Reviews for A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof

This is NOT your typical CGDCT anime — not even close. So if you're coming here expecting endless "aww" moments and sugar-coated fluff, prepare to be sorely disappointed. You won't find much cutie-tootie sweetness here, unless your idea of adorable involves nihilistic and sociopathic banter. Another thing worth mentioning: if you absolutely loathe seeing interesting characters get unceremoniously yeeted from the plot, or if you value your emotional stability even a little bit, you might want to give this one a hard pass. Consider yourself warned. That being said, if you can push past the emotional carnage and are willing to embrace the chaos, there’s actually somethingoddly enjoyable lurking beneath it all.

Visually, it's your standard-issue moe art style — charming enough, but nothing groundbreaking. However, having read the source material, I can assure you the adaptation remains remarkably faithful. So if you’re a stickler for consistency, you’ll be pleasantly neutral.

Now, about the cast — you might have noticed words like "assassin" and "ninja" featured prominently in the title. That’s not just there to sound edgy or marketable. Those professions are absolutely *central* to understanding these characters and their world. Ignore that at your own peril, or you’ll be left wondering why things escalate so...efficiently.

Plot-wise, it's straightforward and easy to digest. Honestly, if you’ve read the title, congratulations: you already understand about 50% of the story. No complicated political intrigue here — just a simple premise executed with surprising ruthlessness.

As for the humor, after finishing an episode, it becomes painfully clear what vein they're tapping into: dark comedy that isn't so much "haha" as it is "oh no." Personally, I didn’t laugh even once. Whenever the "jokes" hit, my reaction was less "chuckle" and more "existential sigh." But hey, humor is subjective. If your idea of a good time is watching your empathy get repeatedly drop-kicked, you might just find it hilarious.

Overall, this anime feels like inviting a bunch of cute girls to your house for tea, only to realize halfway through that they’re here to rob you emotionally and leave without even cleaning up. It's not for the faint-hearted, the overly sentimental, or anyone who still believes "moe" always equals "safe and cozy." But if you’re willing to embrace a story where emotional attachments are liabilities and laughter comes pre-soaked in sadness, then congrats, you are the target audience.

Hidden gem of Funny, Silly, yet High quality production asf This anime felt like those rare slice of life anime with unnecessary hard action scenes, animation, and musics genre. If you've watch thing like maid dragon anime before and like it, this is surely the one for you next. If you haven't tried this type of anime, I would suggest you give it a shot. Recommend for: Unsuspecting, Funny, Silly, cute, Production quality, wholesome and relaxing. Not recommend for: If you want a serious anime or no in the mood for this rn FULL REVIEW: First of all, let me talk about the production quality. This anime got a VERYGOOD production. In all terms of animations, voice acting, sound design, and musics. This got high above the average bar. With it very vibrant visuals, and fun atmosphere. This anime production is perfect and even more for what it intends to be. [Animation, OST, voice acting 10/10]

Next is the comedy. This show comedy mostly lean on to the unsuspecting type. Which in my opinion is the best type of comedy, and depends on you if you like it or not. The characters could do some of the most obscene stuff, and even something that a slice of life or CGDCT genre wouldn't normally do. With also some of conventional comedy. The animation also play well into the comedy style, with goofy faces and over exaggerated motions. [Comedy 10/10]

Now for the rest of the stuff. The characters, its pretty ok. It's a slice of life comedy anime, and the character is pretty almost 1 dimensional, but it does it job [Character 7/10]. The world building is pretty interesting, and occasionally play into the comedy enriching it even more, so pretty well [World building 8.5 / 10].

The pacing is pretty good for a comedy, leaning toward the faster side, with around 4-5 scenario per episode. [Pacing 10/10]. Lastly the writing is also good and normal [writing 9/10]

In conclusion. Its a very fun, funny, cute, unsuspecting, unhinge sometime, and eye candy show. With pretty funny writing, scenarios, character, and world building, and very well done animations and sound directing. I would recomend if you want some fun chill anime that's still somewhat interesting to follow.

My rating as a comedy slice of life: 9.8/10

My rating as an overall anime: 8.57/10

A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof — Hey, it's Lv1 Maou to One Room Yuusha, but better in every way! *tilts head with the Essence of Monogatari vibes* Everyday mundaneness. This is the reality that as the sorry-ass humans we are, we go about day and night and do things that sum up the everyday life that seems to repeat endlessly in a body clock's cycle. But what if there is that element that somehow gets you out of that rut and enables quite the spark to life that you can't go one step away from that premise to see life as anything butnormal? This is the outcome and result with mangaka HundredBurger's lone work of Ninja to Koroshiya no Futarigurashi a.k.a A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof (shortened to NinKoro), which I think is the better version of Summer 2023's Lv1 Maou to One Room Yuusha a.k.a Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero, in terms of both content and aesthetics.

For as long as time exists, the terminology is one and the same for different settings and aspects when it comes to ninjas and assassins. And although the idea of having them both in communion will, for sure, reap commonality that's unforeseen, that's exactly the case for two rather not-so-ordinary girls, Satoko Kusagakure and Konoha Koga: a ninja who has found herself on the escape route out from her ninja village alongside a group of deserters, and an assassin who is but a rookie at best and trying to stand out amongst the crowd that's constantly executing assassinations and climbing up the regional ranks. What ensues is quite the story of a comedy that hits harder than most but also can inflict some emotional damage in the midst too.

