DESCRIPTION

CAST

REVIEWS

• 

  SallyOtak

  50/100
  An anime with a lot of potential, but sorely lacking in interest

  

  ➤ Scenario: _Episode 1 spoil begins with a happy family with a child. At the end of the episode, the family is killed by ninjas, except for the father. We then learn that the family were ninja deserters, and that they were hunted down for it. The anime is thus based on a story of revenge in which Higan wishes to avenge his family._

  ➥ So why did viewers enjoy the first few episodes of this anime so much ?

  ➤ Animation: First and foremost, the animation studio “E&H Production”'s ability to create exquisite 2D body-to-body combat choreography while remaining fast-paced and extremely fluid to the eye.

  

  Next, let's talk about the characters, who are on the whole rather simple, with no real development beyond the ordinary. We get to know most of the anime's cast pretty quickly, including some characters who only get a few lines of dialogue before being relegated to the background, as the anime starts rushing fights and ending them in 5 or even 10 minutes. And I'm talking here about fights against people designated as important opponents.Apart from that, we'll have a few endearing characters, but nothing that will really upset the viewer if you're an anime regular.

  ➥ Why has “Ninja Kamui” become so bad ?

  First of all, as I explained above, it's classic veangence, with a story that's extremely simple to understand. Extremely predictable events, and an abundance of useless characters, to make us believe that Higan has “adversaries”.
  Even the characters who do get screen time are sorely lacking in depth, their characters far too undeveloped, preventing us from becoming attached to them.

  The main antagonists are deadly boring! Between a 20-year-old kid who has a big head, but ultimately people don't respect, and an old wreck with a character design that says "I'm bad" which serves no purpose throughout the series.

  Finally, the 2D hand-to-hand animation that was the great strength of the anime up to now, has been replaced by CGI for the armored battles, which have lost all the fluidity and magnificent intensity of the battles at the start of the season. I'm not criticizing 3D, I just see a lot of studios trying to save money, and not producing quality! It wasn't horrible either, just cruelly inferior to the anime's 2D (3D can be excellent animation if used well, just as 2D can be ugly, but more acceptable today due to its popularity)..

  I have to admit that I enjoyed following the series to the end, even if the finale is full of clichés about feelings, the kind of thing that works without breaking too much ground to innovate xD.

  ➥ To sum up this series, I'll use one word: SIMPLE.

  Don't expect anything, just enjoy the exelent body-to-body choreography at the beginning of the season, which has nothing to envy to other popular animes.

  -
  This review has been translated from French to English, sorry if some words are weird or don't fit. Thanks for reading ^^

  
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• 

  KaijuKing13

  70/100
  One of the BEST representations of “Adult Action Animation”!

  Within all of __Adult Swim's__ different animation series, ___"Ninja Kamui"___ is DEFINITELY one of their most impressive...! Even though Adult Swim (At least, in America) has done original animations, whether of short spin-offs to OTHER existing properties, OR COMPLETELY ORIGINAL series: Fena: Pirate Princess, Blade Runner, Shenmue: The Animation, etc.. Ninja Kamui definitely stood out as an extreme, brutal, yet grounded, and series story about one lone (Retired) Ninja's path towards __VENGANCE__, while along the way others attempt to help him in order to dethrone an entire organization. Of which, is somewhere where the order for the man's main cause of pain comes from. The series initially introduces us to a farming family out in the country.

  
  ~!In a rush, he quickly attempts to save them, ___BUT___ a last-standing enemy shoots __tranquilizers__ right into his throat, rendering him unconscious. After he wakes up, he ___SEES_ the gory massacre__ that is the remains of his loving family...! THIS is where the story __TRULY__ begins...!!<center>
  
  </center>After this night, he wakes up in a hospital along with being visited by some acquaintances. Ready to investigate his family's... "Tragedy". After seeing what is left of them, he reveals... the he was wearing a HOLOGRAPHIC __FACE-MASK__! With this done.…<center>
  </center>__HE SWEARS VENGEANCE FOR HIS LOVED ONES...!__<center>
  </center><img width='220' src='https://www.comingsoon.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Joe-Logan-Ninja-Kmaui-episode-1.jpg'><center>
  
