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{{trope}}
[[File:Usage of Mizugumo.png|thumb]]
{{quote|''"That man does not look anything like a ninja."''
''"Ah, but [[Beneath Notice|that is exactly what a ninja should look like]]."''|''[[Freefall]]'' [http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1100/fv01092.htm 1092]}}
The shadow warriors of medieval Japan, reputedly possessed of all manner of mysterious powers including invisibility and intangibility. Able to infiltrate even the most heavily guarded fortress without being detected. [[Lightning Bruiser|They may be portrayed as cutting down any opposition
Or so popular legend has it.
Or so popular legend has it. While ninjas may have existed, their reputation for invisibility and infiltration more likely stemmed from their willingness to dress as members of a lower social class when no one else in Japan would consider doing such a thing. Their "invisibility" was part ''[http://www.bmoviecomic.com/index.php?cid=53 psychological]'' in cause -- by dressing as a peasant, they were ignored and dismissed, or [[Beneath Notice|never even noticed at all]], by the [[Samurai]] and other upper classes, a useful thing despite the oft fierce travel restrictions on the lower classes. Superior knowledge of survival skills, a lot of actual stealth, poisons, assassination techniques and [[Trying to Catch Me Fighting Dirty|unorthodox tactics]] (added to the fact that the ninjas actively encouraged the spread of rumors of their magical abilities) were the most important though. A common misdirection tactic, for example, would be to put one's clothing on a branch or a log while sneaking away (or planning a sneak attack). Somewhere in history, some dumbass must have attacked the tree, and upon discovering the log dressed in the ninja's clothing came to the natural conclusion that [[Ninja Log|clearly the ninja had magically swapped places with the log]]. [[Face Palm|(Oy.)]] ▼
▲
Ninjas were also quite skilled with a variety of tools, such as the multipurpose ''kunai'' <s> knife</s> trowel. Plainly put, while a stereotypical ninja would jump around on rooftops in [[Highly-Visible Ninja|ridiculous clothing]], a real ninja most likely would simply infiltrate [[Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?|the household staff and poison a meal.]] Among many other things, a good ninja [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|always knew where his ''sanjaku tenugui'' was]].▼
▲
The "classic" ninja costume (see picture) is, in fact, the outfit worn by stagehands in traditional Japanese theatre. Japanese stagehands are frequently in full view on the stage, but the audience was trained to ignore them and thus are and considered "invisible" by the audience. It became the practice to hide ninja characters in full sight by putting them in the same outfits as the stagehands, [[Painting the Medium|for a startling effect when characters were suddenly attacked by "thin air"]].▼
Ninja also actively encouraged the spread of rumors of their magical abilities. It's a safe bet that, somewhere in Medieval Japan, some [[Baka|idiot]] must have attacked a decoy log and, upon discovering the log dressed in the ninja's clothing, came to [[Insane Troll Logic|the natural conclusion]] that the ninja had [[Ninja Log|magically swapped places with the log]].
Female ninja are often called ''kunoichi'' in a pun on the Japanese kanji for woman (女, ''onna''/''jo''), which looks like it's made up of ''ku'' (く), ''no'' (ノ), and ''ichi'' (一). Kunoichi are often portrayed in media as experts in seduction and poisons. [[Poisonous Person|Or both at the same time.]] Kunoichi are also often seen in outfits that combine a hodgepodge of [[Kimono Fanservice|traditional clothing]], [[Stocking Filler|fishnet]], [[Stripperiffic|bared skin]], [[Victoria's Secret Compartment|and strategically-placed weapons]].▼
▲The "classic" ninja costume (see picture) is, in fact, the outfit worn by stagehands in traditional Japanese theatre. Japanese stagehands are frequently in full view on the stage, but the audience
In American movies, especially the ones from the '80s with "ninja" in the titles, only the hero ninja and the [[Big Bad]] ninja make any pretense of stealth or invisibility -- and sometimes, [[Technicolor Ninjas|not even them]]. Any underling ninjas will be the class of [[Mooks]] known as [[Highly-Visible Ninja]].▼
▲Female ninja are often called ''kunoichi'' in a pun on the Japanese kanji for woman (女, ''onna''/''jo''), which looks like it's made up of ''ku'' (く), ''no'' (ノ), and ''ichi'' (一). Kunoichi are often portrayed in media as experts in seduction
▲In American movies, especially the ones from the '80s with "ninja" in the titles, only the hero ninja and the [[Big Bad]] ninja make any pretense of stealth or
One of the earliest Japanese cultural tropes to make it to the West, where it has now branched out into the [[McNinja]] franchise. Look for ninja to make use of the [[Smoke Out]], the [[Flash Step]] and the aforementioned [[Ninja Log]].