At first glance, it's not all that common to hear of ninjas deserting their villages for reasons one might think of and not. And for Satoko, she, along with the group of ninja deserters led by their leader Kuro, makes an attempt to leave the Kusagakure ninja village in the dead of night and resolves to live the lives that they wanted to live. However, while everyone has got a goal to look forward to, it's Satoko who gets left behind, being one without any money or friends in the outside world and surviving day by night until she almost starves to death. That's where the unassumed Konoha steps in as her saviour, and the two quickly form a mutually exclusive relationship where Konoha will fund Satoko's everyday life inreturn for the latter ninja deserter helping the assassin out on her execution job by turning people into piles of leaves, which sets quite the quick-and-swift comedy, plus taking care of the everyday household duties.

Despite being in the vein of a CGDCT-esque setting (of which this show clearly is trying not to be), I don't know about you, but I'm thinking that how HundredBurger does things here for NinKoro is kind of genius. It's almost like Asobi Asobase, but in a classic slice-of-life setting that, while it doesn't undersell its premise, it provides just about enough "plot" to get you along and then throws you a curveball when you least expect it to happen. From the pure to the gore, and from the funny to the serious, this show will (and I mean WILL) make you feel emotions that are the culmination of teenage angst and a whack-ton of emotional damage that'll leave you baffled at how things got from point A to (not B but) C. I'm telling you, something about this show just screams "it's working" types of unexplainable ruthlessness that just leaves speechlessness hanging at the seams.

To contribute to the wackiness of the premise, there are a fair few entities of note that'll shape Satoko and Konoha's "normal" life of killings, both physically and emotionally. You see, the national assassin rankings are brutal for anyone wanting to make a name for themselves, and while Konoha sits well at the "delegation zone," before Satoko would become a vital resource for her to climb the rankings, even within assassins, there'll be rivalries to beat their own kin at the game. And one of them is Marin Izutsumi, a young mad scientist who sees Konoha as her rival to spy on her and figure out her roots of success, before she'd eventually succumb to the competition and become quite the reluctant friend of the ninja and the assassin. Marin is a load of fun, despite her short-term emotionally broken fuses to hurl her frustrations, and although she can be labelled a tsundere for one (though not exactly that), it's her behaviour that eventually settles for a consensus rather than fighting to have her way. Going back to close acquaintances, you'll find Satoko's leader Kuro fleeing the Kusagakure ninja village, all in the hopes of finding love with her partner, the ordinary human Yuriko, though this relationship has its woes in terms of the former experiencing the "wealth" of the local pachinko parlour and other unnecessary things. And yes, since this fits "within" the mould of a CGDCT, or even towards Yuri territory for that matter, this show has it all, which doesn't distinguish itself as either, but it's also a distinction to not be confined towards the mould.

It's been a long while, but studio Shaft is finally back into the anime scene once again, after what seems like a long drought of not being listed for projects since the failure of Summer 2022's RWBY: Ice Queendom, outside of the studio's mainstay of the Monogatari Series (which saw last year's adaptation of the Off & Monster season) and outsourced work with helping the then-new studio of Bug Films with the adaptation of Zom 100 (which, if you know, is one hell of a production crunch). But this is even more of a promise that getting your work produced by Shaft will have its own visual flair and style, and the overall production looks great, as you would expect, with the cheek to even feature the occasional Monogatari head-tilt style, it being always the undeniable telling of a Shaft-produced work.

Moreover, it's the work of in-house director Yukihiro Miyamoto, for whom this show serves as his lone debut directorial series after the adaptation of the Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story series from 2020 to 2022. He's come a long way in his time being tutored and mentored at the studio itself. His narrative writing style can be seen as a vision cut from Shaft itself, which NinKoro fits perfectly into the "somewhere between comedy and despair" style, which Miyamoto is the absolute madlad for directing shows that look depressing but are also comedic in nature.

On the musical stipend, the OST composed by Ryuunosuke Kasai is quite the charm that somehow fits within the eccentricity of the series in both shape and form. And to bring it one step further, both HanaKana's OP and HoneyWorks feat. HaKoniwalily's ED add every bit to the trippiness of the show's expectation-subverting trope that's just all in the name of fun.

A slice-of-life setting that looks all fun and pleasant on the outside, but with unhinged features that provide the constant of unimaginable plot twists? Only in Ninja to Koroshiya no Futarigurashi a.k.a A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof, would you find a marriage of all things unconventional while still managing to layer with a facade so simplistic that it doesn't make you suspect anything out of the ordinary.

The very definition of "hook, line, and sinker," I'll give to NinKoro for a feat that it's a damn good watch.

I'm going to be serious this time. Many shows try their best to make you miserable, depressed or feel down. These shows would proudly taunt you, making it their brand to kick your feelings to the curb and drive a mallet on it for good measure. You should know it coz it's right there on the synopsis. However, I'm not going to lie that this supposedly cute and colorful looking show gave me such a dreadful feeling on my soul that I wished a shower could just wash away. Ninkoro *is* cute, colorful, funny, sometimes wholesome YES. But also it is fricking dark, cruel, andpoison for emotion. Here, we watch the lives of a shinobi and an assassin under one roof. Our leads, Konoha and Satoko felt really bland at the start of the show but even then, the show showed its fangs right there. The characters are bright, fun, and distinct. Satoko, the one-trick pony ninja was adorable, sweet, but her naivety is what I would call dangerous. The other lead, Konoha, is one cold bitch. When I mean cold, I mean it. The things she does in the show, man. Just watch it. Ninkoro does not show gore (yet) but what is does weirdly great was showing how lives can be so full of beautiful of meaning but also displays the utter savagery of the profession of assassins. Many anime glamourize and romanticize this profession as badass. This show however makes me dread whenever an assassination happens. This was not because we get to see glory kills or awesome takedowns. The show is a dark comedy that comes in the vantablack variety. Cute girls? Yeah, they are here aplenty. But this is a show where things can be ridiculous, outrageous, absurd and the next, utterly violent. When i mean existentially violent (if a word such as that even exists), I mean that we see consequences of the kills to the lives of others and boy... thinking about some of what the characters undergo here just make me feel hollow. This review is written after the wtfkery that is episode 7. I did not cry. Crying won't do shit to cleanse the sensation. It's a genuine feeling of being dirty, gutted, and lingering discomfort of witnessing something from a distance with inability to do anything to alleviate it.

