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Under Ninja

Under Ninja

Introduction

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]

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Audience ratings

MyAnimeList / Tenrai : 6.88/10 · 27602

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Audience reviews

20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.

LegionIscariot

The characters are interesting. The fight choreography is good. The art style looks nice. Overall the anime is entertaining. But although the story is interesting, I had a hard time following what was going on. For starters there are some strange time jumps that dont help at all. I lost track of who's who. I lost track of who's on who's side. There are two organizations of ninjas that were formed after a great war. NIN (National Intelligence of Ninja), and UN (Under Ninja). The anime's biggest flaw is how the story is told. The violence is graphic with blood, dismemberments, and decapitations.

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fh1478

Ninja and perversion go hand in hand The action is some real crazy ninja stuff. humor is so perverted that it's hard not to have a smile on your face. But the characters are so quirky that Dynamics just never get boring. How the most insane stuff happened, but they are so deadpan about it, it makes it so funny. The character design feels like caricature of real Japanese people, it looks really distinct and rough, but in the best way. the main character is fun to watch, I never really get tired of the tired main character, that doesn't really want to do anything but lay around but is forced to do so much. It's just one of the main character type that I never get tired of. The anime is so horny and it used so well in the jokes. it's surprising how much of the plot horniness is involved.…

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glhfbruno

Really funny, Really gruesome, REALLY UNIQUE but a masterpiece at that Has alot of dark and deadpan/weird humor Enjoyed everything except the ending has a cliffhanger... Its a Mind twisting end, i will leave it at that Good for a teen friends group for late night shows - I liked it alot 9/10 for sure Just dont like the cliffhanger Art style is Good and fits greatly Character development, Really good - And alot of surprises Main character seeming to be a genious in secret like ayonakonji-kun Panic was about realistic Others will for sure enjoy this if they like dark humor and gruesome scenes (K16)

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Bluefire3714

It's really refreshing to see and lives up to the seinen catagory because of the amount of literal engagement with the audience. The show was formatted well and feels watching a certain period in history but diggs deep into the characters and events that tells you what you really need to know in order to understand the story to the point where its willing to cut in-between the story. And without doing this there would be plot holes that would leave the audience confused and unsatisfied. Overall the show was great but had choppy animation that lead me to rate this a 8.75/10!

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XanWasting

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…

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Actonmoy

Man sure for series so good why did they use CGI US Army like that . Many people dropped it because of that . Also storyline is slow in the beginning. But everything start making sense after 3 episodes. This anime have many situation comedy moments so, slow pacing made it more effective. Most unique anime Action-Comedy i ever seen. Viewership of this anime is super low. So, S2 is just a dream. But after completing anime with the shock i read manga Few days ago. Anime take a interesting angel by mixing matching timeline that make this anime more enjoyable after 3-4 Episode. Because more plot points got explain and Other interesting factor Added to make us want more. Just like the ending ending was shocking but introduced 3 new character that makes us more curious about the series But In…

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freak__

It's like The Room, except it's done on purpose, and an edgy ninja show. That's it. There is no comedic timing, or witty lines to indicate when you're expected to laugh. Under Ninja just throws the most absurd concepts and cliches at you, while remaining dead serious for the entire runtime. And the worst part is that all of it starts to make sense the longer you watch. I saw another review call it "an anime watcher's anime" and that might be the best way to describe it. Someone without extensive background knowledge would have a difficult time seeing the irony in this show.

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PixelB

Under Ninja's time jumps and cuts are pretty indicative of the show as a whole: a collective --almost surreal-- jumble of nonsense and garbage that to have a cohesive story would seem nearly impossible. Yet, that's exactly what Under Ninja does. Now, as you might have guessed, the time jumps are pretty worthless. It's (I'm like 80% sure, will do a read-through of the manga very soon), a complete anime original filler. Chapter 1 of the manga doesn't do a time jump, so that's about how much it contributes to the story. In reality, the clips that you get to see in the future don't matter at all, and it doesn't spoil or influence the story in any major way or form. It's like if you were spoiled that in a certain episode, the main character eats an apple for breakfast. It's essentially flavor…

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Domefort

Underninja is an unusual spectacle of violence and political intrigue; it was like the plot itself was obscured from the viewer, as a ninja would. To some, this could be an obtuse and arbitrary series of events, but with a different outlook the story becomes a sort of puzzle box. The characters are both wacky and mysterious in ways that are not often seen, but it can be difficult to appreciate them while trying to decipher who is betraying who. Since this story is only beginning, the payoff may feel a little unfulfilled, but is not without satisfaction. The show certainly offers quality, but it may not land with all viewers - this is more geared toward experienced watchers.

