House of Ninjas (2024– ) User Reviews

A fun, frivolous show

[krumblburgh · 8/10 · 18 February 2024]

There are a number of reviews here apparently failing to understand this show. House of Ninjas is about a family with a long history serving as ninjas, protectors and assassins, but who have collectively retired. Some less willingly than others. It is light, frivolous and fun. The action sequences are sparse but exciting enough when they occur to propel the story further- they are not, however, the point of the series.

Folks complaining that House of Ninjas is not wall-to-wall fighting and killing, that the music is silly, that it is not like other ninja-themed shows or movies they have previously enjoyed, miss the point. The trick to reviewing is to watch a show and try to figure out what the creators are trying to do, and then decide if, in your opinion, they have succeeded in that. Otherwise, you will only enjoy the few things you already like and miss the joy of discovering other, different things.

Tarantino and James Gunn employ incongruent music in their films. The makers of House of Ninjas have done the same, with songs that have whatever meaning or effect for them. Rather than complain, perhaps I should wonder what those reasons are?

House of Ninjas is a solid action comedy series with excellent performances and gags. It is not going to redefine the genre, but it is not trying to. It is trying to entertain, and personally I felt it does that quite well.

Great series in spite of its music

[jeanpierrexxiii · 8/10 · 19 February 2024]

I really like this show. The characters are great, story is solid. But the music. Whoever greenlit the music on this made an awful decision.

I think tonally, they were going for something ironic and poignant to punctuate the ridiculousness of a ninja family. But it just doesn't fit.

Western audiences don't need some kind of 'folk' or whatever that music is to make the show accessible. There must exist a version without this soundtrack. Silence would be a huge improvement.

Honestly, I probably wouldn't have written a review if the music wasn't such a mismatch. Tarantino does a great job utilizing soundtracks to what I believe this show was attempting and failed miserably.

If you're into Japanese culture and media, you will likely appreciate this show. If you just want ninja action, you'll likely be disappointed.

Absorbing Drama but Horrible Music

[kgenereux-75-533576 · 8/10 · 17 February 2024]

This series will be one-starred as boring by hard-core action lovers. And by anyone who detests painfully corny music, which almost ruined the whole series for me. (It might even have been a 10 star for me but its theme song "My House" is so nauseating that I wore out my mute button. But I did find the story unique and absorbing and all the veteran actors were superb. Episode 5 was the game changer that got me hooked, culminating in a scene that had a Jesus-wandering-in-the-desert vibe. Really striking scenery. Btw, If you are a Japanese drama fan, you will recognize the Shinobi ninja hero father from Rurouni Kenshin movies. Meanwhile the the evil cult leader of the Fuma Clan was the protagonist of the cool Japanese series "The Naked Director". He is menacingly terrific here. I can't place the Shinobi mom, but her acting was intense but subtle/spot-on perfect. Like Michelle Yeoh, she may be an aging Asian beauty but she's a total scene stealer.

Looks interesting, but awful music almost ruins it

[the_headspace · 7/10 · 15 February 2024]

I'm just on episode 1, and the show's looking pretty cool and interesting. A bit of janky wire work (jumping into a building), but nothing too bad. Atmospheric and stylish in a Netflix kind of way.

But the music! It's like they thought the story was a bit dark and wanted to lighten the tone to appeal to a wider audience by adding a stupid score that constantly undermines what's happening. Little comic glockenspiel style runs, oompah oompah beats, clarinet trills. Even when trying to be serious, the music gives the whole thing a cheap, B-movie feel. It gets very irritating.

But maybe others like it. I could be missing something, and there *are* some comedic elements (though usually deadpan).

On the whole, very promising. Just put on some headphones while reading the subtitles.

Giving it a 9 solely because of the brilliant action sequences

[shreyphilip · 9/10 · 16 February 2024]

The fight scene at the end of episode 6, has become one of my favourite fight scenes. It looks like something out of a European arthouse movie. The series has a lot to offer, either way. Despite having its ups and downs, the plot is pretty interesting. Despite being a series about ninjas, it looks deeper into the tenets of the Shinobi. These people have a personal life, they feel pain. It's not just about fighting and heroism, and whatsoever, but rather about the moral dilemmas of people who are supposed to be killing machine. This might be an unpopular opinion, but I actually liked Haru. He simply does not want to take a life and his inability to do so is seen as a taboo. Oh, and the soundtrack! I love it when they use Classics in movies and series.

