Nabari no Ou Volumes 1 & 2

Manga with ninjas is nothing new. While Nabari No Ou travels down a beaten path, it can still be enjoyed by fans of all things ninja. Miharu Rokujou, the blasé main character, tries to lumber through his life only for outside forces to reveal he has something otherworldly about him. This is one of those stories about a boy who has no real choice but to become a ninja, because he’s basically going to die if he doesn’t.

This isn’t the strongest manga out there, but it’s not a flop, either. Fans of ninja stories are the most likely to pick this up, while other readers probably won’t get much out of Nabari No Ou.

With Naruto being today's most famous ninja manga series, it's easy to draw some comparisons. Both series have a boy about the same age who might seem normal but has something supernatural going on inside his body. However, that’s about where the comparison ends. While Naruto himself is gung-ho about his future, Nabari No Ou's main character, Miharu, is nothing short of an apathetic lazy bones. His attitude is pretty much "Whatever happens, happens."

What kind of ninja is that?

Well, an entertaining ninja, actually. It's amusing to watch such an apathetic ninja turn out to be so powerful. Miharu starts out as a schoolboy who's so small (he only weighs 77 pounds) that girls squeal over how cute he is and compare him to a chihuahua. But when Miharu gets stabbed straight through by a sword, instead of dying like a normal person, he heals right up, and his body also covers itself with strange writing. There's something going on here.

Other people are very much aware of what’s going on with Miharu and are happy to inform him. Turns out he has the text of Shinra Banshou inside of him, which contains the "greatest secret of ninjutsu." Naturally other people, like the so-called Grey Wolves, want what he has inside of him, and are willing to kill to get it. Uh-oh.

Nabari No Ou has a fair amount of fighting but only a minimal amount of gore. The fight scenes are going to be either very exciting, or boring and lengthy, depending on the reader. There’s some supernatural fighting going on, along with regular old swordplay.

In the first two volumes there’s nothing about Nabari No Ou that really makes it stand out big time against other ninja series. However, it still works as a satisfactory read. The most interesting part about it probably isn't the supernatural text-inside-bodies or the fighting, but just how such a glazed-eye kid can be such a powerful ninja. I know this "lazy guy" act has been done before too, but it's still amusing. There's not a whole lot of character development going on, as it's more about ninja explanations and action, but hopefully that will change and characters will get more fleshed out.

Nabari No Ou has a fair amount of action sequences. Overall the art is serious, though in a few instances it includes some silly, cartoonish stuff. Miharu himself, with his delicate features and big eyes, looks as if he might come out of a shojo manga. There's even at least one scene where he's surrounded by flowers in the immediate background. As a whole, though, it's got that shonen feel where there’s lots of action and not always much detail.

Nabari No Ou can't claim the top spot for an already popular genre, but it's still an enjoyable read. Because it relies so much action and ninjas, it'll be generally lost on people who aren't already into the genre. But as an action story about a dense boy who has to shape up for his destiny, Nabari No Ou has its definite appeal.

Danica Davidson is a reviewer for Graphic Novel Reporter and Booklist.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.