© ハンバーガー/KADOKAWA/にんころ製作委員会
At first glance, I assumed that this was going to be one of those light-hearted yuri shows like Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid—you know, where every so often we get a new dragon threat who ends up being defeated and joins the ensemble cast (only with ninja girls instead of dragons). But of course, that’s just what the show wants you to think as it introduces its first ninja girl pursuing our ninja-dunce heroine Satoko. I mean, she’s got a striking character design and a voice actress giving her all, it’s not like they’d just kill her off right away and turn her corpse into leaves that scatter into the wind, right?
But that’s the core joke in A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof. Despite the show’s cute and brightly colored appearance Konoha is a pragmatic pro-killer and Satoko is a pushover—and so they have no qualms about killing anyone and everyone who they’re ordered to (or anyone who simply gets in their way, really). It’s this clash of tones that sets the stage for the humor.
Of course, the murder jokes are just half the fun. The rest of the laughs come from the burgeoning relationship between Konoha and Satoko. Unlike most anime of the cute yuri variety, it’s not the inner hearts of our heroines that draw them together—rather, it’s their most superficial skills. Satoko is being hunted by ninjas: she needs someone to protect her. Konoha, on the other hand, wants to rise in the assassin rankings and needs someone to literally hide the bodies (and even better if they can cook and clean).
Thus, Konoha’s biggest concern is keeping Satoko by her side. This means keeping her socially isolated. This is why, when she takes the ninja girl clothes shopping, she buys her only the most hideous possible clothing—to keep her from wanting to go outside on her own. Of course, Satoko is far too dense to realize this and reacts accordingly.
Moreover, Satoko is such a pushover that she can’t even figure out what her personal goals are without someone else telling her. This makes her a hilarious foil to Konoha and “Leader” who are both keen to play on her compliant nature at each and every turn. However, it’s good to see that she does have at least some autonomy. While she may flip-flop on most things, there are some—like sticking with the assassin job or not wearing the unicorn sweater—that she refuses to compromise on.
But the humor is only half of what’s so surprising about these first two episodes. The other half is the stunning visuals. You’d expect an anime like this to be a budget affair. You wouldn’t expect Shaft to bring their A-game with Yukihiro Miyamoto (a man who’s served in various directorial positions across everything from Monogatari and Madoka Magica to Zetsubo Sensei and Arakawa Under the Bridge). Not only does the animation look amazing—often switching animation styles, color palates, or simply delivering a good old Shaft head-tilt—it is directed with perfect comedic timing. No joke nor scene overstays its welcome. And, well, if it doesn’t land and elicit any laughs, that’s fine. We’re already on to the next one.
All in all, these first two episodes are fantastic. I don’t remember the last time I laughed out loud so much and so often for an anime. I don’t know what perfect storm occurred that brought A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof and Shaft together but it is truly a match made in heaven and I can’t wait to keep laughing my butt off in the weeks to come.
Episode 1 Rating:
Episode 2 Rating:
Random Thoughts:
• Man, that episode 2 epilogue fleshing out all the now-dead ninjas sent after Satoko is some classic tragicomedy.
• I love how you can always see Konoha’s catsuit sticking out from under her school uniform. She’s not even really trying to hide what she is.
• My favorite gag in episode 1: Konoha’s over-complicated cover story as to why she and Satoko are living together.
• My favorite gag in episode 2: Konoha offhandedly setting off to kill the dozens of witnesses to her ninja killing in the cafe while Satoko happily turns the ninja corpse into leaves (before “Leader” stops them and reveals her memory-erasing powers).
Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Thursdays.
Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.