EXCITING BUT PLOT FULL OF HOLES!

[lcobiao · 7/10 · 18 February 2024]

So it is intriguing to peek at the regular life of ninjas and I'm quite entertained at the start of the series when the Tawara family members, retired from Ninja life, are using their ninja skills in doing mundane stuff.

But as the story progresses, I find it more and more absurd with annoying inconsistencies and glaring plot holes.

First of all, the BNM, Bureau of Ninja Mgt under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs (Gov Agency) basically exists to control the life of the Tawara Family? Since they are the last of the Shinobi family. What were the agency doing the 6 years Tawara family were retired?

And what is the power held by BNM over the ninjas? There is no highest ninja elder and by the look of it, Tawara family is their only weapon(soldiers). Why are Tawara family members so afraid of breaking the unreasonable law of Ninja? Marriage has to he arranged? If they were so sophisticated and competent agency, they can't verify the background life of Karen? Why manufacture complications to fluff tension and fake drama. It is not believable in modern day.

Really using pigeon to send messages instead of Whatsapp or Messenger? So with the sophistication of the ninja ways, the BNM can't vet the background of Karen to allow Haru to take her as girlfriend? Even tv starlet like Megan Markle were allowed to marry into the British royal family.

So In trying to prevent the biggest mass murder, called the Eclipse, the Japan government thru BNM sent 4 members of the Tawara Family??? While the bad guys Fuma have hundreds of warriors. And note that Fuma only has 30,000 members. Who is funding Fuma anyway?

And speaking of Fuma, what the fnck are they about? They kept saying they are going to Make Japan Great Again yet all they were doing is killing members and planning massacres. Are they not aware of Japan's aging population and low birth rate?

The story ended in hanging so I assume there's going to be at least season 2. I hope they gather better writers and fix the backstories as well as the front.

Return of the Ninjas

[sakib33 · 9/10 · 20 February 2024]

I remember growing up in the 80s watching movies by Sonny Chiba; Raizo Ichikawa; and of course Sho Kosugi. Those ninja movies were just fun and amazing to watch. And then after a while, it seemed like they kind of phased themselves out. I'm very happy to see a revival of great martial art movies. It's awesome to see Netflix create the series That at least, in my humble opinion has brought back the Shinobis. If you're into martial art Ninja movies with some storylines, then this series is definitely for you. What I enjoyed about is that not only doesn't have some good choreography, but also great storyline to go with it. I'm already looking forward to the next season and I hope they renew it.

Good Enough

[PennyReviews · 7/10 · 26 February 2024]

Japanese Drama '' House of Ninjas '' is an action-packed drama about a family of ninjas and a big criminal case they get involved with.

The whole '' mythology '' around ninjas, their tactics, their way of life, and their secrets, they were intriguing and enjoyable, even though the drama gave a more humane side to the supernatural warriors.

They also focused more on the family, even though there were plenty of fighting scenes to keep things entertaining. However, the dynamics of the family members, their love for each other, and the way they worked together, were the most enjoyable part of the story. The twists of the story were also well handled and unpredictable.

And yet, the story felt somehow anticlimactic and lukewarm. The ending was also not the typical happy ending, probably suggesting a second season to follow.

Finally, the performances were all enjoyable.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

Music is one of great ingrédients

[gabrieldenpassar · 9/10 · 22 February 2024]

Nice action series... Decorum IS great. It's all about contrast : shinobi tradition in a 21st century japan ; eastern culture with pop western music... All mashed UP in a very subtle photography. Characters are nicely written and it has this kind of Tarantino Flavour.

I strongly disagrea with thé critics about music which IS to me one of the ingrédients that make this series sweet and sour..

It also has a slight touch of humor that let us in the end with a smile...

Nevers Boeing though sometimes there are some lacks in the writing.

It's an easy catchy séries, not profond but very pleasant.

"Meat is against the rules"

[daisukereds · 6/10 · 19 February 2024]

For your average viewer, this is will be quite an enjoyable series!

With good pacing, a decent threat, good character interactions and developments, fine stunts, excellently executed choreographies, and beautiful locations. It is very family-unit-centric show, and it delivers in that regard.

But or anyone looking for something more memorable or special, there's little that stands out.