That is, the show is paced really good, relentless on the execution of its concept, and is admittedly funny, albeit in a psychopathic way at times. It is fun but it makes one contemplative. I'm not sure what to make of this. This is one comedy anime that for me, closer to what Divine Comedy is rather than traditional comedy. The feeling i get is that... "Hmm... that was funny... but feels bad man. I dread what's for next week but i must know!" which I only would usually just reserve for thrillers. This show will make you feel. The aftertaste after each episode is an experience I don't usually find in comedies. This show will change the way you'll look at leaves. It will not be the same.

Recommended for those who wants a different kind of humor. For anyone else expecting a fully wholesome show, leaf this one alone.

Edit: After EP7, there were still gutpunches here and there though not as bad as on that episode. The show ended great and is a future classic. I would say if this won't get a second season, I'll be fine with it coz of how it ended.

Now this is a comedy done right! Man, what a great pleasure this was. Among all the animes this season, I dare say that this was the one that best delivered the results of what it set out to do.What I value most in a work is whether it succeeds in doing what it set out to do. And in this case, it was delivered masterfully. Extremely charismatic, unique characters, full of personality, each fulfilling their role in the story in a convincing way. Animation outside the standards of anime of this genre, as well as the soundtrack and the creativity of the direction. By the way,I want to highlight the care that was put into the production of this work. The impeccable animation and Japanese dubbing that maintain the high standard of quality are just a few examples that show how everything was done with love, dedication and respect for the work, that already deserves all my respect

In short, in the middle of a season that delivered so many disappointing works, it's great to have something to show us that Japan still has a lot of good things to offer. Thank you to the author, studio Shaft, seiyuus and everyone involved.

Unexpectedly enjoyable, funny, and weirdly wholesome. There's a complete disconnection between the main characters' nonchalant, cold-blooded killing and the CGDCT tropes, which makes the whole thing feel very silly and funny. The characters are adorable and easy to get attached to, the animation is on point, complementing the tone perfectly, the direction feels clean and polished, and the fight scenes are way above average for its genre, some sequences feel like pure animation flexing, classic Shaft. When a new character with a good chara-design shows up, you might expect them to become a recurring (main) character... but no, they'll probably die within a few minutes in aridiculous way! The show even manages to condition you into not feeling bad for them, which adds to the silliness of the entire thing.

The plot is hit-or-miss if you're not into slice-of-life/CGDCT, but I can easily see someone new to the genre finding the comedy hilarious.

Overall, it feels like a breath of fresh air in the currentlty satured anime market.

Ninja to Koroshiya no Futarigurashi is honestly just a super fun anime to watch. At first, I thought it was going to be your typical slice-of-life show with quirky characters and some light comedy. I figured it would be relaxing and maybe a little forgettable. But it surprised me pretty quickly. What starts off feeling like a silly, low-stakes series actually turns into something much more interesting. It still stays funny and entertaining, but there’s also a layer of emotional depth that sneaks in when you’re not expecting it. The premise is already kind of ridiculous. You’ve got Konoha, a former ninja, and Satoko, a formerassassin, trying to live together peacefully in a quiet neighborhood. That setup alone had me curious. The two of them are totally different in personality, but somehow they just work together. A lot of the comedy comes from watching these two dangerous people completely fail at regular life. Whether it's shopping, cooking, or just having a normal conversation, something always goes wrong, and it's usually hilarious.

Konoha is definitely the cool one. She’s calm, quiet, and seems like she’s always in control, even when things get weird. She has this really dry sense of humor that makes her even funnier without trying too hard. Satoko, on the other hand, is a total disaster. She’s clumsy, impulsive, and not very smart, but in a way that’s super entertaining rather than annoying. The way she bounces off Konoha’s personality creates a perfect balance, and their back-and-forth is really funny. BUt don't you worry, there are a lot of wholesome moments between them as well. As wholesome as it can get with Konoha at least.

The tone slowly changes about halfway through. The story starts dropping hints of something darker beneath all the jokes. Without giving too much away, there are moments that feel surprisingly emotional and even kind of sad. The show handles this shift really well. It doesn’t lose its humor or feel like it’s trying to be something completely different. Instead, it blends the comedy with more serious moments in a way that feels natural.

All in all, Ninja to Koroshiya no Futarigurashi is totally worth checking out. It’s funny, clever, and has more heart than it lets on at first. If you want something that’s both entertaining and unexpectedly thoughtful, this anime should be on your watchlist. Just don't get too attached to some of the characters ;)

Firstly, it has to be said that this is not what you expect to get when looking at the tags. After 5 episodes, it has become very clear that this is NOT a typical slice of life/CGDCT story. Without getting into specifics, this anime heavily utilizes contradicting emotional states, between what is conveyed through sound and visuals as well as pacing, and the actual subtext from the story. There isn't too much comedy, the "wholesomeness" comes mostly from the side characters, which are not really explored for reasons that are obvious after the 2nd episode. About the characters, there is little to say up until now. Noneof the main characters has much depth until now, most of them have a certain trait that dominates their screentime to a point that makes it rather unfun to watch sometimes.

