Ninja... Ninja were... merciless demi-gods, ruling Japan with their karate in the age of ninja tranquillity. But, "some" committed a forbidden form of hara-kiri storing their souls at Kinkaku Temple for future resurrection. Their lost history was falsified and concealed and the truth about these ninja was long forgotten.
Now, in the future where the universalization of cybernetic technology and electronic networks are God, suddenly, sinister ninja souls, resurrected from thousands of years past are unleashed on the dark shadows of Neo-Saitama. Fujikido Kenji, is a salaryman whose wife and child were killed in a ninja turf war. In a brush with his own death, Fujikido is possessed by an enigmatic ninja soul. Fujikido cheats death and becomes Ninja Slayer. A Grim Reaper destined to kill evil ninja, committed to a personal war of vengeance.
Set in the dystopian underworld of Neo-Saitama, Ninja Slayer takes on Soukai Syndicate ninjas in mortal combat.
(Source: Animanga wikia)
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Comentários
Millawls
You need to understand something about Ninja Slayer, before even WATCHING it, or you WILL get the wrong idea! A lot of you seems to be very confused, as to why some scenes are animated and some scenes are powerpoint. "Why are they doing this?" I hear you say. Let me explain. A couple of Japanese translators said over social media, (this is a while ago) that they were going to translate a "light novel" that a couple of american weeaboos had made. The american weeaboos made THE most stereotypical light novel that they could think off. (Ninjas, Hidden power, revenge) Basically Ninja Slayer in a nutshell. (Orliterally)
Now here's the twist. The american weeaboos didn't exist in the first place!
The people who wrote the light novel made it up. They wanted to make a light novel, based on how weeaboos thought anime/manga was back in the 80's and 90's.
So they made Ninja Slayer. Have this in mind when watching this. It makes it SO much better. It's not supposed to be good. Imagine a couple of american weeaboos, sitting together and writing a novel, based on their brief knowledge on japan, (That came from watching anime.) and THIS is what you get.
It's not taking itself seriously and the animation is supposed to be "bad." How else would you explain it being in 4:3 format like on old TV and the scenes that are actually animated, versus the ones that have Southpark level animation.
Now for the actual review.
I say this without a single gram of sarcasm.
Ninja Slayer is a masterpiece.
This is not a troll review, giving it 10/10, just because "lol". This is my honest opinion about Ninja Slayer that has brought me to give this a 10/10.
There are few times when any type of entertainment, be it games, manga, music or in this case anime, can make me yell "YEEEEAAAAAARRRRRRRTTTHHH" UNIRONICALLY and without feeling shame afterwards. Ninja Slayer is incredibly stupid, incredibly funny and in-fucking-credibly entertaining.
I find it hard to put into words how amazed i am by this show. I sincerely feel sad about the people who dropped it on the first episode, or failed to correct their expectations of this show.
The entire point behind Ninja Slayer is showing what animefans/weeaboos thought anime was back in the late 80th, early 90th. The dialogue is cheesy, the art is flashy and very neon colored. Hacking into things solves everything and every female ninja is skimpily clothed.
There's a certain feeling that i'm sure everyone on earth knows what is. You can't explain it, you don't know how to evoke it but you are 100% sure what it is when you feel it.
THAT'S Ninja Slayer. I get "that" feeling when watching it.
Ninja Slayer isn't just anime. It's art.
I'm not being sarcastic.
lawlmartz
Absurdity kills reason. This is your power. - Naraku Ninja I would almost be willing to rate Ninja Slayer a 10/10 based purely on entertainment value. One thing though. The most entertaining part about Ninja Slayer isn't the dub. It's the audience reaction and kids who absolutely don't get the joke. Here's your warning: if your idea of entertainment is purely based on pretty colors and flashy animation, PSST, you're doing it wrong. Artwork and Animation: Query: Is a black and white movie inferior to one in color? Is a color movie inferior to 3D movies because OH MY LAWD THEY LITERALLY ADDED ANOTHER DIMENSION!? The answeris no.
So, to anyone who says that Ninja Slayer sucks because of the animation- just because it uses a different visual style than you've come to expect from the typical T&A anime you watch, it's time for something new.
Ninja Slayer is essentially Inferno Cop 2.0- now with a budget!
So, if you saw Inferno Cop: you know what to expect from the style here. It's an Adult Swim-styled in betweener short if you haven't. Lots of iridescence, reds, explosions, and booms, bangs, and fire.
Sound and Voice Acting: 10
YEEEAARRT!
AUUUUAAAGHHH!
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAARRRTTTT!
AUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAGH!
RECITE YOUR DEATH HAIKU!
SAYONARA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BOO00000OOM
The rest of the cast recites their death haikus appropriately, also with a lot of explosions. These voice actors are great at producing explosions on the mic. It's basically like listening to the collab mixtape I did with Papa Franku.
Sound and Voice Acting: F'real this time
Christopher Sabat does the best cool macho man there's ever been. He's been a suave black dude, a pedophile priest, he's been several violent psychopaths, an enormous muscleman, a lot of various anthropomorphic beasts, and probably most famously Vegeta.
Add kickass badass superpowered ninja slaying monstrosity to the list. Couldn't ask for better.
Characters:
Too many to count. Ninja Slayer dispatches about 5 ninjas of various thematic origin per episode, plus a thousand clones, meaning at least half a million ninjas eat it by the end of the show's run. However, we do have some standouts: the sexy IRC hacking blonde: Nancy Lee, Ninja Slayer's partner in dispensing sweet, sweet justice to the asshole ninjas that rule Neo Saitama. Her superpower is directly connecting her consciousness to IRC via an ethernet port on her head, where she hacks everyone's life and Ninja Slayer just rekt.exe 's them.
There's also Yukano Dragon, the young amnesiac granddaughter of Ninja Slayer's master, Dragon Sensei, Forest Sawatari, shellshocked leader of the Survival Dojo fresh out the jungles of 'Nam, Koki Yamoto- the ubiquitous schoolgirl that every show must have, Shogo, white boy sporting a rad-ass afro and no shirt, because he's a punk ass, too.
Story:
As nonsensical as one would believe Ninja Slayer to be, it does actually follow a plot. Kenji Fujikido's family was ruthlessly torched by ninjas sent by the Soukai Syndicate, run by the 30 foot tall giant Laomoto Khan. On his deathbed, he accepts a ninja soul, Naraku Ninja, and with his newfound power vows to kill all ninjas, ESPECIALLY whoever it was that killed his family.
The first half or so is a set of really disconnected threads featuring a lot of different characters who take over the main spot for a short arc, and then in the second half, it's all brought together by their interactions and various confrontations with Soukai ninjas- kind of like a Tarantino movie, taking a lot of random unassociated people and tying up their motives and actions together, except with a lot more YEEEART. (There is a lot of hilarious and clever dialogue, courtesy of the narrator though.)
Enjoyment and Overall:
It's hard to really nail down what makes Ninja Slayer so much fun. If one is not amused by absurdity and parody of parody, Ninja Slayer is probably not going to be a lot of fun to watch. However, absurdist humor is popular with anime watchers. I know this, because besides the ubiquitous "guy falls on girl and ends up grabbing her boob" joke that's in every boob and butt show now, anime is a medium that lends itself to absurdity and being far removed from realism. Why am I laughing at a cross dressing shark and a bunch of 13 year old girls with superpowers blowing up giant robots covered in tons of food, all while hopping from planet to planet and throwing galaxies like baseballs?
