Synopsis:
The time is feudal Japan. Ninjas from the evil Kabusu clan attack the Byakuro castle in order to kidnap the princess. The Byakuro princess is said to possess immense magical powers, and the Kabusu clan want to harness this for their own purposes. However, a lone Byakuro ninja manages to escape the siege with the infant princess. Through the years, the princess is raised in hiding and trained as a ninja -- completely unaware of her royal lineage. But the Kabusu clan has not given up on capturing the princess... and they'll do everything until she falls into their hands.

Review:
Ninja Cadets is, in a word, okay. There's enough happening in this OAV to keep you awake and at least mildly interested. The main character is Sakura, a ninja-in-training. Ninja Cadets tries to hide the fact that she's the Byakuro princess during the first portion of the show. Keyword: tries. It's so obvious that Sakura is the princess that you won't even need to guess.

While Ninja Cadet's visuals won't blow you away, the art and animation quality are undeniably good. I must admit, the blood and gore surprised me. Having seen some of the cutesy characters, I didn't really expect any serious action and violence. The English dubbing is below average. In the first few scenes, the characters' mouths were unsynchronized with the words. What's more, Sakura's dub voice makes her sound like a cross between a chipmunk and a whiney brat. Hence, the dub should only be considered if you really want this title, and you want it cheap. Ninja Cadet's ending also leaves something to be desired. Sakura stares into the horizon and says something like "Could the princess really be me?". D-uh! Who else were the bad guys trying to abduct for the past two eps?

Ninja Cadets is by no means a bad anime, but it's not great either. The plot had potential though, and the open-ended conclusion leaves room for future development... if they ever come up with any more material, that is.

Miscellanies:
For serious ninja action, see Ninja Scroll.

Screenshots:

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