Three episod—is it really called Shinovi Master? Not Shinobi Master? That makes zero sense to me.
This post will not be long. I don’t think anyone with a functioning brain is really looking forward to whatever quality this series may have, what with its pandering intentions on full display for anyone even remotely familiar with the video game inspiration. The only reason I am watching this is because I found myself strangely fascinated in the first season, which I watched three and a half years ago.
It’s incredibly dumb. No matter how dark it may want to try and paint itself, all value of tension and suspense is flushed when what comes directly before or after involves busty women groping each other and intentionally being presented in grotesquely sexual fashions. It was no different in the first season and no different here. I suppose where the first season had an excuse (loose term) to be more fun as an introductory series, the second season got pretty dramatic fairly quickly, with the first episode ending on a huge cliffhanger. This led to the second episode beginning with a “What’s to come” trailer for the episode itself featuring a million girls shooting each other with “water” that makes their clothes transparent. Thanks.
That is essentially the structure of each episode thus far: incredibly dark scene followed by pervy nonsense (or vice-versa). Lots of pseudo-intellectual talk about justice and good and evil, too. (I love how one ninja group literally refers to itself as “evil ninja” and other groups as “good ninja,” as if that isn’t really stupid.) It’s almost like it’s appealing super hard to both perverts and fans of hardcore-macho ninja dramas. It doesn’t blend very well.
I wouldn’t even really recommend this as a “So bad, it’s good” viewing, as it’s just competent enough in various areas to not be consistently hilarious. Surprisingly, ever since the beginning of episode two, I’ve had no consideration to drop this, so I suppose I find it stupid enough to be entertaining. That, or I enjoy the titillating nature of the anime far more than I let on. I’ll just stick with stupid fun. It’s garbage, but it doesn’t smell that bad. Wow, I can’t make that appealing no matter what words I choose.
The Visualist's Veranda 