Because it's ridiculous, that's why.
And that's why Ninja Slayer works. It's ridiculous.
YEEEAAART/10
10/27
Unnecessary Clarification:
The whole idea of Ninja Slayer (and I left this out because my review was crap already) is that it was written by two Japanese dudes posing as American weebs writing a parody of 80s ninja action schlock in the schlockiest way possible.
Expository Statement:
That is, it's a parody of a parody, parodied in a parody style of animation with double layer parody dialogue and, well, actually a fairly decent plot. I don't want to call it Tarantino-esque, but... Tarantino-esque. You have a bunch of disconnected random characters who all end up tied together in the overarching plot. It's not The Usual Suspects or anything, but it gets the job done well. Revenge tales historically have been fairly easy to write (because there's a specific goal) with a lot of wiggle room for inversion, subversion, and likewise. It's a very flexible narrative.
Commentary:
Whacking Ninja Slayer for the story is a bad point to pick, at any rate. (not that I would). I mean, I know not everyone liked the animation style, that's personal preferences. I know that it seems like there's basically no character progression (there's not much), but the fun isn't in analyzing it for its literary depth, because that's not its bag, baby, yeah.
I read some of the translated part of the novels, and the show is basically a 1:1 visual and auditory recreation of the dialogue and scene setting. Whoever wrote it had to have given Trigger permission to animate it like that, and probably thought it was hilarious that something that's a parody of a parody looked as bad as it read.
Statement:
You just gotta see Ninja Slayer for what it is, and that's up to the individual to make of it- but to me, it's just plain laughable ludicrosity.
ArthurB
Remember that everything that is written here is part of my opinion and should not be taken as truth. You can draw your own conclusions about this series by watching it. This review is free from spoilers. First of all Ninja Slayer From Animation is one of those anime that makes a critic about the current anime industry, using - if anything - poor animation techniques, strange music and a really basic plot to bring the potential of a series not by the anime itself, but by how it was conceived... And once you get graps of it, everything makes sense. This anime is based upon anovel made by some people that doesn't exist. I'll explain it better... This anime was fruited from some rumors made by a group of japanese translators who said that they would translate a project made by some americans (that did not existed in the first place) who created a stereotypical story with ninjas, karate, very tall buildings, etc.
The translators faked the original authors. They made the novel themselves, writting about a Japan twisted like some hollywood-like movies represented it on the 80's and 90's.
Having that in mind, let me tell you the ratings I gave to this anime.
Story 9; It is passed on a twisted Japan where mafia and revolutionary groups exists, in the city of Neo-Saitama. It's a very simple story about a man who wants revenge from the killers of his family and the basic plot follows his acts while pursuing that revenge. The one thing that is great about this anime is how this "revenge-like" steps are being executed. You can feel the difficulties the protagonist have while following his path of hatred.
Sound 10; The OST for this anime is a mix of some classical japanese sounds with some technobeat. It really changes the atmosphere of the anime in some parts. Also, the Ending Theme for this anime changes every single episode (with some exceptions).
It is the perfect match for an anime passed on a future-like Japan, with the clash of past-present references.
Character 9; The characters are all stereotypical of the movie/anime industry of 80's and 90's. The thing is we can find these characters very enjoyable! Really, almost every character have a personal - and very common - drama of himself/herself and it is explained in a very simple way, so we - the audience - can understand them and so get inside the plot and their reasons to do what they are doing.
Enjoyment 10; Having said what I did in the begining of this review I will explain why I enjoyed this anime so much.
If anything, TRIGGER should be the first responsible for this overexcitement. From the way this anime is executed - Short episodes of 10-15 mins, released in the web, with "strange" animations, following a very simple plot - it had everything to be a fail... If it wasn't by the information on how the "original novel" was conceived.
When I got that information, I could get grasp on what TRIGGER was trying to do. And the answer is simple, an anime of 80-90's in these days is complete madness! We are on the pinacle of animation techniques, with 3DGCI all over the place and the quality of textures being outstanding, TRIGGER choose to make an anime with poor animation sequences, with a really simple plot and with some basic soundtracks mixing old and new type of music. But everything, EVERYTHING makes sense on how great this anime is if you understand that they are making a critic about how the West had seen the East in the two final decades of the twentieth century.
With that in mind, I enjoyed this anime so much. I could just enjoy this anime, expecting nothing but a great anime, not creating any hype on how great could be it's story, but just expecting to enjoy an anime where everything I got to see from the 80's and 90's could be conceived.
Overall 10; My overall note represents mostly my enjoyment with this piece of work. You must understand that this anime is a critic, made upon a novel that did not existed in the first place with a poor plot, released in some awful animation quality over the web, with some strange composed music remixing classical japan instruments and modern beat.
It is very like the "Kung Fury" movie. It is an anime that blends every single trait of a 80's and 90's work and put together to create a great anime!
Ninja Slayer From Animation will be remembered as one of the greatest anime ever made by the people who watched it. It really is a masterpiece!
Hope you like the anime so much as I did. Have a good day.
dgfv
People talk about context being the key to either understanding or appreciating this anime and maybe that's true on some level. However, I don't think that the context of the show is actually necessary to enjoy it. Instead, the only real requirement is the ability to not take yourself or the world around you too seriously. Almost everything is beautiful if you look at it from the right angle and finding that angle is easiest through a playful attitude. For a child this comes naturally. Playing is how children explore the world. They don't actively try to categorize meta behaviors like what constitutes intelligence orwhat might make you seem erudite or cool. Instead, the world seems to be taken in by them through their wondrous sincerity.
For adolescents everything changes. Expectations. Strong emotions. Desires. An ego begins to grow. They're not so much caught between the aforementioned two worlds but rather living in a kaleidoscope constructed from the shards and shattering images of their reality. Life isn't play anymore, it's work. And what confusing work it is when you're confronted with an anime like Ninja Slayer From Animation that does the one thing a teen doesn't want to happen anymore: it subverts conventional anime with a continuous, sometimes jarring, onslaught of sincere cliches. It doesn't just subvert anime, it obverts it. Bad is good, good is bad, quality is bad, shit is good.
The adult has transitioned, perhaps somewhat unknowingly, from childlike sincerity through a whirlwind of emotion and angst, to a joyless adult. But with enough anime like NSFA she can find that place again.
here's the numbers.
* Story
9/10 -- The show has a simple and concise story lovingly cribbed from every anime in the 80s and 90s. However, if you really think about it and can see through the humor it's actually quite a sad story despite it presenting itself consistently as just funny and generally badass.
* Art
10/10 -- The throwback 5:4 aspect ratio art swings wildly from absurd south-park-esque flash animation, through colorful and gorgeous pans and scans of cityscapes and characters, to gloriously epic BUDGET animation.
* Sound
10/10 -- The sound, from the bgm to the sfx to the 26 fantastic ED songs, is nothing but perfect.
* Character
9/10 -- The characters are, as with the rest of the show, homages to anime's 80s and 90s heritage. They're chock full of all of the fun cliches that make anime the cultural powerhouse it is. And yet, if you're like me, you're gonna find yourself empathizing and fist pumping with the characters.
