House of Ninjas

In a world where ninjas reside a dysfunctional family of ninjas who have hung up their swords come out of retirement and have to brush up on their rusty skills to combat a rogue rival clan. The Fuma clan have orchestrated an attack and it's up to the Tawaras to thwart them and stop their evil ways. It is an interesting idea but the plot moves a little slow and too many scenes are filmed with low lighting which I personally dislike. Kento Kaku plays Haru Tawara the second son and is the main lead but his entire family have interesting back stories and at just eight episodes it is short but may still have been better as a movie.

Nice action series... Decorum IS great. It's all about contrast : shinobi tradition in a 21st century japan ; eastern culture with pop western music... All mashed UP in a very subtle photography. Characters are nicely written and it has this kind of Tarantino Flavour.

I strongly disagrea with thé critics about music which IS to me one of the ingrédients that make this series sweet and sour..

It also has a slight touch of humor that let us in the end with a smile...

Nevers Boeing though sometimes there are some lacks in the writing.

It's an easy catchy séries, not profond but very pleasant.

The fight scene at the end of episode 6, has become one of my favourite fight scenes. It looks like something out of a European arthouse movie. The series has a lot to offer, either way. Despite having its ups and downs, the plot is pretty interesting. Despite being a series about ninjas, it looks deeper into the tenets of the Shinobi. These people have a personal life, they feel pain. It's not just about fighting and heroism, and whatsoever, but rather about the moral dilemmas of people who are supposed to be killing machine. This might be an unpopular opinion, but I actually liked Haru. He simply does not want to take a life and his inability to do so is seen as a taboo. Oh, and the soundtrack! I love it when they use Classics in movies and series.

Japanese Drama '' House of Ninjas '' is an action-packed drama about a family of ninjas and a big criminal case they get involved with.

The whole '' mythology '' around ninjas, their tactics, their way of life, and their secrets, they were intriguing and enjoyable, even though the drama gave a more humane side to the supernatural warriors.

They also focused more on the family, even though there were plenty of fighting scenes to keep things entertaining. However, the dynamics of the family members, their love for each other, and the way they worked together, were the most enjoyable part of the story. The twists of the story were also well handled and unpredictable.

And yet, the story felt somehow anticlimactic and lukewarm. The ending was also not the typical happy ending, probably suggesting a second season to follow.

Finally, the performances were all enjoyable.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

This series will be one-starred as boring by hard-core action lovers. And by anyone who detests painfully corny music, which almost ruined the whole series for me. (It might even have been a 10 star for me but its theme song "My House" is so nauseating that I wore out my mute button. But I did find the story unique and absorbing and all the veteran actors were superb. Episode 5 was the game changer that got me hooked, culminating in a scene that had a Jesus-wandering-in-the-desert vibe. Really striking scenery. Btw, If you are a Japanese drama fan, you will recognize the Shinobi ninja hero father from Rurouni Kenshin movies. Meanwhile the the evil cult leader of the Fuma Clan was the protagonist of the cool Japanese series "The Naked Director". He is menacingly terrific here. I can't place the Shinobi mom, but her acting was intense but subtle/spot-on perfect. Like Michelle Yeoh, she may be an aging Asian beauty but she's a total scene stealer.