Ninja Kamui

Yamaji is Out to Conquer the World!

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Ninja Kamui Episode 12 Review

There comes a time in every nation or big organization where the way things work stops working. When they need to chart a new course, evolve, or else they die. In the worst cases, a disillusioned member of that group could decide to burn the whole thing to the ground and start fresh. And, as the penultimate episode of Ninja Kamui indicates, the Ninja have reached that point under Yamaji. And the only one who can bring him down for good is Higan. Otherwise, the whole world will be swallowed by the shadows of the Ninja.

Time to Burn it All Down

As Higan continues to rest from his fight with Zai, he’s visited by the same old doctor who treated his wounds in Episode 2. Except it’s revealed that he isn’t just any elder. His true identity is that of the former Chief of the Ninja before Yamaji seized power. And much like Higan, Aska, Mari, and many others, he thinks its time for the Ninja to either end or be born anew.

This episode delves deeper into the backstory of the Ninja as an organization, and how they defended their native Japan for centuries from the shadows. However, as Japan prospered, they stopped relying on the Ninja to aid them in favor of other groups. The Chief saw the writing on the wall: if they didn’t adapt, they would die out, but he couldn’t see another path beyond the cold, rigid code the Ninja followed. Until he saw Higan, Mari, and Zai embrace their emotions to make them stronger. And he thought that, maybe, that was the future the Ninja could take.

Yamaji is a Stubborn Fool

Yamaji, though, thought the opposite. Instead of embracing change, Yamaji led a coup, nearly killed the Chief, and decided to double-down on their strict code, which led them to work for AUZA. But as the series has demonstrated, that way of thinking won’t help them survive, but hasten their doom. 

Case in point, Dilly, the Ninja protecting Joseph, grew to admire his crazy plans to change the world, and chose him over Yamaji. Ultimately, the conflict of Ninja Kamui could be boiled down to a conflict of tradition vs. change. And in this case, the traditionalists like Yamaji are in the wrong.

It might be too late to save the Ninja from themselves, though.

Joseph, AUZA, and the Ninja Just got Busted

Joseph may have gotten away with his life thanks to Dilly’s sacrifice, but AUZA just got backed into a corner. While he was busy running, James managed to blow the whistle on AUZA by uploading all the dirt Emma/Aska had on them. Illegal activities, the Ninja, the names of high-ranking government officials, everything. And Morris is able to use that to turn the FBI on AUZA. 

Then, Joseph ups the ante by threatening to rig his companies’ reactors to blow sky-high unless the government calls off the hunt for him. And to add even further to the chaos, Yamaji makes his move. Using an army clad in Gusoku Gear, the Ninja drop all forms of stealth and openly attack the US Government. And that’s only the start. Once they’re done in America, they’ll move onto the rest of the world, and with their Gusoku Gear, the world will fall.

The Final Battle is at Hand!

Bravo, E&H Production, Sola Entertainment, and Sungwoo Park. This is the kind of stakes that I have been wanting to see. An army of evil Ninja out for world domination? Using mech suits? That is all kinds of awesome! It’s actually a pity that next week marks the finale to Ninja Kamui, because it just got really, really good. I’m looking forward to seeing the finale, though!

I Give “Episode 12” a 4.5/5

Whoa! Yamaji Just Played Everyone!

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Ninja Kamui Ep 11 Review

The story of Ninja Kamui is coming down to the wire, and things are getting desperate for all sides. Higan and Zai are settling their grudge match, the FBI is hunting Morris, and James is working on getting access to the intel that Emma/Aska stole from AUZA. On the other side, the tension between AUZA’s Joseph and Yamaji ends in the only way it could: with both turning on each other. And by the time the episode ends, the only one in control of anything is Yamaji himself.

A Meeting of Fists and Ideals

There can be more to fighting than an exchange of fists and weapons. Fighting can be about the ideals, the motivations behind the people who are doing it. And much like Naruto and Sasuke’s numerous clashes, the fight between Higan and Zai is less about winning and more about whose side is right. Was Higan right to abandon the Ninja? Was Zai right to remain loyal to Yamaji despite him taking them away from their original ways? Their fight is as much a battle of ideals as it is their fists, and it is epic.

