action/adventure: June 2008 Archives

I'm following five shows this season which don't seem to suck so far. One of them is a tale of ninjas living amongst us in the 21st century, Nope, I'm not talking about "Naruto Shippuuden" here.

"Nabari no Ou" (King of Nabari) is about Rokujo Miharu, a 14-year-old boy indifferent to most things. This small, delicate-looking apathetic teen works at a family restaurant but harbors inside of him one of the most sought after Ninja secrets called the Shinrabanshō. I've seen up to episode nine and as far as I can make out, the Shinrabansho is all the knowledge of the world. Nabari is the ninja world.

Hundreds of years ago, the leaders of the different ninja villages put it inside a human who they later killed. Don't ask me why. But like any good ole monster movie, the Shinrabansho appears again inside another host. It can grant the host immense power but I've only seen it manifest three times and it took the form of roots and tendrils sprouting out of the host and wreaking havoc on his enemies.

Rokujo senses it as a woman who promises to grant whatever he wants if he so wishes. When it activates, Chinese characters also appear on his body.

He isn't aware of this until a teacher, Thobari Kumohira Durandal, and another student, Kouichi Aizawa, pester him to join their school club espousing the Ninja way. The truth comes out when the two defend him from attackers. The assailants were ninjas and so are they.

I won't go into details about the other subplots. Suffice it to say that the villains include a young man who uses a secret technique that can maim and kill others just with mere hand movements. The cost, however, is his own life force.