My major complaint regarding the show is how generic, simplistic and expected everything is. Some music choices feel strange, the world building is also a bit underwhelming. The way it shifts the tone to something too light-hearted in parts. How characters of such competence, skill, and discipline.. sometimes behave immaturely, displaying a lack of intelligence and maturity despite their abilities at the start.

Still, it is a well presented package that manages to entertain. And you can probably expect a season 2 to continue the story.

I loved the music

[balancelife1969 · 9/10 · 21 February 2024]

I am on episode 4. The music fits with scene ,western music not Japanese, maybe that why people don't like the music. It fits though, ancient Ninjas in a modern world. The juxtaposition, and if you thing bad music, then you feel the weight of ancient honor and duty while living in the moral and ethical wasteland of the 2020s.

The martial arts were really well done.

The acting is mostly pretty good. Occasionally , meh .I LOVE Riko the kid. He and Grandma are great side charachters.

The leads are great! Yoko, is the best!

And I want that house, just so much fun in the details of this show.

I hope there will be a s2.

average series, with HORRIBLE soundtrack

[lashawilldata · 6/10 · 18 February 2024]

This could have been an average Netflix show about ninjas which is at times quite entertain and at times dull, no big surprises there, except that it also has probably the worst soundtrack in the history of cinema and TV. Not that there is anything wrong with the music used in the soundtrack. It actually is quite good. However, it is such a mismatch to the series content and mood that it becomes impossible to ignore just how annoying this is.

Of course I've heard bad soundtracks before but nothing even remotely matching to this level. I had to pause every now and then because it was just too hard to take the music while at the same time I was intrigued with what was going on in the series.

I could have given this series 7 with normal soundtrack but the soundtrack itself probably deserves 1 star. Still it didn't feel right to punish the entire production just because of the bad soundtrack so I'm giving it 6 stars instead.

series of what ifs

[onze-kris · 2/10 · 19 February 2024]

As many pointed out the music used in this show is pretty horrible. It doesnt add anything at all and it is out of place.

The plot is questionable, and it all collapses in the later episodes.

The camerawork is questionable. Luckily it doesnt suffer from the camera has to always move syndrome but the shot selection is not up to par.

So why did it get an extra star. It is the acting. The acting especially of young Nagi, Nagi ,the boy and mum is excellent.

The casting is well done.

So without the horrible music which doesnt fit what you see at all . The plot feels rushed and unfinished. Character development is lacking and that is a real pain point.

In a series of a shinobi family character development should be key. You can see Nagi's background but that is the only exception. All other choices from the characters are pretty unreasonable to me. And as such make it really hard to get invested in the family. This is no fault of the acting but it is the lack of storytelling skills.

The series is all over the place. From the action of the parents at the traffic lights as from another one at the beach.

It is day and night apart . Very much so like the music which is not contributing but merely distracting.

I really like that netflix is giving japanese series a chance but there should be some quality control.

Even the title house of ninjas is not fitting. Just ask the family, they are shinobis.

I love this, mostly because of the music

[garrettgibbons · 7/10 · 16 March 2024]

Ninjas, family drama, ramen, action sequences, cult leaders... what more do you need? This show is a lot of fun.

Also, I feel compelled to say that the needle drops were excellent in this show. I loved the music.

I need to fill in more characters in order to submit this review so I'll just note that it's bizarre that all of the reviews left up until now mention how much they dislike the music. What a strange thing to focus on! It's great music.

My guess is that some disgruntled crew member is trolling the review page and has a bone to pick with the music supervisor or the director or show runner.

Excellent show

[keaneye1 · 10/10 · 22 February 2024]

I really loved this series and binge watched it from start to finish. Juvenile adults who require nothing but action to hold your weak attention spans of goldfish, this is not for you. This is at its heart a family drama. They are tied to certain rules. They are victims of their own system, which is questioned more than one both internally and externally. They are a fractured family that must unify if they are going to be ready for what's to come. The action is great and reasonably frequent, which is why felt the need to open with a barbed statement. If you cannot make it through this lovely story of family, cloak and dagger mystery to get to the moment blisteringly clever fight sequences then your brain is simply not mature or developed enough to write a credible review. The music is a good choice, contrary to what these amateurs say. The lyrics correspond well with the plot of the series and make a nice call back to old school spy series of the 60s and 70s, cause that's how this feels. It is a bit old school. It feels largely resistant to technology. It's depended on more by the enemy and their victims and followers are corrupted in this way. Our heroes are always switching it off or it fails them. They are their most connected when they leave technology behind or just break it. After all this about family connection and their increased strength as they become closer again.

