Relax, this text is Spoiler-free.

Just a short note unrelated to the series. Actually, this isn't an actual review, just some "Quick Thoughts" I wrote in about half an hour after finishing the series. I might skip over some points or keep things a little too simple. For example, I went really superficially into the story of the series in this particular text and I didn't talk about the characters or the music at all. So don't read it as a general review. If it feels like something is missing, I'm probably aware of it and it's intentional. You can read here for a better understanding. Without further ado, let's continue, because it will be a really short one.

While I'm nicely continuing to follow some of the weekly updated series, a new anime series "Ninja Kamui" from Adult Swim started right in the middle of the season, but wow, what a start that is. For some reason I don't know, the series suddenly became popular and got some really high ratings. And since the synopsis seemed interesting I thought I'd check it out, and you can instantly understand why it got so much attention from the first episode.

I think many of you who have seen it will agree that there are especially two reasons for Ninja Kamui's rise. A striking first episode and fluid animation.

Apart from the dull CGI mecha battles we started seeing from Episode 5 onwards, Ninja Kamui stands out from other series in many visual aspects, especially in the FPS. The drawings, colors and effects, while not at the level of Demon Slayer in my opinion, it really looks a lot like The God of Highschool and the first season of Jujutsu Kaisen in terms of fluidity.

Well, while I was writing that it resembles some MAPPA productions, I noticed that the director of the series, Seong-Hu Park is also the chief animation director of Jujutsu Kaisen
(the first season and the 0 movie) and The God of Highschool (Oh, it's not just that. He's literally the main director of them).

I think some of you might love the many series this man has done and get hyped for Ninja Kamui, personally, I’ve seen probably 3 works he directed and didn't like any of them. Okay JJK was fine, but while watching Ninja Kamui, The God of Highschool immediately comes to my mind. It's impressive with its fluid animation in fight scenes, but in terms of story and thematic elements, it was pretty empty I think. It's not nearly as bad as GoH but honestly, I don't think it has anything remarkable to offer.

Although the first episode of the series made a striking start with its unexpectedness and brutality, similar to Tokyo Ghoul and Goblin Slayer, I felt that the focus sometimes shifted later on, and I couldn't get too attached to the uninteresting story and characters in this uninteresting world.

Towards the end, Ninja Kamui tries to be a little more memorable, but it is still an uninspiring revenge story that I will remember almost nothing about, apart from the first episode and some cool fight scenes.

If it had managed to maintain its tempo and technical (especially visual) quality from the first 3 and maybe the last 3 episodes in the middle sections as well, never mind achieving that quality, if it hadn't deteriorated so much in every aspect (yes, even visually), Ninja Kamui could have really been the pleasant surprise of the season, what a shame. At this point, there's nothing left to do but to wish Sunghoo Park all the best for his next series, film or whatever else he does. I don't think he's going to do anything that will appeal to me, though.

Still, if you want to watch the series, I can't recommend you not to. It's an action series with broad appeal (at least for linear action fans). If you set your expectations right, you might enjoy Ninja Kamui more than I did.