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glitterstar3333

Okay, so originally, I was going to put this under "mixed feelings" or even "not recommended," because the anime is flat out weird, and the multiple plots points it tries to tackle in the first few episodes destroy the pacing. Fortunately! I can say with quite proudness that I would recommend this to someone. Once you get over the hurdle which is the beginning, the show becomes really engaging. I mean, it's ninjas fighting ninjas, what's not to love? This anime is definitely a fever dream. As someone who plays Kingdom Hearts, Under Ninja is likewise hard to follow along, and is something one has to be paying attention to if they want to understand the story. (Of course, one could also not, I think its enjoyable enough even if you didn't understand it at all. The gags are frequent and sil…

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Halo_s_Maze

​I don't tend to write reviews on this website, because taste is so subjective. But I really enjoyed this anime and it seems to have a pretty small audience that paid attention to it, so if additional praise gets one or two more people to watch this then great. Story:9 The general plot is that there is a hidden world of ninjas in modern Japan that were cultivated as a result of WWII. The reality though is that at some point there was schism in the ninja organization​ leading to factions who are in conflict with one another, ​how this conflict​ unfolds is the main drive of the whole show. Because this show is narratively unique, the first half is spent introducing you to most of the main characters (as well as some red herrings) while revealing their motivations, and their skills as ninjas…

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ShonerSul

Summary: Unnecessary back and forth in timeline, boring family-name jokes, sexual contents in unpleasing way, a total mess. I don't even need to talk about Japanese victim mentality on their forced pacifism (If you want to know in detail, refer to "Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution" in wiki.) to classify this animation as a bad one. I have not read the original comics, so I'm not sure if all the wrongs are made by origin or by animation. It goes back and forth in timeline very often, and some scene changes happen in unexpected timing. If used properly that kind of twists may bring an extra impression, but in this show they were very inhospitable and did not bring any positive impact. To illustrate personality of characters it uses a lot of naughty talks, such as Kurou's family-name…

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denkisoda

A rather peculiar anime that left me momentarily uncertain about how to classify it, and its reception is bound to be polarized. For those seeking complex story and high quality production, the anime would be a disappointment. However, for those looking for something a bit eccentric and keep you hooked, it might be worth a shot. Despite starting off with tense war scenes and some intriguing element, the story took a sudden turn when we entered the life of our protagonist, Kurou, a jobless *genin* (a lower-ranked ninja) who lived a rather unpromising life. The show was filled with Japanese-style dry humor; it's easy to mistake as a datsuryoku-kei comedy at first glance. The nonsensical comedic situations persisted even as we reached the middle of the series (for example, the entrance exam…

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Biisoo

Do you like Ninjas? Then you will probably like this. This one was a rather sudden watch on my end when I decided to pick this up in the fall 2023 season but it managed to pique my curiosity a bit, atleast the first episode did. This anime was a jumbled bag of sorts. While at one hand it portrays a sort of a modern Ninja group who are living day to day lives and are hiding in plain sight doing what needs to be done but the execution left much to be desired. The premise was interesting no doubt but the execution is where I have issues with this. Let's start with the main issue I have with this anime, I really think this anime should not have opted for the piece by piece storytelling style. I don't know if this was in the manga or this is just the Director's personal flair but it definitely…

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Reviewholic

Under Ninja would be my best anime this season (Sorry, Ragna Crimson). There were many points where I was caught off guard by its storytelling and comedy, even though I'm aware that it is one of those wacky Seinen genre manga/anime. Unlike Naruto and other ninja shows, Under Ninja depicts its ninja as human being just as vulnerable to cuts and bullets just as we are, and rather than magic, they rely on scifi gadgets in combat. In fight scenes, the ninjas' analysis on their opponents and situation are heavily monologued, and often laced with the emotions of caution or fear as their odds of surviving are never in their favor. There are also a lot of deranged characters in this anime, some just mildly absurd, some creepily funny. Unfortunately, Under Ninja did not do well. I believe it's bec…

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Cayusashi

Under Ninja truly is something else. It's bizarre in a good way but the story is told terribly with characters being memorable only because of the absurd things they're doing. What is Under Ninja about? I'm not really sure. There are two Ninja groups, government sponsored NIN and private individuals UN, fighting for superiority. Why are they fighting? What are their goals? I have only a vague idea likely because of how much is going on. It was very difficult to follow week to week and remember the plot relevant things that happened because of the sheer amount of unimportant characters and how the story is told. It jumps in time way too often during the first five episodes for absolutely no reason. For the remaining seven episodes new information is constantly thrown at the viewer as if we…

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Godslayer27

Ohh boy under ninja is all over the place the comedy reign all over the rest sure there is some kind of trama developing throughout the episodes but due their nature there are many inconsistent things and the fact that the series by itselft doesnt take it seriously at all is where their biggest weakness lies with some kind of plot that not only turn out to being stupid but also confunsing and really you could say with some plot holes overall. The thing is that even then is funny for most of the time sure not always land the jokes like expected but in general in the comedy aspect was enjoyable and maybe the only thng why you would watch it to begin with, the series is classified as an action series which i could argue that is not the case even with their story revolving all around ninja th…

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marchuk309

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…

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maxbraketorque

Amazingly underrated anime. The plot/story are refreshing compared to the reincarnation, harem, and RPG stuff that's been most common in the last few years. Kind of a mix of ninja and old school military stories that were popular years ago. And add a few dashes of various types of humor. It is of course a totally unrealistic story which is the intent, and in fact, it is patently absurd, but so what. Nothing except a few slice-of-life anime have any realism. I can't understand why people are saying the animation quality is poor. The styling is similar to that used for a few other recent anime. I'll agree that the quality is basic compared to many new anime, but overall I'd say that styling and quality are fine for what this series is. The first six episodes were the best. The final outcom…

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KuroiKizu

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 sev…

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