I highly recommend this series to smart people and I can't wait for another season.

Solid Ninja series but horrible... HORIBLE music!

[arshamhots · 6/10 · 21 February 2024]

The series is about a modern family who are heir of hanzo bloodline! The story is alright, u know same old school Japanese clan vs clan and big bad genius villain, there is some weak points in story as u can expect.

The acting is good Characters are interesting and bad in same time, like the sister is smart enough to bypass all police units in a museum without leaving a trace but in some so stupid to fall for some child tricks... There are moments of both seriousness and cringe in show but people who watched asian shows before are familiar with it.

Action amount is not as much as u expect from a ninja series but when it happens its awesome!

Music... omg dont get me started music like many others said is HORRIBLE! Mostly some happy family western music WHEN THEY ARE FIGHTING AND TEARING ENEMIES APART! Unbelievable... the music ruined ALOT of good scene, battle and moments for me! It doesnt fit it doesnt match and it doesnt make sense!

So in short pros are: +good action +solid story +ninjas!

The cons are: -horrible music -weak points in story -some drags during the show

If u are someone like me who is thirsty for any kind of ninja action well u will probably like it but if ur after a good show and dont care about ninjas then u will be disappointed...

Loved it! Superb entertaining modern take on Ninja that brings back some of the style/themes of 1960s classic Japanese shinobi cinema

[seisui · 9/10 · 20 February 2024]

Loved it! Liked it even more than I was expecting to, and I had been keeping an eye on this show ever since it was first announced. I lived in Japan for a while and have long been a fan of Japanese classic samurai/ninja cinema. It is so awesome to see this show bring back some of the great shinobi tropes, themes, lore, etc. From the great classic shinobi films of the 1960s (which are largely little unknown outside Japan). I particularly REALLY liked the depth of character/family development here, the emphasis on the human element of being a shinobi/ninja, and to see excellent martial art action that is done in a very grounded, realistic manner. The action was fast, visceral and not over the top, which made it all the more impactful.

The show is not perfect of course, but on the whole very entertaining and well done... The acting, production quality and action are all top notch and this is the exact kind of high quality drama series that I've been waiting to come out of Japan for a while now. There are so many original, interesting things Japan could be doing with TV/streaming series incorporating unique, rich cultural elements and the unmatched cool factor of samurai/ninja history, lore, etc. We will hopefully see even more productions in the future along these lines!

I really hope House of Ninjas gets a season 2! The first season has wonderfully established a world, a unique style/aesthetic, characters we care about, interesting themes and realistic badass action which could really be expanded upon in future seasons. More please!

This isn't about the music by the way

[sadeenalahmad · 6/10 · 25 February 2024]

At first the show was really engaging and was a solid 10/10s. The action in the show is great but there isnt much for the actual story/plot. It felt like there where no real family momemts and it felt like there was a huge gap in that part of filming. At the last episode there wasn't real closure and lots of things that didn't make sense or where unexplained. The best part of the show was the grandma and the kid. The plot is easlily predictable, and its easy to tell who the villians are. Its absurd how they cant date or eat meat. Doesn't meat make you stronger? Finallly, the show is basically an intro for a second season, not properly concluded.

You're brain dead if you rate this low because of the music

[cschwartz-30687 · 10/10 · 24 February 2024]

The music is like 1% of the entire series. Get over it.

The humor, drama, action, and gore are balanced so well. It feels a bit like a modern day Jackie Chan movie. In addition, sometimes it feels like a family sitcom that tugs on lots of emotional strings. The acting, writing, and directing are all very well done. It's very nice to see Netflix finally put out a quality show. I can't wait for the second season. I had no expectations when I decided to watch it, had not seen any trailers or anything. I was absolutely blown away and so far its one of my favorite shows of the year. And trust me, you can ignore all the "critics" hating on the music.

