For the last century Japanese culture has fascinated people from all over the world, following Japan’s welcoming of foreign visitors into their previously exclusive country. It’s themes of honor, duty, and sacrifice have resonated with people from all walks of life, so it’s no surprise that Japanese culture has made a huge impact on modern storytelling and entertainment, carving out its own niche in the form of ninja and samurai books, tv shows, films, and more. Most recently to emerge from this long beloved genre is an animated film by the name of Ninjai: The Little Ninja – an action-packed quest of a young boy’s journey to discover his true identity and purpose. Filled with stunning artwork, amazing action scenes, and compelling characters, this new animated film looks to make a real mark on the quite-established ninja world.
Japanese Animation, And It’s Meteoric Rise
Whilst animation may have had it’s roots in the early drawings of Walt Disney, one of the later genres to successfully adopt and add to the art form has been Japanese animation and anime. For several decades or more, this unique style and format of animation has captured audiences world-wide, establishing itself as a mainstay in entertainment and storytelling. Stand-out animated films like Princess Mononoke, or any of the Studio Ghibli catalogue for that matter, have managed to bridge across the entire spectrum of age, interest, and gender alike, gaining massive popularity and following.
The Japanese animation genre offers a vast smorgasbord of stories, styles, and themes that can generally hold appeal for any audience. Shows like Cowboy Bebop or Ninja Scroll are two examples of very different genres that have been successfully adopted by Japanese animation and given a new life. Anime and Japanese animations have managed to contain something in them for just about everyone and become a true mainstream success.
Nowadays, it is accessible on almost every streaming platform as audiences have voiced their wide demand for it. And due to the quality of these animations, older films like Ghost In The Shell are still viewed and talked about to this day, a testament to the general quality of Japanese animation. And with this time-tested popularity cemented to global audiences, Western production companies have begun to adopt the style and techniques of Japanese animation and apply them to new productions that are a mix of both worlds. Shows like The Legend of Vox Machina, Castlevania, and very recently the League of Legends show Arcane are a prime example of this and have tended to fare very well among audiences.
Ninjas – The Diehard Genre Within The Genre
One group of Japanese warriors that have carved themselves a very solid and broad niche within Japanese animation are ninjas, the stealthy warriors of ancient Japanese culture. No matter a person’s age, ninjas tend to appeal to everyone and the promise a ninja-themed movie or show offers is quality storytelling, lots of action, and impressive martial arts. The ninja is uniquely poised in the action-genre as extremely skilled operatives that rely on stealth, subterfuge and cunning to execute their high-stakes missions, as opposed to most explosion-filled entertainment that is loud and brash.
With an array of skills and deadly weapons at their disposal (and generally no one else’s) ninjas have a mythical quality to them that is hard to match. Possessing lightning reflexes, agility, and acrobatic expertise, these combatants are truly in the upper flight of the warrior class with their unique skill set and abilities. Offering such a specific experience unavailable anywhere else, it’s not surprising that ninjas have remained so popular over the years.
Ninjas In History
Everyone likes a good fantasy movie or bit of escapism in a ninja movie. But ninjas are not all fiction and have quite a bit of fact behind them. Coming from the ancient Japanese culture, ninjas, otherwise known as shinobi, are defined as those who act with stealth; something we still see today in their depiction. The specific martial-art or skillset which ninjas learn to accomplish this is known as Ninjitsu, and this art originates from Japan. Ninjitsu is a combination of combat styles, breathing techniques, acrobatics, and other relevant abilities to the ninja mission.
Vimeo embed link – https://vimeo.com/678583718
This practice of Ninjitsu is mastered to create the ninjas, warriors capable of ultimate stealth, infiltration, and who rarely fail to execute their assignment. These skills are then passed down through each generation, often remaining within the same family line. Due to the demanding nature of the training, sometimes only a handful of students from each generation would successfully complete their learning and become ninjas themselves. Due to the in-house method of generational inheritance, the ninja art has been kept largely secret, and it is doubtful you’d find a genuine ninja outside Japan.
Vimeo embed link – https://vimeo.com/685803196
In addition to the art of Ninjitsu and ninja training, Japanese have also kept the ways of the samurai a guarded secret. The famous samurai warriors employ a variety of long weapons like spears and pikes, bows and arrows, but are most known for their esteemed and expert craft of swordsmanship. Even the process of creating a samurai sword is a well-kept secret and is known only to a few master blacksmiths. The samurai swords are a highly revered weapon, and authentic blades are passed down generationally to this day, and with great value. A shorter version of the famous samurai Katana is also used by ninjas.
Next Stop – Ninjai: The Little Ninja
We are very excited for a new ninja animated movie that is about to burst on to the scene with a fresh new take on the genre, and that is Ninjai: The Little Ninja. This animated feature looks like it’s going to be a de facto hit amongst all fans and denominations of the ninja genre, boasting gorgeous visuals and artworks, some compelling new characters, and quality martial arts in its action sequences. The story focuses on the namesake character of Ninjai, a young boy and skilled ninja as he traverses the ancient world in a quest for the age-old answer of his identity.
YouTube embed link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH064tOypF0
Drawing from his impressive repertoire of skills you’d generally expect from a much older, larger and more experienced ninja, Ninjai kicks ass throughout the sprawling vistas he travels through accompanied by his loyal sidekick Little Bird. The two have a great dynamic and looks like they’ll be one of the most popular duo of characters in a while, with a sweet and innocent rapport that will surely tug at the heart strings. The theme seems to be a new take on the classic good vs evil story, mixed with a few other philosophical and spiritual side notes.
Ninjai: The Little Ninja is an independently produced film, but it is by no means a niche or B-grade type indie production. The quality of animation, artwork, music, editing, and everything so far involved with this project are top shelf in production value and execution. The martial-arts choreography is just as impressive as anything you’re likely to see in live-action or other animations. The appeal for wide audiences is there and it seems like a perfect recipe of fresh and new married with time-tested genre and elements.
YouTube embed link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTkzhCyp06s
Ninja – A First Of Its Kind Independent Production
Ninjai: The Little Ninja is created and produced by a small group of artists and creatives called the Ninjai Gang. They aren’t funded or backed by any major studios or big production companies, comprised of artists, animators, and martial artists from diverse backgrounds and locations around the world. What’s super impressive about them is that as a small group of independent artists, they are producing a high-quality product that rivals anything out of a huge studio – all without that level of resources and funding. The Ninjai Gang is presenting to us a great new film and we’re excited to seeing more from them!So, if you’re at all a fan of the ninja or animation genre, we think you’re going to love Ninjai: The Little Ninja. With a rumoured release date sometime in 2022, it’s going to be a great year for the ninja genre with this fine addition. We’ve found some additional information about the Ninjai feature film on assorted blogs, social channels, videos and entertainment sites such as: Markets Herald, Madison Graph and Movie Daily
