2/5 Okay but falls a little flat
  by Varian (USA)
A tad on the boring side. The flow of narrative lacks drive and that's not because the main character has a tendency toward apathy. Animation at some points becomes inconsistent and jerky. The style of storytelling also jumps around. One moment the story will be all seriousness then slide into something more sardonic like the manga.

Also, having read the manga, I was excited to see an anime release because I love the series. However, the anime is without the majority of Miharu's apathetically sarcastic humor (one of the main staples in the manga), changes plot and dialogue, and arbitrarily changes character designs (both appearance and personality). If I hadn't read the manga, I would probably have rated a three because I would have been without the element of disappointment, but I would probably have lost interest and not finished because of plot jumps and lack of intensity. I found it difficult to connect with most of the characters because the anime doesn't take the time to explore them on a level of detail I think should be taken. So, two stars because I read the manga and three while pretending I haven't.

5/5 Giving Ninjas a Good Name
  by Tokyo Rocket
I have never been a huge fan of ninja stories. For instance, Naruto (in my opinion) is the worst story I've ever heard of in the world of anime/manga.
However, when Nabari No Ou captured my attention, I was immediately drawn in for keeps.
The story follows junior high studedn, Miharu Rokujou, and friends as he learns that he is destined to become King of Nabari - the ninja world. However, he is led by his indifference - caused by fear - to want nothing to do with the ninja world. However, upon coming into contact with the Kira user known as Yoite, Miharu begins to make a slow turn around, displaying deep emotions for his new found friend.
This is an amazing story which covers an amazing range of emotions, not to mention, the artwork is beautiful and the action is very well animated.
I would suggest Nabari No Ou to anybody any time.
If you're looking for a story full of action, comedy, emotion, and a great storyline, this anime is for you.

1/5 Confusing
  by Malia Nash (Hawaii)
One of the first rules of creative writing is to get the reader to LIKE the characters. There is literally no one in this anime to like. The reluctant hero is annoying as all get out; ok, I get why he's apathetic, but after getting attacked and having his side kicks willing to die for him; this gets OLD. True, his side kicks have little or no attracting value and I personally wouldn't enjoy hanging with any of them.

I think the writer, himself, got pretty fed up with the "full of hangups" four heroes and started to write the bad guys better; they were certainly more interesting and even redeeming in some ways.

Unlike Story of Saiunkoku and other animes, I'm not waiting with bated breath for the english version sequel to come out on DVD.

5/5 WATCH IT NOW!!!!!!
  by Karen R. Patterson (New Castle, DE)
THIS IS A MUST OWN FOR ALL ANIME FANS!!! I just finished this series and loved it. This show is not for the weak of heart. WARNING you will cry!!! The plot starts off pretty simply,as the story opens we meet Miharu,an apathetic high school student who wants nothing more then to live a normal boring life. But that soon becomes impossible as he is targeted by leathel ninjas! He is rescued by two other ninjas who inform him that a secret art known as the shinrabansho dwells within him. They also tell him about Nabari,a secret world of ninjas,and that one group known as the kairoshu will do anything to get the secret art. Soon after we meet raimae a blond pigtailed samuri who decides that the best way to whip Miharu into shape is to take him to her own vilage called the Fuma.Once there the group discovers that the Fuma are under attack.The Kairoshu are after Fuma's book of forbidin techniquies.This when we meet one of the most influential charectors of the show and my personal faverite Yoite. Yoite uses the secret art of the Kairoshu known as Kira. This allows him to litrely kill his opents from the inside out,but at a terible price,each time he uses Kira it drains some of his life force. After the Fuma are saved all seems well,until Yoite returns and kidnaps Miharu! Yoite threatens the lives of Miharu's new friends to force him to agree to use the Shinrabansho to erase his existence. The two then begin despret journey to help Miharu master the Shinrabansho and soon an uneasy friendship forms between them. This is onley the first half of the series. The second half will be availible in November.

4/5 The Ninja World is at War
  by ONENEO (Buffalo, NY)
Nabari is an anime that is coming to the shores of North America for the first time ever thanks to Funimation. Based on a manga written and illustrated by Yuhki Kamatani, it was released in Japan by Square Enix back in 2004. The anime adaptation, which is being reviewed here, was directed by Kunihisa Sugishima, and animated by JC Staff then hit Japanese airwaves in April of 2008. Funimation has been working to get the series here for American viewing pleasure since the summer of 2008 and now it looks like all of the legal mumbo jumbo involved to do so is behind them as indicated by the fact that this, The Complete Series Part One is set for a September 22 stateside release. But before I get ahead of myself, let's take a look at the cold hard facts, shall we?

Nabari The Complete Series Part One comes in at a runtime of 325 minutes and contains 13 episodes spanning two discs. The discs come packaged in a pair of thin packs within a cardboard outer slipcase.

The show wears an appropriate TV 14 rating due to some slightly adult slanted themes of violence, war, and conflict. There is no nudity, swearing, or gore to report.

Language options are typical sub and dub, which means the viewer has the choice of running either the original Japanese dialog track (stereo) or an English dub (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround) and the option of displaying English subtitles beneath either dialog choice.

Extras include textless songs, a commentary track from some of the English voice talent over Episode 2, and a host of upcoming Funimation anime previews.

The story, which is surprisingly complex, goes like this: The ho hum teen Miharu Rokujou wanted little more than to live a normal life in the hopes of one day inheriting an Okonomiyaki restaurant. His buddies at school (Kouichi & Kumohira) continually pressure him to join their martial arts club to which he respectfully declines time and time again. Miharu's tune changes once he's attacked by an actual group of ninjas and is protected by Kouichi and Kumohira. There, Miharu learns of a hidden world of ninjas and psychic powers (a place called Nabari) and discovers that people he thought he knew like his classmate and teacher were actually powerful figures in this new world. As they had been trying to convince him, his very survival depends upon his mastery of the mysterious art Shinra Banshou. Even more surprising is that Miharu discovers that he has a hijutsu (hidden technique) within him that just so happens to be control of the power of creation. Many rival clans are seeking the hijutsu as it is foretold that the one who possesses it will become the ruler of their world.

While this may sound fairly straightforward when spelled out as such, the truth of the matter is that Nabari's presentation demands a viewer's undivided attention. Expect episodes littered with flashbacks and recaps with hints of a deeper mystery being slowly unraveled in the moments between the action.

Speaking of, there are some seriously wicked action sequences scattered about which will hopefully shield many viewers from dismissing this property as simply a Naruto wannabe.

The first episode in particular sets a pretty cool pace for the rest of the episodes to follow with a nice combination of back-story and lead character development.

The music score is appropriate and melds well with the visuals neither outshining the images nor becoming lost to the background. Voice work is nice and tight in both language options with my vote leaning slightly to the English dub due to the fact that the story isn't linear and many names/ words can be confusing in any language. As such the less I had to keep sorted at the time of viewing, the better.

Funimation has already announced plans to release the remaining 13 episodes of the show to the North American market and I suspect it will be a very desirable purchase to anyone who has the pleasure of watching this collection.