Netflix Is Making A Show About The Last Living Ninjas
Netflix will stream a new series, House of Ninjas, about the last of the group living in Japan. This could be one of the more popular new offerings on the streamer
There is a neverending fascination with ninjas, from the mystery of their origins to the undying coolness of their culture. While they continue to capture the hearts and minds of fans worldwide, their Japanese home has also grown in popularity. Netflix has committed to building a customer base in Japan, signing a lease for production space, and greenlighting a multitude of projects that deepen the company’s roots in the country. According to Deadline, the streamer greenlit a new project that continues that mission. Netflix has added House of Ninjas, a project centering on the last remaining ninja family in present-day Japan. The move is just another in a long line of projects to solidify the streamer as the number one in the Japanese market, doing its best to overtake the current leader in Amazon Prime.
The series is brought by Dave Boyle, known for his Asian works, including Big Dreams, Little Tokyo, White on Rice, and Man from Reno. While Boyle is American, he studied Japanese in college and emersed himself in the Asian culture, winning awards at film festivals for his projects utilizing primarily Asian casts and storylines. The show is based on a story by Kaku Kento (who will also star and produce), Murao Yoshiaki, and Imai Takafumi, with a screenplay by Boyle, Yamaura Masahiro, Oura Kota, and Kimura Kanna. A Netflix statement said the story will fuse elements of a ninja spy thriller with that of a family drama.
House of Ninjas will center on the Tawara family, the last remaining ninja family in present-day Japan. They abandoned their roots in the ninja community after an incident left them in shame. Now, Japan faces a crisis that can change the landscape of its home country in a way it may never recover. Other cast include Eguchi Yosuke, Kimura Tae, Kora Kengo, Makita Aju and Miyamoto Nobuko.
Star or House of Ninjas, Kaku Kento won the Newcomer of the Year award at the 45th Annual Elan d’Or Awards and is known for his roles in The Untold Tale of the Three Kingdoms, dubbing Simba in the Japanese version of The Lion King, and the TV drama Clover. He will anchor Netflix Japan’s newest series following the legendary Japanese warriors.
House of Ninjas is the newest project for Netflix Japan to establish it as the number one streaming service in the country. It is being produced by Toho Studios, one of Japan’s “big four” studios in the country. Their biggest creation is the world-famous Godzilla franchise and all of its spinoffs. Netflix is teaming with the studio to continue its expansion into the country.
In March, the streamer announced that it had signed a long-term lease on studio space in Tokyo to be used for local productions. In September 2021, it set up a creators’ lounge, complete with an artist in residence, intended to embed it further in animation. And In October 2021, it unveiled content pacts with multiple Japanese tv production studios, including Tokyo Broadcasting System and Nippon TV, owner of Hulu Japan.