Higan and Zai both put everything on the line as they fight for their ninja ways, with Zai making it known how betrayed he felt by Higan and Mari leaving him. In return, Higan says that they wanted to one day see there could be a life outside the Ninjas, but he was too blinded by anger to listen to them. Mari even hoped that seeing their son would make him realize this. 

Ultimately, the battle itself ends in a draw with neither dead. Given how Zai walks away and starts pounding his fist into ground and crying, though, it’s safe to say that Higan won the argument. Zai has spent his whole life blinded his anger and pain, and pushed away the two people who cared about him as more than just a weapon. Yamaji and the other Ninjas, in contrast, not only berated Zai for not stopping them, but scarred his face as punishment. That’s messed up!

Yamaji Played AUZA Like a Fiddle

Meanwhile, even as AUZA needs its plans to control the world from the shadows, schisms have already formed between them and the Ninjas. Having become aware of Yamaji planning to manufacture the Gusoku Gear on their own, Joseph tries to put them in their place by killing them all. 

Yamaji, in return, makes it painfully clear who the Devil is in their deal, and it’s not Joseph. 

If the previous episode didn’t make it clear, this episode does: Yamaji was just using Joseph and AUZA to make the Ninja more powerful. They only wanted the resources to make the Gusoku gear for themselves, and now that they have it, they’re leaving. And they come close to killing Joseph as they do so. As big of a jerk as he is, a part of you can’t help but feel a little bad seeing him panicking when his bodyguard, Dilly, seemingly throws him out a window. He survives, but still. 

They Have to Leak the Documents!

In the c-plot of the episode, we also have James and Morris finally unlocking the intel that Emma left for them. And it was all thanks to the drawing that Moriss’ daughter made for him having her fingerprints. However, to buy time, Moriss gets caught by the police. If they can’t expose AUZA now, then Moriss can look forward to spending his retirement in prison. 

There are two episodes left after this, and things are coming down to the wire. Will any of the characters make it past the finish line? Will Higan avenge his wife and son? The tension is building, and I don’t know if it can be resolved in the short time the show has left.

On a side note, Toonami took the time from this episode to promote the upcoming prequel game, Ninja Kamui: Shinobi Origins. The game looks to be an action side-scroller, and for $24.99, it looks decent. The game releases May 30th, so the anime will still be fresh in people’s minds. Maybe I’ll give it a try.

I Give Ep 11 a 4.5/5

How Zai Joined the Ninjas is So SAD!!

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Ninja Kamui Ep 10 Review

You remember watching Naruto and remembering how angsty and rage-driven Sasuke was? That led him to abandon the Hidden Leaf Village and study under a criminal for years, and it only escalated from there. Now imagine if it was the reverse that happened. Instead of Sasuke leaving, it was Naruto and Sakura who left instead? That is a basic explanation of what Zai went through when Mari and Higan left, and why he’s so determined to bring Higan down. And with AUZA and Yamaji’s plans getting closer to fruition, the time to settle this grudge draws near. 

Everyone is Sadder than Ever

In the aftermath of Emma’s death, her friends are left reeling and trying to figure out what to do next. Ideally, they want to expose AUZA using everything that Emma/Aska got from their servers. However, there are two big problems facing them. Firstly, Emma left everything encrypted and only she knew how to decrypt it. Secondly, AUZA managed to be one step ahead of them. They already revealed that their reactors were “attacked by terrorists.” Now any attempts to whistleblow on them could get passed off as fake news or covered up altogether. The worst part is that Morris’ best plan to take them down, using what few people in the FBI he thinks aren’t on their payroll, doesn’t work. His former partner tries to turn him in.

Whether AUZA can even be brought down remains to be seen. However, the more immediate issue is Yamaji and Zai. 

Zai’s Life is SO SAD!!

I said before that Zai took Higan and Mari’s defection personally due to the bond they forged. However, I underestimated just how personal it was for him, as this episode’s flashbacks reveal. Unlike Higan and Mari, he wasn’t born into the Ninja, but was recruited.

He was an unwanted orphan held prisoner by a group that Yamaji brought down. Seeing how angry at the world the boy was, Yamaji took him in with the obvious intent of using him as a deadly tool. And for the most part, he succeeded. Zai was a ruthless killer who didn’t care about anyone else. Until their first mission together when Higan saved his life. It was likely the first act of kindness Zai ever got towards him. 

