source Edited with PaintNew year, new spirit, and new anime to watch, that's what I've been waiting for a new anime at the beginning of this year, after last year, I enjoyed anime treats from the start of the season until last winter, both newly released ones or the continuation of the newest season like Dr.Stone which just finished in December with a happy ending for me personally.
In this post, I will share a review of the anime that I have just finished watching, called "Under Ninja", which is the first anime I watched from Tezuka Production and is quite interesting. Most of us, when we hear the words Ninja or shinobi, think of Naruto or Ninja Hatori for the millennial generation, and the anime I am discussing is very different from what I thought before watching it to the end. The Under Ninja anime was adapted from a manga created by Kengo Hanazawa, who previously had success with a manga entitled I Am Hero, who expressed his ideas by creating a story about the world of Ninja in modern times.
sourceThis anime tells the story of a man with a thin mustache who lives in a flat with a middle-aged man and a woman whose hobby is drinking canned beer. The thin mustache named Kuro Kumogakure was a low-level Ninja who was confused about his life, then he was visited by a courier who turned out to be from a Ninja agency and then gave Kuro a ninja mission.
source
I didn't have high expectations from the start of watching this anime because I was testing myself to watch random anime without reading the synopsis beforehand, and "Under Ninja" suddenly became my choice to watch during the Christmas holidays some time ago. I was a little surprised to find out that the main character in this anime is still 17 years old because from his appearance he looks like an adult man with a thin mustache and beard.
sourceUnder Ninja was the last anime I watched in 2023, and gave me a unique impression, I discussed it from the visuals, in terms of images and animation I felt a little strange because the character's visuals looked a little raw but maybe for those who have previously read the manga it will be suitable because of the animation from this anime which is similar to the design in the manga, maybe because previously I watched anime whose graphics and animation were done elegantly like Kimetsu no Yaiba/Demon Slayer so it will feel strange the first time I watch an anime with visuals like Under Ninja.
As the episode progressed, as a viewer, I was made to wonder about all the events and backgrounds of events that occurred in the world of Under Ninja. This back-and-forth plot initially bothered me a little, but then I felt that this was unique, and I started to enjoy it. I like the character Kuro Kumogakure because he looks like a silly young boy of his age but has great ninja skills, and this is shown when he fights several female ninjas on the roof of the school building. Kuro finished off all his opponents with a simple ninja technique but killed all his opponents in an instant.
sourceThen, I was still asking questions about several Ninja organizations in this anime, what their goals were, and what they were looking for, I was still confused and didn't find the answer until all the episodes finished. I kind of hope that this anime will continue with the story because there are still a lot of mysteries or questions that weren't answered in the first season, that's all I can think about.
During this anime, several moments made me feel moved as if there was a message of life implied by this anime, there was a moment when Kuro and Ai Kawado sat on the roof tiles of their apartment and then enjoyed the view of the sky while drinking canned beer. It was a simple moment which in my opinion, seemed to convey the message that "Enjoy the moment, no matter how small. Because if you die, everything will be lost." That's what I thought in that scene, and after they enjoyed a relaxing moment on the roof tiles an unimaginable incident happened.
sourceI don't mean to spoiler, everything I write is my personal opinion after watching all episodes of Under Ninja. If you want to find the unique atmosphere of watching anime without thinking about the visuals, maybe I can recommend this anime as a holiday watch, but if you don't like raw visuals and back-and-forth storylines, I don't recommend watching Under Ninja.