Ninja Kamui Review: Breathtaking Action Meets Flawed Storytelling

Ninja Kamui

We can’t escape the past, no matter how hard we try sometimes, perhaps because our history defines us to an extent, or we cling to old ways in some form that makes the future much more challenging to reach. I can't say for sure if our past experiences, memories, and background all shape us, since there are so many spiritual explanations for it. So while you ponder that thought, let me take you into the world of a man whose past haunts and destroys his present relentlessly like some vengeful apparition…

“Ninja Kamui” is a 13-episode TV anime series that aired from the 11th of February until the 5th of May in Winter 2024. Sola Entertainment and Studio E&H Production produced it, brought to life by Park Seong-Hu as director, episode director, and animation director on storyboard and key animation; Umemoto Yui as co-director; Fujita Akiko as sound director; and Shimizu Hisatoshi as episode director and on key animation. The anime is an original series featuring action and sci-fi genres alongside the themes of adult cast, gore, and superpowers. Each episode has a runtime of 23 minutes and earned a rating of R-17+ for adult audiences owing to its violence and profanity.

The story is set around the protagonist, Joe Logan, a seemingly average man living a tranquil life in the countryside alongside his wife and child. But the hidden reality is that the Logan family has taken on false identities, all in an attempt to escape from Joe's bloody past as a merciless ninja assassin. It’s a miracle he can live even a remotely peaceful life after performing a string of high-profile murders of his former peers, but the man feels assured that his newfound life is safe. But of course, the life of an ex-assassin isn’t going to go so smoothly, because his bliss is soon brutally destroyed alongside the slaughter of his family at the hands of his former clan members. Somehow, Joe survives despite being left for dead, in a hospital no less, wondering how he managed to live considering the severity of the wounds inflicted.

This tragic event is followed by two police detectives, Emma Samanda and Mike Moriss, witnessing yet another attempt to take Joe’s life after being assigned the task of investigating the Logan family massacre. This time, though, the man was more than just prepared, unleashing a flurry of secret techniques that near-effortlessly dispatched his enemies and removed all traces of his new identity. Left on the path to re-embracing his old and bloody ways, Joe cloaks himself in his ex-persona and begins a bloody rampage through the organization he served in the past, with only cold-blooded revenge pushing him forward. Whether he needed it or not, he is now assisted by the detective duo, making him even more determined to kill the past haunting him and the demons born from it.

There isn’t much to be said in the story department; it’s all about Joe’s quest for revenge and the unfolding events. The plot purely exists to set up the most insane and bloody action scenes, so it’s fair to say the fights drive this series. Within the first three episodes, I was frustrated over how certain things happened just to force the plot along. I do not recommend using your brain much over this, because the more you think about it, the more dumb and forced the story becomes, but it’s honestly a decent show to watch at surface value, especially if you love brutal action. The primary focus here is the fights and gore, and they certainly delivered on that front, but there is no bigger picture. The setting itself is pretty intriguing, and I saw a lot of potential for this tale after the first episode because they handled the concept of real ninjas well, along with their hidden techniques and codes.

But this charm was lost around Episode 5, where the enemies started becoming mechas for some reason, and I felt like it didn’t fit the vibe here. To worsen it, Joe ends up getting a mecha suit too. Just why? This was unnecessary, and it completely killed the aura of authentic ninjas, devolving into just another wannabe mecha anime. Despite its visual appeal, it ultimately had more negative effects than positive ones. In the meantime, the story stops making sense entirely, and the pacing gets rushed until I couldn’t make heads or tails of what was happening. Events occurred between characters without clear motivation, making the poor writing glaringly apparent.

The character department is no improvement, because most of them lack any distinct or memorable personalities; it’s like they disregarded all forms of writing in the name of the action, which painfully shows. The fights have no proper reason to occur; they just happen, and we have zero idea what’s going on inside Joe’s head. Scratch that—we can’t even see his emotions and reactions inside the mecha suit. How or why did he win a given fight? This is due to his status as the main character, who exudes coolness and possesses superior techniques! You’d expect an MC like him to learn and grow through battle, but nope, he stays the same and shows zero development. As for the remaining characters, we don't understand why most of them exist, and the sheer lack of context is glaring. Some quirky and fairly likable foes were thrown into the mix, but they never amounted to anything besides fodder. All we get are a few vague flashbacks, but they aren’t enough to understand what each character is thinking. They were going for morally grey characters here, where there’s no clear good or evil, but the way it’s set up demands hundreds of episodes to become anything solid. I’m sure all the key characters have their own unique beliefs and motivations deep down inside, but the things they do to achieve their goals fall flat in the execution.

The art and animation department truly stands out because it is unique and reminds me of vintage American cartoons. However, be aware that it deviates from the typical anime visual style, so prepare accordingly. Like I said before, the action is the focal point, and they deliver on that front! As much as the fights lack any buildup and foreshadowing, making them meaningless overall, they are amazing to watch. The animation is stunning, and I could not get my eyes off the screen during intense fights; it’s so smooth and impactful that I thoroughly enjoyed it. The artwork is pretty refined as well, sticking true to the dark and grim nature of the show, but all it ultimately achieves is making the fights look better. I liked the character designs; the lines are sharp, and everyone is distinct, even if they look like generic designs from afar. I think they did a decent job of conveying what each character is like through the designs, especially since no other aspect of the show clues us in on those.

The Sounds and Music department is also great; what this drives home is how wasted it is. The opening theme is "Vengeance" by Coldrain, perfectly fitting the show's main theme. The ending themes are "Eye Openers" by Jessica Gelinas and "Chain Reaction" by Toft Willingham, both of which are English pieces, and I’m pretty sure I’ll listen to them for a while after finishing the show. The sound effects, particularly for the action scenes, are impeccable, and even the OSTs significantly enhance the intensity and impact of the battles. Unfortunately, the voice acting is pretty stale, and I can’t blame the cast, considering the material they had to work with. This is worsened by the sound quality of the dialogues, which almost sounded like they were recording from inside a pipe or something.

Ninja Kamui, as an anime, excels primarily in its battle sequences. It falls flat in nearly every other department, but the one that bugged me the most was the lack of a proper story and plot driven solely by fights. The show loses the coolness and gruesomeness of the early ninja aspects too soon, and I find the mecha aspects detrimental. Most of the characters possessed significant potential for complexity and development, yet the show utterly disregards them, abandoning the original concept altogether. Things happened, and there were numerous incredible battles, but I still didn't fully grasp what was going on or why. The execution was poor, yet the action is compelling enough for those who enjoy graphic battles. The music is heart-stopping, the animation is excellent, and the cinematography is solid, so jump in if that's enough for you!