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 11, 2024

XanWasting

Mixed Feelings

The story pacing is messed up. Several first episodes have numerous time jumps, that differ in occurence by HOURS, and the exact timeline isn't presented clearly. It would be much easier to watch if a clear time stamps were provided. You can shove those 1:34PM 24 September 20XX, I can't even finish reading it before the action resumes.
The overarching story, or should I say world situation is similiarly very complex. It is quite compelling actually.
And this story is THE Protagonist. In this anime singular characters don't matter, what matters is painting the ongoing, and escalating conflict between ninja factions. The main cast, secondary cast, none ... of them matter if they're not contributing to this storytelling through either comedic relief or direct involvement (the scale of which goes way over the head of any of them that we get to know, even in passing), and after they're done, they can go fuck right off.

I admit I've never seen game of thrones, but from what tidbits were forced into my throat by people who did watch it, I think it's quite similiar in it's stance to storytelling.
For me it was a good watch, but I'm almost certainly not rewatching this.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Dec 23, 2023

marchuk309

Not Recommended

This anime show was like a roller coaster. However, this roller coaster seemed to only go downhill. At first I noticed a familiar style of drawing the characters. I was not wrong. The author of the original manga was Kengo Hanazawa. His manga 'I am a hero' brought me many positive emotions at the time. That is why I started watching UN with high expectations.
But, there are always 'buts'. With each subsequent episode, my expectations for this show went lower and lower.
What I thought was a kind of meta-ironic humor, which is only gaining momentum and will be revealed in the future, turned out ... to be only a failed attempt to build gags on the subject of dark humor. The idea of combining a serious atmosphere with incredible absurdity is really worth it. But still, it just doesn't work right in this show. Cringe does not work as it should.
A large number of interesting characters, all these secrets, the laws of their world - in 12 episodes, you simply cannot grasp all the available elements of the puzzle. There are too many characters, everyone seems so interesting, but they don't get enough screen time. A 24-episode season might have allowed for better exploration, but it is what it is.
Also, in my opinion, the main problem of the show lies in the dialogues. While the dialogues with ordinary citizens are well written, the dialogues between ninjas are simply boring.
I tried to love this show, I really tried. At first there was hope that in the last episodes the show would shine brightly, the flower of Madao would bloom. But, there are always 'buts' and they make me sick. The ending turned out to be simply cruel, the unpleasant taste in my mouth has not disappeared. Well, at least the mystery with the Kuro clan at the end was a great cliffhanger for the sequel, as well as a sweet pill for me.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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One Main Character

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Anime not dubbed in english pt 5

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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