* Enjoyment
10/10 -- For someone who has watched not only a lot of anime, but a lot of very diverse anime, feeling nostalgic while watching a show that reminds you of another can be somewhat bittersweet. You're reminded of what was and what cannot be again. With NSFA you get slapped by nostalgia with the right and slapped by youthful enthusiasm with the left. The effect is better than nostalgia, it's life. You know that feeling you had when you watched cartoons as a kid? That's what you get with NSFA.
So there you go.
I gave NSFA an unironic 10/10.
jumpy
Well, Trigger. What can I say? You guys did it again. You guys created another fucking masterpiece. Note: This is honestly more of a "Thoughts on" than a review, but hush, let's just go with it. Trigger is a pretty weird studio. They first pull out shit like Inferno Cop, then they actually try a bit harder (not hard enough) and end up with Kill la Kill. Well, Ninja Slayer is in the middle of those two. It doesn't have the low budget that Inferno Cop had (pretty close, though), but it didn't look better than Kill la Kill. Ninja Slayer is basically yet anotherparody by this studio. It's kind of like poking fun at 90's anime, and ninja shit, or so I've heard. Right from the start, you're in for a show that you're not supposed to take seriously at all, it's simply a joke poking fun at other things. Much like Kill la Kill and Inferno Cop, both have shitty writing, but they do entertain a shit ton of people. I personally didn't enjoy Kill la Kill, but whatever. Ninja Slayer TRIES to have those laughable scenes like in Inferno Cop where the animation is complete horse shit. It also has its Kill la Kill fanservice and animation. It switches from those two.
Here's the problem:
It fails at it. The reason why Inferno Cop's animation was laughable was because it was shit throughout the whole show and we got used to it, here Ninja Slayer, it changes from Inferno Cop's style animation to Kill la Kill's animation. It honestly just feels like they're not focused on what they want to go with.
A lot of it isn't even funny after the first few episodes. The whole "yeaaart!!" joke thing gets old really fast. Also, I was very entertained by Inferno Cop's use of swear words, which is barely in Ninja Slayer.
That's one thing, the dub is good. A bit too good for this anime. It's a lot more fun to watch dub and easier to binge, if you for whatever reason feel like binge watching this....
Ahem, if you're wondering why I haven't gotten to the story yet, it's because it's complete shit. This wouldn't be an issue if Ninja Slayer kept it cheesy and simple, but halfway through the show, it tries to build up a plot and actually TRIES to not be shit. It's extremely uninteresting. There are episodes that drag. Hell, this whole show drags. 26 episodes? Wayyy too much.
By the end of this show, I was very confused on what to think about it. I did enjoy it at times, but I was very uninterested on a lot of what was happening as well. It tries to have fights to be slightly more entertaining like Kill la Kill, but it's just not fun to watch because of its animation. Sure, some scenes are laughable, and that IS Ninja Slayer's goal, but it misses more than it hits.
The only thing that I absolutely loved about this show was the ost. Holy fuck, was the ost great. The ED songs change a lot of the time, and they're always great. Sometimes, that's all I look forward while playing an episode.
Overall, Ninja Slayer FAILED at being laughable and entertaining throughout the whole show. It drags, it tries to be serious at times and just fails completely. 3/10.
Vanishing-San
After all these years, this anime is still a masterpiece. What I like about it, is that it's basically inferno cop with a higher budget (but the biggest difference with the png parts is that their mouth moves, unlike inferno cop). The humor is pretty good for its time (and I think it still holds up till this day). Though one problem i have with it, is the female voice actors in the English dub, they sound like they are not even trying (amnesia is probably the best example, along with yamoto too). Ost is my favorite part, sad that most of it has not been uploaded yet. Finalepisode was probably one of the most hype things, kinda makes me wonder how was they going to do a season 2 with ninja slayer's new look (if they ever made one)...
Last thing I'll mention... "YEEART" "ABBAH" "AIIEE" "AAAUUUGHHH"
Overall, of course this anime is not for anyone, but if you like dumb silly good humor with a good plot with it all, then I recommend watching this anime.
catullus_d_rus
“Make X/Y/Z great again.” You’ve probably heard this phrase numerous times throughout your life, perhaps in different ways. It signals one monolithic thing: a contempt for the contemporary and the present, coupled with a yearning for times which, while in reminiscence better, are in fact not as grand as we would like to believe. Yet yearn we do, if only for the best parts of the whole, leaving the bad aspects to bite the dust. Let’s face it: anime is rife with trash. You’ve got your brainless fanservice, your blatant audience pandering, your harems, your waifus and husbandos, your overhyping, your moe, your rehashed mysteries witha new thematic skin; it’s mostly just the same old same old used by the industry time and again because it has a relatively secure guarantee of success. For every original, fresh concept entering the newest season there is that millionfold recycling of the old that rakes in considerable quantities of cash. A large portion of older anime fans are disgruntled at what is essentially a focus on the younger, likely more paying audiences. Those older fans now remember, remember that magnificent time . . .
Let’s rewind the clock almost 40 years. This is the cinema era of gritty streets, blood and gore, ridiculous heroes, nonsensical abilities, Confucianist one-line philosophies, retro and punk, frizzy-haired pornstars and rockstars (yes, this is a double-entendre) . . . this is the ‘80s, where an overabundance of low-budget VHS action-thrillers you could buy in bulk stocked video stores, and zero-gravity kung-fu movies are not only the norm, but tame in comparison to many others lurking on the shelves.
What if I could tell you that you can go back to the best that time period had to offer in the form of a 26-episode animated series?
Domo. Enter Ninja Slayer From Animation-san. *Cue explosion*
Equal parts flamboyant retardation and madcap genius, inebriate awesomeness and poignant commentary — and potentially psychotic sexuality — Ninja Slayer is essentially everything you could ever ask for in terms of a “fuck it, let’s have fun” type anime with some brains and a decent budget. It is a quintessential return to the ‘80s:
Intentionally low-budget animation for climactic scenes? Check.
Intentionally heavy-handed reliance on Japanese jargon and allusions? Check.
Unexplained powers, dark and neon milieu, overpowered characters, one-shotted villains, busty bombshell women wearing incredibly revealing clothing, poppin’ soundtrack . . . Check check check.
This is essentially the revival of classics like The Punisher, or The Terminator, or Robocop, or Total Recall, or Conan the Barbarian, or Mad Max, or Big Trouble in Little China, or Flash Gordon, or any number of ‘80s/‘90s classic kill-‘em-alls, except with ninjas, mechas, super-science and lousy animation. Ninja Slayer is what Naruto could have been if it starred a masked, Japanese Jean-Claude Van Damme and was directed by a legitimately creative Michael Bay. Ninja Slayer is what would have been the product of Morpheus’ intervention with Neo, if instead of proffering the red and blue pill he strapped Neo to a chair, pumped a decent amount of hallucinogens intravenously into him, held his eyes open Clockwork Orange-style, forced him to watch strange softcore porn, and commanded him to write a script to the next great ninja-related action anime. Ninja Slayer From Animation is a zany, apocalyptic amalgamation of so much goddamn pulp fiction, dystopia, and ludicrous stereotypes of world culture that it essentially becomes a beautiful singularity of its own: an over-the-top collage that, in a wider perspective, grants something of actual coherence.
And don’t let others (or myself) fool you: Ninja Slayer From Animation is far smarter than most might give it credit for upon observation of its surface. Sprinkled over the bizarre cupcake that is this throwback anime is, indeed, an articulate plot and actual world building and excellent satire. Granted, the plot is brimming with and driven by illogical incidents and fanatical Tokyo-punk fairytales; the world building is often followed and negated by a massive, disintegrating explosion; and the action in between is essentially what might happen if you had a 12 year old on drugs direct the show using action figures (both in terms of the ideas, and the action itself); but that’s fine. It’s not about physical reality in the universe of Ninja Slayer From Animation, but the psychological.
