10 best ninja anime series you should try

Ninja anime has captured our imagination for centuries with its stealth, skills, and secret missions. This mystique and intrigue around ninjas has also made them popular figures in anime. Many exhilarating ninja anime series showcase the adventures and exploits of these mysterious warriors.

Ninja anime is perfect if you enjoy action, adventure, and deception. The genre offers complex plots, fierce battles, forbidden jutsus, and larger-than-life ninja heroes to root for. Here are 10 of the best ninja anime series that will leave you on edge.

Disclaimer: This list is not ranked in any particular order and reflects the writer's opinions.

Top 10 must-watch ninja anime series

1. Naruto

Naruto follows the coming-of-age story of young Naruto Uzumaki, a rambunctious ninja-in-training who dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. Despite being shunned and despised by the people of his village, Naruto stays resilient and trains hard to master the art of ninjutsu.

With his determined spirit and the powerful Nine-Tailed Demon Fox sealed within him, Naruto sets out on adventures and encounters foes that test his ninja way. This long-running series is hugely popular for its mix of ninja action, touching drama, and endearing characters.

Naruto presents epic ninja anime showdowns involving clones, animal summons, and various jutsus, from the Ninja Academy training to the Chunin Exams to the Fourth Great Ninja War.

2. Ninja Scroll

Ninja Scroll is a classic ninja anime movie that follows Jubei, a highly skilled and cynical ninja swordsman who gets embroiled in a secret mission after saving a female ninja called Kagero. He soon learns of the Shogun of the Dark's plot to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate by unleashing the devastating powers of the supernatural Eight Devils of Kimon.

This violent ninja anime film is considered a masterpiece of ninja action, swordsmanship, and animated martial arts. Jubei must fight through eight deadly ninja warriors with different fantastical abilities like stone body hardening, snake manipulation, blindness, and more.

3. Basilisk

Set during feudal Japan, Basilisk follows two groups of ninjas from the Kōga and Iga clans, who were historically bitter rivals. When the clans pledge loyalty to two warring political factions, they resume their ancient grudges and try to annihilate each other.

With their ancestral ninja abilities passed down through generations, both sides send their top fighters on a brutal battle for supremacy. This tragic forbidden love story sees the two leading ninjas from Kōga and Iga fall in love despite being mortal enemies.

Filled with blood, gore, tragedy, and romance, Basilisk is a violent tale of ninjas with fantastic abilities like invisibility, deadly stares, insect control, explosives, regeneration, and more.

4. Nabari No Ou

Miharu Rokujou is an apathetic middle school student who is suddenly told that he possesses Shinra Banshou, a powerful technique that can reshape the ninja world. This places a huge target on Miharu's back as various ninja clans start hunting him to gain control over Shinra Banshou and use it for their own ends.

To survive the ordeal, Miharu must learn ninja skills and understand the hidden ninja world around him. Nabari No Ou features modern-day ninjas with magic-like jutsu powers that govern different aspects of nature like earth, water, plants, time, space, etc.

5. Gintama

Although a comedy series at heart, Gintama features the antics of former samurai Gintoki Sakata in an alternate reality Edo period overrun by aliens. While primarily comedic, the series occasionally includes episodes with ninja characters and samurai action, making it a diverse blend of genres rather than a straightforward ninja anime.

When he is not picking his nose, Gintoki often assists and fights alongside various ninjas that show up. Some of them include the assassin duo Zenzo and Sa-chan. Despite mostly doing gag comedy, Gintoki showcases some epic fight sequences whenever the ninjas clash swords with incoming enemies.

6. Basilisk: Ouka Ninpouchou

Basilisk: Ouka Ninpouchou (Image via Seven Arcs Pictures)

Set 10 years after the events of Basilisk, Basilisk: Ouka Ninpouchou focuses on the surviving heirs of the Iga and Kōga clans. Though the clans have reconciled their differences, political discord and external threats led their respective leaders to initiate the restoration of ninja arts within the clans. This sets the premise of the next ninja war for dominance.

With flashy action set pieces and stylized violence, fans of the franchise get to explore more fantastical ninja powers like dragon flame control, blood explosion, superhuman strength, etc. There is also the undercurrent of secret political motivations and forbidden love that adds complexity.

7. Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon (Image via Sunrise)

A sequel to the iconic Inuyasha series, Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon follows the teenage daughters of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru - Towa and Setsuna. Separated as infants, the twin sisters reunite as teenagers to discover their true heritage and investigate a mysterious forest that has trapped their parents. They are joined by Moroha, another half-demon in search of her origins.

Fans of Inuyasha will love seeing the old characters reappear while the next generation packs much of the same demon-hunting charm and action. Facing mystical forces and demons, the sisters must master their powers and abilities to free their parents and discover their past.

8. Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings

Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings (Image via Production I.G)

In a fantasy take on feudal Japan's turbulent civil war era, heroes and military commanders have insane weapons and physics-defying abilities beyond normal human limits. Sengoku Basara focuses on rival warlords like the merciless Devil King Nobunaga Oda and the ambitious Toyotomi Hideyoshi who vie for national dominance.

The show trades historical accuracy for over-the-top action and fight sequences as the outlandish generals and their ninja followers slash, smash, and unleash impossible moves. Filled with action-packed battles and grim political intrigue, this bombastic take on a real historical period is an adrenaline-filled ninja anime ride.

9. Ninja Slayer

In a dystopian neo-noir setting, salaryman Kenji Fujikido's wife and child are killed in a ninja turf war. Fueled by rage and vengeance, Kenji merges with the ninja soul of Naraku Ninja. As a Ninja Slayer, he now hunts criminal ninjas and the mysterious Soukai Syndicate that controls them.

With retro-style animation and a thumping electronica soundtrack, Ninja Slayer pays homage to classic ninja pulp fiction. The series is known for its stylized violence and unique aesthetic, drawing inspiration from various cultural elements to create a gritty and engaging narrative.

10. Hell's Paradise

Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku (Image via MAPPA)

Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku, a popular ninja anime, follows the story of Gabimaru the Hollow, once considered the strongest ninja of Iwagakure, but now condemned to death for his crimes. He is given a chance at a pardon if he can find the elixir of immortality on a mysterious island rumored to be paradise.

The island, however, proves to be anything but heavenly, filled with dangerous creatures and immortal beings that defy the laws of nature. Gabimaru and fellow death row convicts, alongside their executioner guards, must rely on ninja skills to survive the island's supernatural threats.

Conclusion

The unique appeal of ninja anime comes from the surreal jutsus, historical intrigue, and stylized violence amped up for visual flair. This ninja anime list covers a variety of exceptional series showcasing legendary ninja warriors, assassins, rogues, and secret fighters.

From popular long-runners like Naruto to gritty cult classics like Ninja Scroll to stylish genre mashups like Ninja Slayer, there's something for every action-oriented ninja anime fan.

Edited by Toshali Kritika