Highlights
- Mike’s detective work and Emma’s mystery deepen in Episode 5 of Ninja Kamui, leaving viewers questioning her true allegiance.
- Higan faces a formidable challenge with the help of a mysterious benefactor, setting the stage for a powerful comeback.
- Despite some visual limitations, Ninja Kamui’s intriguing mysteries and action-packed narrative keep viewers excited for more.
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Show Title |
Ninja Kamui |
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Director |
Sunghoo Park |
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Studio |
E&H Production |
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Episode Air Date |
3/09/2024 |
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Ninja Kamui, Episode 5, now streaming on Max.
As Ninja Kamui approaches the midway point, it has continued to raise the bar, not necessarily through its action alone, but through a growing number of questions begging to be answered. Where the story lacks originality, it makes up for it in its presentation and visceral carnage, and where the carnage comes across as middling, the myriad puzzles command attention.
Last week, Higan was contacted by an unknown insider who offered to help him get into Auza City to get revenge on Yamaji, but he ended up face-to-face with his former comrade, Zai. Meanwhile, Mike, with help from Emma, tracks down a former Auza employee who might be able to help him in his investigation, assuming he can keep the guy alive long enough.
Mike Moriss Is on the Case
It was nice to see Mike standing on his own in this episode, without a ninja threat that would have killed him instantly or Higan being there to hog the spotlight. That might seem like a departure from my sentiments in the previous review, but all it means is that it’s a blessing to see these characters pushing the story forward in spaces where they can meet their potential. For Higan, that’s spectacular combat and for Mike, it’s detective work.
Upon finding Jason Cardenas, it doesn’t take long for Mike to convince him to cooperate through a mix of disarming charisma and his perceptive sleuthing, which suggests he’s not leaving without some intel. Jason might be a drunkard, but he’s a skilled hacker, and he’s got a grudge against Auza. What follows is some classic corporate conspiracy exposition through hacking, but with a neat twist that begs a very important question.
Who is Emma Samanda?
Ever since the start of the series, Emma has been a strange character. Her aesthetic and design place her closer to the ninjas and corporate workers of Auza than an FBI agent. She has access to enough advanced tech to turn her custom car into a mobile hacker-mobile. Coincidentally, she’s a self-proclaimed fan of ninjas as well. However, what seems like the qualities of a charming side character are starting to look like the answer to a riddle that’s been there the whole time.
When Mike spots her name on a list of what he suspects are company spies, one might first assume that she’s a traitor, but her behavior thus far suggests otherwise. If she is a spy for Auza, it doesn’t make sense that she’d give Mike and Higan so much intel, and if it was to lead them into traps, it seems like a counter-intuitive way to deal with the company’s problems.
Yet still, in Episode 4, there was something odd about her conversation with Mike in the diner, when she’s urging him to take care of himself because she’s “still got a lot to learn” from him. On paper, it seems like just friendly banter, but Mike’s reaction suggests this kind of nicety is rare for Emma. Maybe she’s a corporate spy, a ninja, or both, but these questions rattling around while Higan is getting assistance from a mysterious third party feels like far more than coincidence.
Who Is Helping Higan?
The main event of the episode is a battle between Higan and an army of ninjas in the bowels of Auza city, and it escalates remarkably quickly – too quickly even, but by design. With the season slated for 12 episodes, this feels like a formative moment on the journey; Higan’s Icarus moment, even. He’s flown too close to the sun and now has fallen, but with the help of his mysterious benefactor, he’ll come back more powerful, maybe even with a new suit and mask.
Higan and Mike’s stories run parallel to one another up until the very end, both injured and both carried off by a new/unexpected ally. It begs the question of who Higan’s benefactor is, and by building on the suspicion of traitors through Mike’s story, it keeps the viewer second-guessing their assumptions. It could be Emma, or it could be something totally out of left field.
It’s a small touch, but it’s effective, which is something of a trend for this show. When it started, there wasn’t much reason to expect to get this excited about the mysteries, but they might be the most intriguing part of the whole package. This will depend on the viewer, of course, and the action remains the primary vehicle of the narrative, even if it might not be the highlight some were hoping it would be.
The Trouble with Ninja Kamui’s Visuals
By this point, it feels like there’s not much to say about the action save for the times when it dips below the standard set thus far. Unfortunately, the CGI enemies do take some getting used to. They blend with the visuals much better than expected from early previews, but they don’t look so good that it would be heartbreaking if they didn’t return. Even without them, though, there are other limiting factors in the animation department.
Ninja Kamui wants to evoke the look of classic anime from a period when artists like Yoshiaki Kawajiri were creating these heavily detailed, uber-masculine action epics. Things like Ninja Scroll or Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. The trouble is, this kind of style is hard to do, and especially so in a TV series as opposed to a feature film. As such, often the artwork looks like a shadow of something more; in imitating a style it can’t achieve, it lacks a style altogether.
Regardless of its drawbacks, however, Ninja Kamui has earned the attention it has received from viewers. Adult Swim was very smart to capitalize on director Sunghoo Park’s skill and his team’s ambition to make something that scratches audiences’ itch for a killer ninja story. Whether it ends up being “great” or “just okay” by the end, there couldn’t be a more fitting show for Toonami, and that alone makes it a success already.
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