This brings me to the characters, and where better to start off with than our titular one, Ninja Slayer-san. Originally known as Kenji Fujikido, he seeks vengeance after ninjas raze his home and kill his family in a turf war. He, whether by good luck or bad, survives, as on the edge of death he is approached by a vagrant spirit, which urges him to host it, promising miraculous powers he could use to enact his vengeance; thus, he turns into a noble wrath-and-testosterone fueled superhuman. His goals, at first, are monomaniacal — slay all ninja, especially those of the Soukai Syndicate, those who destroyed life as he knew it — but along the way he acquires many allies who help him on his quest, and subsequently change his at first relentlessly enraged ideals. His background is hectic and meteoric, but his development is slow and subtle; such is the way of the ninja slayer. There are many legitimately touching moments, as well as incredibly well-scripted monologues (and beyond great repartee) which detail the philosophical and psychosocial standings of all the individuals in the show.
Several characters are like this, although since the primary focus is on Kenji, the development of many are relegated to just a few episodes. This does not stop the characters from being absolutely awesome: for instance, in 3 short episodes (the episodes for this series are only 10 minutes long, if you weren’t aware) I learned everything I needed to, and consequently fell in love with, the character known as Kagi Tanaka. He alone is veritable proof that you don’t need 20-some-minute long, 25+ episodes series to showcase a character, but some characters were given even less episodes for introduction and extermination, while still managing to be fantastic. Let us not forget our incredulous narrator, either, who provides commentary on the action and plot with gusto; for every time something may be of confusion, he either explains it, or says in his telltale narrative flair an exuberant “I don’t know what is going on” (paraphrasing), followed perhaps by a gasped “Oh my Buddha!”
Other proof of character strength lies, ironically, in the one-shotted villains. In a few seconds you can have a complete introduction on their abilities and their quirks, their mannerisms, and maybe even some backstory. They may be unceremoniously exploded after being told to recite their death haiku, thus rendering that introduction moot, but due merely to the overabundance of characters like this it makes for an excellent running gag, and assures you that none of the villains will be boring.
Speaking of running gags, let’s talk about the humor of this series. C’est magnifique, to say the least. It’s not simply that it’s over the top . . . it’s something more. A willful ridiculousness with the appearance of attempting to be willfully badass; that’s what it is. It’s a parody of a parody, trying to make fun of ridiculous ‘80s romps by being yet more ridiculous. That, and the intense build up which cuts to a low-quality 2-D Mortal Kombat-esque fightscape, lead to excellent laughs amidst this bastion of self-seriousness. And how can we forget the repeat-cuts and excessively long tracking shots? What seems a build up of attacks turns into a repetition of “YEART!” and “AIEE!”, back and forth, back and forth; and it wouldn’t be funny if Akira Amemiya (director) didn’t know exactly how long scenes like this needed to be dragged out in order to garner laughs. That’s truly what makes this show a riot: through all the uber-serious dialogue and plot, there is a perfect amount of ridiculousness and anti-camera-tricks; the creators of this show just know how to do comedy without spelling it out for you via crass sexual humor (true, there is plenty of that, but it’s either subtle enough or so damn overt that it remains funny, and isn’t relied too heavily upon) or a what-have-you try-hard comedy show.
Tits. Yes, there are tits. Big tits. Titanic, really. All of the female cast in this are essentially walking busts with some kind of superpower or biological enhancement (non-boob related enhancement, I should add). While often damsels in distress, they also provide critical assistance to our title character for certain missions, so, one could say that this show is incredibly sexist based on their designs, but I think that would be a disingenuous and hollow accusation. These girls experience maturation just as well and as substantially as their male counterparts . . . they just happen to have gigantic knockers (save for one girl, Koki Yamoto, who is more of a cute schoolgirl type, though she has perhaps the most interesting character arcs). So what? It’s the neo-‘80s, baby; it is what it is; satire of the old and the current.
Lastly, I’d like to pass over the sound. Firstly, if you’re a Japanophile who thinks subtitles are the one and only, think again fool. Go with the English dub. Not only will you get a wider range of voices for the wacky villains, but the antiheroes that the camera follows have the voices of uber-masculine angels. Perfect if you’re watching this for the reasons stated earlier (that ‘80s fix). Not to mention they retain the hallowed phrases critical to the Japanese version:
YEEEAAART
AIIEEEE
WASHOI
Domo, I am (insert name here)
Recite your death haiku!
SAYONARAAAAA (cue pre-filmed stock explosion)
Oh my Buddha!
Death is the only way out for ninja!
and others which constitute the deliberately mishandled cross-pollination of national/regional slang. You won’t miss out on any Japan-only jokes; everything is translated perfectly, and sometimes given a colloquially Americanized zest.
As for other sound, the opening theme is a pretty sick resurrection of classic 8-bit soundtrack with a grinding techno twist, and echoey, ill-translated lyrics that sound straight out of Splashdown or SSX Tricky. The general SFX (explosion, throwing star, sword clash, gunfire, and etc sounds) are relatively standard, but they’re meant to be, alongside the uncomplicated animation. It’s all part of the joke, basically. Generally the soundtrack otherwise consists of Naruto-esque stuffs (which is a really, really good thing; the soundtrack is one of the few things I have zero issue with in that franchise): rock, electronic, synth, and traditional Japanese instruments come into play, depending on the moment. The ending theme actually changes for every episode, so that gives you some incentive to watch the credits sequence each time, something new and different there.
In conclusion, if you’re disconsolate over the status quo of anime and want to return to a beautiful time, a time of Hokuto no Ken, of Akira, of pure emotion, rigorous chest hair, buff men, ninjas, hypersexuality, blood-and-guts fun, tastefully immense knockers, neon-punk cityscapes, and a parody of the weeaboo’s bastardized view of Japanese culture of the ‘80s/‘90s, look no further than Ninja Slayer From Animation. Trigger isn’t just deconstructing anime, it’s demolishing it — see their previous releases, notably Kill La Kill and Inferno Cop, as well as the currently airing Luluco Patrol — and in doing so, it is also attempting to save it.
. . . Perhaps erringly. But it’s a noble gesture, if in a delinquent, deviant, no-holds-barred, kickass, blunderbuss format.
BanjoTheBear
(This review has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!) “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” This is a commonly known phrase. It means that, when seeking revenge and enacting that revenge, you need to be as heartless, evil, and cold as humanly possible. Just the word “revenge” sounds ominous enough, but when combined with the other words in this saying, it becomes a sinister aphorism. Ninja Slayer From Animation is built on revenge. And repetition. And revenge. And saying “Abbah!” a lot. And repetition. And ninjas. And comedy. And, of course, repetition. For Kenji, it is not “revenge is a dish best served cold,”but rather “revenge is me forcing you to ‘recite your death haiku’ and me chopping off your head.”
I am a gentle person, so I cannot say that I have sought revenge of this magnitude. However, I have taken part in petty revenge. Stuff like ignoring a teammate in a multiplayer video game because he insulted me. And now having seen Ninja Slayer, I have some more petty revenge to take part in.
