The Rare Beauty of Aikido in Japanese Manga

The popularity of Japanese manga, or comics, has surged globally, largely due to their distinct storytelling, art style, and cultural significance. One popular genre of manga is martial arts, which spotlights the art of combat and various fighting styles. Numerous manga series have been created based on different martial arts, such as Karate, Judo, Kendo, Sumo, Kung Fu, Boxing and MMA. However, manga with Aikido as their primary storyline is rare.

Evil Heart is one of the few popular Aikido manga series. It is a drama telling the story of Masaki Umeo, a high schooler with a bad temper who encounters an English teacher from Canada, who is also an Aikidoka. Daniel teaches Umeo Aikido and helps him explore its meaning, which transforms his life. Unlike other martial arts manga, which often focus heavily on fight scenes, Evil Heart delves into Umeo’s inner world, his personal growth through Aikido, his sister’s struggles in taking care of him, his enmity with his elder brother, and friendship with his friends and Daniel. Another Aikido manga is Aikido Hashimoto Dojo 合気道橋本道場, a comedy drama. The story starts with a young aikidoka Ryuichi Hashimoto, the main character, who defeated a dojo challenger. Hase, the guy lost to Ryuichi then wishes to become a disciple of the dojo’s master.

There are many reasons why Aikido manga is rare. One obvious reason is Aikido’s non-violent nature. Aikido is a martial art that seeks to neutralize violence and aggression, rather than perpetuate it. Consequently, it may not lend itself as easily to the dramatic fight scenes and battles that are common in manga. Aikido may be seen as less “exciting” compared to other competitive or fighting martial arts, which may make it less appealing to manga creators who want to create high-energy, continuous action-packed fight scenes to attract audiences, especially the younger generation. Additionally, Aikido’s nature makes it harder to create compelling stories and characters, as manga audiences in this group usually prefer energetic and hot-blooded characters fighting for their dreams, survival, fame, or belief, which seem a bit distant from Aikido. The philosophy and principles of Aikido, which emphasize harmony, non-violence, and compassion, may be harder to incorporate into typical manga narratives that often focus on conflict and competition.

Although manga with a primary focus on Aikido is rare, Aikido characters occasionally appear in other martial arts manga. In many of these manga, Aikido is often portrayed as a mystical martial art, making the character stand out from the other side characters. For instance, in the popular manga Baki 刃牙 series, the character Gouki Shibukawa 渋川剛気 is based on Gozo Shioda 塩田剛三, the founder of Yoshinkan 養神館 Aikido. He can often easily defeat his enemies with Aikido techniques. Another example is Hatsumi Sen 初見泉 in manga Kengan Asura ケンガンアシュラ. However, for manga that requires a character to use Aikido-like techniques, the manga creator would likely to choose a martial art with a stronger competitive nature, such as Koryu Jujutsu 古流柔術 or Aiki Jujutsu 合氣柔術, rather than Aikido. This choice also enables the creator to illustrate more exotic and imaginative techniques that audiences love to see. One example is Shizuka Uesugi 上杉静 in manga Shamo 軍鶏.

To sum up, while there are numerous manga series featuring various martial arts styles, Aikido is rare due to its non-violent philosophy. However, when Aikido characters do appear in manga, they often stand out because of the mystical and esoteric nature of the art, setting them apart from characters who practice other competitive martial arts.

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