D Henry

Ninja Kamui starts off strong, with slick, stylized animation that perfectly complements the hyper-violent ninja action of the first few episodes. The hand-to-hand combat is fluid and visceral, each sword strike and acrobatic maneuver a feast for the eyes. However, as soon as main character true identity is revealed and the storyline shifts towards a more tech-heavy focus, the animation quality takes a nosedive. The once-detailed backgrounds become bland and generic, and the fight scenes devolve into a chaotic mess of poorly rendered CGI. The graceful, balletic movements of the ninjas are replaced by clunky, weightless figures that clash against each other in a jarring, incoherent fashion. This stark contrast in animation quality is a major disappointment, especially considering how promising the show initially appeared. It's a shame that the creators chose to sacrifice artistic integrity in favor of flashy (yet poorly executed) special effects. The result is a visually unappealing mess that detracts from the overall enjoyment of the series.