In the late 20th Century, they [[wikipedia:Pirates versus Ninjas|became]] the arch-enemies of [[Pirate
Compare [[The Hashshashin]], the Middle-Eastern counterpart.
They did tend to come from lower classes (at least compared to samurai), but any media that says they were all peasants self-trained to attack the samurai as freedom fighters [[Did Not Do the Research]].
Due to the way the [[Japanese Language]] handles plurals, "ninja" is both the singular and plural form.
[[Sub-Trope|Sub Tropes]] include:
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* [[Stock Ninja Weaponry]]
* [[Technicolor Ninjas]]
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin]]'' features the Iga and Kouga clans of ninja ''dogs''.
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** As is the [[Animesque]] counterpart ''[[Shuriken School]]''.
* Recca and several others in ''[[Flame of Recca]]''.
* The [[OVA]] version of ''[[Sakura Taisen]]'' slyly acknowledges the origin of the traditional ninja garb
* The [[Canon Foreigner]] Sasuke Sarugakure in ''[[Ranma ½
* Similarly, the ninja in ''[[Ninin ga Shinobuden]]'' are incompetent ninja who usually don't even carry shuriken; when they all suddenly produce shuriken and every one hits its target, causing another character to think that maybe they are skilled after all, one calls his mother on a cell phone to tell her that he has touched a shuriken for the first time.
* Takamura Suoh from ''[[CLAMP School Detectives]]''.
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* ''[[Himawari]]!'' and its sequel series are all about the ninja. Most of the ninja in the series actually are fairly stealthy. The heroine herself...not so much.
* Volfogg from ''[[GaoGaiGar]]'' is a [[Transforming Mecha]] Ninja.
* Akira from ''[[
* Yoruichi and Soifon from ''[[Bleach]]'', as well as the entire Stealth Force.
* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' has Kaede. While she doesn't necessarily [[Highly-Visible Ninja|stick out like a sore thumb]], she isn't very concerned with stealth either. Wields a [[BFS|big friggin' shuriken]] that from tip-to-tip is taller than she is. And [[Huge Schoolgirl|that's saying something]].
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** There's also a trainer class in some of the games, whose methods involve hiding and then springing out to battle whomever passes by.
** Furthermore, the moves "Double Team" and "Substitute" are based on popular ideas of ninja techniques.
* One two-part episode of ''[[Speed Racer]]'' featured
* [[Soul Eater|Black Star and Tsubaki]]. Black☆Star is your typical Highly Visible variety, and somehow manages to make a big deal of being 'stealthy' even when he bothers to try. Tsubaki is a member of a clan of ninja-associated Living Weapons (kunai, (big) shuriken, smoke-bomb, camouflage, katana, chain-scythe) and frequently has to remind her meister how he should be behaving. Such as the fact that telling your target you're here to assassinate them is a bad idea.
* Digimon has a number of ninja-inspired monsters. Two notable examples are Ninjamon and Kougamon, his [[
** [[Digimon Savers|Falcomon]], who's a rather straight example of this trope, along with his evolutionary stages. His Champion form, Peckmon, is a ''[[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|Ninja Ostrich]]''.
** ''[[Digimon Adventure 02]]'' has Shurimon.
** Monitormon from ''[[Digimon Xros Wars]]'', which beats out all other examples in ridiculous by being
** Turuiemon, a [[Killer Rabbit|ninja rabbit.]]
** Finally, there's several digimon conflated with ninja in the american version, but these are more straight-up [[Samurai]].
* In ''[[Transformers Headmasters]]'', Sixshot is presented as one of these. Subsequent series would feature [[Transformers Super God Masterforce|Sixknight]] and [[Transformers Victory|Greatshot]], who were all members of the same secret order of ninja six-changers as Sixshot, called the [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Six Clan]].