STORY
In an anime like Ninja Slayer, it can be pretty easy to say what should not be taken seriously. Nancy used for nothing more than sexual relief? Not serious. Each ninja exploding in a ball of flame for no reason? Not serious. One of the ninjas being a giant lobster? Not serious. The problem is when the anime does try to be serious. Since everything else was not serious, it can be hard to take its serious moments seriously. For example, Kenji is frequently visited by his ninja soul. Metaphorically he represents Kenji’s inner rage, but given the soul’s ridiculous looks and demands, is the audience meant to take this more seriously than its sex, explosions, and lobsters?
This is not to say that the anime is deserving of justification, because it most certainly is not. Ninja Slayer’s narrative is a mess, and that is putting it lightly. The majority of the show is comprised of multiple plotlines focusing on a specific character or set of characters. Plotline is a bit misleading, because Ninja Slayer’s threads barely contain any. What this amounts to is a lot of events happening without anything “happening.”
Generally, the anime sticks to singular, isolated instances. Kenji and Nancy invading a yakuza clone laboratory. Koki crossing paths again with a boy from her past. Dark Ninja receiving a visit from a strange entity. But no matter the plotline, the problem is encountered: none of it matters. Events almost never build off one another, causing nothing but confusion. The worst case of this is when Kenji arrives at a resistance movement (that was never mentioned) to find Yukano (who was forgotten about) and cure her of her amnesia (which is given only the smallest of explanations).
Each plotline also has nearly the exact same set of events happen each and every time. The protagonist shows up, the ninjas bow to one another, and everyone screams a combination of “Yeaart!”, “Arrrgh!”, and “Sayonara!” Ninja Slayer is so repetitive that one of its major conflicts – Kenji fighting against Naraku Ninja, his ninja soul – happens so often that it starts to lose its thematic meaning of embracing one’s anger without letting it take control.
The ending alone is enough to demonstrate how all-over-the-place the show is: almost every single plotline, from Dark Ninja’s “destiny” to Yukano’s amnesia to Nancy’s golden cube, does not conclude. And because their plotlines have yet to conclude, Kenji’s has not ended either, despite defeating (one of) his final opponents. So not only is the narrative filled with disconnected plotlines but the ending is so inconclusive that the audience cannot help but wonder if anything other than Laomoto’s death actually happened, let alone mattered.
But perhaps the biggest pitfall for Ninja Slayer is one that it technically never makes. The anime does, in fact, have an overarching plot – Kenji seeking to avenge the murder of his wife and child. This is the driving force of not just Kenji’s character but also the narrative. Despite this event being so important and literally meaning everything to the anime, not once is the actual scene shown. The scene is alluded to. The scene is talked about in passing. But the scene is never actually shown. Not showing this scene or the events leading up to it or anything else related to such a monumental event makes it nearly impossible to understand Kenji’s plight. That is to say, the foundation for the show is never established from the get-go, so everything that occurs throughout the season lacks a sense of purpose.
Thus, whether or not Ninja Slayer wants to be taken seriously does not matter because the narrative is seriously broken.
ANIMATION
Ninja Slayer takes an insane approach to its animation in that it barely has any.
This is not an understatement. Much of the show is filled with cardboard cutouts that stand still but move as if a child were playing house with them. A character does not dodge projectiles, he casually spins in the air. A character does not sprawl on the ground, she lays there as if she were turned to stone. A character does punch another character, he or she moves toward the target, overlaps with the enemy, then moves back. It is an awkward display that forces one to imagine what could have been.
To be fair, the anime does have animated sequences. These, however, like the repetitive story, are mired in repetition. Many fights consist of the same, frame-for-frame set of punches or kicks, lasting many more seconds than necessary (“seconds” seems short, but when the exact same animation is played over and over, those seconds start to add up…). Animated sequences that are not cutouts or repetitive instances are present, but they are rare, leaving Ninja Slayer more or less immobile from start to finish.
Now, Ninja Slayer is a comedy. The cutouts and the repetition, no matter how asinine, is hilarious to watch if only because one cannot believe that it is happening on-screen. This gets back to the previous talk on seriousness. The low animation quality might be something the audience is meant to laugh at. It is an enticing thought if only because it is almost more insane to believe that frozen characters, streams of green goo, and overly realistic explosions were approved beforehand with a clear mindset.
And just to be even fairer to the anime, the show can be pretty clever with its minimum amount of animation. At one point, Kenji is talking with Nancy through a chat room on the computer, but since Kenji is bad at typing, his response is extremely slow. The result is a good minute of both Kenji and Nancy sitting and doing nothing in cyberspace. Similar to the better animated sequences, these clever moments are rare, but they are welcome without a doubt.
Artistically, Ninja Slayer is diverse in its settings, a result of the multiple plotlines. A decrepit city, a moving train, a huge skyscraper, some bamboo woods, and a shipping yard are just a sampling of the areas visited over the course of the show. In fact, the anime is almost always in a new place with each new episode, reducing (however slightly) the overall amount of repetition.
Furthermore, the anime is a rainbow, the colors as diverse as the locations and vibrant in hue. Sometimes the colors can be too bright, which is jarring to see among the darker, more realistic backgrounds, but the wide range of colors is nice to see even if they are not moving much.
Again, to be fair to the anime, the show can get clever with its artistic direction. Throughout the season, Ninja Slayer had giant black bars on both sides of the screen. During the last fight, when Kenji morphs into his final form, these black bars shatter, signifying that he has, at last, achieved tranquility. Per usual, these are rare moments, but they add to the novelty of the entire package.
Better than both the art and the animation are the character designs. While the women are designed with sensuality in mind, the rest of the cast, like Notorious and Gatekeeper, are some combination of weird, goofy, and intriguing. Kenji’s red garb with green outlines and impossibly long scarf turn him into the ultimate ninja. Nancy’s black, skin tight outfit, blonde hair with bun, and voluptuous figure make her out to be the sexy minx that she is. And Dark Ninja’s all-purple attire, with a killer, behind-the-back samurai sword gives him a cool, villainous vibe.
CHARACTERS
Like Ninja Slayer’s story, the characters in the anime can barely be called characters because there is hardly anything about them worth mentioning.
Nancy is easily the worst written. She has a special neural-to-computer ability, but when her only directive is to be placed in blatant sexual circumstances, her character becomes less of a person and more of an object.
Kenji is almost no different. His go-to line is “ninjas shall perish,” though he does have compassion for ninjas and people who are morally sound. Kenji does not develop much over the course of the season; he constantly seeks revenge and murder, but his character is seldom challenged. He often wrestles with his inner ninja soul, but whether or not he should take a different path or how his actions affect the people (now) close to him are not outright explored. This makes his character rather stale throughout the season. His anger becomes a part of him and not his sole motive as the anime ends, but that is not nearly enough to make up for how plain his character had been.
Yukano had a chance, but the anime drops the ball severely. Yukano is the daughter of Kenji’s former master, Dragon. Following Dragon’s death at the hands of Dark Ninja, she disappears. When she reappears, she calls herself Amnesia because she now has (coincidentally enough) amnesia. She joined an unexplained resistance group, found love at first sight (who is killed off immediately), and essentially becomes evil through her inability to see that her current actions are wrong. As she puts it, she is a “different person.” The problem is that the audience never got to see who she was before, so her transformation has no basis. In fact, the only characterization the anime highlighted was her huge bust.
