5 Best Ninja Anime - Recommended by Ninja Experience Cafe!

The first ninja anime you’d probably think of is NARUTO.
NARUTO is the well-known ninja battle manga by Masashi Kishimoto which has had an explosive popularity all over the world. 
The story depicts the various encounters and training of Naruto, the protagonist who is lso a dropout ninja. 
It follows Naruto in his pursuit of becoming the Hokage, the top of the village through overcoming many obstacles. 
The reason for its popularity lies in the theme of “ninja” which is closely connected to the image of Japan.

A major hit back in 2020, Demon Slayer (Japanese: Kimetsu no Yaiba) was everyone’s favourite for its heart-wrenching storyline, technical animation and the popular opening song “Gurenge” 紅蓮華 by LiSA.

Although the story focuses on hunting demons, did you know that a ninja and a few kunoichi (female ninja) appeared in the anime?
In the Entertainment District Arc, we see Uzui Tengen, the Sound Pillar appear in the anime.
He was a former ninja before becoming a part of the Demon Slayer Corps, and uses the skills he learnt as a ninja into his fighting techniques.
His three wives were also ninjas, or more often referred to as “kunoichi”.
Perhaps due to him being a former ninja, he uses medicine and gunpowder as weapons, which are specialties of ninja.

Interestingly in Iga and Koka, supposedly the birthplace of ninja, the manufacturing of medicine and gunpowder is a traditional industry.
In modern days, this tradition has been passed down to fireworks at Iga, and major industry in medicine in Koga.

Jigokuraku features a ninja protagonist, Gabimaru, who has been charged with the death penalty, but is rather immortal for every attempt to execute him seems to fail.
He is ordered to go find the Elixir of Life at an island where no one has ever returned alive.
In exchange, he is granted freedom.
Will Gabimaru achieve his chance at a pardon, or will he be another victim of the mysterious island?
Gabimaru utilises various ninjutsu in the anime, such as hiboshi, where he produces fire to strengthen his moves. 
For more information on his ninja techniques, have a look at this website Hell's Paradise: Every ninja technique used by Gabimaru
And to learn more about what ninjutsu is, have a look at our Ninja Blog article What is Ninjutsu (Ninja skills), a special skill used by ninja?

One Punch Man tells the story of Saitama, an extraordinary hero who can defeat any opponent with “one punch”, as the name suggests.
Due to his boredom and lack of adversity, he sets out on an adventure to find powerful enemies.
This is where the ninja character in One Punch Man appears, namely “Speed-o'-Sound Sonic” or simply “Sonic”.
Sonic is a recurring villain in the anime and is a self-declared rival of Saitama, though Sonic constantly loses. 
Yet, as a veteran ninja and assassin, Sonic is an expert in ninja weaponry and is adept at hiding his presence. 
It’s interesting to see a rather bloodthirsty ninja in this anime.

Nintama Rantaro is a popular kids’ anime that almost every Japanese child has watched at least once in their lives, and has been airing on Japanese television for more than 30 years.
The story follows the days of three apprentice ninjas at Ninjutsu Academy in the Warring States (Sengoku) Period, in a cheerful, fun and humorous way. 
The main trio, along with their classmates learn all sorts of ninjutsu to become ninjas, but things are not that simple.
You will get to witness some ninjutsu, like transformation jutsu and the use of shuriken in practice!
For those interested in Japanese culture and history and also want to pick up some Japanese along the way, it might be a good idea to start with Nintama Rantaro for one episode takes less than 10 minutes.