House of Ninjas

I'm just on episode 1, and the show's looking pretty cool and interesting. A bit of janky wire work (jumping into a building), but nothing too bad. Atmospheric and stylish in a Netflix kind of way.

But the music! It's like they thought the story was a bit dark and wanted to lighten the tone to appeal to a wider audience by adding a stupid score that constantly undermines what's happening. Little comic glockenspiel style runs, oompah oompah beats, clarinet trills. Even when trying to be serious, the music gives the whole thing a cheap, B-movie feel. It gets very irritating.

But maybe others like it. I could be missing something, and there *are* some comedic elements (though usually deadpan).

On the whole, very promising. Just put on some headphones while reading the subtitles.

Nice action series... Decorum IS great. It's all about contrast : shinobi tradition in a 21st century japan ; eastern culture with pop western music... All mashed UP in a very subtle photography. Characters are nicely written and it has this kind of Tarantino Flavour.

I strongly disagrea with thé critics about music which IS to me one of the ingrédients that make this series sweet and sour..

It also has a slight touch of humor that let us in the end with a smile...

Nevers Boeing though sometimes there are some lacks in the writing.

It's an easy catchy séries, not profond but very pleasant.

Family grief is posistioned as 1 of 2 major themes. Coupled to purpose and sacrifice of freedom towards duty of Shinobi. Much insight is provided into grief ang guilt impacting the family unit. Great use of music, but slow burn till 1/3s in. The secondary theme is glory. Here the opposing Fuma clan and their super natural leader enter. The Fuma fight against the traditional function of the Shinobi, which is military special forces killing machine, embodied by the Hattori family.

Atlast the true purpose of the Fuma clan is revealed after multiple plot twists. Past pacing issues and if you buy into the marriage with the supernatural, nicely done.

Loved it! Liked it even more than I was expecting to, and I had been keeping an eye on this show ever since it was first announced. I lived in Japan for a while and have long been a fan of Japanese classic samurai/ninja cinema. It is so awesome to see this show bring back some of the great shinobi tropes, themes, lore, etc. From the great classic shinobi films of the 1960s (which are largely little unknown outside Japan). I particularly REALLY liked the depth of character/family development here, the emphasis on the human element of being a shinobi/ninja, and to see excellent martial art action that is done in a very grounded, realistic manner. The action was fast, visceral and not over the top, which made it all the more impactful.

The show is not perfect of course, but on the whole very entertaining and well done... The acting, production quality and action are all top notch and this is the exact kind of high quality drama series that I've been waiting to come out of Japan for a while now. There are so many original, interesting things Japan could be doing with TV/streaming series incorporating unique, rich cultural elements and the unmatched cool factor of samurai/ninja history, lore, etc. We will hopefully see even more productions in the future along these lines!

I really hope House of Ninjas gets a season 2! The first season has wonderfully established a world, a unique style/aesthetic, characters we care about, interesting themes and realistic badass action which could really be expanded upon in future seasons. More please!

The fight scene at the end of episode 6, has become one of my favourite fight scenes. It looks like something out of a European arthouse movie. The series has a lot to offer, either way. Despite having its ups and downs, the plot is pretty interesting. Despite being a series about ninjas, it looks deeper into the tenets of the Shinobi. These people have a personal life, they feel pain. It's not just about fighting and heroism, and whatsoever, but rather about the moral dilemmas of people who are supposed to be killing machine. This might be an unpopular opinion, but I actually liked Haru. He simply does not want to take a life and his inability to do so is seen as a taboo. Oh, and the soundtrack! I love it when they use Classics in movies and series.