Under Ninja

Once believed to be extinct, ninjas have reappeared in contemporary Japan following the Pacific War. With a headcount rumored to be two hundred thousand, these deadly assassins are now tasked with covert operations, infiltrating a significant portion of the nation's public and private institutions in the process.

Among these ninjas is Kurou Kumogakure, who often spends his days in a run-down apartment with no motivation to do much of anything. Some might consider him a useless vagrant who does nothing but steal beer from his neighbor. Nevertheless, the 17-year-old loser might actually be more dangerous than his demeanor suggests. Kurou's hidden potential is put to the test when he is given a new mission to infiltrate a local high school, but there is more to this assignment than he could ever predict.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kumogakure, Kurou Main

Ban, Taito Japanese

Russian Foreigner Supporting

Shinomiya, Gou Japanese

Kawado, Ai Supporting

Anzai, Chika Japanese

Suzuki Supporting

Tanezaki, Atsumi Japanese

Hachiya, Shion Supporting

Yamashita, Daiki Japanese

Sasama Supporting

Sonozaki, Mie Japanese

Katou Supporting

Shingaki, Tarusuke Japanese

Junna's Father Supporting

Yoshida, Akikazu Supporting

Ogino, Seirou Japanese

Mako-chan Supporting

Kawase, Maki Japanese

Oowada, Tomoyuki Producer

Cao, Cong Producer

Shioya, Yoshiyuki Producer

Kurosu, Nobuhiko Producer

Reviews

Dec 22, 2023

Need_for_Steed

Recommended

Under Ninja is an anime watcher's anime. If you have a lot of exposure to anime and have gotten tired of seeing the same tropes and narratives over and over, this is your anime. It's truly unlikely anything else, and it scratches that novelty-seeking itch.

Something you'll notice about users who give this a low score is that they are newer accounts, and probably joined MAL during COVID.

These newcomers have little exposure to anime, which is practically a prerequisite to be able to appreciate Under Ninja's subversion to anything and everything previously established within the world of anime and manga. Newcomers can't know what's being subverted ... if they don't know what's being subverted.

Under Ninja's boldness in its originality and well-executed absurdism is a monumental achievement that kept me simultaneously impressed and laughing. It's my personal favorite anime of Fall 2023.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Feb 20, 2025

jimmylops

Mixed Feelings

This Anime felt like a comedy with the absurd things that kept happening and the poor animation quality. I continued to watch it because i found it funny however the last few episodes are just insane and not funny anymore. The last episode in particular is one of the most insane episodes of anime ive ever seen. At first the show seemed self aware in how absurd it was and thats what made it feel like a comedy, but the last episode is simply insane and it tries to add in multiple unexplained plot points at the last moment. After that it was no longer ... funny and instead left me wondering how much i was meant to take seriously and how much of the show was a joke...

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Dec 23, 2023

KuroiKizu

Not Recommended

Well, good things first: The sound is good. The art is kinda... welll, once you get used too it, it's kinda good and unique. The ehm... let's call it a "Stroy" is also unique in its own way and some characters are funny.
And now the bad things: The whole rest!

As I just said the story is unique. Also, I don't have problems with stories you have to think about to understand everything like in Serial Experiments Lain, King of Thorns, or the Info dumping within the first episodes of Steins;Gate and DURARARA!!
But the difference is that those Anime have a good story and once ... you understand everything, it gets even better. But Under Ninja...
There are just too many mistakes. For example, within the first episodes it goes always back and forth, which is not a problem, BUT(!) there are also several storylines mixed together which don't have any connection - or at least it feels this way since this Anime constantly throws in new characters and relations, while also having the time jumpes and with no explanation where the story is going to or if it even has a goal.
Let's be honest, even at the end you get kinda info dumped and things happen where you ask yourself "WHY?!"
I would like to explain it further buw I don't want to spoil anything in case you still want to watch it.

But even that would be okay, IF the characters would be compelling so that you want them to succeed, and yeah, some characters are good written so that you care for them, but those are exceptions. Tbh, even the lady side character with the big boobs was more interesting than the Male MC you get introduced to since he has the charisma of a box bread. And having a lot of characters with really a lot of side characters is no problem as long as they get fleshed out like in Tensura or Mirai Nikki - but unfortunately that's not the case here.
However, what upsets me the most, is the fact that some of the side characters I really cared for (since they were actually good written) just get killed in the end... but than in the final minutes you get new characters thrown in in a way which is... well, just uninteresting.

All in all, I really tried to get myself into this Anime but except for some few scenes I couldn't enjoy it. Just a waste of time. Hell, even Isekai de Cheat Skill... Level Up wa Jinsei wo Kaeta was better balanced and more compelling than Under Ninja and it kinda hurts me to admit that.
So, if you have no expectations whatsoever and just want to see an Anime, go for it - But if you want to see a good Anime with Ninja in it, better watch Naruro or... damn, even Senran Kagura which is 90% Fan Service would be a better choice.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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One Main Character

by Gino99

50 Entries · 105 Restacks

Anime not dubbed in english pt 5

by Idk5008

47 Entries · 1 Restacks

One anime per character: # to Z Part. 2

by Subxxxx1

48 Entries · 3 Restacks

Fall 2023 Simulcast List [Update 10/22]

In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of television anime acquired for simulcast release during the Fall 2023 season. Anime series licensed for home ...read more

Sep 29, 2023 8:06 AM by Snow | Discuss (26 comments)

Fall 2023 Preview

In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of Fall 2023 titles with an accompanying promotional video, commercial, teaser, or trailer. This post will be u...read more

Sep 22, 2023 10:51 AM by Snow | Discuss (13 comments)

	Poll: Under Ninja Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Dec 21, 2023	124 replies	by Kap92 »» Jan 5, 10:06 AM
	Poll: Under Ninja Episode 11 Discussion Stark700 - Dec 14, 2023	22 replies	by Kap92 »» Jan 5, 10:06 AM
	Poll: Under Ninja Episode 10 Discussion Stark700 - Dec 7, 2023	21 replies	by Kap92 »» Jan 5, 10:05 AM
	Poll: Under Ninja Episode 9 Discussion Stark700 - Nov 30, 2023	26 replies	by Kap92 »» Jan 5, 10:05 AM
	Poll: Under Ninja Episode 8 Discussion Stark700 - Nov 23, 2023	30 replies	by Kap92 »» Jan 5, 10:05 AM