  </center>From this point forward, our main character: Higan, is shown to be much more reserved, cool, and pained by his losses. Although, ALREADY by episode two he __FINDS the killer__. And not only captures him, but ties him upside-down and continues to torture him for the pain the sadistic killer mocks about his loved ones' last whimpers.
  <img width='220' src='https://i.ytimg.com/vi/h5CtAq6uS1A/maxresdefault.jpg'> 
  Here is where we get our first taste of the Ninja "Haikus" that were taught and instilled within each Ninja that graduates into their ranks. These sayings are scattered throughout the series, usually there is one every other episode-or-two. It actually seems pretty alluring and mystifying to hear such phrases that ACTUALLY seem like they HONESTLY COULD exist within the ___ACTUAL___ real secret-world of Ninjas to one extent or another. One example that  comes to mind is:<center>
  "_Cold as fire, Hot as ice._"
  
  By this point, once he is on his we to destroy the corrupt organization that originally tracked his family down, other allies of his join his fight in order to bring down the organization for their OWN nefarious deeds!
  -With the characters: 
  
  1. The first character that comes to meet him is an elder black cop named: Mike Moriss, a "_Too old for this shit_" type cop that attempts to bring and keep everyone together for the duration of the series. He does his role well, complaining, yelling, and talking to everyone to attempt to bring everyone one step closer to the main goal. 
  
  2. Next is Emma Samanda, a serious and butch partner to the heroes. Although she initially starts out fighting Higan, but quickly is revealed that she just wanted him alone to "Upgrade" him! She is serious and closed-off, but it is later revealed that she shared a long history with Higan's wife in the past. She basically fights all the battle with the villains before Higan is ready to fight for real. Basically, your usual pre-hype shounen "Round 1!" stuff. 
  
  3. Finally is Jason Cardenas. He just shows up to help the main characters sparingly whenever they need a hacker. Unlike just about all other main heroes. Jason doesn't physically fight once in the whole series. He's not a bad character for that, but he just doesn't leave any character outside of his initial goals of ALSO wanting to defeat the villains' organization. And unfortunately, that is his character's worst flaw. He just doesn't have a character of his own outside of being the fourth hero so when they're split up, each character could converse with someone else. 
  
  4. Along with the villains:
  First is the "Ninja Boss", who is just a sadistic loud-mouthed brute. As the FIRST villain, he is understandably simple. And Higan deals with him in a very efficient and brutal way. 
  
  </center><img width='220' src='https://static0.gamerantimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ninja-kamui-villains-cgi.jpg'>~~~
  5. Starting with the main villains, we have _Lil_. A sadistically perverted midget who is a loud-mouth. Not once does he stop talking about his thrills for fighting or perversions. An interesting thing is that even once he is defeated for good, he still talks back and attempts to kill others until the very end. If you want a rude villain in an adult action series, little comes close to how despicable his character acts. 
  
  6. Next is _Big D_ (Even though his name would make you believe he's in like with Lil...) Big D is a black man with traditional values. Even going so far as to blow-off his own bosses or letting his enemies go to honor more traditional values of fighting in a brutally honest "Fight-to-the-Death". And even when he is faced with death, he is more angered by his __BOSS__ not playing fair and honoring his subordinate's defeat!
  
  7. Finally, the main and (Should be, anyway) last villain, the stern and vengeful __Zai__...! Zai is in a sort of way the ACTUAL villain of the series (Yes, this gets debunked once after he is defeated... but he still feels the most developed as the kind of "Sasuke" of the series. Having the most relation with the main character and knowing how to impact him and what not.) Zai is a strong and silent ninja from the same clan that Higan and his soon-to-be wife are from. He has a dangerous past and allowed himself to be close personally to those two first before he was to anyone else. But once Higan and his wife: Mari, had broken their "_Ninja Code_", not only would anyone relate with how Zai felt betrayed by the two of their cause, but I'm pretty sure it DEFINITELY shows how he became much more series and devoted to kill his rival for so long after what, in the Ninja World, probably is a true betrayal. 
  
