A highly skilled hitman hides with his wife. A final retirement goes awry when a deathly ambush occurs. It will be a bloody journey of revenge that uncovers an intricate underworld of assassins and the big organization they are tied to. These are the basic elements of John Wick, but it also describes Ninja Kamui. When it is in full swing, the Adult Swim series (whose first season just ended) feels like anime’s answer to the Keanu Reeves-led franchise. The initial episodes of Higan’s tale are awe inspiring while the last few episodes spoil what could have been an interesting plot, since they seemed filler and feature some unworthy CG.
The action unsurprisingly takes center stage in this respect. Directed by Sunghoo Park for Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1, E&H Production studio plays out some remarkable fight scenes here. As such, you can identify with the fighters who act like real professionals having enough practice time behind them , thanks to their stunning choreography.Likewise, combat possesses an impressive amount of gravity: every single punch lands hard and each bodyslam appears to hurt seriously. This means that Ninja Kamui has fresh and awe-inspiring action with dynamic camera movements and POV shots before even considering its beautiful depictions of ninjutsu techniques or secret ninja arts. In turn, this leads to him using incredible speed through which he grows many shadow arms as his powers become more powerful.However, these encounters usually walk on air because of such impossible visuals.
One good thing about this anime is that it shows that Higan didn’t quit being a member of his clan over love or anything else irrational; instead he was deprogrammed slowly from childhood . And even though they had no say in this matter either as we see Higan himself along with Mari (his spouse) among others alter their beliefs as well as gradually re-examine their own interpretations of the ninja code before they decide not to just sit around and let destiny control them. Still, doubt lingers in the back of their minds. That is why it is so important that Ninja Kamui does not have a black-and-white “veteran warrior who had had enough”.
Likewise, Higan’s feud with Zai, his former friend turned enemy, is an outstanding aspect. This type of relationship is a staple of action anime and it works just as well here. The more we find out about Zai himself, his own misgivings concerning ninjas and his relation with Higan’s friends; the more weight it adds to every confrontation between the two – years’ worth of history, friendship and finally ill will. Hence, these are some of the best battles in this show resulting into an epic showdown on episode 11.
While Ninja Kamui has amazing action scenes and visuals; however the middle episodes slow down too much for season 1′s pacing. As the series starts expanding its world and lore, it shifts focus to minor players whose stories feel rushed through without much payoff. Unfortunately though, there isn’t much depth to this tale about a secret alliance between ninjas and a techno geek named Joseph.During these reveals about characters’ personalities or motivations we’re made to wait till almost end when they lose their meaning.
Then there are the mech suits. Thus, the idea of ninjas taking over the world by leaving the shadows and using robots is a cool concept, and much of Ninja Kamui explores how these warriors have changed over time. It even kind of makes sense thematically that CG animation would be used for mechs, to show how their ninja pilots forsook their principles and strayed from the true way. However, in practice, it becomes clearer than ever that CG does not play well into Park’s strengths as a director. He pours his life into this film and the choreography is still good but it definitely takes a turn for worse after initial promise of 2D ninja action.
In fact, Ninja Kamui’s positive aspects remind one of John Wick. There is breathtaking action coupled with an interesting premise set in a world that seems smaller than it really is on first glance. Still, goodwill generated from a brilliant first chapter can be easily destroyed by a paper thin story and an abrupt shift to dull secondary characters.
Watch free movies on Fmovies