** In the Japanese version of ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise]]'', the Spy Changers are portrayed as
* ''[[Gintama]]'' is another example of the [[Highly-Visible Ninja]] variety. It has Ayame Sarutobi using her ninja skills for ''stalking'' of all things.
** There's also Zenzo Hattori, The Oniwabanshuu and the Shinobi 5.
* [[Ninku]]: The heroes are all
* One of the antagonists in [[Katanagatari]] is the Maniwa Corps, which is filled with ninja that rival [[Naruto]] in the [[Highly-Visible Ninja|visibility]] department.
* ''[[Nabari no Ou]]'' takes place in a ninja world called Nabari which are full of modern day ninja.
* ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'' has the Oniwabanshu, a clan of Kyoto-based ''onmitsu'' that are initially opponents to Kenshin under the leadership of Shinomori Aoshi. When Kenshin travels to Kyoto to fight Shishio Makoto, they become allies.
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* Often appear in the works of Adam Warren. ''[[Livewires]]'' has Hollowpoint Ninja, ''[[Empowered]]'' has Ninjette and several clans of ninja.
== Fan Works ==
* In the long-abandoned ''[[Ranma ½]]/[[Sailor Moon]]'' crossover fic ''[[Relatively Absent]]'', Ranma Saotome's mother Nodoka turns out to be the disowned child of a wealthy ninja clan, which has dispatched his four kunoichi cousins to watch over him -- and which takes him in after he is trapped in female form when the fight with Herb at Mount Horai goes differently from canon. Late in the extant chapters the politics and preservation of the surviving ninja clans becomes a major plot element, with the Emperor of Japan arranging a marriage between Ranma and one of his cousins to keep their art alive.
== Film ==
* The popularity of ninja in Western media may have started with the [[James Bond (film)|James Bond]] film ''[[You Only Live Twice]]'' from 1967. Most of those ninja were depicted as being more like members of an elite government special forces unit than invisible assassins, however. (Except for the one who killed the Bond girl, of course.)
** In ''[[Licence to Kill]]'' it is revealed that Hong Kong Narcotics employs
* Michael Beck as "Ken Sakura", an orphaned American adopted into a ninja clan, in the 1983 TV movie ''[[The Last Ninja]]''.
* Appear in ''[[The Last Samurai]]'', with some of their methodology were accurately presented.
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* ''[[Big Money Hustlas]]'': "Magic magic ninja, what?"
* The Japanese film ''[[Shinobi Heart Under Blade]]''.
== Literature ==
* ''[[Shogun]]'' features realistic
*
* The antagonists in ''[[The Gone-Away World]]'' by Nick Harkaway are a ninja clan turned corporate empire.
* Eric Van Lustbader wrote a whole series of [[So Bad It's Good]] novels about ninja.
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* In ''[[Neuromancer]]'', a [[Cyberpunk]] novel by [[William Gibson]], [[Awesome McCoolname|Lady 3Jane]] has a [[Battle Butler|ninja butler]], Hideo.
* Lady Catherine de Bourgh has ninja guards in ''[[Pride and Prejudice And Zombies]]'', and can't see the logic of anyone not having them. Elizabeth, however, makes short work of them, even taking out a heart and eating it.
* [[Timothy Zahn]]'s "[[Blackcollar]]" commandos are obvious ninja [[In Space]]. Their favored weapons are shuriken and
* Ajutasutra in [[Belisarius Series]] is effectively an Indian "Ninja".
* In the ''[[Discworld]]'' novel ''[[
▲== Live Action TV ==
* Several [[Sentai]] series have them, such as the "Ninjetti" arc of ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'' and ''[[Power Rangers Ninja Storm]]''.
** The original Japanese names of these sentai shows are ''[[Ninja Sentai Kakuranger]]'' and ''[[Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger|Ninpuu (Ninja Wind) Sentai Hurricanger]]'', respectively.
* Lee Van Cleef played fugitive ninja master John Peter Mac Allister on the short-lived TV series ''[[Master Ninja|The Master]]''.