  8. Once Zai is defeated, the last few villains attempt to make-up for it, but ultimately it starts to feel a little forced as each episode just continuously tries to "One-Up" itself. First is Dilly. A huge black woman that is the main servant of the C.E.O. of the Syndicate Corporation. The villains. Honestly all she does is be the servant/assistant/Right-hand Woman to him and though she does fight at one point. It's pretty much just to waste an episode before the "God" villains, after the "King" - Zai, is defeated. Next is Joseph, who is the C.E.O.. He manipulates everything from behind the scenes in this Technological ninja show. While he is in complete control as far as can see, he doesn't do any physical fighting like literally ALL of the other enemies do. This isn't the worst thing as Jason also never fights physically but it just somewhat feels a little lack-luster is all... Finally in the last two episodes is the "God" villain: Yamaji. The commander of the Ninja Corps that was back in the past when all the characters were connected. 
  <span class='markdown_spoiler'><span>(He also has the ability to shape-shift into different likenesses to manipulate Higan into beginning his journey by disguising himself as the old wiseman that is seen in episode two.)
  He also, to prove how "God-like" he is in this world, has psychic abilities to control and move people against their will. He even takes control of the army of Ninja-bots built-up in the last few episode to threaten an invasion on the world!</span></span>
  
  <center>All-in-all, the characters aren't bad or anything, but it isn't like there ISN'T an admittable stinker amongst all the action-packed series and intelligent vicious people playing at each other in the series. Especially for a 13-episode adult animation. </center>
  
  -The animation is stunning for a 13-episode adult series. Normally an adult animation would be very cheap and crude, BUT I guess since it's for an "ACTION __ANIME__" I suppose they had the extra dollar to spend and making sure everything LOOKED perfect. The animation for the "Fight Scenes" looks REALLY GOOD as even in CGI, everything is easy to see and really powerfully action-packed. If you want Ninja action in High-Tech. suits, this series is great for looking this way. (ESPECIALLY the Sword-fights!) 
  
  -The sound of the series is __REALLY DAMN spot-on__. Except for Mike, whom I personally thought should've sounded a tab more __"old"__ than __"black"__, Just a tad. All the voices sound perfect for the actors' characters. The blood-splatters are nice, brutal, and gory. and the acrobatic moves all have an appropriate "Fwoof" or "Fwip!" to them. 
  
  <center>Although, I WILL say an interesting thing throughout the series is how, in order to explain a character's motivation, we go back in time to view what happened years ago in the ACTUAL Ninja-training of these characters. This isn't NESSASERILLY a bad thing, it may even be interesting to explain the story. But THIS PART really just depends on if the viewer is fine with this "Scattered" story-telling method. I could honestly identify with someone if they said they didn't like this "Nolan-Method" of Storytelling....</center>
  [link ](https://filmlifestyle.com/christopher-nolan-writing-process/#:~:text=To%20achieve%20these%20complex%20narrative%20structures%2C%20Nolan%20and,the%20script%20to%20polish%20pacing%20and%20thematic%20resonance.)
  
  # Opening and Closing
  - The opening: _Vengeance_, is a very raw kind of OP. First showing the beginning and how everything SHOULD'VE been quiet and peaceful with the main character's loved ones, but once it shows the room where everything is destroyed it burns away...! Then everything gets harsh as it shows all of the distortion and troubles oncoming to our heroes. The one thing I don't like is the flashy transition-wipes that show from one image to another. They just seem a little fuzzy and harsh to me is all. Although I DO like the fights that it shows in it. Op.2 also shows the fights against all the major villains in their suits that Higan fights. 
  
  - Meanwhile, the ending: _Eye Openers_, Is the complete opposite. It really just does nothing but shows stills and maybe one-or-two motions stills of the characters just living their daily lives amongst the normal civilians in the world. Nothing but calm paintings and simplism. 
  
  Side-Note:
  - One thing that kind of peeves me is the specifics of the suits, themselves...! Nothing against them except that it looks like they don't cover their wearers' toes! The feet are finely covered, but I thought for seconds that I could actually see the warriors' toes and in COMBAT, THAT is a weak-spot for opponents to take advantage of!
  
  <center>For an attempted 13-episode Action Animation (Made for a global audience but by the Japanese anyways, probably.) Aside from one or two nitpicks, it really does do its job for delivering a harsh and realistic series about the brutal world of Ninja and how once you betray a life-long code, it can easily stab you in the back, still years later, and how the last survivor quests for redemption by destroying everything that was vile and vicious about the system to begin with...!</center>

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• 

  befalt

  17/100
  As subtle and elegant as a ninja-suited elephant.

  This review contains spoilers.