Almost every other ninja that Kenji and the others encounter is a one-off. They appear, provide their formalities, and proceed to be killed off in some capacity. Only a select few manage to remain relevant throughout the season. Dark Ninja is the most obvious. Yet he, like most of the cast, does not have his past divulged or his motivations made clear. Dark Ninja has next to no presence, appearing to fight Kenji only a handful of times. Altogether, he is a lackluster villain. Laomoto, the main bad guy, is the same. Besides just being mean and huge, nothing about him says he is a worthwhile antagonist. Forest is the only smaller ninja that remains alive, though he is more a comic relief character due to his incoherent mindset.
Koki is arguably the best character that Ninja Slayer has to offer, but again that is not saying too much. In passing, the viewer learns of her suicide attempt and killing of her parents (supposedly, because it is never brought up again). When she gains her ninja soul and refuses to join the Soukaiya, she flees, protecting her best friend and, indirectly, deciding that life is an adventure worth taking. She meets people like Kagi (Silver Karasu) who teaches her in the ways of the sword, acting as a father figure of sorts. Later on she teams up with Genocide the zombie-priest ninja, proving that friends come in all shapes and sizes. While the end shows her still wandering the world alone, her plotline being inconclusive makes a bit more sense since her overall goal is a bit more aimless and her encounters are a bit more random.
Everyone except Nancy has one thing in common: the ninja souls. The souls they harbor give them their powers, but they also give them some symbolic meaning. For Kenji, his soul gives him unrivaled potential and symbolizes his rage that is nearly palpable. For Koki, her soul gives her psychic abilities and symbolizes the mental taxing she experiences with each new encounter. For Laomoto, his multiple souls give him his size and symbolizes his “final boss” status. Each ninja has a different ninja soul, and while they are not all shown in detail (technically speaking, Kenji’s is the only ninja soul that regularly speaks with his human host) their souls match who they are as a person. At least, to the extent that the soul matches their name and their persona.
Koki and this ninja soul symbolism somewhat make up for the abysmal rest of the cast, but only barely.
SOUND
Ninja Slayer almost never forgets to start its episodes with its opening theme. The all-English lyrics make the song extremely easy to sing along with, even if they do not really make sense. The piece itself is, true to form, somewhat repetitive during the first part. Also, the first part is just a lot of noise without much substance. But once the second part kicks in and the song lets the vocalist do the work, the strength of the piece is heard.
Contrary to the OP and one of Ninja Slayer’s most surprising twists is its ending themes. Plural because the anime uses a different ED for almost every episode. The EDs are mostly rock-n-roll and experimental in design, fitting the oft over-the-top and quirky scenarios that permeate the show. The range of tracks alone is impressive, but it is their ability to cap off each episode in a fun manner that makes them a welcome addition. Plus, this is one of a select few instances where Ninja Slayer foregoes repetition, so at the minimum one can be happy knowing that a new ED is the reward for making it through the “same” content once more.
Voice acting performances in Ninja Slayer are not that impressive, but each role is filled nicely enough. Toshiyuki Morikawa as Kenji uses both a manly and disciplined voice that fits the name “Ninja Slayer.” Chiwa Saito as Nancy gives the sexy woman as sexy of a voice as possible. And Sora Amamiya as Koki deserves a special shout-out for her childlike “Yeeart!” The biggest wonder is whether or not Kenji, Nancy, Koki, and everyone else always gives a new rendition of “Yeeart!” or “Aaaargh!” every time they have to speak those words, or the anime simply reused the same clip time and again. It is probably the latter, but the former makes their efforts that much more notable.
Finally, the remainder of the original soundtrack is a combination of many different genres at once. Some tracks use Asian instruments for that ninja feel. Some tracks focus exclusively on funky beats and techno tunes. Some tracks are downright mysterious. The OST does not reach the same level as the EDs, but it is considerably better than most anything else that Ninja Slayer has to offer.
ENJOYMENT
I think this anime is on the line between infamously bad and “so bad it is good.”
On the one hand, there is so much wrong with the show. Repetition up the wazoo. Boring fights. Absurd developments. The anime even has the audacity to use up an entire episode of scenes that, for one reason or another, were omitted over the course of the season (the scene featuring the masochistic person is particularly bizarre, as is the one with the owl).
On the other hand, each of these problems can be entertaining in their own right. Hearing Nancy say “Take this!” over and over is oddly hilarious. Watching as each ninja explodes in a glorious fashion – Laomoto is essentially a nuclear bomb – is comical. Seeing the insane doctor jump on his hot nurse, with accompanying still-character animation and silly voice acting, is funny. The show has a certain charm to it that is only possible because everything is as ridiculous as it is.
I liked the first half because it felt “fresh” in the sense that this was an anime unlike any I had seen before. The yakuza constantly screaming “Hey, screw you!” The technically-animated-but-not-really sequences. The moonwalking ninja beating up the handicapped, Medusa-esque man.
Unfortunately, due to the repetition, the second half is not the same; that earlier charm starts to wane. Kenji saving Nancy for the umpteenth time or the fights proceeding in almost the same fashion lacks that initial appeal that the first half did.
To be fair (I have been saying this a lot with this one…), the second half does have its moments. The final fight against Laomoto is easily the best because it incorporates moves from earlier in the season as well as lasting for quite a while. The battle does end on a repetitive, back-and-forth, fist-to-face exchange, but the OP playing in the background during the initial bout makes up for this.
The second half also has my favorite episode from the entire season: the episode where Koki and Genocide become buddies. I liked the zombie-priest ninja since he reminded me so much of the monster from Frankenstein (sort of the point). He was the brawn to Koki’s brains, so such a duo was a perfect match. They sadly part ways, but it was still a weird, fun, and heartwarming episode.
Ninja Slayer From Animation hits itself with its own shurikens. The story is riddled with issues, its characters are not worthwhile, and its approach to animation is laughable in more ways than one. Combined with the gross repetition that plagues everything, it is almost a miracle that the anime even exists to begin with. Revenge is a dish best served cold. But for some petty revenge, simply force someone to sit through this anime.
SUMMARY
Story: Terrible, nonsensical, incomplete, and purposeless
Animation: Fine, while the actual animation is essentially nonexistent, the nice character designs and artistic direction, alongside some clever moments, make up for this hilarious decision
Characters: Bad, Koki is okay and symbolism exists, but Nancy, Kenji, and every other ninja lack any sort of strength
Sound: Fine, okay OP, good EDs, okay OST, about average VA performances
Enjoyment: Fine, hilarious and charming in its own right, but this hilarity and charm wanes the more it is watched
Final Score: 3/10
Sleuf
I find it funny how this really low budget anime is one of the best I've seen in a long time. The plus: It's 12 minutes long and they are action packed minutes, you don't feel like you are wasting your time watching 24 minute of boring shit. The character development is never useless and the show is always really funny and over the top. Some little things like explosions everywhere for no reasons and stuff that makes no logical sense at all or is just wrong is always so funny. It's nonsensical and random done right, it's not annoying like other bad anime, it's just really goodlike Inferno Cop was.
Overall the show isn't for kids, it's more of a mature show that can only be enjoyed by people that have good taste.
