2 X 2 = SHINOBUDEN
Kage combo henge mane wonder twin banana-fana bunshin no jutsu!
Review by: Craig “Silent But Deadly” Norris
Length: 13 episodes
Genre: Comedy, parody
Watched: All, subbed
This title came at me totally out of the blue whilst I was minding my own business on the internet. I’m not sure what it was that got me interested in the show; it might have had something to do with the figurine of Kasumi on my desk that reminded me that ninja chicks can be ridiculously hot. What I was treated to wasn’t necessarily hot, but it most certainly was ridiculous.
Plot synopsis: In order to pass her exam to become a full-fledged ninja, ninja-in-training Shinobu is dispatched by the ninja master to obtain the panties of high-school girls. When she stops at the home of high-school student Kaede, Shinobu is surprised to find that her invisibility technique does not work on her (oblivious to the fact that it doesn’t work on anyone else, either). Despite defeating Shinobu, Kaede generously gives her a pair of panties so that she may pass her ninja exam. As a result, Shinobu and Kaede become inseparable, and Shinobu shares her secret (and somewhat warped) ninja lifestyle with her new friend.
Artwork: The art for this series is not very elaborate. One need look no further than the character designs for proof of this. Kaede and Shinobu are generic cute teenage girls. Shinobu’s fellow ninjas all look like the same faceless gray guys with glowing (in a non-creepy way) eyes. And the ninja master Onsokumaru appears to be a grapefruit with arms. Everything else seems pretty standard for a comedy series. In fact, the artwork is about the only thing standard about this series.
Music: Oh, was there a soundtrack here? Sorry, I was too busy laughing at the crazy ninjas. The only track that made me take notice was the ending theme, which was oddly addictive. Must be the banjo. The opening is pretty energetic, but is still a fairly generic song. Nothing else about the music in the series is really worth mentioning.
Characters: These are the most dysfunctional bunch of ninjas I have ever seen, starting right at the top with their leader Onsokumaru. Don’t ask me how he became the leader of the ninja school; how something that has no martial arts or weapons knowledge and looks like a limbed kickball could become the leader of anything is beyond my understanding. Then again, it seems like there is a lot about this series that is not meant to be understood. One thing that is clear as day, however, is the fact that the only reason Shinobu remains in the ninja camp is because Onsokumaru wants a cute girl to look at. Good thing she’s cute, too, because she appears to have no other marketable skills. No matter how seriously she takes her ninja training, her lack of skill is constantly apparent. Still, she is considered the school’s most accomplished student. What does that say about the rest of the ninja students? Probably that only one ninja in history was worse. On the outside looking in is Kaede, a normal high-school student who winds up viewing the ninja academy as most others would; as a total farce and misappropriation of resources. This is not lost on Miyabi, Shinobu’s little sister, who often tells her to leave the bumbling Onsokumaru behind and join her as a student of the affiliated magic academy. They’re all agonizingly inept, and the main reason why the show is classified as a comedy.
Plot: Not much to speak of here. Each episode presents two separate stories, and none of them present anything that could be considered a plot. The comedy is all situational, and nothing of consequence ever really happens (despite a weak effort made at foreshadowing). I do give the series a lot of credit for not trying to mix in any sort of hard-hitting plot into the silly comedy, an act that has killed some comedies I have seen. In the end, it’s all about the oddball ninjas and their stupidity. Not a bad thing, but look elsewhere if you value plot progression.
CHICKS!: As stated before, the two main characters are generic cute teenage girls. They’re not particularly curvy or gorgeous, so they can’t really distinguish themselves from all the other flotsam floating in the sea of anime chickness. However, there is some added interest in that Shinobu may be interested in Kaede on a romantic level. On more than one occasion, Shinobu seems to be totally infatuated with her. If not for that, the overall quality of chicks would be substantially below standard.
Overall: Of all the anime I’ve seen where one or more of the main characters is a ninja, this is undoubtedly the one that takes itself seriously the least. It’s totally freaking ridiculous! It certainly delivers a lot of raw humor, but seems very disorganized as well. All in all it does a good job of shredding apart all the sacred elements of the ninja genre, so it performs an enviable double-duty of making me laugh and raising the ire of prepubescent Narutards.
IN A NUTSHELL
+ Ridiculously silly
+ Entirely focused on humor
- A bit too frenetic
Rating: 7.5/10
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