That’s why Zai hates Higan so much. He and Mari were the first people he was ever able to open up to and be vulnerable with. He trusted them, and when they saw how corrupt Yamaji was making the Ninja and left, he took it as a personal betrayal. That led him to double down on his previous beliefs that no one else mattered, and it’s why he needed to kill Higan with his own hands. 

It’s like Naruto and Sasuke, but with the roles reversed. And they’re about to have their final showdown.

One More Duel

In the closing moments of the episode, Higan receives a challenge via crow from Zai. While Morris tries to find someone to take the leaked intel and James stays safe, Higan dons the Kamui, travels to a hidden Ninja hideout, and faces Zai for what will likely be the final time. 

Sadly, we will have to wait another week to see the fight in full, if it lasts that long. However, while this fight might be the most personal one that Higan faces, his ultimate enemy remains Yamaji. Even though he’s letting AUZA and that smarmy executive give him orders, the episode makes it clear that hes making plans to double-cross him. Hes been working on getting the schematics for the Gusoku gear so the Ninjas can make them themselves, so he’s likely been playing them this whole time. As much as AUZA needs to go down, the idea of a corrupt group of Ninjas having that kind of suit is just as bad, if not worse. And, as it turns out, I misread the number of episodes. Three episodes actually remain, and I’m hoping the series reaches a good conclusion before all is said and done. 

I Give Ep 10 a 4/5

Someone Dies at the End

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Ninja Kamui Ep 9 Review

As if we didn’t need another reason to hate AUZA, they managed to sink our expectations even lower than they already were. With Higan, Aska, Morris, and Jason poised to hit AUZA where it hurts, Joseph, the guy running the shots at AUZA starts to grow more unhinged. And what he does this episode puts him straight at the top of everyone’s hit list. While the teaser for this episode implied someone would die, it also proved to be a red herring. Someone does die, but it’s not the person everyone was expecting.

Joseph Has no Respect

With Higan and Aska having escaped AUZA not once, but twice, last episode, Joseph is starting to lose it. AUZA is close to finishing their plans to control the world from the shadows, and Higan threatens to undo everything. As a result, he starts coming down hard on Yamaji to do something about Higan. He also chews out Big D for not killing them when he had the chance (he doesn’t care), and tries to coax Zai into going after Higan the first chance he gets. The majority of the episode is him yelling at everyone at how they’re going to ruin everything.

From the outset, the anime made it clear that Joseph is a horrible person. He’s arrogant, rude, and condescending to everyone around him, and it’s clear that Yamaji doesn’t respect him. The fact that Joseph threatens to make the former commit seppuku for his failures only highlights how ignorant and uncaring the man is towards the ways of the ninja. Yamaji even lampshades that ignorance by pointing out seppuku was never a ninja thing. That was the Samurai! 

In contrast to this, though, Big D proves that even though he’s on AUZA’s side, he has more respect for the ninja way. He refused to kill Higan when he wasn’t at his full strength, and he pointedly ignores Joseph’s grilling while he gets his haircut. More to the point, when he and Higan do face off in their Gusoku suits this episode, he doesn’t want anyone to interfere. So when AUZA troops show up to try and kill everyone, he objects. Moreover, when Higan does win, he takes the defeat with grace and is willing to die at his hands. He’s got more respect for ninjas than Joseph ever does. A fact that’s made clear by Joseph rigging Big D’s suit to self-destruct in a last-ditch attempt to kill Higan!

It doesn’t work. But it does take someone else’s life besides Big D.

F in the Chat…for Aska.

Based on the previews for this episode, it looked like Agent Morris was going to die. The fact that he’s about to retire, his daughter is dead and his wife has left him all seemed like death flags to me. However, he manages to survive the episode. Tragically, there is someone else who dies thanks to the explosion: Aska. She isn’t able to get out of the blast in time, and spends her final moments being comforted by Higan, Morris, and James. 

This was such a massive shocker to see. Considering how close she came to dying a few episodes ago, this caught me off-guard. And as the three are cremating her remains, you can tell how done they are with AUZA. Aska was the reason that Higan managed to survive the attempt on his life, even if his family didn’t. James respected her as a hacker. And Morris admits that he thought of her as a second daughter. Imagine getting a second chance to be a parent only to have that ripped away from you? 

