REVIEW: ‘Shinobi no Ittoki,’ Season 1 – Delivers More Than I Expected

Ittoki Sakuraba was a normal kid preparing for his first year of high school. Until one day, when he is suddenly attacked by ninjas. He then discovers that he is the heir of a secret ninja clan and must prepare to take his place in the hidden world of the modern-day shinobi in Shinobi no Ittoki Season 1 from Troyca.

The early episodes of this series play out like an oddball high school anime series, and Ittoki makes new friends and adversaries while trying to learn the ropes of this bizarre new life he has found himself in. But about halfway through Shinobi no Ittoki Season 1, the story expands to be much more than just high school shenanigans with a coat of ninja. Politics, murder, betrayal, and war command the rapidly expanding story of Ittoki’s life.

This sudden shift in the series brings much more weight and drama to the narrative than I initially expected. While the series’ tale does have some surprising reveals and plot twists, it never dives too deeply into the politicking. It explores these themes enough to establish the danger and ruthlessness of Ittoki’s enemies while never causing the series to slow too much. It is, first and foremost, a coming-of-age adventure, just with ninjas and large-scale battles instead of dances and break-ups.

As a lead character, Ittoki does a fine job carrying the story’s focus. He is likable enough but never really breaks any molds or stands out. He wants to do the right thing and help protect those around him. Fairly vanilla for an anime-lead protagonist.

But while Ittoki’s character is just good, Shinobi no Ittoki Season 1 surrounds him with personalities that bring far more to the series than he does. His mother, Yumika, the Iga Clan chieftain, provides a ton of heart and sage wisdom to the narrative. His uncle, Tokisada, is the clan’s legendary super-ninja who always carries an air of mystery around him, and his childhood friend Kousetsu, his everpresent guardian, brings a grounded viewpoint that often clashes with Ittoki’s optimism. This strong supporting cast allows the series to work with its somewhat bland lead as they challenge and expand his initially simple and naive outlook on the world.

The one major element I found myself frequently struggling with is the scale of Ittoki’s world. Despite the rest of society being utterly clueless about the existence of these ninja clans, the groups are shown with massive bases, their training facility takes up an entire chain of islands, and they have multiple open battles involving dozens of participants and many large-scale explosions. Asking an audience to suspend their disbelief to an extent is fine, but there are numerous moments and concepts in Shinobi no Ittoki Season 1 that simply ask too much.

The visual presentation in this series does a consistently good job of delivering its world. From both an animation and design standpoint, the show delivers the world in a way that creates good energy and allows the world to feel alive while never managing to craft something that truly stands apart from the crowd. This crafts a visual world that is enjoyable enough to watch but won’t stick with the viewer long after the final credits run.

Shinobi no Ittoki Season 1 brings a story about a boy drawn into a hidden world of modern-day ninjas and does far more with it than I expected. While it never truly becomes exceptional, it is an enjoyable distraction that delivers an engaging tale.

Shinobi no Ittoki Season 1 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.