Nabari no Ou 7

All I have to do is say “ninja anime” and the first thing that most people will think of is “Naruto”, right?

In a world now dominated by a single crappy anime/manga series about a ninja donning an orange jumpsuit, there is one newer ninja anime that shines above the rest.

After Naruto, ninja anime/manga really, REALLY did not appeal to me anymore; it had left a bad taste in my mouth, and I wanted to avoid it at all costs. Then came along Nabari no Ou – and I must admit, while I was very reluctant to check it out at first, I’m glad I forced myself into it.

Enter modern Japan: You have guns, technology, computers, and psycho business men trying to take over the world as usual. Ninjas are the stuff of myth these days, but little do the humans of today know that ninjas still exist, in their world known as “Nabari”. Rokujo Miharu, the “Master of Apathy” as he is known, is being targeted by the “Kairoushuu” clan because he holds in his body the equivalent of a nine-tailed fox – The Hijutsu, Shinrabanshou or whatever, I’m not really sure which is which.

Nabari no Ou actually reminds me A LOT of Naruto, and not just because of the ninja thing. The main male character with a special power inside him, people that want to get that power, a prep-version of Sasuke out to get her brother for killing her parents, a group of three high schoolers with one ninja-sensei, and of course, the ninja vocabulary. But you know what makes this series great? For one thing, the animation is superb – it’d be hard to not fall in love with just the opening. But it also takes the concept of ninja and actually makes it COOL. This is like Naruto without the ridiculous cast of over 200 characters, no fillers, no stupid orange-loving ramen-filled obnoxious main character, and it has a well-driven plot with a few twists. Oh, can’t forget the fast-paced action and awesome characters.

At the beginning of episode 7, we are introduced to a new group of ninjas, most likely one of the clans listed from previous episodes. The president of the company talks about some sort of mission that only she and her subordinate, Katou, will be taking on.

Back at the Okonomiyaki shop where Miharu resides, his “bodyguards” Kumohira, Raimei, and Kouichi are pressing Miharu for information on what happened to him and where he disappeared to. Kumohira is especially assertive about this, and Miharu decides to take on his moe persona, much to Kumohira’s dismay. Miharu is truly a little devil, isn’t he? I call fanservice for the yaoi fangirls that are probably watching this.

WHAT DID I TELL YOU? FANSERVICE TO THE EXTREME.

Miharu is forced by his aunt to chase after Kumohira because he seemed to be brooding over something. They begin to have a manly heart-to-heart talk about how even though Kumohira wants to protect Miharu, he doesn’t want to strip Miharu of his freedom of life. Yeah, I know that can be twisted. Like the entire series can’t be?

The backgrounds are beautifully drawn and it definitely adds to the mood of each scene.

As Miharu begins to leave, he also notes that Kairoushuu won’t be chasing after him for a while, so Kumohira has nothing to worry about in the bodyguard department. When Miharu notes that it was Yoite who told of him this though, Kumohira feels insulted that he wasn’t told of this earlier, asking why Miharu can’t seem to trust him enough with this. Oh my god the fanservice.

Miharu merely brushes it off, stating that “It’s because the more you think, the less you’re able to handle.” He also goes on to say that no one knows what he will choose to do when the time come for him to either destroy the hijutsu and become king, or use the hijutsu and become king.

The scene moves on to a happier setting as Kouichi is trying to get the group’s attention. Somehow, the group completely misheard him and responds with stuff like, “Sprain”, “Wooden underwear”, and “Flying squirrel”. Good times.

The two business employees from earlier in the episode arrive to greet our main cast, the lady introducing herself as Yae Oda, leader of the Togakushi Village. She also has the power to read minds; go figure. They have a proposition to make in regards to assassinating a huge business man named Eugene Frosty. AKA, Frosty the Snowman.

And in return for the assassination, they will receive the scroll from the Togakushi Village, which is necessary for the operation to remove the hijutsu from Miharu’s body.

And with the power of my Geass… I shall rule the world!

…Wrong series. Either way, Oda says that it is not a mission they can choose to do on a whim. It’s either they do it willingly or unwillingly. And being able to read minds, Oda makes it even tougher for Kumohira to reject the mission.

…And before you even say a thing, I had to get the screencaps off Crunchyroll this time around. Shut up.

Going so far as to even pry into Miharu’s mind, we find out that the reason to Miharu’s apathy is because his mother died. Oda remarks that Miharu doesn’t want to lose anyone else, and we learn that he truly isn’t just an emotionless young boy with the mind of a devil.

The room starts to spark off electicity as the lights go out and Miharu’s sub-conscious is being overrun by the Shinrabanshou. Within Miharu’s mind, Oda meets the Shinrabanshou who crushes her easily with her large hands. In the real world, Oda freaks out clutching her head. Kumohira takes this opportunity to take down Katou as Kouichi and Raimei rush in to take out Oda. Kumohira stops them both and I really need to replace this screencap later and says that he’ll accept the mission. Oda recovers almost instantly and walks away with Katou.

Unfortunately for Oda, she collapses within the airport on their way over to their flight. Katou says that she mustn’t overuse her kinjutsu because she’ll die, and at this point I’m starting to wonder exactly what defines a kinjutsu. Katou then has a daydream of Oda which I’m sure everyone has at one point or another about someone/something, only to be greatly embarrassed as Oda can, again, read minds. “Sorry, but you’re not really my type.”

A television screen nearby puts on a picture of Eugene Frosty and some sneaky Asian businessman, and Oda decides to take off at this point, feeling agitated. We shift to a scene of her looking at a picture of a little girl on her cellphone. wutwut.

…It’s like looking at some Sailor Moon/Lenalee Lee hybrid.

Moving back to Miharu’s group, Raimei gets a call on her cellphone informing her that they’ve apparently gotten some info about her traitor-brother Raikou. Kumohira and Kouichi suggest that Raimei take this chance to go, because it may be her only one to finally settle the score with Raikou. NO, RAIMEI, COME BACK! THE MALE AUDIENCE NEEDS YOU AS THE ONLY FEMALE FANSERVICE WITH THE TANTALIZING SHORT SKIRT!

Raimei’s decision to go is settled after Miharu tells her to do what she wants most, saying, “Your happiness is my happiness”. Everyone is left with their mouths hanging open as Raimei squeals in delight and proceeds to hug Miharu. Sadly, being the devil child that he is, Miharu adds on to say that, “Of course, I’ll probably die without you around. It’s perfectly fine, though.“

This guy’s voice actor actually spoke pretty good English. But anyways, Hattori meets with Eugene Frosty and they discuss… plans that weren’t really that specified. The meeting is abruptly interrupted as Yoite and Yukimi arrive, announcing that they will be the Kairoushuu bodyguards for Frosty. Hattori mocks them for looking so… well, not bodyguard-material.

Soon after, the scene switches to the press conference as they discuss matters on humanity and the like.

The episode soon ends as Kumohira sets out how the mission shall be initiated. Oda, Katou, and Miharu make a run for it when a patrolling officer of the area spots them and Kumohira stays behind to knock him out, stating that he will take care of the mission all by himself.