REVIEW: ‘Shinobi no Ittoki,’ Episode 3 – “Quirks of Fate”

Shinobi no Ittoki is an action anime produced by Troyca. With his path determined, Ittoki sets out for his new school. But there may be more challenges waiting for him than he realizes, and even Kousetsu cannot protect the future village chief from himself in Shinobi no Ittoki Episode 3.

Let’s get my one complaint about this week’s introduction to ninja school out of the way right off the bat. And that complaint is the scale of this place. As I mentioned in my episode one review, the whole hidden world no one knows about trope is always a bit of a struggle for me. Even beyond my personal misgivings, though, it’s tough to believe this could all remain a secret when your training grounds are comprised of an entire cluster of islands. I’m willing to suspend my disbelief, but my ability to do so falls short of bases visible from orbit.

This one glaring element aside, Shinobi no Ittoki Episode 3 does a great job setting up this new piece of Ittoki’s world. Since he only recently discovered this hidden world, Ittoki is way behind his fellow classmates. This fact is used wonderfully to flesh out the newest ninja tools the episode presents for the viewer and introduces new characters to the show.

Like any high school, this one has its bullies. And not surprisingly, they belong to the Koga clan. This instantly puts Ittoki on the group’s radar, as the threat outside the school will be seeping in after the future chief. The initial confrontations with the Koga clan members properly establish their threat but also goes out of their way to add nuance. While several of them simply want to put the hurt on Ittoki, this is not an opinion shared by all.

The last element that I think Shinobi no Ittoki Episode 3 handles well is the philosophy of the school itself. While the school pushes an honor code that tries to discourage underhanded tactics, the primary goal for the students is to become warriors. Simply being good will not win Ittoki any free passes, even if it gets him some respect. This helps create added tension as Ittoki will be forced to balance what he believes to be right with what he must do to accomplish his goals at school.

The visual presentation continues to deliver the show’s story. Despite my misgivings about the scale of the show’s locale, the visual design certainly sells the grandeur of the place well. The action sequences in this episode are minor, and the animation never tries to oversell them. They are effective shows of the characters’ skills, but it never feels like we are coming even close to seeing their best.

When all is said and done, Shinobi no Ittoki Episode 3 sets the stage nicely for the season to progress. I’m interested in seeing where the burgeoning group dynamics will lead, and I can’t wait to see what new ninja tricks the show will present us with next week.

Shinobi no Ittoki Episode 3 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.