The side characters are very different from the main and feel the most "alive" until now, but I have to say they contribute to the story more by existing than actually doing anything, because they do not really influence the point of the anime at all.

From a creative standpoint, this story is well written, and visually it isn't something outstanding, but it fits the slice of life style and again the contradicting emotional elements. If you are a very empathetic person or can't take rather abusive relationships and feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness, this is a hard pass.

It is hard to say what direction they will take from here on out, but assuming it won't change in pace and heaviness from the first couple of episodes, this will become very depressing to watch later on.

In conclusion, I would still recommend it to everyone who wants to watch an interesting twist on "slice of life" (if you can call it that) without being scared of being emotionally abused by the story.

IT'S REALLY HARD TO DISLIKE SOMETHING LIKE THIS, IT'S PURE GOLD ALL AROUND I think the first thing you need to know is that there’s A LOT of CONTENT in every single section possible. You’ll probably think they overstuffed the episode or stretched it unnecessarily, but it’s the EXACT OPPOSITE. Every damn scene is crafted properly to be funny, entertaining, and even memorable—you’ll definitely remember a bunch of them once the episode is over. And that’s one of the things I love most when watching anime. So, keep this in mind: you’ll feel the love they poured into making this project. ⚠️WARNING: EXCESSIVE APPRECIATION DUE TO THEINSANE QUALITY OF THIS PROJECT :V⚠️

Before I even talk about the humor, the animation is BRUTAL. Just in the first minutes you already see that reference to 90s or 80s anime, and throughout the whole show they’ll try a FASCINATING VARIETY of animation styles, which fits perfectly for a Slice of Life comedy where everything keeps changing.

But let me say this for the third time: every detail is insanely sweet to look at, like Sakura’s eyes or Marin’s explanations. So whether it’s varied animation or the standard one, it’s 100% enjoyable.

The humor, AAAAH, when you love something, words just aren’t enough to explain it to others. Sometimes I hated how fast it was, like the audience was full of brainrotted people, but once I realized they were using every second to throw a joke and never let the pace drop, I knew this was PURE QUALITY. And the best part? Those jokes actually have impact, like destroying someone’s house or almost ruining a couple. Bro, with 50 jokes per episode, it’s IMPOSSIBLE not to find something to laugh at in this anime.

The plot is super familiar—escaping from all the ninjas trying to kill Satoko—but that only takes like 15 seconds of each episode XDDDD. It’s just one more joke out of the 50

Now that I think about it, the side characters might seem forgettable at first, but like I said, every damn scene is made with so much care, also thanks to the voice actresses, and every time I remember them, I laugh again.

Speaking of characters—the main ones are total opposites: one is way too cold, and the other one’s just plain stupid. But they have to stick together for their own interests, and wooooow, that creates some amazing situations, like the Roboko episode. I don’t wanna copy every single line just so you get it, but seriously, just give the first two episodes a chance.

And even when I thought everything was AMAZING, I realized the production is also super versatile. They give me, IN THE SAME EPISODE, a beautiful friendship and then such a dark twist?? Just applause for that flawless production. Same goes for the OST and the voice actresses.

This anime is so solid that even someone who watches anime in 5-minute clips could die laughing for a while. That’s why I think it’s totally valid for you to consider watching it.

I didn’t find many negatives, but if there’s one thing I didn’t love, it’s that when everything is so good, even tiny moments that aren’t as great make me extra picky. But don’t let that bother you—it’s just my taste and it shouldn’t take away from everything this show accomplished.

I’m not giving it a 10 because that number is too special to me, and besides, we still don’t know how this will end. But from far away, this already looked like a BEAUTIFUL project.

9.4/10

Now take any expectations for how this show will play out and throw them out the window. In reality Ninkoro is an unrelentingly cruel comedy, where death is quick and meaningless. No flashy action scenes, long monologues, or tragic backstories. Instead time and time again this series shows you these people, how they lived, who they loved. Where we watch their corpses get turned to leaves, their homes empty, their jobs replaced. And then it asks you to LAUGH! And this is where you’ll know if this is a series for you or not, but if you see this and think “that’s interesting!” You’re in fora hell of a ride

Now let’s start with the titular ninja and assassin. They have great comedic chemistry with the classic cynical and deadpan Konoha bouncing off of a more naive and emotional Satoko. What adds a fresh take to these tried and true dynamics is the way they’re subverted and developed over time. Satoko and Konoha’s relationship is extremely well written, what starts off cold quickly grows into something heartfelt. This development is slow and natural, it's able to reframe earlier scenes in a completely new light. Small implications throughout the series letting the viewer piece together why these characters act and think the way they do. It forces the audeience to ask a difficult question, can you still choose to empathize with these characters after everything they’ve done?

Both main characters offer a surprising amount of depth, rewarding the viewer for paying attention to small details. And this mainly comes from Ninkoro’s most unique trait as a gag comedy, it’s continuity!

Even the weirdest episodes have lasting emotional ramifications for its main cast. Every building that explodes, every character that dies, has consequences! Most gag comedies will push their premise to the limit for one big punchline. But in Ninkoro, nothing resets after the punchline. That crazy thing that just happened, well that did happen, and now our characters have to deal with it. Leading to genuine emotional drama stemming from the most out there premises.

These consequences add to the most divisive part of Ninkoro, its tone. Ninkoro can be hilarious one second and melancholic the next. But this stark contrast is exactly what makes Ninkoro so unique, it adds a layer of emotional complexity that wouldn’t be there otherwise. This show’s comedy comes from its contrast, its hypocrisy. It shows characters who live vapid and meaningless lives, snuffing out people with promising futures. Sometimes it asks you to mourn the lives of those lost. Sometimes it asks you to laugh at the cruelty of it all. And sometimes it asks you to empathize with the people doing all this. To root for their happiness, to find meaning in their meaningless cruelty. This cynical, almost nihilistic tone is one side of Ninkoro's distinct identity.

