Ninjas still exist in Japan today. They number around 200,000. The ninja organization NIN (National
Intelligence of NINJA) is not controlled by the civilian government, with its elite members performing
assassinations and sabotage in secret. There is an organization that opposes NIN: UN (Under Ninja).
Ninja versus ninja: What lies waiting at the end of this shadowy feud?
(Source: Crunchyroll)
~~~When thinking about what anime I am more interest in for this season, seriously, most of it seems to be quite typical. However, Under Ninja has caught my attention. It may be due to the uniqueness of the plot among many anime this season, many of which have a typical plot. Surely, Under Ninja wasn’t comparable to big names like _JJK_, _Spy x Family_, _The Eminence in Shadow_ or _Sousou no Frieren_ but Under Ninja has some unique storytelling. That’s the reason why, in my opinion, Under Ninja is a hidden gem of this season.~~~ ~~~youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfektppMlx8) (_Like the ed with classic Japanese rock band's vibe_)~~~ ~~~Particularly, credit must be given to the storyboard, which is brilliantly done. The plot may be interesting enough; however, the arrangement of storyboards has finely enlarged the potential the plot initially had. For instance, the introduction of the Russian guy at the beginning and him being the central event surrounded by hidden Japanese assassinators – Ninja that were gradually revealed. Until episode 4, the title of the show was recalled and that was where the real story of the show began. With the closing of the consecutive murders conducted by the Russian, we have finally got a clear image of what the anime is exactly about and of who Under Ninja is. ~~~ ~~~Besides, the character design has been a personal favourite. Each character apparently carries a characteristically different personality, and most of them are weirdos. Not gonna lie, these weirdos did come along and create stunning chemistry and effects for the show. The noticeable characters somehow slightly remind me of Prison School which will break your common sense, especially considering that real-life Japan is the stage of this comical event. ~~~ img(https://otakukart.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Under-Ninja-Poster-1140x570.jpg) ~~~The progression of the plot was always intriguing, and the momentum was kept even until the last episode. Moving on to the plot per se, it displayed a ninja community that is hiding among the normal citizens, but at the same time, it later turned into bureaucracy division and conflict within the community which enlightened the gusto of the show as it began to show more battles. Honestly, it was quite disheartening to see how Kumogakure Kurou ended up in the final episode as bro has been acting so chill and dope throughout the show. This merely proved that Kurou was a Genin after all and he has no ability to confront such conflicts initiated by the finest ninjas above him. ~~~ ~~~Last but not least, hopefully there will be a season 2 in the near future to see the Kumogakures who showed up surprisingly, take revenge for Kurou. Under Ninja is an interesting anime that you can give a try if you are tired of typical harem or shonen fights. Its peculiar story settings are what make it stands out among many names.~~~
_Do you like Ninjas? Then this is for you_ This one was a rather sudden watch on my end when I decided to pick this up in the fall 2023 season but it managed to pique my curiosity a bit, atleast the first episode did. This anime was a jumbled bag of sorts. While at one hand it portrays a sort of a modern Ninja group who are living day to day lives and are hiding in plain sight doing what needs to be done but the execution left much to be desired. __The premise was interesting no doubt__ but the execution is where I have issues with this. Let's start with the main issue I have with this anime, I really think this anime should not have opted for the piece by piece storytelling style. I don't know if this was in the manga or this is just the Director's personal flair but it definitely can get really confusing really fast. Things are shown from the past and present perspective, events shown out of order to later be assembled for the wow factor (Something like Baccano you can say). But this does not work in the favour of the anime at all. In fact, at one point I thought stuff was happening in the present but it was infact the last. I have no issue with the pacing or animation and think those were done really well. The only thing detracting from my enjoyment of this kind of weirdly unique anime was the out of order storytelling which Iam not a fan of. Don't get me wrong, it works in several other shows where mystery is the driving force or in supernatural shows but in a realism dipped show like this it actually doesn't work in my opinion. It's something done for the shock value and wow factor but it has no impact. Now let's talk about the characters, The MC is one of the most bland characters I've had the displeasure of seeing lol. Like he seriously cannot be bothered to do something. His lack of enthusiasm or even remotely any interest in stuff really makes me not like his character at all. Character wise, I don't think there was even one standout character here. They are all wacky and do wacky stuff and that's about it. Nothing to write home about. __Now let's start with the positives of this show aswell__ The animation and artstyle is oozing style, definitely think it's perfect for this sort of anime and atmosphere. youtube(https://youtu.be/1O5bALsN2uY?si=hdeDnqpG3TUcO20l) youtube(https://youtu.be/sfektppMlx8?si=wXbdonekdZgcAbqx) The opening and ending are absolute bangers aswell. Soundtrack was good and nicely placed. The ending for this was generally one of the most out of nowhere stuff I've seen recently and that increased my overall thoughts about this anime. The ending is such a big plottwist. All in all, definitely one of the most unheard of anime of the past season and it definitely was interesting and tried to do something different which is appreciated. It did some bold stuff and the author used really unconventional ideas. It definitely deserves another season since it was enjoyable and I would love to watch more of it. __I'll rate this an honest to goodness 7/10. Thanks for reading!__