I don't often give 10 but when I do I always do after "Assessing the situation"
Rexxgrim
What do you get when Trigger asks Michael Bay to direct a Japanese version of Aqua Teen Hunger Force but with more plot and less disgust? I'll tell you what you get - You get motherf***ing Ninja Slayer! Time for a review and let's start with a summary. Overall: 6 Ninja Slayer from Animation is a anime that I think only the special kind would enjoy, with it's plot-line being just fine, art like a car crash, sound and music that is decent enough, characters that you somewhat grow fond of over time and tons of YEEART, ARRGH and SAYONARA! So let's break this up - Story: 6 Ninja Slayer'sstory is among those that is so regular these days that you can't really bash them for being overused. Main character has had some kind of loss and thus seeks vengeance by kicking everyone's sorry a** til he reaches the head of them all and gives him the boot as well. Yet it's the way Ninja Slayer presented / introduced us to the plot and made it go along the line that made it better than the "usual" way this sort of plot is presented.
Ninja Slayer's story gets a 6 at the end of the day, a rank worthy of "Well presented average"
Art: 3
This is a mess, an absolute total mess without remorse, this was the only aspect that had me almost dropping the show but I figured it's not 100% CGI Crap nor is it colorless paper flatness all the way and thus I can't give it a lower rating - And the show kept me entertained to a certain degree so the art at the end of the day didn't ruin the show, it just brought it down by a ton. Yet I assume this is what's suppose to be some of the "beauty" around Ninja Slayer, but I for one can't say that art style like this train wreck can be considered good.
The art of Ninja Slayer gets a solid 3 and well so that.
Sound: 6
I personally liked the soundtracks for Ninja Slayer although it was not many of them. They suited the mood and scenery just fine pretty much all the time, and so did all other background sounds. In the long run some of it might have been a tad repetitive but it was not bad. And besides that there is not much more to say about the sound.
Music, sounds and whatnot from Ninja Slayer scores a 6.
Characters: 5
So many, some of them short lived, others a mystery til series end, some lovable, others simply annoying and the last set was there with us til the end and became someone I could enjoy watching in action. Ninja Slayers issue was that all the enemy ninjas became a bit un-creative eventually and that made some of the characteristics lose it's glance. And most of them died off before we even could start properly: Once again - Most likely part of the shows "beauty" but that didn't strike the nail on the head for me. Yet those we followed from start to end of mid to end like Ninja Slayer and Nancy winded up as likable main characters which is important.
Ninja Slayer and it's crew gets a high 5.
Enjoyment 5:
At the end of the day, Ninja Slayer was not the anime I JUMPED to watch, yet I didn't let one entire week go by without making sure I watched the most recent episode. Ninja Slayer had a certain zing to it that made it fun to watch yet it was not tip top. It was average, just in the middle line and because of that I wont rank it higher nor lower.
The enjoyment for watching Ninja Slayer gets a 5.
And that concludes the review of Ninja Slayer with and overall rating of 6! Wait... What do you mean I should rate it higher? Who even are you? Wait?! What?! *YEEART!* AARGH! SAYONARA!
- Low rating reviewer's must perish!
2life
Ever saw something so bad it was good? Ninja Slayer From Animation is brilliant and in my opinion is so much better than recent anime (2019/2020). DO NOT let the animation put you off. Story: Story is not bad and not great. The anime just follows a simple plot of "a man wants revenge". While this is not the most original concept ever created, ninja slayers has its own twist and makes it great to watch. There are some character who gets screen time, and take in mind that the characters are not directly connected to each other, but are connected to the story and Neo-Saitama in general. Whilethe story itself contains some loose ends there are no plot holes or inconsistency. But why it doesn't bother me to much is because it all happens logically in that same world of chaos.
Art:
Your everyday Inferno Cop art. The first few episodes and some fight scenes are in "power point" style, meant as joke. The bad cg simply makes it even funnier. There are ofcourse some more conveniently animated scenes. As the main character Ninja Slayer grows, the animation style does to. This is most noticeable when they follow Yamato Koki, they use less the cardboard style and more normal scenes. I think the use of "maturing" animation is done very clever.
Sound:
Dome... Ninja Slayer, desu
WASSSHOOOOI!!
YEEEART
AAIEEEEEE
YEAAART
YEEEART
AAIEEEEE
YEEEART
S-SAYONARAAAAAA
BOOOOOOM
Well there all there is, jk jk. Voice acting is simply brilliant. With all the cheesy lines and screams the voice acting feels so lively and fitting in the Ninja Slayer universe. The voice acting by Yamoto and her scenes carried so much emotion. It was not only satisfying but also moving. The consistent use of all the screams is so dumb yet funny. Oh and please don't skip the ending songs, most episodes have their own unique ed.
Character:
The characters are sooo dumb or cheesy and that is exactly the point. But what makes me like them more likeable is that are not just overly cocky. An over used trope in modern anime which makes me just dislike the anime in general. They have confidence in their ninja skills and they show it.
Ninja Slayer feels badass. He is a ruthless killer but also a hero. While he is often presented as a simple ninja you get to see some of his thoughts. It adds a lot to world and character building.
Nancy Lee is there pure for fanservice. However, her hack skills are not to mess with.
Yukano Dragon, waisted potential but also a fanservice device
Yamoto Koki is best girl of the last decade. So sweet and pure and cute. I wished there was a lot more to see from her. While she doesn't connect to the main story, here character and side arc give more life to Neo-Saitama.
Enjoyment:
All in all this anime is fun to watch. If you watched Inferno Cop and Kill la Kill this will definitely suit you. This anime (story) is a joke and you should laugh about that. If you just relax and take it for what it is, you'll enjoy it to. It is a parody of parodies. While the jokes are dryer than a rice cracker they are typical dad jokes level of bad. But the way it is executed (SAYONARAAA), is incredible. To fully describe my feeling is rather satisfaction when i've watched this, leaving a smile on my face each episode.
You watch this because you think it is funny and good. Not the other way around.
BaloneyPony
Ninja Slayer is, well frankly, an experience not worth missing. The inferno cop esque style pairs perfectly with the outrageous sketchy art style of Trigger. There is practically no REAL story...but let me get right into that STORY: 4 This is the tale of Fujikido's quest for vengeance against the fearsome boss of the syndicate organization, Soukai, for the killing of his son and wife. Simple...yes...Stupidly simple? Absolutely. There's no complex shit that requires deep thinking. It would be an insult to distinguish it's story as being superb over some of the likes of classics *ahem* Trigun, NGE, Fist of the NorthStar. I'm not gonna lie and tell you to watch it for the story...now on the other hand
ART: 6
The art is a calamity between shitty 2d fight scenes made from flash and 3D typical Gainax/Trigger animation. But, I do think this does it value. I appreciate being shown these well-enough animated sequences but then being immediately reminded that I'm watching a show made for us stupid Americans to stop thinking we know everything. As a treat, we get to look at the same frame for 50 seconds....like take the scene where Ninja Slayer and Nancy are sitting there. It's a grim reminder that my intelligence can be quelled under certain circumstances.
SOUND:8
BACK IN BLACK is a great intro. So rocking and catchy and the lyrics try and provide us a deeper meaning into absolutely nothing. The song that plays when Ninja Slayer goes into a fight is nice. Overall, I didn't want to lynch myself over repetitive music if that tells you anything
ENJOYMENT:8
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAART. I think that's all I need to say here
Overall: a solid 6.
There's no point in giving it any higher than this. There will be some moments in the show where you'll be regretting even clicking on the first episode. So, heed my warning, this show is a shittly made, poorly presented, masterpiece at being bad....but I do believe its worth at least one watch.