At this point, there are three episodes left, and the trio are ready to burn AUZA to the ground. This anime hasn’t been the most action-filled you could find, but it’s still been a good show to watch. And I’m hoping that before it’s done, Joseph is lying on the ground wetting himself while they make him pay. 

I Give “Episode 9” a 4/5

AUZA Needs to be Stopped!

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Ninja Kamui Ep 8 Review

Everyone remembers Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare for starting the “F to Pay Respects” meme, but I also rememebr it for the main villains, the Atlas Corporation. Now I’m adding them to the list of megacorporations that AUZA reminds me of. In this case, AUZA is using their influence to take over the world through its infrastructure, and they’re dangerously close to doing so. If Higan wants to stop Yamaji, he needs to do it soon. And he’s going to need his entire group of allies working together on this. Even if Agent Moriss has to learn who “Emma” really is.

Taking the Fight on the Road

Having shown that Higan means business, he and Aska manage to escape AUZA City in search of Yamaji. One would think that with all the technology AUZA uses, they couldn’t get out without getting spotted. However, the nature of mankind is that of adaptability. One guy makes a big gun, the other makes an even bigger one. Or, when a megacorporation uses too many electronics, a hacker like Aska makes an EM pulse to shut down an entire city. Easy getaway.

The episode also reveals how AUZA is trying to conquer the world from the shadows. Using their reactors as a power source, their goal is to take control of every nation’s infrastructure from within. It’s not as overt as a would-be despot steamrolling across the planet, but it’s effective. The Atlas Corporation, the main antagonists from Advanced Warfare, did the same thing and got dangerously close to taking control of everything. And with the Ninja’s serving as the muscle, there’s little the government can do to stop them. 

But Higan can.

The big fight of the episode takes place at an AUZA reactor Higan and Aska raid, only to run into Big D. (The guy with the flat top.) Whereas Lil was a deplorable person who got off on violence, though, Big D has a sense of honor and respects the way of the Ninja. Enough that when Higan and Aska catch an unlucky break, he lets them go, not wanting to win on a technicality. Say what you want, but he does respect the Ninja way (I think.)

The Need to Trust

The big highlight of the episode, though, is the reunion between Higan and Aska and Agent Moriss and Jason Cardenas. Aska comes clean about everything to Moriss, who is not happy about being lied to. However, it’s not for the reasons you would think. 

Throughout the series, Agent Moriss has shown himself to be the very open-minded and understanding type. For example, despite knowing Higan is a killer ninja, he’s willing to work with him. Both out of pragmatism and knowing Higan has a justifiable reason to want to bring down AUZA. In this case, he’s not mad that Aska lied about being a ninja. He’s mad she didn’t trust him enough. He knows she had her reasons, but still.

Now that the unlikely party is together, the next step is for them to figure out how to stop AUZA. Yamaji’s already putting his plan in motion, and they need to stop him. And with three episodes left, the clock is ticking. Here’s hoping that the series can end on a high note!

I Give “Episode 8” a 4/5

Aska, the Face-Changing Ninja Among Ninjas

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Ninja Kamui Ep 7 Review

When Ninja Kamui started, I didn’t think much of Emma. I thought that she was going to be a secondary character, the young rookie that worked with Agent Morriss. The last two episodes threw that out the window, revealing them to be an elaborate deception. Not only was she a Ninja, but worked from within to bring down the Clan and AUZA. Emma isn’t even her real name; it’s Aska (we think). In the previous episode, Aska told Higan her desire to help him stemmed from the bond she had with his late wife. However, it didn’t dive too much into it due to the oncoming threat from AUZA and the need to get the Kamui suit ready. Now that the threat’s been dealt with, though, Aska dives into her backstory, giving us more info about the entire story. And while some people may not like them, I enjoy flashbacks. 

Higan Sends AUZA a Message

With all the time the anime spent hyping it up last episode, it seemed like the follow-up would focus on showing off the Kamui. We would spend most of the air-time seeing how powerful it would be with Higan using it. As it turns out, the Kamui is powerful. So powerful, in fact, that Higan managed to defeat Lil’, the depraved sadist with dwarfism, in a few minutes. It wasn’t even a fight; it was a curb stomp.