The music is actually pretty nice

[Farbror_Koma · 6/10 · 21 February 2024]

A decent and well made series. No more, no less. Growing up in the eighties, I have always had a childish fascination for ninjas and I am glad this series actually delivers some nostalgic entertainment. There is really no depth here so don't expect to learn any new life wisdoms. This is a pure but simple tale filled with stereotypical characters. Sometimes, that's good enough.

My main reason for writing this review is that I kind of love the music. Especially the corny theme music. I think it adds to the over all tongue in cheek vibe hiding under the "serious" drama. This is just for fun and that includes the music. So ignore the haters and just enjoy the ride.

Quirky plot driven psychological family drama

[sion-williams · 10/10 · 21 February 2024]

Also happens to be about Shinobi. It's full of humour and good acting. It's multi dimensional and characterful, the family are all lovable and have depth. Even my wife was sucked in, and she loves a RomCom. The soundtrack was quirky too. Oh and I forgot ,the simply exemplary cinematography- the film looks great. Pacing wise, if you are looking for a one man kills everyone in a frequent fights and a constant frenzy, you will not like this series. There are gentle passages with charm and amusement that simply show aspects of life. Jazz for instance! There is particularly humorous Jazz based mission ,which made me chuckle.

Good characters with questionable plot.

[L_mata_ · 7/10 · 28 February 2024]

The series start really strong with intrigue and mystery in the family. It starts well paced and you are slowly introduced to family business, relations and past events that lead to the current situations. The more you get into the series the more pace starts to pick up and you start to have some questions about the plot moving forward and some of them are never explained because the plont needed to move forward to get to the end also some plot elements are self serving and not well executed and they happen because it is a checkmark that needs to happen in order to get to the next situation even though there is no real reason for it to be happening that way. At the end the show was very enjoyable for me beacuse in my opinion the characters are well written and the plot is intriguing enough, I'm just sad it wasn't given more episodes to develop some plots better and more convincing.

House of Ninjas does not live up to the trailer.

[syntory · 5/10 · 23 February 2024]

I was really looking forward to this series when I first saw the trailer, but I found this show to be very boring. Admittedly I'm only 2 episodes in but there's very few redeeming qualities with this show so far.

The action sequences are cool, when they actually happen but for my taste, the action scenes are just too few and far between. There's way too much boring nonsense. I honestly dont care about the girl stealing items and putting them back. It seems like a good story is there, but the writers are taking way too long to tell it. I also find it annoying when actual human actors try to act like anime characters. The actress playing the character "Yoko" tries to act like an anime character at times and for me it just comes off as weird. And what's with the soundtrack of this series?! The music absolutely does not fit. I suppose I can't blame the producers for trying something new, but this series is not working for me.

House of Ninjas, so far, is just too slow paced. I bailed after episode 2 and instead watched Ninja Assassin, Ninja Scroll and Ninja Kamui to get my ninja fix. Compare House of Ninjas to Ninja Kamui. Ninja Kamui sets up its characters within the first ten minutes of episode 1 and has action scene after action scene back to back!! The difference is night and day with these 2 series. It felt like a chore watching the first 2 episodes of House of Ninjas and that's really sad. I was really rooting for this series after seeing the promo so I am disappointed that the show doesnt live up to the trailer.....at least not by the end of episode 2.

Pretty good

[dseemalhar · 7/10 · 29 February 2024]

Yesterday finished binging Japanese Action drama 'House of Ninjas'

Years after retiring from their formidable ninja lives, a dysfunctional family must return to shadowy missions to counteract.

Pretty good storytelling, they focussed more on family dynamics, action is as per story's requirement not just mindless action, which is good part. Action scenes are pretty slick. Performances are okay, music feels out of place in my scenes that's the only drawback for me.

There are loopholes here and there. End suggested, it will come up with second season. All in all, pretty enjoyable action thriller.

Phenomenal show! Worth the watch

[caybekks · 10/10 · 24 February 2024]

Japanese series at the moment have been incredible and this is one of them. It was so good, the acting was superb and worth the watch. Ignore these idiots saying it's boring, people just don't have the attention span to enjoy anything these days. The soundtrack was questionable but who cares, it's an enjoyable series with the best fight scenes since Banshee.

There are moments where the plot has some holes, but this can easily be sorted out in a second season. It has a great ability at being a tense, serious series while also having some humour to it. Plus the cinematography is also great!

Once again it's worth the watch, much love to the people involved in making this series. Can't wait for a second season.