Ninja Kamui

First, I am not a manga or cartoon watcher. I saw this on HBO and it appealed to me.

I started watching and it had a good start with action and the normal good story telling. There was like 2-3 minutes in the middle part that I wondered if it was gonna be slow from there on out.

But it did not let me down and it continued to deliver content and some great slash scenes.

I like this type of story telling, for "normal" shows when they set a boundary for what is possible they have to explain all "out of the ordinary" things as to not break the boundaries.

Here, it does not matter, there are no boundaries, we know how this works, the producers know it and the delivered a great EP1, it felt like my fantasy world when reading a really good shogun manga, will be back for more.

Ep3 update: Ep2 was OK, it contained some valuable storyline items. But after ep3 I am not so sure, it sure had storyline, but I dunno, something lacked, can't put my finger on it. Rating went from 9 to 7, I am not looking forward to the next episode as much as I looked forward to ep2.

Ep5+6 update: My hopes for the series died in the previous two episodes, but apparently it went for charging, the 5ep and 6ep was fantastic episodes, now I look forward to the next one!

When this show first aired, it was really damn good. Top tier animation, not corners cut, an interesting story. As it has progressed, however, it's now CGI-ridden trash. Without spoiling, the combat went from beautiful animated ninja fighting to something that is not at all to the same quality that the show started with and now relies almost entirely on CGI to function. That CGI is noticeable and bad.

The story is interesting and compelling, although possibly a bit generic and predictable. But with the current level of animation, I'm no longer interested in watching. At episode 8, I just skimmed and decided I was no longer interested. It's truly a shame considering how good the first few episodes are, but the quality has plummeted, and the show is now just kind of bad. Not worth watching.

I can't stand when anime is rated differently from movie or TV shows, why do basic standards get lowered just because it's anime? I had really high hopes that it would be a really cool show about an assassin, it's visually beautiful, but everything else is such a let down. Here's why:

1. The storyline is so basic and slow. I'm 7 episodes in and nothing has any real purpose. It's just a guy looking for revenge in the most boring way possible, sprinkled in the typical dumb cop that thinks his gun will eventually work against ninjas running at 200mph.

2. The main character is boring. You cant connect with him. There's nothing about him that's interesting, he just wants revenge. He's too much of the teenage silent, but edgy trope.

3. The other characters are just there. They offer nothing of worth to the show. They don't have any personality that makes you route for or against them. Some flashbacks are meant to be sentimental, but, again, there's isn't a character worth putting emotion into.

What made people like John Wick were the fight scenes. There are some cool fight scenes, but more talking about nothing than fighting or interesting background information.

"Ninja Kamui" definitely won me over with the trailer a few months ago.

You could already see that the animation and choreography of the fights would be fantastic - I could only guess how much more would come in the course of the anime and was almost certain that this anime would be relatively high up at the top of the animes from 2024.

The anime starts off very promisingly, as promised by the trailer - the fights in the first episodes are choreographed fantastically and are breathtakingly well animated.

The story and the characters are rather simple and not particularly innovative, but that hardly bothered me - as long as the implementation of this simple story maintained this level, I would have been happy.

But unfortunately it didn't...

Before I could admire the dark style and simple character design of the main character, who was initially only wearing a black hoodie, enough, he slips into a bright mecha suit with all sorts of bells and whistles on it. I personally found that a shame because I think the anime would have worked much better if they had stuck to traditional fighting techniques and weapons.

All the sci-fi stuff just takes away all the charm of the previously simple aesthetic...

If they really wanted to include mechas, I would have thought it was a better decision not to give the main character a suit and thus contrast ultra-modern fighting machines with old-fashioned ninja techniques.

It's a shame that they decided to go in this direction...

This anime series commences with an impressively rapid pace, immediately captivating viewers with its stunningly executed opening sequences. The blend of dynamic action and strategically placed quieter moments skillfully outlines the foundational premise of the story. As someone relatively inexperienced with the anime genre, I found the quality of the animation to be exceptionally high, showcasing the meticulous attention to detail and artistic expertise inherent in this medium.

However, I did observe that the narrative setup seemed somewhat rushed. As a newcomer to anime, I would have preferred a more gradual introduction to the storyline, allowing for a deeper immersion into the world and its characters. Despite this, the swift pacing did not significantly detract from the overall objective and allure of the episode.

Moreover, the power system introduced, while only glimpsed at first glance, appears to hold substantial promise. It suggests a depth and complexity that I anticipate will unfold as the series progresses. This aspect, along with the intriguing narrative and visual excellence, contributed to an overall enjoyable viewing experience. I am eagerly looking forward to exploring the subsequent episode and further understanding this anime's unique universe.

(Disclaimer: This review was assisted by ChatGPT, an AI language model.)