  **〈 𝘓𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴... 〉**

  ---

  Every once in a while, I like to chill on my porch with a cigarette in one hand and a can of piss-cheap energy drink in the other and ponder random stuff like a pseudo-intellectual geezer from an old-school movie. So, one day, while inhaling my favourite cancer-inducing chemicals, I began to wonder: have I become too cynical and critical about anime? Maybe I need to loosen up, be more open-minded, turn off my brain and have mindless fun, as they say. Considering that it might be the case, I let out a big sigh, took a swig of that delicious carbonated diabetes-like beverage, headed to my room and booted up the absolute joke that is Ninja Kamui to get those silly thoughts out of my head.

  Cutting it some slack and being less judgmental? **Do not make me laugh.** Even though it did suffer from some issues behind the scenes, that does not mean that we ought to overlook its bullshit. But I am getting way ahead of myself, so I should take a step back, take a deep breath, and dissect this stinky corpse of an anime to find out what kind of gruesome, inhumane crime we are dealing with.

  

  _Ninja Kamui_ kicks off with what can only be described as an absolute sugar rush of a premiere. Blood splattering all over the place like a bunch of confetti from [a pinata](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi%C3%B1ata), blades striking against shiny armour plates, [kick-ass insert songs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhhS0-GnkxU) blasting in the background with their intense and energetic notes, and a surprisingly well-put-together, well-coordinated and well-thought-out fight choreography—with fight scenes like that peppered throughout the first episode, it is no wonder why so many folks were hyped to see what else the anime had in store for them. While I do not find the episode that impressive on its own—it feels like half a dozen episodes condensed into one and a lot of its emotional beats are fundamentally hit-or-miss—its vigour and confidence are very contagious and it hooks you in without breaking a sweat. **If the show had maintained this level of excitement and energy throughout its run, it could have been a fun, undemanding and easy-to-digest popcorn flick.** But alas, that did not happen, as this is where the positives come to a screeching halt.

  Yes, the second the first episode wraps up, the rose-tinted glasses of hope and promise come off, and the grim reality hits you in the face like a brick. **The initial bombastic nature of _Ninja Kamui_ almost immediately wears off, which leaves us with a mishmash of random events and half-baked ideas sellotaped with not a speck of cohesion in sight.**

  You see, the show struggles with a severe identity crisis; it basically cannot figure out what it wants to be. Does it aim to be a bloody and gory revenge story about an exiled ninja seeking payback for his family's murder? Or does it desire to be a tad bit more complex and intricate mystery thriller with [whodunnit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whodunit) undertones? Or perhaps it strives to be a CGI [mecha](https://anilist.co/search/anime/Mecha) clusterfuck with human-sized robots duking it out and some international conspiracies sprinkled on top? **It tries to be all these things at once, and, let me tell you, the outcome is anything but pretty.**

  I genuinely despise it when series go down that road because, more often than not, it ends up feeling like too many people are tampering with the script, turning it into this bizarre amalgamation of completely unrelated visions and aspirations. Of course, there are numerous examples of anime that have arcs that are very different tonally and conceptually from the rest of the content ([Frieren](https://anilist.co/anime/154587/Sousou-no-Frieren/) is a great recent example of that), but the key difference between them and _Ninja Kamui_ is quite subtle yet crucial: decisiveness. **While Frieren or other shows are extremely confident in their genre shifts and allocate just enough time to make them work, _Ninja Kamui_ does everything in a very half-assed manner, as it offers no breathing room for both its ideas to fit smoothly and flow with grace and for its viewers to get accustomed to the changes.**

  Here, the transition from one genre to the other is as seamless and smooth as munching on a pile of dirt and washing it down with a glass of sewage water. In episode 1, it is all about the ninjas and their brutal battles to the death. By episode 2, we are already balls-deep into an FBI-led investigation into a spree of murders that are linked to the mysterious organisation we quickly learn about. Then by episode 5, we are forced to watch clashes between clunky humanoid trashcans with some of the weirdest blocking and choreography I have seen in a while. **Once all the pieces of the puzzle are in action, _Ninja Kamui_ decides to blend them all and feed the viewers that disgusting, mushy and slightly sticky slop.**

  Nevertheless, at this point, there is legitimately no incentive to care about anything happening on the screen. Those interested in the ninja stuff did not appreciate the genre switch and left. Fans of the more detective work scenes, seeing that they were a one-time gimmick, quickly bailed. The few people who genuinely respected the show's direction and welcomed the mechas and the shady businesses of [AUZA](https://anilist.co/character/327163/Joseph) had nothing to chew on and were sorely disappointed by its sheer clumsiness and emptiness.

