The Promise...

I’m sure everyone who has watched the first episode of this show feels betrayed. Especially with the promise it shows. That gritty world steeped in grief has a rhythm that just clicks. No matter what genre you prefer, that opening grabs you instantly. The level of influence it carries is almost inspirational. So naturally, you expect that same level of elevation to continue as the story unfolds, right?

But then what happens?

There is a silence...

The core problem?

If I had to sum up the rest of the series in one line- It's a show that keeps trying to convince you something important is happening...without ever actually saying anything relevantly meaningful.

But the weirdest part is Logan/Higan himself. He is the main character who never actually does anything by himself. Pause and think about it for a second. Every event he is in, every fight, every “big” moment, he never earns it. He is always given those moments. He is cool not because of his intellect or his past life/job experience, but because the story keeps handing him chances to look cool. Opportunities, allies, and even revelations just come walking up to him. Whether it’s infiltration or information gathering, Higan doesn’t act, he receives.

And that kills the tension a revenge-driven character should have. There is very little weight to his victories, almost no grind behind his growth. He is a ninja, for god’s sake, who supposedly uses “secret arts”—arts with an “s.” Tell me, exactly how many of those did he use after episode one? Even Might Guy from Naruto has more tricks, skills, & tools than Higan.

It's not like the animation becomes bad. It just feels hollow because the story doesn't builds toward those moments. Even Emma, for example- her death is framed like it is supposed to shatter us but how can it, when Higan barely reacts? She has a backstory, motivation, and even tension built through her training and bond with Higan’s wife, yet when she dies, the story abruptly moves on. There is no ripple, just a plot event disguised as meaning. She doesn’t affect the story or Higan in any lasting way. Usually, a character death should create reactions, shifts in behavior, or story momentum but here, it barely affects Higan, and the next episodes act almost as if it didn't happen. The story wants us to feel that her death is important but where is the consequence? It's just scripted as a "big moment."

Even her face carried a past, a visual reminder of her struggles and experiences. But when the moment comes, we don’t see her expressions, her individuality, or her presence in the final scene. Yes, that matters. Showing her face in her dying moments is how we would have fully connected her story to her personality, thus translating the setup into an emotional payoff. Just having a backstory does not automatically guarantee emotional weight. You can justify the event with it, as it's done here in the show, but if that history doesn't matter afterward, then it's just a trivia than a narrative weight.

Then there is also Zai. He is the emotional and ideological mirror to Higan. His story hinted at loyalty, identity, and a purpose but halfway through, the show just... abandons him. His arc simply halts. He appears only in fight scenes, without any defining confrontation from his own side of the story, which makes his role feel far less important, both emotionally and philosophically. I get that the writers wanted to reserve him as the final obstacle, but that kind of narrative choice belonged to the early 2000s. This is a 2025 story with a remarkably promising first episode- so promising that it forces you to set expectations, even when you try to stay neutral.

And don’t even get me started on the AUZA subplot. It’s presented like some grand corporate-political web, yet the story just hand-waves it into irrelevance. I don’t like nitpicking plot intellect because, well, it’s a fictional story but I can’t ignore the scene where Emma deploys her ninja-droids to shield her bulletproof car from gunfire instead of using them to neutralize surrounding threats. It's bulletproof for god's sake!!

What was underutilized

When you look back, it’s not that Ninja Kamui didn’t have the pieces — it’s that it didn’t know what to do with them.

• Higan’s emotional turmoil — his intellect, skills, tools, and experience as a ninja are rarely put to test. He is a revenge-driven protagonist with the instincts of a bystander.

• Emma’s agency — a solid foundation but it ultimately leads nowhere meaningful.

• Secret Arts techniques — introduced with intrigue, then barely used until you realize they were once used.

• Zai’s role — positioned as Higan’s emotional and philosophical counterpart.

• AUZA operatives (the so-called “obstacles”) — their fights exist purely for spectacle. Higan’s revenge was essentially complete by Episode 2, leaving every conflict afterward feeling optional rather than essential.

The Highlight Reel

The ambush on Logan’s family is easily the best-directed scene in the entire show. It’s tight, brutal, and laced with quiet foreshadowing that makes the tragedy hit even harder when it lands.

Disappointment

The show has everything it needs to work on a technical level. But somewhere along the way, it got hollowed out, leaving behind something that is emotionally vacant.

Final Score: 4.5/10 More frustrating than bad. More forgettable than fun.