The whole thing was a bittersweet experience, though more sweet than bitter. While its short length means viewers have to wait to see the titular Kamui’s full capabilities, seeing the depraved Lil’ get brought down was still satisfying. And, while we don’t see it, the fact that Higan sent AUZA his severed head shows how badly they messed up. They had the chance to kill him before, but they wanted to know how he came back from death. The irony is that that was never even his own doing. It was thanks to Aska that that happened. And, as Aska herself tells Higan, the technique wasn’t hers to begin with. It was Mari’s!

In other words, Aska played them all by putting them in this position. 

Aska, the Ninja Who Watches Other Ninjas

With the battle over and a reprieve granted, Aska explains her history with Mari to Higan and, by extension, the audience. As a kid, a terrible accident mutilated her face so severely that her parents abandoned her rather than live with her disfigurement. The previous leader of the Ninja Clan took her in, raised her, and taught her how to use makeup to disguise herself as anyone. More importantly, he gave Aska a particular task: she would watch any potential head of the Clan and kill them if she found them wanting. She would be the Watcher who looked after other Ninjas.

She should’ve done that to Yamaji years ago if that’s true. However, after Yamaji brought the Ninjas under AUZA’s control and let in outsiders who only cared about their fighting techniques, like Lil’, she knew that was a bad idea. So, while those loyal to the old ways fell in line or deserted, she stayed behind to bring them down from within. It was a smart move, but it wasn’t enough to save Mari. 

As for Mari, she was Aska’s mentor as a Ninja, but their relationship became more than that. Mari became Aska’s friend, appreciating her face for what it was and not seeing it as hideous. She was the only person she told about her being pregnant with Higan’s child. Despite being ordered to kill her for deserting, Aska couldn’t bring herself to do it. She chose her forbidden friendship with Mari over the cold detachment that Ninjas were meant to have.

This moment was the best part of the episode. It showed how wrong the Ninjas’ ways of thinking could be when it came to bonds. Besides, they can’t justify it when they allowed unworthy people like Lil’ join them. 

Aska is Helping Higan to Fulfill her Duty

In short, Aska’s helping Higan out for two reasons. Firstly, she’s doing it out of loyalty to Mari, which is admirable. Secondly, she’s doing it because she knows that she can’t fulfill her job as the Watcher on her own. The fact that she lost to Lil’ while buying time for Higan demonstrates how, for all her training, she can’t handle the AUZA-backed Ninjas alone. But Higan can with the Kamui.

For the time being, it appears that Higan can trust Aska. Even if he didn’t, he has little choice. He’s in the heart of AUZA’s territory, and Yamaji (and likely AUZA) are about to unleash their master plan. I don’t know what it is, but given the Shinra and Abstergo vibes AUZA gives off, it’s not good for anyone. 

With only four episodes left in the series until it ends, the time has come for Ninja Kamui to start ramping up the action. Here’s hoping that the final quarter delivers on the action that we want to see. 

I Give “Episode 7” a 4/5

Everyone Digs Cyber Ninjas

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Ninja Kamui Episode 6 Review

Okay, I wasn’t expecting that to happen. In the last episode of Ninja Kamui, Higan tries to fight through AUZA City but gets overwhelmed by the higher-ups of AUZA. Equipped with cyber ninja suits that would make Tony Stark drool, Higan proved no match for them. Thanks to one of them turning on the others, he managed to get out with his life. Meanwhile, Morris had his troubles to deal with. Not only did AUZA come close to killing him, but he discovered that his partner, Emma, might be working for them. As surprising as that might be, the truth was even crazier. As someone who likes to guess how things turn out in stories, this caught me off-guard. 

Firstly, though, a shout-out to Toonami for acknowledging the passing of Akira Toriyama. With Dragon Ball coming statewide in 1998, Toonami got smaller than it did. And thus, anime never would’ve gotten as big in the West as it is. It’s sweet how they chose to run a marathon for DBZ Kai in honor of his memory. That being said, it’ve been more appropriate for them to run the classic DBZ instead. I might not have grown up with it, but Aaron and Donte did, and it feels appropriate. That, and they could’ve made it a 24-hour marathon. 

They Were the One Helping Higan Out?!?