JizzyBizzy
This show, parody or not, is awesome. This is not like Inferno Cop, it only seems so on the outside. The "cut scenes" aka the parts where the animation shifts from joking to legit look really cool, and so do the character designs. The show tells an actually very good story inbetween all the gags, jabs and intentionally ridiculous aspects. On top of that it only gets better with time (I would say that the second half is a lot better as the show goes from an 8 to a straight 9) and culminates in an epic fight. The characters are unironically pretty cool, mainly, KenjiFujikido, who is not only a tragic figure (losing his family, losing the only ninja he respected - his old-shooled master, dealing with his inner demons with the figure of Naraku Ninja, etc.) but one of the few characters that receive actual character development. Then there is Koki Yamoto, who's story doesn't even intertwine with Fujikido's almost at all. She meats a man who defends her from evil ninjas, but he is destined to die, so she must continue on his legacy and be a true good ninja.
Many of the jutsus and techniques in the show were also very creative and interesting. Despite the fact that on a technical level the show appears to be quite repetative and formulaic, the scenarios are so crazy that it never feels that way. It also mixes it up a lot. Some scenes within an episode can alternate between parody and serious dramatic moments, where as even whole episodes can shif tonally from one to another. Any episode with Yamoto is almost entirely serious and uses the intentionally bad animation very sparingly. Besides ninjas, Fujikido fights a communist union that he joins, after realising their true intentions and grows in power throughout the series as occasionally he comes accross an openent he cannot defeat. The whole "Yeeeeaaaahhh" thing was used a lot, and stopped being funny after a few episodes, yet it didn't feel grading because it became part of the show's brand, like how some characters from other anime have catchfrases that don't stop being amusing, or you just get used to them.
This reminds me a lot of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, where if the animation was more fluid, the show would actually be a lot worse, and simultaneously the animation being "bad" isn't something you even care about. The concepts for the episodes alone are quite clever, so the presentation being only slightly more complex than a presentation isn't an issue with it. Another thing it reminds me is of the old Newgrounds animations - it's the kind of thing someone on the internet would make with no budget and you would binge it and enjoy it a lot more than most mainstream and professional shows and would only respect it more because it was built from the ground up.
ysengrim
Ninja Slayer is a hilarious, high-octane satire of the shonen genre that is well-executed. This show would fit in perfectly on Adult Swim. A striking art style combined with dirt cheap animation (you have to see it to believe it) and over-the-top action situations evokes an air of reflexivity. Ninja Slayer is an action anime that pushes the definition of the genre, relying on clever and effective cinematography in order to deliver tension and drama. The script is full of unnecessary repetition, catchphrases, and allusions to classic Asian literature that only make the already absurd scenes even better. Ninja Slayer is a burst of acetyleneeviscerating the stale desert of generic action anime.
KonataIwakura
In Neo-Saitama, a futuristic shithole full of neon, ninjas of the Soukai Syndicate run rampant in their evil intent. The home of the salaryman Fujikido Kenji is broken into and his wife and son are brutally murdered by said ninjas, and just when he's about to die, he accepts into his body an ancient ninja soul full of power, Naraku Ninja. His mind clouded by revenge, Ninja Slayer sets out on a journey to slay all the evil ninja in his path to the head of the Soukai Syndicate. Thanks to the (partial, in this case) animation style lifted directly from the much more popular InfernoCop (both from the same studio), many might think of this anime as a similarly absurd rehash, which is very wrong. Unlike Inferno Cop, Ninja Slayer plays itself completely straight from beginning to end, despite feeling like a parody all the time, with its absurdity being perfectly natural with only one extremely amazing fourth wall break through the whole thing. The action and humor are pretty solid, and so is the incredibly gratuitous fanservice, which borders on parody levels sometimes. Which it does, at least once. The story and characters are solid, and the principal animation is consistently stunning as well, which means the money saved from having characters fighting mostly as static frames was put to good use. The soundtrack is also phenomenal, with a really good OP theme and 26 different ED themes by various artists.
Ninja Slayer is a parody and love letter of some kind to many 80's and 90's action movies and anime, and despite what it looks like from a glance, it's an extremely solid action anime worth tons of fun.
Bensonas
What is there to say that has not already been said about Ninja Slayer From Animation. I'm pretty confident that every base, every angle and every opinion has been covered. Seemingly, this is a very polarising series. It's very marmite. You either love it or you hate it. One thing is for certain though, this is what can only be described as PERFECTION. Firstly, respect to Millawls. Their review not only is a must read prior to watching, but it's a superb review full stop and I have to echo the opinions expressed. I feel quite confident that most people giving it a bad review,knew it was a joke, knew it wasn't taking itself seriously and it was essentially poking fun at itself. However, I am still baffled how people knowing this can give it any less than an 8 to be honest. There are days and days worth of cliche, unoriginal and tedious animes in the vast anime ocean that somehow manage to get higher review scores than this..... absolutely rediculous I say. This is perfectly aligned to my tastes. I love my serious animes, AoT, FMA:B etc but I also love my comedy. What Ninja Slayer does so perfectly, is understanding what makes anime to an ignorant westerner (I am a westerner, just not ignorant) amplifies it and makes it hilarious. It genuinely can do no wrong.
The story is perfect. OTT protagonist, deep in self reflection with an unwavering desire to complete his chosen mission. Brilliantly written character development of the most cliché kind. Hilarious narration that glues the chaos of this tale together with a roster of protagonist that with every new introduction, put a massive smile on one's face. That's the best way in can describe how I felt throughout. With every passing episode, my smile grew bigger and bigger. Hilariously, though it's taking the royal piss, the story is better than most. This show manages to ridicule itself, seemingly barely try to deliver a cohesive show, through wave upon wave of ludicrous characters ones way and STILL be better than most anime. Remarkable really. Also, if you watch the Dub, the big man plays Ninja Slayer. You know who he is.
Animation wise, what more can you ask for. Character design is painfully original. The 2d moments are perfect. For those of you reading this prior to watching, please bare with it, only for a moment. You will soon realise its purpose and my god is it perfect. We go from 2 day static character art, to hand drawn in a minute to quality animation. Each style is perfectly utilised to give you what you want from animation, to giving you something I'm not sure many anime has, actually hilarious animation. Animation that can stand alone, in silence and still be hilarious. Again, another perfect layer.
Music, you may by now be thinking, here we go, this is the part it lets itself down...WRONG. One of the best anime soundtracks I've heard. Don't get me wrong, we dont have perfect scene making music like the Guts Theme from Berserk, but by now, if you don't know already, which would be really weird if you didn't, we are talking about Ninja Slayer. It's doesn't that. What it delivers is banging tune after tune that do the EXACT job they need to. The very moment a banger comes on, with everything you have invested in the show, you are buzzing. Every moment when the music graces you with it's presence, you are left better off for it.
Honestly, I could write about this show forever. It honestly is one of the best animes I've ever seen. Similar to what Millawls highlighted in their review, this is not a troll review. This is a review from some who has watched 2500+ episodes of anime, has been through masterpieces and some pieces of crap, ranges from 80s to 20s and I firmly believe, without any doubt in my mind, this is superb beyond expectation. For the fans of anime who have been watching for decades, it has to be watched. For new fans to anime, it has to be watched. For those inbetween, it has to be watched. Ultimately, you are literally wasting you life as a fan of anime not watching this show.
Do not expect Beebop, or Season 3 AoT, or FMA:B. Expect the best anime you have never seen.
