Series: Nabari No Ou – The Complete Series: Part One
UK Release date: 20th June 2011
Distributor: Manga
Certificate: 15
Running time: 322 mins
Director: Kunihisa Sugishima
Genre: Anime
Format: DVD
Country of Production: Japan
Language: Japanese
Review by: Alex Jones
When people think of Square Enix, their thoughts initially take them to the vast back catalogue of successful video games, most notably the Final Fantasy series. But less people know that they also had a hand in a fair few number of successful anime series, including Pandora Hearts, Soul Eater and (more recently) Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Based on the manga series also from Square Enix, Nabari No Ou is a 26 episode series of action, comedy and ninjas. This set is comprised of the first 13 episodes of the series.
Miharu Rokujo is an ordinary high school student, completely apathetic to the world around him. However, his life is turned upside down when he finds out he has a hidden ninja technique locked inside of him. This technique, known as the Shinra Banshou, is extremely powerful and sought out by many ninja clans – who each believe that the one who possesses it will become the ruler of the ninja world.
Without a way to remove this hidden art from his body, Miharu is soon thrust into a world he has absolutely no interest in – the world of the ninjas. He soon founds out his teacher and fellow classmate, Koichi Aizawa, are secretly ninjas, and they vow to protect him from the oncoming attacks of rival ninja clans. They are soon joined by Raimei Shimizu, a samurai girl from the Fuuma Village – the clan responsible for the hidden technique…
From the synopsis, it sounds like there’s plenty to get excited about with Nabari No Ou. However, in the end, Nabari No Ou is yet another generic show in what is already a horrifically generic sub-genre. The characters are so one-dimensional the plot development is over shadowed by how boring they are, and characters like Miharu and Yoite are so full of angst that their constant exchanges become painful to watch. This isn’t say that they are completely unlikable, because Miharu’s disinterest at a world he doesn’t want to be part of is a refreshing take, and it’s hard not to feel some sympathy for Yoite, who is evidently paying dearly for the skills he has. Other characters, such as Raimei, are driven by vengeance in backstories that are horrifically cliché. The comedy often feels forced – and the visual elements included in them, particularly Miharu growing devil wings and a tail when doing/saying something particularly devious, feel completely out of place.
While it does have some moments of brilliance, such as the far-more-complicated- than-it-looks relationship between Raimei and her brother, Raikō, and, in turn, his relationship with his partner, Gau, but even then the exchanges between these characters are over before they even begin (although, there is the possibility these could be followed up in the latter half of the series). The episodes, despite quite obviously being full of story, trudge along slowly, but the set ends on a rather satisfying cliff-hanger – which may suggest good things for the second half of it.
The art style of the series is of particular interest. While the character designs, despite being detailed and well animated, are rather generic and fail to stand out against the typical anime fare, the backgrounds and scenery are quite different. Rather than animated, highly detailed backdrops, Nabari No Ou makes use of sketched backgrounds, lightly coloured - resembling paintings more than actual set pieces. While this artistic choice is certainly a very striking one (possibly the most striking thing of the series as a whole), it is, unfortunately, a double edged sword – while sometimes it helps bring the characters to the forefront, so that the action focuses solely on them (this is particularly key during the fight sequences), the rest of the time, it makes the scenes look very lacking and empty - even rushed.
With a horrifically catchy opening theme, Nabari No Ou has its fair share of great musical moments. The angst of certain characters (particularly Yoite) is reinforced by the choice of background music and episode 10’s main fight sequence juxtaposed with grand orchestral music serves to be one of the series’ biggest highlights.
While there are elements of a complex story present in Nabari No Ou, uninteresting and clichéd characters make this series drag on at a snail’s pace. The action is weak and the dialogue clunky, the story only moving towards particularly interesting events at the tail end of the set. Ninja and/or Square Enix enthusiasts will probably get a kick out of this series, but others should be aware that in the already flooded sub-genre of ninja anime, there are far better choices out there. AJ
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