Cutting straight to the chase, the episode quickly reveals the identity of the person who saved Higan: Emma. “Emma” (not even her real name) is also a ninja working undercover in the FBI, but she’s chosen to help Higan. The reason is that she was friends with Mari and kept in touch even after she and Higan left the ninjas. She even tried to save the two and their son the night of the attack, but all she could do was use her ninja technique to fake Higan’s death and fool AUZA into thinking he could revive himself. And to top it all off, she was the one who helped him sneak into AUZA City. She played everyone!

It would’ve been easy for the show to have Emma be a traitor and one of Higan’s biggest obstacles in his quest for vengeance. Instead, Ninja Kamui opted for a far more exciting route by making her a mole for Higan. While her motives remain unclear, it’s safe to assume she’s on Higan’s side for now.

As for Agent Moriss’ side, though, that remains uncertain. The episode doesn’t focus as much on him, with the parts that are about and his hacker friend trying to figure out their next move. While I’m still worried about their safety, they might take a backseat while Higan continues his fight. This time, he’s got a new weapon to use.

We’re in Cyber Ninja Territory Now, People!

Enter the Gusoku suit, a cybernetic suit that enhances the wearer’s strength, speed, and durability to superhuman levels while also working with their ninja arts. It’s also how Higan can turn the tables on the enemy, with Emma getting the latest prototype: the Kamui. This suit can hook directly to Higan’s nervous system, allowing him to control it with his thoughts alone. With the human brain being an organic supercomputer capable of making conclusions in milliseconds, the Kamui has the potential to act on superhuman levels. In other words, when Higan puts it on, he will be strong enough to take down anyone. 

Ninjas are already cool enough on their own. However, seeing them fused with the concept of cybernetic armor like a ninja Iron Man, takes that up to eleven. The previous episode showed us what someone’s capable of doing with one of those suits, but it’s this episode that shows off its full potential. Emma’s fight with Lil combines the action of a ninja battle with the power of hacking straight out of Watch Dogs. It’s incredible to look at, though for a moment, it looks like Emma might not make it. But then Higan, through the memory of his wife, syncs with the suit faster than possible. And as the episode ends, Higan stands in the Kamui, ready to meet Lil on equal terms.

This episode finally gives meaning to the title of this anime, something that I hadn’t even considered beforehand. Now that we know it, though, it feels a little disappointing that we’re only getting this with the series reaching its halfway point. The first half was only a setup for the real action that’s to come. Hopefully, the second half of the series can meet the hype. I am optimistic about everything, though. After all, this series is being directed by the man who directed the first season of JuJutsu Kaisen. That has to count for something!

I Give “Episode 6” a 3.5/5

Higan Got His Butt Kicked by Robot Ninjas

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Ninja Kamui Ep 5 Review

Everybody knows who Batman is. The Caped Crusader, the Dark Knight, the man who can seemingly best anyone simply because he’s Batman. But there’s more to him than being a memetic badass; he can beat almost anyone because he knows how to use prep time. When he goes in and fights someone that he knows little about, he can get his back broken by someone like Bane. Why bring up Batman in an anime about ninjas, though? Because this episode, Higan is Batman. And the other ninjas, and AUZA, are Bane. 

Batman, Meet Bane

Having come within inches of making it into AUZA City, Higan’s efforts prove to be for naught. Zai’s presence is enough to throw him off long enough for the barriers to go up. However, instead of the two former comrades fighting regardless, Zai merely tells him he’s going to die and then walks away. It’s a move meant to make Higan feel powerless and impotent so that he’ll make a mistake. And judging by the events that follow, it worked.

Rather than let him fester in anger or kill him, the leaders of AUZA decide to let him in their city to test out their technology. And despite knowing it’s a trap, Higan runs in anyway. However, instead of fighting more ninjas, he winds up fighting the execs who are remotely piloting the ninja equivalent of Iron Man armor.

The end result is like watching someone try and take on the boss fight when they’re far too under-leveled. It’s less of a fight by the end and more of a curb-stomp, like the anime equivalent to watching Bane break Batman’s spine. If Higan represents the old ways of being a ninja, and AUZA represents the future, then it looks like the old ways have gotten kicked to the curb. If it weren’t for a last-minute save, Higan would be dead. More on that later.

The FBI Has Turned on Us!

