Shinobi no Ittoki

[neflight86]

275370.jpg

"Sakuraba Ittoki was an ordinary student, until his life was turned upside down! He finds out that he is the 19th heir of the famous Iga Ninjas. The Iga must try to defend what is theirs from the Koga, a rivaling clan seeking to end Ittoki's life. Ittoki is left with no choice but to become a shinobi that's strong enough to not only protect himself, but also his village. Now a student at Kokuten Ninja Academy, a high school specializing in shinobi techniques, Ittoki learns the way of the modern-day ninja, equipped with high-tech suits and gadgets. Together with students from other villages, Ittoki clashes with the Koga in an attempt to end the rivalry once and for all.

Source: Crunchyroll"

Genre(s): Action, Drama, Shounen?

_____________________

1-3

Well, I somehow tricked myself into watching another 'ninja school' show after all these years... and you know what? It's pretty darn okay!

Ittoki is a likeable kid with a (seemingly) normal family dynamic that is fun to watch until the rug is pulled out from under him. I thought he would be 'in' on the secret until the reveal in episode 1, so it came to me about as much a shock as it did to him that he is a big-wig. The setup with the family withholding the information and secretly protecting him is a bigger stretch than a Naruto filler arc, but they wisely avoid overexplaining how ninjas have integrated into society, or what their purposes are. Focusing on the organizational units themselves helps to paint the conflict and direct attention to where it matters: ninja school. Even there, social cliques are as abrasively Japanese as they have ever been in anime.

The animation is average, maybe a little cheap looking, but what is really unfortunate is that the character designs are just... plain. Like, really plain. Ninja's aren't supposed to be flashy, but this is too subdued. Don't get me wrong, they are somewhat attractive and on-model, but the actual body and facial design seems really mix-and-match- it could be a dozen other shows about high school and you'd never know.

Another complaint, especially as of the third episode, is that while Ittoki is ignorant of ninja knowledge, even Kousetsu, who should know better, is disparaging him as if he should know what ninja suits are. Strange. The Koga/Iga tension being the result of an assassination was needed to bring the hostility beyond the realm of your average bullying, so that was welcome, and the tension there is ripe for the narrative use.

It won't rock your world, but I'm liking what I see so far, and the shounen 'fish-out-of-water-gotta-learn-on-the-fly' tropes haven't gotten old yet.

[KrayZ33]

I have to ignore 50% of this show to be able to enjoy it.
It's really bad. In my mind, the first 2 episodes didn't happen and I'm just going to pretend that this dude is some newbie ninja with an expert ninja childhood friend, which is best girl.

Another gripe I have with the show is how bad the ninja suits are looking.
So boring and generic.

[neflight86]

I dunno, the clan wars drama is somewhat interesting to me, even though there is alot of 'forced stupidity' required of the characters for them to act the ways they do sometimes. That said, it looks like this has shifted focus to the ninja school, so it should get more consistent from here on out. I also enjoy the principal.

Suits are boring, on that we agree entirely.

[KrayZ33]

I dunno, the clan wars drama is somewhat interesting to me, even though there is alot of 'forced stupidity' required of the characters for them to act the ways they do sometimes. That said, it looks like this has shifted focus to the ninja school, so it should get more consistent from here on out. I also enjoy the principal.

I believe the whole clan drama got entirely wiped by this "police ninja force" that is keeping the ninja in-fighting in check.
It's just so god damn silly and stupid to start this show with something like that just to turn it into school-bullying.

And everything has to be so forced so hard to make this story "work". Gosh how do I envy a country that has money to waste on a show like this, I'd dish out the funniest stuff and stories and make them into movies and animations.
How does a story like this even turn into anime. It doesn't even have the women.

Kosetsu can't possibly sell all the franchise and carry the whole show on her back, give that magnificent girl a break. It's almost a shame that she will most likely, eventually, show her -dere side. Would've been awesome when she gets even more pissed at having to babysit that idiot.

[neflight86]

Its suggested that the ninja police are somewhat in bed with the Koga (or have been compromised/infiltrated by them), so there's some tension.

The bullying is juvenile, agreed, but I expect it to grow into a more clan encompassing story before too long- it can't stay here forever. Too many characters not involved with the school have been introduced.

And everything has to be so forced so hard to make this story "work".
...
It doesn't even have the women.

Yes, it is forced, but that is the story the author obviously, desperately wants to tell, so deus ex machina it is... Maybe the women will grow on you?

[David75]

About that Koga master being killed... He was described as a demi-god in all abilities as a ninja and has been killed by another clan ninja ? Dubious at best, even more when you have the current head as the prime suspect... and the one pushing the revenge.
Redhead Koga will become Ittoki's ally at some point.
And I agree, their Ninja suits are lame. Their helmets don't even protect the head correctly from hitting on a roof/beam which is extremely common in real life as soon as you leave the ground, like on a ladder or as a ninja...

[KrayZ33]

And I agree, their Ninja suits are lame.

I guess "Tatsuya" had those secured in a stash from their last high-school tournament and traveled into this alternate timeline after trying out some new spell-tech.

Even has the... spell-cast-thingy around their wrist which they use to do their techno-spells. Guess they are powered by a spell! If you break it, it's gone and you can't move anymore.
That's how modern Ninjas came to be in this show, I'm sure of it.

edit: Waaiiiiit a freaking second. Now it makes sense.
Tatsuya killed the prodigy Koga chief. Who else could have done that considering how powerful he is supposed to be?

[neflight86]

4

Wait, wait, wait... No one told me that ninjas could also be employed for spycraft!?!?! Lamest 'twist' ever, and Ittoki should be ashamed that he even appears surprised about this.

Nice that things are happening with the adults outside of school, and the mystery is being unraveled.

Not much to discuss, but this is still watchable.

"Shorter skirt" had me loling.

[neflight86]

5-11

Circling back around, this has been a worthwhile ride for no other reason that this is shaping up to be a complete story. I don't know if this is based on a manga or an original work, but I expected the high school hijinks to carry out for the remainder of the season at least. Instead, we get full ninja insurrection, dirty pool, and some pretty dramatic deaths leading up to a finale that has me nodding in agreement. Some of the twists were pretty fun (like Ittoki's own clan usurping him) and the entire cast is being put to good use. There's very little fat here (seriously, the character design is uniformly anorexic). We've come along way from school bullying, that's for sure. This might well go down as a strongly okay show, and I couldn't ask for more.