However this sense of continuity doesn’t only enrich its darker aspects. Those looking for some SOL with a hint of yuri will not be disappointed. We see Satoko learn more about the modern world, the two roommates spending more time together by going shopping, or eating good food. Seeing how they go about their daily lives and how it evolves over time, humanizing them outside of their assassin work. And makes their budding friendship feel genuine. That relationship grows to be the emotional core of the series and creates many heartwrenching moments. This show’s genuine emotional depth and empathy being the other side of Ninkoro. It’s cynicism and hope, two contrasting tones that lie at Ninkoro’s core.

To talk a bit about the production. Shaft has done an absolutely incredible job with this adaptation. As a long time fan of the studio, I was extremely happy to see a new series that wasn’t a sequel and boy did they deliver. Many studio veterans helmed as episode directors. Every week I knew I was in for something fresh. Each episode brings a new directorial style to the table. This show is an absolute treat for the eyes. With dynamic shot composition, strong visual storytelling, and on point comedic timing. Shaft also did extremely well adapting the manga. Taking a much slower, more deliberate pace, focusing more on letting certain emotions sit for a while. Adding a unique contrast to the faster paced comedic segments. A lot of thought being put into how certain panels would translate best to animation. This is far from a stilted panel by panel adaptation. They even manage to slip in volume extras, and anime original scenes. Making this a fresh take while still keeping the core of what made the manga so great, even expanding on it.

Overall Ninkoro is a bold gag comedy series that doesn’t take the easy way out. With consistent character progression, and a strange mix of hilarious gags with genuine melancholy. It won’t appeal to everyone and that’s the beauty of a work like this. The people who resonate with it will find it and will love it. And I implore you to find out if you’ll be one of those people.

Konoha is miserable to watch. She's just an extremely unlikeable protagonist by nature and I'm not sure how the dynamic between Konoha and Satoko is supposed to be fun at all. Really, that's the only complaint I have of this show, but because she is literally the main character of the show, of course I'm going to have to drop it. Konoha's a pretty unfeeling/apathetic and OP main character. She talks in monotone, doesn't really care about anything or anybody 99% of the time, and her gimmick is that she has a "gap moe" when she eats food and becomes super happy and animated. There's basicallyno manzai at all between Satoko and Konoha. I actually find there to be basically no comedy at all and no actual synergy between the two main characters. Of course Satoko's more of the boke and character that gets thrown into random situations because of her stupidity or curiosity, but Konoha having to bail her out is almost too simple--because she's just that overpowered as a character. Again, when Satoko isn't randomly interacting with other characters and Konoha is just stuck with Satoko, their conversations are incredibly bland. It's just a repeat joke setup of Satoko caring for Konoha and Konoha ignoring or neglecting her over and over and over and over and over again.

See, Saiki K, a similar apathetic protagonist, is entertaining to watch because his monologues are incredibly detailed and fun to watch despite his -- yes kind of boring personality. Konoha's just kind of a shell character. She's very predictable as a character as there's not much going on around her. She reacts to stimuli the same way and doesn't change.

I don't have anything to complain about other than Konoha either. I love Shaft, and the editing and comedic pacing of this show is great. Even if the jokes aren't funny, the eye candy is just great to look at to be honest. I found Marin to be a fun character to watch, and so is Kuro and her girlfriend. Every character seems to fit in a comedic anime other than Konoha.

Again, even in OPM, Saitama's funny because the enemy characters get so much screen time, have personality, and other heroes struggling with them before Saitama ever shows up so there's comedic value. Again, the enemies are just kind of just a backdrop to the actual anime, and don't serve any purpose at all other than flavor text and wasting screen time as the enemy of the week usually. Overall, Konoha being incredibly boring to watch in a comedic show really kills it.

This definitely is illustrated in episode 5, where Satoko is replaced by a robot and the entire episode centers around Konoha and Roboko. Since Roboko just serves as assistant or helper to Konoha and Satoko isn't really featured too much in the episode, you're shown in full glory as to why Konoha is such a bland protagonist as you follow her mechanically do missions, eat food and gets happy, and that's practically it. There's no content without Satoko as the show shrivels up and dies without the premiere fun character watch.

Ninkoro was one of the weirdest watches of the season for me because on one hand, I liked everyone in this show(besides Konoha), but on the other hand it’s an extremely disturbing story masked by cute cute girls and yuri undertones. It’s a very odd mix of cute girls doing cute things with the backdrop of them killing other cute girls, some NTR and emotional abuse. Episodes will make you laugh, but also make you feel horrible for laughing given what some characters are going through. It’s a unique viewing experience that I had a love hate relationship with. Despite that, I’d say it’s aneasy recommended watch if you like CGDCT or shaft’s production style.

What’s going to make or break this show for you is Konoha and Satoko’s relationship. For me, it started out really cute with some good Yuri vibes and then it slowly started to devolve into an emotionally and mentally abusive one sided relationship where Konoha took average of Satoko’s kindness every week. I hate seeing people get taken advantage of because of how nice they are and that happens a lot towards the middle of this show. Satoko’s clean up ability being crucial for Konoha’s success makes her indispensable, but for a long time Konoha only viewed her as a tool and it angered me so much. There’s even a point where it basically becomes an NTR relationship as Satoko gets replaced by a new character and Konoha doesn’t even notice the real Satoko is gone because this new character does all the same functions as Satoko. This does start to change as the season winds down with Konoha finally viewing Satoko as a human being instead of a cheat code, but man is it hard to watch at times. Some people will probably be able to laugh this off and just go on with the episodes, but for me this part was just brutal.