Meanwhile, Agent Morris pursues his own leads into AUZA City, leading him to track down Jason, a former AUZA employee turned hacker trying to blow the whistle on them. Together, the two do manage to hack into the company’s servers and starts to uncover some of what they have been doing. To be more precise, they find a list of fake IDs that they’re using to plant agents as. And one of them happens to be…Emma Samanda?

The show doesn’t give us, or Moriss and Jason, time to understand what’s going on. AUZA security arrives and attempts to kill them in an epic car chase. If that was the show’s way of distracting us, then it worked. Car chases have long been a favorite of mine in action shows. In addition, the fact that it ends with both men dragging themselves away from the wreck brings their ultimate fates into question. They’ll likely make it out fine, but how long will they be able to survive with AUZA after them.

There’s also the fact that Emma’s name is on that list. The possibility that she’s an agent of AUZA has just jumped up significantly. The fact that AUZA responded so fast to the hack also doesn’t bode well. Emma will need to have a good explanation next time she appears.

Really Looking to See What Comes Next

This episode was clearly meant to leave the audience with more questions than answers. Higan and Morris have been badly wounded and are on the run. And if things had gone a little bit differently, they would be dead at this point. Worse, Emma may no longer be trustworthy, only making things worse. The fact that the anime forgoes the normal outro in of black credits only hammers home how serious the episode is. Anime don’t skip out on the ED unless it’s serious! With the series reaching the halfway mark next episode, I’m curious to see how Higan and Morris will come back from this. Hopefully, they’ll manage to regroup and plan something, like Batman would. 

Also, this episode is out in full on YouTube. If you want to watch it without waiting for Toonami or don’t have Max, watch it there. 

I Give “Episode 5” a 5/5

A Warrior’s Life is a Lonely One

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Ninja Kamui Ep 4 Review

I can’t speak from personal experience, but it seems like working in a profession that involves violence can be hard on one’s loved ones. From those in the military to those working in law enforcement, there’s always the worry that you or your loved one might not come home one night. Some people make peace with that in their way, but others aren’t able to. And as this episode reveals, both Higan and Moriss have this in common.

Tragic Backstory Time

The episode picks up where things left off, with Higan getting a call from an unknown person. The only hints as to their identity are that they know Higan’s a ninja, and they know a poem only other ninjas know. However, that takes a backseat when it segues into some of Agent Moriss’ backstory. As it turns out, the man once had a wife and daughter, and they loved each other very much. Then Moriss started putting his job first, which meant that he was late getting the news that a sleeping driver killed his daughter. As a result, his wife couldn’t take him from being there anymore, and they presumably went their separate ways.

This moment does a lot to show why Moriss is so devoted to his job, even to his detriment. Losing his daughter, who looked up to him as her hero, took a significant toll on him, to the point where he kept a drawing she made on him at all times. He’s doing all of this to avoid his grief and to atone for his failure to be there for his family, similar to what Higan went through in the first episode. 

As the episode continues, we get another flashback, this time to the life of Higan, his future wife, Mari, and their comrade, Zai, in their lives as ninjas. Besides swearing to uphold a code of never betraying their clan or revealing the secret technique they each get, they also swore to detach themselves from everyone, even their comrades. However, Higan fell in love with Mari, and the two broke the code. It’s a nice contrast to Agent Moriss and how he chose his role as an FBI Agent at the cost of his family. When you look at it like that, he and Higan are like two sides of the same coin. Both are skilled and driven, but one chose his job over his family, while the other chose his family over his job. Yet both ended up having tragic outcomes. Maybe they were meant to become allies.

Infiltration of AUZA City

While this episode shows us more of AUZA’s inner circle (who are as eccentric as that of Shinra’s board of directors), the person who stands out the most is Zai. We get a glimpse of how cold and ruthless he is when he kills his former swordmaster, but there’s more to it. The flashback reveals they swore oaths of loyalty to each other over cups of sake. In Japanese culture, exchanging sake cups is considered a way to foster loyalty and celebrate significant milestones. So, it’s likely that when Higan and Mari left the clan, Zai took that as a personal betrayal.

Now, Higan’s actions have cost him Mari and their son. And the only way to bring down his former comrades is to get inside AUZA City.

