gets depressed because everyone became silent. Yoichi openly greets her to ease the tension of the scene, and everyone else follows suit. After school, Angela ripped Tsubasa's clothes off in public, causing her to turn into a deadly martial artist in a trance-like state due to her embarrassment and attacks Yoichi at Angela's orders. However, when Washizu interrupted their fight, Tsubasa broke out of her trance and fled the scene crying from humiliation. Later, she told Angela that she hates both martial arts and Angela. But the next day, she forgave Angela and started a ramen shop with her. Like Washizu, she has her own version of the Washizu Fantasy Channel/Washizu Vision called the Tsubame Fantasy Channel ("Tsubame Vision" in the anime). Her full name translates to "Swallow's Wings" or "Wings of a Swallow" in Western order.


 * Angela Takatsukasa (鷹司 アンジェラ)
 * Angela is a 16-year-old girl and Tsubasa's subordinate, who Yoichi describes as being "as tall as a model with a dynamic body". Initially Angela was hired by Ukyou Sakinomiya to assassinate Yoichi and she has been observing Tsubasa because she thought that the next heir of Tsubame Tenryu Ryouge should assassinate Yoichi. After she witnesses Tsubasa's lack of interest in proceeding with the job, she ripped off Tsubasa's clothes so she would turn into a deadly weapon, but the fight between Tsubasa and Yoichi was interrupted by Washizu. After Tsubasa left because of the embarrassment, Angela followed her and was in deep shock after hearing Tsubasa say that she hates both martial arts and Angela. She then attempted to assassinate Yoichi that night by herself, but was scared by the ghosts that she had seen in the Ikagura's household. In reality the "ghosts" were Ibuki's sisters who Angela mistook for ghosts. After she reached Yoichi's room, she attempted to assassinate him, but Yoichi avoided all of her attacks while asleep. She was taken off guard and was sexually harassed by Yoichi while he was still sleeping, but was saved by Ibuki and her sisters. After Yoichi woke up, she explained everything to the Ikarugas about the assassination plot and her assassination attempt. Yoichi lectured her about her mercenary ways and that she should use her martial art skills with pride as a member of the Tsubame Tenryu Ryouge as well for the revival of her martial arts school. After that, she left the house and encountered Tsubasa, who had already forgiven Angela for her previous actions. Angela then started a ramen shop with Tsubasa the next day. Angela also likes Yoichi romantically. The first kanji in her family name means "hawk" (鷹), referring to her watchful nature towards Tsubasa.
 * Angela is a 16-year-old girl and Tsubasa's subordinate, who Yoichi describes as being "as tall as a model with a dynamic body". Initially Angela was hired by Ukyou Sakinomiya to assassinate Yoichi and she has been observing Tsubasa because she thought that the next heir of Tsubame Tenryu Ryouge should assassinate Yoichi. After she witnesses Tsubasa's lack of interest in proceeding with the job, she ripped off Tsubasa's clothes so she would turn into a deadly weapon, but the fight between Tsubasa and Yoichi was interrupted by Washizu. After Tsubasa left because of the embarrassment, Angela followed her and was in deep shock after hearing Tsubasa say that she hates both martial arts and Angela. She then attempted to assassinate Yoichi that night by herself, but was scared by the ghosts that she had seen in the Ikagura's household. In reality the "ghosts" were Ibuki's sisters who Angela mistook for ghosts. After she reached Yoichi's room, she attempted to assassinate him, but Yoichi avoided all of her attacks while asleep. She was taken off guard and was sexually harassed by Yoichi while he was still sleeping, but was saved by Ibuki and her sisters. After Yoichi woke up, she explained everything to the Ikarugas about the assassination plot and her assassination attempt. Yoichi lectured her about her mercenary ways and that she should use her martial art skills with pride as a member of the Tsubame Tenryu Ryouge as well for the revival of her martial arts school. After that, she left the house and encountered Tsubasa, who had already forgiven Angela for her previous actions. Angela then started a ramen shop with Tsubasa the next day. Angela also likes Yoichi romantically. The first kanji in her family name means "hawk" (鷹), referring to her watchful nature towards Tsubasa.

Saginomiya clan

 * Ukyou Saginomiya (鷺ノ宮 右京)
 * Ukyou is the head of the Saginomiya clan. He has a crush on Ibuki and constantly attempts to kill Yoichi and forcefully kidnaps Ibuki.
 * Ukyou is the head of the Saginomiya clan. He has a crush on Ibuki and constantly attempts to kill Yoichi and forcefully kidnaps Ibuki.