If you cut that out the story though, it’s pretty good. I’d say it’s a much better version of NEET Otaku from earlier in the year. There’s some real morally grey situations in the story which I appreciate. It can be dull seeing characters who are just always on the right side of the tracks, BUT some of the cases in here were really hard to watch due to just how messed up they were. Innocent people getting hits placed on them, misunderstandings leading to deaths, people being turned into leaves.. this is truly one of the most aptly named “dark comedies” it’s certainly got some hilarious moments, but man there’s always some dark situation in every episode that the show kinda plays off as a joke. Sometimes you can move on from it, other times it sticks with you all day. On a happier note, I’m a huge fan of how unapologetically gay this show is. I knew it had Yuri vibes from the start, but seeing openly gay characters in this was so cool. That relationship is a big part of the story as well and it just fits in very naturally. Hasn’t quite got that far for our main couple, but it’s very clearly going that way and hopefully the manga continues to develop them as individuals and a couple. I did start to empathise with Konoha more towards the end of the show so I could see one day coming around to liking her.

Production wise, Shaft have their fingerprints all over this show. It looks amazing, it’s well directed, great OST and the famous Shaft head tilt is here. It’s a very well put together and pretty looking series.

Final thoughts on this one? Mixed bag. Loved Satoko and the side characters, hated the other lead and some of the edgier stuff, but I overall enjoyed watching the show and would say to give it a watch if you want something different or have a dark sense of humor. Some of the things I didn’t care for you might not have an issue with.

Ninkoro gets 7 kunai out of 10

This is a VERY FUNNY anime with two MCs: Konoha (stoic and voluptuous dark/gloomy girl) and Satoko (cute and cheerful ninja girl that can turn anything into leaves). You will find hilarious entertainment from time to time including some ecchi jokes & little fanservices. The funniest part is Satoko, along with other ninja girls, was living a long time in remote village and don't know how to live in modern world so her naive-ness causes her to do stupid and funny things. This is an ideal anime for those who want pure comedy anime with cute ninja girls. There are some Yuri moment (PS: no malecharacters here) where the girls develop feeling to each other and doing "something" that you might find interesting.

Studio Shaft’s body of work is fundamentally defined by the conceptual interplay between form and content. Remarkably, they maintain a unified vision even through adaptations: while the Monogatari series deconstructs the rules of visual storytelling, works like Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei or Maria Holic prioritize avant-garde chaos and stylistic exercises over plot, utilizing the anime medium's full toolkit. Their latest series, NinKoro, might initially seem like an outlier due to its lack of typical aesthetic maximalism and sensory overload. However, it functions on the same principles as their earlier works, drawing from genre characteristics, clichés, tropes, and specific directorial techniques. The difference lies in how the anime synthesizesthem: instead of fragmented stylistic bursts, it integrates these elements organically through a "slow burn" approach. As for the concept: The clash between form and content has perhaps never been more acute.

The "Under One Roof" trope has evolved from a cheap romance cliché into a fascinating subgenre over the last two decades. Whether the contrast between the characters' worlds is literal (Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid) or metaphorical (Hinamatsuri), the focus remains on their shared existence as an unusual duo. Its popularity comes from its versatility: it blends seamlessly with the "healing" iyashikei vibe, draws humor from the casual-absurd contrast, and facilitates "found family" dynamics, character growth or even romance through forced proximity. Of course, it also carries the inevitable weight of wish-fulfillment and self-insertion...

NinKoro exploits every facet of this subgenre. The story follows the near-harmonious daily lives of a unique pair: Konoha, the assassin, and Satoko, the runaway ninja. They navigate the "idyll" of cohabitation, whether it’s perfecting an omelet, liquidating clan members, murdering random citizens for a lot of money - every day is a new adventure. Their symbiosis is total: Konoha does the dirty work, while Satoko acts as the crime scene cleaner, using her ninjutsu to turn non-living matter into leaves. If this is their routine, why couldn't it be slice of life? Why couldn't it be CGDCT? Don't forget how the show starts: in a dark, traditional ninja chase, Satoko is an absurd outlier. While her pursuers wear classic black uniform (they are actual ninjas), she practically glows in purple and orange with an unpractically long scarf, barely surviving the prologue through sheer clumsiness. The message is clear: Satoko doesn't belong in the shadows of the ninja world, but in the pastel-colored world of moe and CGDCT. Well, the "things" they do aren't always cute, but at least the killing happens off-screen.

The essence of the show lies in this conscious, ironic incompatibility, served with devastating black humor. When a vengeful rival recites a grand shounen monologue from a script, Konoha simply stabs him mid-sentence—we’ve heard it all before.

NinKoro uses aesthetics as a weapon with surgical precision. Occasionally, however, the candy-coated design gives way to dark tones and heavy silence, where brutality is no longer masked by comedy. In these moments, the anime shows its teeth, leaving a lingering "this is not right" sensation that makes it harder (though not impossible) to laugh at the next joke.

This raises a fundamental question: What defines a story - the sequence of events or presentation? While most viewers focus on plot, NinKoro gives an obvious answer: the "how" is what matters. It functions as a soothing iyashikei simply because it adheres to the aesthetic and dramaturgical forms of one. The "found family" and yuri-bait work despite a total lack of genuine chemistry. Many other anime have done this, NinKoro is just the first to play with its cards face up.

