House of Ninjas

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!

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So it is intriguing to peek at the regular life of ninjas and I'm quite entertained at the start of the series when the Tawara family members, retired from Ninja life, are using their ninja skills in doing mundane stuff. But as the story progresses, I find it more and more absurd with annoying inconsistencies and glaring plot holes. First of all, the BNM, Bureau of Ninja Mgt under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs (Gov Agency) basically exists to control the life of the Tawara Family? Since they are the last of the Shinobi family. What were the agency doing the 6 years Tawara family were retired? And what is the power held by BNM over the ninjas? There is no highest ninja elder and by the look of it, Tawara family is their only weapon(soldiers). Why are Tawara family members so afraid of breaking the unreasonable law of Ninja? Marriage has to he arranged? If they were so sophisticated and competent agency, they can't verify the background life of Karen? Why manufacture complications to fluff tension and fake drama. It is not believable in modern day. Really using pigeon to send messages instead of Whatsapp or Messenger? So with the sophistication of the ninja ways, the BNM can't vet the background of Karen to allow Haru to take her as girlfriend? Even tv starlet like Megan Markle were allowed to marry into the British royal family. So In trying to prevent the biggest mass murder, called the Eclipse, the Japan government thru BNM sent 4 members of the Tawara Family??? While the bad guys Fuma have hundreds of warriors. And note that Fuma only has 30,000 members. Who is funding Fuma anyway? And speaking of Fuma, what the fnck are they about? They kept saying they are going to Make Japan Great Again yet all they were doing is killing members and planning massacres. Are they not aware of Japan's aging population and low birth rate? The story ended in hanging so I assume there's going to be at least season 2. I hope they gather better writers and fix the backstories as well as the front.

For your average viewer, this is will be quite an enjoyable series! With good pacing, a decent threat, good character interactions and developments, fine stunts, excellently executed choreographies, and beautiful locations. It is very family-unit-centric show, and it delivers in that regard. But or anyone looking for something more memorable or special, there's little that stands out. My major complaint regarding the show is how generic, simplistic and expected everything is. Some music choices feel strange, the world building is also a bit underwhelming. The way it shifts the tone to something too light-hearted in parts. How characters of such competence, skill, and discipline.. sometimes behave immaturely, displaying a lack of intelligence and maturity despite their abilities at the start. Still, it is a well presented package that manages to entertain. And you can probably expect a season 2 to continue the story.

This could have been an average Netflix show about ninjas which is at times quite entertain and at times dull, no big surprises there, except that it also has probably the worst soundtrack in the history of cinema and TV. Not that there is anything wrong with the music used in the soundtrack. It actually is quite good. However, it is such a mismatch to the series content and mood that it becomes impossible to ignore just how annoying this is. Of course I've heard bad soundtracks before but nothing even remotely matching to this level. I had to pause every now and then because it was just too hard to take the music while at the same time I was intrigued with what was going on in the series. I could have given this series 7 with normal soundtrack but the soundtrack itself probably deserves 1 star. Still it didn't feel right to punish the entire production just because of the bad soundtrack so I'm giving it 6 stars instead.

The music is like 1% of the entire series. Get over it. The humor, drama, action, and gore are balanced so well. It feels a bit like a modern day Jackie Chan movie. In addition, sometimes it feels like a family sitcom that tugs on lots of emotional strings. The acting, writing, and directing are all very well done. It's very nice to see Netflix finally put out a quality show. I can't wait for the second season. I had no expectations when I decided to watch it, had not seen any trailers or anything. I was absolutely blown away and so far its one of my favorite shows of the year. And trust me, you can ignore all the "critics" hating on the music.

I was really looking forward to this series when I first saw the trailer, but I found this show to be very boring. Admittedly I'm only 2 episodes in but there's very few redeeming qualities with this show so far. The action sequences are cool, when they actually happen but for my taste, the action scenes are just too few and far between. There's way too much boring nonsense. I honestly dont care about the girl stealing items and putting them back. It seems like a good story is there, but the writers are taking way too long to tell it. I also find it annoying when actual human actors try to act like anime characters. The actress playing the character "Yoko" tries to act like an anime character at times and for me it just comes off as weird. And what's with the soundtrack of this series?! The music absolutely does not fit. I suppose I can't blame the producers for trying something new, but this series is not working for me. House of Ninjas, so far, is just too slow paced. I bailed after episode 2 and instead watched Ninja Assassin, Ninja Scroll and Ninja Kamui to get my ninja fix. Compare House of Ninjas to Ninja Kamui. Ninja Kamui sets up its characters within the first ten minutes of episode 1 and has action scene after action scene back to back!! The difference is night and day with these 2 series. It felt like a chore watching the first 2 episodes of House of Ninjas and that's really sad. I was really rooting for this series after seeing the promo so I am disappointed that the show doesnt live up to the trailer.....at least not by the end of episode 2.

I remember growing up in the 80s watching movies by Sonny Chiba; Raizo Ichikawa; and of course Sho Kosugi. Those ninja movies were just fun and amazing to watch. And then after a while, it seemed like they kind of phased themselves out. I'm very happy to see a revival of great martial art movies. It's awesome to see Netflix create the series That at least, in my humble opinion has brought back the Shinobis. If you're into martial art Ninja movies with some storylines, then this series is definitely for you. What I enjoyed about is that not only doesn't have some good choreography, but also great storyline to go with it. I'm already looking forward to the next season and I hope they renew it.

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.

There are a number of reviews here apparently failing to understand this show. House of Ninjas is about a family with a long history serving as ninjas, protectors and assassins, but who have collectively retired. Some less willingly than others. It is light, frivolous and fun. The action sequences are sparse but exciting enough when they occur to propel the story further- they are not, however, the point of the series. Folks complaining that House of Ninjas is not wall-to-wall fighting and killing, that the music is silly, that it is not like other ninja-themed shows or movies they have previously enjoyed, miss the point. The trick to reviewing is to watch a show and try to figure out what the creators are trying to do, and then decide if, in your opinion, they have succeeded in that. Otherwise, you will only enjoy the few things you already like and miss the joy of discovering other, different things. Tarantino and James Gunn employ incongruent music in their films. The makers of House of Ninjas have done the same, with songs that have whatever meaning or effect for them. Rather than complain, perhaps I should wonder what those reasons are? House of Ninjas is a solid action comedy series with excellent performances and gags. It is not going to redefine the genre, but it is not trying to. It is trying to entertain, and personally I felt it does that quite well.