Manga
Written and illustrated by Yū Minamoto, Asu no Yoichi! has been serialized in Monthly Shōnen Champion since it premiered in the October 2006 issue. The individual chapters are collected and published in tankōbon volumes by Akita Shoten, with the first volume published on October 6, 2006. , 12 volumes have been released in Japan. The manga is licensed in Taiwan by Sharp Point Press. The manga is licensed in North America by Tokyopop as Samurai Harem: Asu no Yoichi!.

Anime
An anime adaptation began production on August 6, 2008. Directed by Rion Kujo, the first episode premiered on TBS on January 8, 2009. The first episode was broadcast on Sun Television on January 25, 2009. It was also broadcast on Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting and BS-i on January 29, 2009. On February 26, 2010, Section23 Films announced that Sentai Filmworks has picked up Samurai Harem: Asu no Yoichi and the series will be on DVD, May 11, 2010.

The series used two pieces of theme music. "Egao no Riyuu" (笑顔の理由) by Meg Rock was used for the opening theme, while "Life and proud" by Aki Misato was the series' ending theme.

Internet radio show
An Internet radio show to promote the anime series called Asu no Yoichi Radio! (明日のよいちらじを!) was streamed online every Friday and aired 42 episodes until September 25, 2009 hosted by Lantis website. It had two hosts — Nobuhiko Okamoto and Rina Satō who played the voices of Yoichi Karasuma and Ibuki Irukaga respectively in the anime series.

Soundtracks
On January 21, 2009, Geneon released a single for Asu no Yoichi!'s opening theme, "Egao no Riyuu" (笑顔の理由) by Meg Rock. On February 4, 2009, Geneon released a single for Asu no Yoichi!'s ending theme, "Life and proud" by Aki Misato.

Geneon released four character song CDs for Asu no Yoichi!. The first two CDs were composed by Miki Fujisue and released on February 25, 2009. The first CD, character song for Ibuki Ikaruga, is sung by Rina Sato. The second CD, character song for Ayame Ikaruga, is sung by Haruka Tomatsu. On March 25, 2009, Geneon released the last two character CDs, both composed by Masumi Ito. The third character CD, character song for Chihaya Ikaruga, is sung by Yukari Tamura. The fourth and final CD, character song for Kagome Ikaruga, is sung by Kana Hanazawa.

Reception
The eighth volume of Asu no Yoichi! was ranked 26th on the Tohan charts between 9th and 15th of December, 2008. The tenth volume of Asu no Yoichi! was ranked 12th on the Tohan charts between July 6-12, 2009. The eleventh volume of Asu no Yoichi! was ranked 30th on the Tohan charts between November 2-8, 2009. Coolstreak Comics' Leroy Douresseaux commends the manga by saying, "While it offers plenty of cleavage and panty shots, Samurai Harem is more than just a fanservice manga. It’s also an energetic romantic comedy, made all the nicer by the fact that each of the four sisters has a distinct personality". A later review by Douresseaux comments that the manga "mostly avoids the martial aspects of having samurai and ninja populating a manga series. So far, this series avoids the action, but does have plenty of comedy." Comics Worth Reading's Ed Sizemore criticises the manga's "focusing on the pubic region of girls and women" and "sound effect coming from the girl’s genitalia" as "shameless in its tastelessness" as well as "disturbing". Pop Culture Shock's Ken Haley criticises the manga's art as "bland" but concedes the point that "it does a good job at depicting scantily clad underage girls in compromising positions."

The third DVD of Asu no Yoichi! was listed on the Oricon charts between May 18 and 24, 2009. THEM Anime Review's Tim Jones likens Yoichi and Ibuki with Tom and Jerry respectively from Tom and Jerry "where Tom always lost against Jerry". Jones compares Yoichi's love rival, Ryo Washizu, as a "a mishmash of Kuno and Ryoga from Ranma ½". He's part Ryoga in that he wants to trump Yoichi even if it means training himself to the bone, and part Kuno in that he's an idiot when it comes to women (especially around Ibuki, who he constantly fantasizes of, as well as worries that she'll hate him for something inane that happens to him)." Jones criticises the art with "often drab, uncreative scenery, and the animation is only adequate save for a few fight sequences". He also comments that "the character designs are cute, but the Ikaruga sisters' hair and outfits (save Ayame's) look ridiculous." He also criticises the background music as "entirely forgettable", and the "opening & closing songs won't be staying in your head anytime soon".