** Shown as the film in two episodes of [[Mystery Science Theater 3000]].
*
* Charlie from ''[[Spin City]]'' once daydreamed of winning the World Series, and fighting
* The [[Spike TV]] show ''[[Deadliest Warrior]]'' had a Ninja go one-on-one with a Spartan. {{spoiler|In the end, the ninja was defeated.}}
* Aasif Mandvi of ''[[The Daily Show]]'' is a ninja. He has an ability to disappear into the green screen effect.
== Music ==
* [[Insane Clown Posse]] often reference
{{quote|[[Twiztid|What up, ninja?]]}}
== New Media ==
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* Charlie depicts [[Her Codename Was Mary Sue|herself]] as a ninja in the animated segments of ''[[Kate Modern]]''.
* ''[http://www.askaninja.com/ Ask A Ninja]'' is a website where viewers e-mail a guy questions and he answers them as a ninja would.
* ''[[The Onion]]'' did a piece about a [https://web.archive.org/web/20100303041248/http://www.theonion.com/content/video/ninja_parade_slips_through_town ninja parade]. No ninja were actually spotted, although they were kind enough to leave candy in children's pockets when they weren't looking.
== Tabletop Games ==
* The Skaven of Clan Eshin in ''[[Warhammer Fantasy]]'' are essentially ratman-
** As are the Assassins of the Dark Elves. Their leader, Shadowblade, is so awesome he can disguise himself as a mook of the enemy army. Even if they are composed of magically-reanimated corpses. Did we mention his skill with weapons is so great he can match an incarnation of the God of Slaughter in terms of sheer skill, and outmatch it in speed?
** A certain fan-made army book for Nippon gives them squads of
* All 'proper' ninja (not counting changelings et al.) in [[Magic: The Gathering|Magic]] so far come from the ''Betrayers of Kamigawa'' expansion set. They all have the ability (known, of course, as ''ninjutsu'') to pop into play by replacing an attacking unblocked creature on their side plus a variety of followup abilities that trigger off of their dealing combat damage to a player. The implication of this is that an individual ninja can masquerade as absolutely anything, from a flock of squirrels up to an [[Cosmic Horror|Eldrazi]]. Talk about [[Paranoia Fuel]]...
** Two more Ninja (as well as reprints of Ninja that originated in Kamigawa), Sakashima's Student and Silent-Blade Oni, appeared 7 years latter in the "Night of the Ninja" deck intended for the variant game Planechase.
* The Complete Adventurer expansion for [[Dungeons
* In ''[[Exalted]]'', each type of Exalt has at least one caste that focuses on stealth, deception, and similar acts of larceny. Sidereals fit the ninja archetype best, though, what with their being snapped up and subjected to intensive training within days of Exaltation, their undisputed mastery of martial arts, their residence in a hidden community that most in Creation can't even find, much less enter, and that whole business with the Arcane Fate that makes them all but impossible to track or keep records on (or even, for that matter, remember clearly). The term 'fate-ninja' really sums them up very nicely.
* ''[[Feng Shui]]'' lists the Ninja as a PC archetype. Their Martial Arts skill and Fu attributes are just one point lower than the Martial Artist, and they have the second highest Intrusion skill in the game (the Thief has the highest with a 16 AV). In addition, one of the Fu paths of the game, the Path of the Shadow's Companion, is tailor-made for the Ninja, with powers that allow you to make silent martial arts attacks and bypass the Toughness of your opponent when attacking someone unawares. You also get to fight
* The Scorpion Clan, especially the Shosuro Assassins and Bayushi Ninja Infiltrators, in ''[[Legend of the Five Rings]]''. Plays the trope straight and subverts it at the same time: the real assassins rely on disguise to blend in the crowd, while the "typical"
** In fact, the ninja mooks are aspirants to be "proper" shinobi; if they can survive trying to be "stealthy" in the worst way possible for a year, then they're ready to learn how to do it ''right''. The books even point out that "ninja" gear, by and large, is ''completely awful''. Never use a ninja-to against a katana, for instance.
** [[Insistent Terminology|They ask that you call them "shinobi", though]]. The term "ninja" is somewhat offensive, as the other
** One of the books states that all Clans have their own ninja-style groups, like the Daidoji Harriers of the Crane Clan (who focus on guerrila tactics) or the Ikoma Spymasters of the Lion Clan (who focus on information gathering). This despite the fact that ninja are outlawed by Imperial Edict, and thus do not officially exist.