To understand what NinKoro is deconstructing, we must look at 2021’s famous "under one roof" anime, Hige wo Soru (HigeHiro). In many ways, it is a "synthesis" of how NOT to handle the subgenre. The only "true" thing in it is the title: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway. HigeHiro uses narrative framing, genre tropes to sanitize a crime. It presents a middle-aged man, unable to find a partner in his own social sphere, who secretly harbors a minor. The narrative, music, and genre tropes are all weaponized to manipulate the viewer into seeing this as a wholesome "savior" story. It reinforces incel gender roles: the girl is extremely vulnerable at many levels - emotionally, financially, she's 17 etc. - allowing the working man to indulge in a protector/breadwinner fantasy. She performs emotional laboring, cooking and cleaning to soothe him after a long day. The story demands we view the protagonist as a moral hero simply because he refuses to sleep with her when she asks — an irony that actually only serves to highlight his ego and total dominance.

NinKoro takes this exact dynamic but strips away all ambiguity, resulting in comedy / satire (note: Konoha is a female so she fits CGDCT, but it doesn't change anything regarding their relationship). In HigeHiro, the "cute" and "wholesome" atmosphere can trick the viewer into ignoring the crime. In NinKoro, however, everyone knows that murder is a crime; the cute mask can no longer fully hide the reality. It forces the viewer to recognize that they are consuming something inherently wrong. As for gender roles: just like the heroine in HigeHiro, Satoko is fleeing her "family" environment (the ninja clan), becoming utterly helpless in the modern world. The financially stable but burnt-out Konoha takes her in, and Satoko immediately fills the submissive role. She disposes of the trash bags, prepares dinner, and supports Konoha as a "right hand" in the business. Her provider's needs always take precedence. Anyone searching for the missing girl is framed as an "enemy" to be eliminated, exactly like the narrative structure of HigeHiro.

Where HigeHiro-like atrocities hide the objectification of women, NinKoro magnifies and exposes it. If their daily interactions weren't clear enough, consider Episode 5: when an antagonist sends a robot double of Satoko into the apartment, the tension isn't about the risk of being caught. Instead, it leads to a much more painful realization: Konoha doesn't even notice the switch. In fact, she is happier with the robot because it satisfies her needs more efficiently. The show dedicates an entire episode to the functional dehumanization that waifu culture represents.. (While Konoha's and Satoko's relationship eventually does evolve, it is due to a narrative trick I won't spoil here.)

If NinKoro makes you feel uneasy because you’ve caught yourself perceiving something repulsive as "heartwarming," then the story has succeeded. It asks: how much moral bankruptcy can be shoved down a consumer's throat if it's wrapped in a gift box? According to the ending: any amount. Our only defence is media literacy - something that NinKoro teaches us brilliantly.

It is often said that art should not cater to the audience's desires, "good art disturbs the peace" and so on. Well, NinKoro does both at the same time.

Warning, major spoilers, but the jist of it is that the characters are shitty people, so I wouldn't recommend it. Honestly, this show was really good and hella funny in the beginning. Kinda sucks that some badass characters died, but it made sense, and honestly added to the shows comedy. Then, it started getting shitty, I'm happy that there is a Yuri couple but I feel bad for leader's girlfriend because the leader is being a shitty girlfriend by not actually searching for a job and gambling all the money away. Then the assassin kept treating the ninja so badly that when she got kidnapped,she actually got better living standards and I wanted her to become the rival's sidekick. I was enjoying the show up until and could get behind half the stuff it showed, until episode 7.

Episode 7 at the end got dark af. They killed a character just because some parent wanted their kid to beat number 1. And then Akio( the friend of the killed and assassin) lost another person close to her. Akio is a sweet girl, and even gave benefit of the doubt to the assassin. Her parents got killed by the assassin, and now a friend to the point she felt like anyone close to her gets cursed. I genuinely felt so bad for her. And the girl who got killed was the only provider for her younger brother, I really thought the assassin would have some decency but she didn't. This ruined it for me, there are no characters with good qualities here.

When this show originally started airing, it wasn't on my radar (for some unknown reason cause this dumb humor is up my alley), but I'm so happy I decided to watch this series cause it was a a lot of fun. The characters themselves are so much fun. A ninja girl who is completely lost on world outside of her village. An assassin who is so deadpan and matter of fact is hilarious. Put them together and it's such a fun duo. They feed off of each other in terms of their attitudes and demeanor and It really shows as the show progresses. They themselveseven get development as time goes on regarding how they feel about each other. Truly, well done 👏👏.

The animation for this show is great. I mean it's SHAFT, duh. they always deliver. But especially for this, It felt extra clean. I'm also just a big fan of SHAFT's directing style with the minimal animation are more about the use of different angles. Really creates for a dynamic scene.

The story itself for this series speaks for itself, in that it's truly just the 2 of them living together and going through their life. It's simple, but the humor and delivery of everything is so well done. And with the introduction of new characters, it gets even better.

Only complaint (if u can even call it that), was that some episodes didn't land for me humor wise (Example episodes 3 & 4). But I feel that's more of a personal problem cause the rest of the humor in this show is top notch 👌.

Overall, I loved it. It's fun, and just a cute little show about a ninja & an assassin living together ☺️ what could ever go wrong hehe

This anime is beside All Perfect Saint and Apocalypse Hotel one of the hidden gems of Spring 2025 Season Anime. It was a wild and disturbing ride from start to end and I love every minute of it. Animation and sound: it's studio SHAFT so expect great animation and a lot of titled heads. xD But in all seriousness animation was fluid throughout entire show, the few battle scenes we have here and there are great and I must praise for character models - each of them are excellent despite many of them having really short screen time. Music is also good, the opening and endingtheme are quite memorable.

