Ninninger Episode 6

Sorry for the delay on this weeks recap folks, forgot how exhausting vacations can be. Of course I will be sharing my travel experiences with you all but first I have to comb through all the pictures, videos, and stories. Currently it's the final night of the trip and I'm sitting in a cobblestone Inn somewhere in Iowa. It's actually a very nice place but that's for another time. Tonight we've got ninjas to worry about. Ninjas who are improving just a little bit.

We kick things off with the team having another ninja exam where they try out different techniques on a simulated monster. Everyone passes the test. Everyone except Takaharu who continues to show no restraint or finesse in his fighting. While he's forced to retake the challenge, the others run off to deal with a new monster. This week, Gabi decided to make a clarinet tengu to smack the kids around which he does in quick order and then they kidnap Fuuka! Now that simply won't stand! The plan is that Gabi demands a rematch with Taka. The sister-napping is just solid insurance. Of course they torture her a little as well. It's just what ya do when you kidnap ninja girls.

When I first saw the preview for this one I figured it was going to be focused on Fuuka due to the whole captivity thing but yet again this show throws a curve ball and actually develops grandpa and Taka & Fuuka's dad (can never remember his name). Turns out there's some baggage with those two as they don't see eye to eye and grandad never thought his own son any ninitsu leaving the guy powerless to save his own daughter. We also get a few hints that there's some mystical item known as the end shuriken and that the old man failed to fully seal the evil general away on purpose.

Taka agress to a duel which grants his sister freedom (and yet another beating from the tengu). The rest of the team arrive to help her out while red and Gabi duke it out in some weird pseudo dimension. Once again we get some good action here that builds into a confrontation of the whole team against Gabi wherein they do some actual damage by cutting off one of his horns. This is accomplished with a rather haphazard rehash of the moral from ep 4 that teamwork's a good idea. Guess they forgot about it in the following stories. Damn forgetful ninjas. After that, the day is saved and everyone agrees to work towards getting stronger.

While I've been pretty down on this show, things are looking up this week. Things got a lot more serious than usual but we actually some hints about a larger plot along with nice developments for the mentor characters. That being said, the more somber tone didn't leave as much fun stuff to talk about and the repeat moral from just a few weeks back was just a little lame. Overall our shinobi are on a path towards becoming a better show. And if you'll excuse me I've gotta get back on my path home.