Ranked #833

Nabari no Ou

People will look at this and say: "Another ninja anime?". By now, the big and world-wide known title I don't even have to mention is burned into people's minds, and although it wasn't the first or last anime about ninjas, it's now become an easy reference.

I say you should forget that anime if you want to watch Nabari no Ou.

The plot here, more than the fights, more than the neat skills, is the most important thing. And the main characters, are, surprisingly, the main hero and the main villain. Wait, what?

In our story, Miharu Rokujou has the greatest and secret art of the ninjas within himself, and the whole world of Nabari, the hidden world of said ninjas, want him because of it. There is no good or evil, no black and white. There are those that want to use the power, Shinrabanshou, and those that want to get rid of it before something bad happens.

Our "hero", Miharu, rejects all shounen stereotypes and actually couldn't care less. All he wants is to go back to his old, carefree life. The others surrounding him carry powerful stories of betrayal, emotional weaknesses, and the relations between the characters just builds up. Some of them even end up surprising you, acting way colder than you thought they could.

And the villains, they don't actually sound like villains at all. In the dark world of Nabari, it's either kill or be killed, so you can't really say because they're murderers that they're evil, and that's what makes it more interesting. And the best character interaction comes from the worst killer with our main "hero".

The art isn't astonishing, but isn't bad either. Very nice colors, and smooth animation. The only complaint is that, as I said before, the main concern here is the plot. If you're in here for great action, you're just going to disappoint yourself. Nice background music, catchy opening song, very touching ending song that somewhat makes you relate to the pain inside each character.

Nabari no Ou is an anime about the art of the ninjas, and although not action-filled, it has a consistent plot and interesting characters that just might surprise you. If you want to get a break from the "other" ninja anime, or if you just want to watch a good ninja anime, then you should give this a try. read more

Nabari no Ou is not a ninja anime. Yes, the synopsis would disagree with me, but after watching all 26 episodes, the ninja aspect of Nabari no Ou is pretty much unimportant to the central story.

Nabari no Ou is more about the relationship between Yoite and Miharu. They meet each other as enemies, but as the story progresses, they slowly become friends. Yoite wishes Miharu to end his existence using the power Shiranbanshou, while Miharu tries to master this technique to fulfill his wish.

The story, is at best, mediocre. From the synopsis, I was lead to believe this series would be action-packed. But it really isn't. There is little to none ninja/fighting scenes, and most of the story is told through the characters' interactions and dialogues. Nabari no Ou isn't quite episodic, but I actually wish it was. After 26 episodes, there isn't really much content. Many of the events that occur in the middle of the story really has nothing to do with the main plot. If you had missed half of the episodes in the middle, you'd be perfectly fine. Nabari no Ou's story was rather dull for 26 episodes; it would've been much better had it been 12 or 13 episodes. However, the progressing bond between Miharu and Yoite was done very well, and the end, although not exciting at all, was very satisfactory and conclusive.

The characters were quite weak for the most part. Nabari no Ou had a serious problem with transition in terms of character reactions and personality. For example, near the end of one episode, a certain character laments over a dreadful event and grieves. The next episode, right after the event passes, and the next arc comes along, that character acts as if nothing bad had happened. This happens many times to many characters throughout the episodes. It seriously kills any affection for Nabari no Ou's characters, and watchers really can't identify with such characters that seem obviously fictitious.

The art is unarguably one of the better aspects of Nabari no Ou. Characters are quite skinny, but then again, that's perfectly normal in anime. What I really enjoyed is the background scenery. Edges and lines are not sharp, and the coloring reminds me of pastels and crayons. The backgrounds provide a really peaceful and tranquil atmosphere for Nabari no Ou.

The sound consists mostly of serene background music, and during scenes of action, music filled with anticipation kicks in. Overall, the background music wasn't spectacular, but there wasn't wrong with it either.

Overall, I feel Nabari no Ou could have been so much better if it was only 12 or 13 episodes long. The plot is quite simple and straightforward, and having 24 episodes with such a short plot creates repetition and dullness in Nabari no Ou. If you decide to watch Nabari no Ou, I highly recommend skipping scenes or fast forwards parts. You won't miss anything important. read more