Overall animation and music - top stuff as expected form studio SHAFT.

Characters: this is where anime really shines as you cannot decide which character is bigger sociopath. MC's Konoha and Satoko are prime example of this. Konoha is an assassin and if you put a wall and her side by side you cannot say which one is which. While Satoko is funny and dumb to a point where she feels very innocent. The developing dynamic and relationship between them is one of the reasons that makes this show great. As both are sociopaths in their own right and seeing them clash and help eachother in various situation was so enjoyable to watch. Other than Konoha and Satoko we have Marin who is also an assassin but a bit on a dorky side, she was also a great character and her interactions with main two is what pushed show in the right way. We then have LEader and Yuri, a sesbian couple who is also occasionally present to help the main duo. Yuri is stupidly innocent while Leader is a typical good-looking scumbag, but they both work together very well and are fine addition to the main cast. Last one I would want to mention is Aiko, the only 'good' character in the show. Her story in show is so tragic and yet she gives it her best that you cannot but feel the need to protect her. Other characters are also great in design but since they appear for only 1 or 2 episodes they are not impactful enough to talk about them.

Overall MC's are great and really carry the show.

Story: this story is very simple: one day assassin saves a runaway ninja and they form sort of alliance. Ninja will help assassin in disposing the bodies and assassin will in turn defend ninja. From there the story is basically the two of them getting into all sort of situations and developing their relationship over the run of the show. But man... this show may seem innocent and cute but it is so dark it's on the level of Berserk and similar anime. Without spoiling too much I can say that in a single episode show will make you feel doki-doki only to make you feel 'what the f**k' in the next 5 minutes. And some of the dark elements are really dark. If you expected to watch this show just to relax and have doki-doki time then it is not for you. Enter in it prepared to be more shocked than anything, and the show is great in keeping your feelings fluxuating throughout the entire run time.

Overall the story is great but it is not for the lighthearted.

Overall grade: 10. It was a fun ride from start to finish. If they ever release Season 2 I will watch it.

I will also recommend this show as one of the hidden gems this season. Just be warned that you will be more shocked then relaxed while watching it.

Well, this one was ... something . Honestly it's supposed to be a slice of life allright, but it just wears the tattered skin of a slice of life over a featurless corpse. Meaning it really doesn't feel like a slice of life. Cuz underground organizations and the village hidden in the leaf really doesn't categorize as that. The very premise denies it. Now, as far as a show goes, it's honestly not bad at all. Even with the lack of a story and all. Although it has it's issues. Mainly the MC . She kinda feels more like a self-insert then an actual character. Andher relationship with Satoko is straight up abusive. Reminds me of those kinda "romance" anime where the FMC gets treated like a dirty rag and instead of doing the right thing and cutting off contact she's into it or something. The comedy's pretty funny tbh. Although when i was presented with this premise, i did expect to see some fights. And you really don't for like 99% of the time. And that robot episode really pissed me off.

Not much of a story to hit upon so yeah..... It's all sorta out of whack, but it's still a decent watch.

"Assassins excel at killing but struggle with living." This show caught me completely off guard with how fucking fantastic it was. So for the technical stuff: directing was great, visuals were on point, and the character designs were mesmerizing and fun. It has all the qualities that make an anime fun to watch, and honestly, I’m just glad I didn’t jump off a roof before I saw it. All of the characters were well designed and just plain fun to watch, while most anime airing right now struggle to even have a decent main cast. The fillers were fun too and always had something that showed anew side of our protagonists, which made them feel more fleshed out.

The character development was solid, especially how Konoha became more emotionally vulnerable around Satoko, while Satoko matured and became more capable and reliable. Their dynamic was a joy to watch. Satoko brought the warmth of a comfy home and homemade food, while Konoha brought the cold precision of a trained killer. That contrast worked really well. Turning Konoha into a baby might sound weird at first, but it was a clever move to show how deeply she had come to rely on Satoko emotionally. It made things clear. Konoha was regressing into an infantile state, and Satoko stepped in as a caregiver. The roles reversed, and at the same time, Konoha got to experience the pure bliss of a childhood she never had, even if it was just for a brief moment.

So when Konoha returns from her missions, having grown enough to care about another person, and Satoko finds the strength to protect what she loves, they finally meet as equals. It is a beautiful and well-earned union.

After years without an anime, Shaft studio returns with another masterpiece. NinKoro, a slice-of-life comedy anime where we see the daily life of an assassin and a ninja on the loose. This is one of those episodes where I didn't really expect much, but from just the first episode I knew I was going to love this, to the point where it became the best anime of the season. The comedy is terrific, very well directed, very absurd, and with a good punchline. I must say that there are some rather boring episodes where it feels like they're reusing the same joke too much, butthankfully there aren't many.

Honestly, there's not much more to say; highly recommended if you're looking for a good comedy anime with a slice-of-life touch.

(Reseña original)

Luego de años sin ningún anime, estudio Shaft vuelve con otra obra maestra. NinKoro anime de comedia y slice of life donde vemos el día a día de una asesina y una ninja prófuga. Este es de esos casos que realmente no esperaba la gran cosa, pero ya con solo el primer cap supe que esto me iba a encantar, hasta convertirse en el mejor anime de la temporada. La comedia es buenísima, muy bien dirigida, muy tirando al humor absurdo y con buen remate. Sí debo decir que hay capítulos medio aburridos, donde se siente que ya están reutilizando mucho el mismo chiste, pero por suerte son pocos.

La verdad, poco más que decir, super recomendable si buscas un buen anime de comedia con un toque de slice of life.