Higan’s infiltration of AUZA City reminds me of the most challenging stealth missions in games like Assassin’s Creed, made even more complicated when he can’t kill anyone without tipping off the guards. That doesn’t matter in the end, though. Right as he’s about to get into the city, Zai’s there to stop him. And the episode ends at that.

If we want to see what happens next, we must wait a week. But when the time comes, Higan will have to run a gauntlet of foes. Even more ninja battles are coming!!

I Give “Episode 4” a 3/5

Did I say Abstergo? I Should’ve Added in Shinra!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews , , , , , , , , ,

Ninja Kamui Episode 3 Review

Ninjas, as the popular imagination came to know them, are said to have first appeared in Feudal Japan. They served as spies, saboteurs, and assassins, either for their feudal lords or as mercenaries for hire. And while it’s doubtful that any of them could walk on water or create shadow clones, plenty of fictional works depict them as capable of such. Now imagine what it would be like if modern-day ninjas existed and relied on the most advanced technology, and you have the premise of Ninja Kamui. A fusion of the ancient and modern-day, serving their lord’s interests. It just so happens that said lords are also a global megacorporation in the vein of Abstergo Industries and the Shinra Electric Power Company. 

This is the group that Higan is going up against, and they are everywhere.

A Bunch of Crazy Ninjas

The episode opens up in bloody fashion as we see Lil, a foul-mouthed ninja from Higan’s former clan, assassinating a man. Afterward, he clarifies how turned on he gets by his violence, acting like Deadpool if it wasn’t as funny or spouting out pop culture. He’s essentially the antithesis of Higan and someone who has little to no respect for what ninjas are likely supposed to be like. And if he and the man who killed Higan’s family are the norm under AUZA, it’s not hard to see why Higan and many others left. The whole group might be corrupt now.

Corrupt or not, a ninja’s still a ninja, which means they’re dangerous. That’s best shown when another ninja, Zai, takes down his former mentor, who had left like Higan. The mentor tried to slice Zai up with blades made out of air, and the man impaled him without the former realizing. That’s scary! At least they can be punched or stabbed, though. AUZA, as a corporation, can’t, and that’s what makes their influence so scary.

Abstergo Fused with Shinra

The previous episode clarified that AUZA has enough pull in the authorities to cover up their attempts to kill Higan. In this episode, Agent Moriss is frustrated when the FBI claims the attack at the restaurant was part of some gang war. The audience doesn’t buy it, and neither does Moriss. Despite the subtle warning from his former partner to let it go, Moriss’ sense of justice won’t let him. In true Jim Gordon fashion, he chooses to keep looking. And thanks to his temporary alliance with Higan and the technical know-how of Emma Samanda, he and the audience learn how much power AUZA has. 

As a side note, Samanda is starting to grow on me as a character. It helps that she’s voiced by Lucy Christian, the dub voice of Nami from One Piece and Uraraka from My Hero Academia. However, Samanda is tech-savvy enough to turn her car into a mobile computer. Her being a redhead makes her feel like an Expy of Barbara Gordon. 

AUZA City, Here We Come!

Thanks to some exposition from Samanda, the show confirms what we already knew: AUZA is the show’s equivalent to Abstergo, though their motives are more in line with Shinra from FF7. They’re motivated by greed and the desire to expand their influence, and, presumably, thanks to the ninjas, they’re on the verge of controlling the world from the shadows. To further the comparisons to Shinra, they even have their own private city, AUZA City! 

Much like Shinra, though, it seems that not everyone in AUZA is on the same page. A meeting between an AUZA higher-up and the head of the ninja clan, Yamaji, has the latter chew the former out for what happened at the restaurant. They’re working together, but Yamaji hates it as much as Higan did. 

This episode was primarily focused on exposition, but when it got to the action, it cooked. After another ninja comes after Higan, we get another epic fight complete with the same kind of rap insert song we got from episode 2. So, it’s pretty epic.

Once the fight is over, it’s clear that Higan needs to head to AUZA City. The problem is that it’s impossible, even for someone like him, to get in there without getting caught. However, he seems to get a lucky break when he gets a call from an anonymous person that knows his name. We have no idea who they might be, but I’m looking forward to finding out. Plus, I want to see what AUZA’s equivalent to Midgar looks like. 

This is getting interesting!

I Give “Episode 3” a 4/5