  [The characters](https://anilist.co/anime/151639/Ninja-Kamui/characters) do not fare any better. They come across as a bunch of run-of-the-mill caricatures without any visually appealing characteristics, understandable motivations, or compelling traits to speak of. The antagonists are like those one-dimensional Saturday morning cartoon baddies—they exist solely to spout the same annoying one-liners over and over again and be total dickheads to [the protagonist](https://anilist.co/character/326717/Higan) until they are inevitably and soundly defeated by him. **They are utterly devoid of personalities, goals or ideals, and, better yet, the show desperately tries to humanise them at the eleventh hour as a last-ditch effort to artificially raise the non-existent stakes and inject some emotionality into the fight scenes.** How cheap!

  Of course, it is not just the villains; the rest of the cast grapples with a very similar set of issues. [Higan](https://anilist.co/character/326717/Higan) always conveniently finds a way to be rescued and obtains the power-ups required to overcome his adversaries, [Mari](https://anilist.co/character/326723/Mari) somehow receives more screen time than other supporting characters vital to the plot despite being dead for the entirety of the story, [Emma](https://anilist.co/character/326719/Emma-Samanda) meets her end in the most hilarious way imaginable, and every other character associated with Higan is a cardboard cutout with a singular purpose. **How can I be invested in the narrative when these are the characters I am stuck with?**

  Perhaps it would be easier to overlook their lack of quality and refinement if the narrative itself had some substance, yet as you have already determined, that is not the case here. The frequent genre shifts and the overabundance of ideas are a massive roadblock for the series and they halt its progress time and time again. However, to suggest they are the only thing holding it back would be quite naive. **The anime constantly attempts to punch above its weight, pretending to be far grander and smarter than it truly is, but these feeble efforts are pitiful at best.**

  AUZA, [the ninja organisation](https://anilist.co/character/327169/Yamaji), and every single theme they represent are portrayed in such a dishonest and unconvincing fashion that I struggle to see them as anything more than a cheap way of adding depth. The motifs of loyalty, family, foreign influences, nationalism, honour and all that jazz—fascinating and compelling in a vacuum—are rendered absolutely eye-rollingly insipid and ill-fitting to an extreme degree.

  **News flash: themes become commendable and respectable when thoroughly explored and permitted to thrive; by treating them as mere additives, the narrative takes a massive hit.**

  Seriously though, not every show needs to be chock-full of thought-provoking or striking ideas to be effective and efficient. Truth be told, all it needs is to understand how to strike a good balance between its various components or fully embrace its plainness and keep things simple and basic. **Nonetheless, _Ninja Kamui_ shits the bed on both of these fronts; it is neither a fun no-brainer nor a brainy action-packed thriller. It is merely a gigantic failure that betrays your feelings and lets you down.**

  

  When it comes down to it, the show's gravest offence is **how unfathomably boring it is.** Despite advertising itself as an exhilarating and undemanding escapade, it is actually a far cry from what was initially promised. No matter what it threw my way, I remained entirely disinterested. From the fights to the conversations between the characters to the lengthy exposition dumps, everything was extremely painful to watch. Funnily enough, I even dozed off in front of my laptop not once but twice while watching it, which might be the biggest criticism I can ever direct towards an anime. **Bravo, _Ninja Kamui_, you are not only horrible but also utterly unwatchable—what an achievement!**

  Well, you could say that it is at least good at wasting your time.

  Ah, I have no clue what more can be said about _Ninja Kamui_ and its antics. It is genuinely dreadful but in a peculiar way. **You cannot quite put your finger on what exactly makes it so rubbish, yet, deep down, you sense that something is fundamentally wrong with it.** It tries to juggle too many things at once and falls flat on its ugly face as a result. Just skim through [a few of its earlier fight scenes on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBLuvgu3l_c) and call it a day. There is no point in subjecting yourself to this mess.

  **Now, if you will excuse me, I am off to watch something actually worthwhile.**

  ---

  **〈 ...𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 〉**

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