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Title:
  Ninja Girls vol 1

Distributor:  Del Ray Books

Authors:  Hosana Tanaka

Suggested Retail Price (SRP):  £6.99

Number of Pages:  208

ISBN:  978-0-345-51242-0

Reviewed:  3rd December 2009

Reviewer:  Matt Dark

 

In Japan's Sengoku period, Raizo, the last surviving member of the mighty Katana family finds his quiet, lonely life torn apart when a band of lovely lady ninjas enter his life in order to help rebuild the Katana family name.  But is Raizo really ready for this?  And what does his mother’s spirit have to say about all of this?
 

Everything changes for him when he comes across an unconscious woman on his way back home.  The woman, Kagari, is a ninja, in search of a young man who has a horn on his head.  But when a band of warriors come seeking Raizo’s head, Kagari reveals her true power; when she is watched by the man she loves, her body becomes as tough as steel, and her power becomes that of a war-god.

With Kagari now at his side, Raizo must now rebuild his family name, though Kagari may not like what is planned when Kisarabi, another of the Katana family ninja arrives, planning to take their lord Raizo on a journey in order to marry into a noble family in order to increase his power and influence.  Kisarabi shows off her own skills when more soldiers come, using the power of the Rasengan, she can hit any target with her rifle. Unfortunately, thanks to Kagari planting explosives around the area, Raizo’s home ends up being destroyed, forcing them on their journey.

During their journey, the group comes across the third of the Katana ninja, Himemaru, a   specialist in medicine and traps.  But Himemaru isn’t one to play fair, wanting the keep Raizo allalone, away from Kagari and Kisarabi.  They will will have to stop Himemaru, who holds an

interesting secret, that Raizo isn’t going to like at all when he finds out!

Ninja Girls is an interesting title.  It has the starting of harem-esque manga, considering our lovely ninja trio all fall for him in one way or another, along with using that standard mix of comedy and fan-service.  But it is also a lot more story driven, and is rather action-orientated, unlike other harem-type series where fights are usually on a small scale, to break up the story (Such as Love Hina), this book has a fair number of battles in it, while not all big, they certainly play a larger part in the story.

The first volume certainly sets up a strong premise, and would be worth some time in your hands.

Extras
 

As is standard with Del-Ray these days, we are given a set of notes at the start of the manga explaining the various uses of words used when saying someone’s name, such as sama, chan and numerous others.  There is also another set of notes at the end explaining the meanings behind some of the words and phrases used in the story.

Along with this, there is also a few adverts for other manga available from Del-Ray at the moment.

Ratings

Feature:   Extras:
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