* The ninja from ''[[GURPS]]: Dungeon Fantasy'' is a mix between the [[Ninja Pirate Robot Zombie|thief, artificer and swashbuckler]], even getting a whole installment of the series devoted to it.
== [[Video Games]] ==
* Yoshimitsu from both [[Tekken]] and [[Soul Series]].
* Raven in ''[[Tekken]] 5''.
* Oboromaru in ''[[Live a Live]]''.
* In ''[[Total War|Shogun: Total War]]'' you can hire both ninja and shinobi as strategic units. The game makes a distinction between ninja (who assassinate enemy characters) and shinobi (who are spies, saboteurs and seditionists), although historicaly there is no such distinction. The ninja is also ''horribly'' outclassed at his job by the [[Game Breaker|Legendary Geisha]] unit, an ultimate assassin which gets close to the target in her role as a geisha before killing them with concealed weapons, probably much closer to how real-life ninja worked. The expansion also allowed you to train small units of "battlefield ninja", tiny but elite squads which used stealth on the battlefield to get close to the enemy general.
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* Altair from ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' fits the MO of a historical ninja in that he is an assassin who escaped notice by blending in with a crowd, but lives in crusade-era Israel rather than feudal Japan.
** Ezio in ''Assassin's Creed 2'' is more or less the same, only he can swim, is Italian and FABULOUS!!
** YMMV. Altair is based on the actual group where the word "Assassin" was derived from. There are even several events in the game based off of stories about that group. On the other hand, that group acted far more like the Ninja trope than historical
* Ryu Hayabusa from the ''[[Ninja Gaiden]]'' and ''[[Dead or Alive]]'' franchises. The latter series has a few others, including Kasumi, Hayate, and {{spoiler|their half-sister}} Ayane. Hayabusa in particular has the distinction of being known as the most famous videogame ninja in the eyes of many video game players.
* A certain not very good [[Neverwinter Nights]] module had the player as part of a sect of female
* [[Strider]] Hiryu, from his eponymous game series.
* Crypto questions why there are Ninja in Japan in 1969 in ''[[Destroy All Humans!]] 2''. Everyone he asks tells him to go with it, and that "everyone loves
* The titular character from ''[[Izuna Legend of the Unemployed Ninja]]'' and its sequel.
* Edge in ''[[Final Fantasy IV]]''.
* Shadow from ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]''.
* Yuffie in ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'', of course.
** And her gameplay clone in [[Ehrgeiz]], Sasuke.
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* The village of Mizuho in ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]'' and {{spoiler|its successor}} the village of Japoni from ''[[Tales of Phantasia]]'' are hidden ninja villages. [[Absolute Cleavage|Sheena]], one of your party members, is from the former, and in the remake of ''Phantasia'', you can get Suzu in your party from the latter.
* The ''[[Shinobi]]'' series features a ninja hero, who battles [[Conservation of Ninjutsu|scores of enemy ninja]] in a variety of different situations, including while being on a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|ninja surfboard]] in the third game.
* In no particular order from ''[[Mortal Kombat]]'': Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Reptile, Noob Saibot, Kitana, Mileena, Jade, Chameleon, Khameleon, Cyrax, Sektor, Smoke, Ermac, Rain and Frost. Fifteen
** Technically, Sub-Zero's clan are the Chinese warriors that Japanese ninja ripped off, and they hate being called ninja. Not that it stops anyone...
*** Technically, only Scorpion is a ninja. Sub-Zero, Noob Saibot, Cyrax, Sektor, Smoke, and Frost all belong to the Lin Kuei. Jade is Kitana's bodyguard, who is a princess, and Mileena is a clone, both of whom would likely be trained in some form of self defense. Rain, also royalty, is also likely trained in self defense and Reptile is another bodyguard. Ermac might count just from the sheer amount of souls he is made with, probability might dictate one of them was a ninja in life. Chameleon may too, I don't know his backstory well, but Khameleon is just a warrior as well. Most of them are made fairly moot anyways, as only Scorpion and the Lin Kuei are from Earthrealm anyways.
* The ''[[Tenchu]]: Stealth Assassins'' series, in contrast to many ninja series, [[Stealth Based Game|places full emphasis on the ninja's true strength: stealth]].
* The pop cultural version of
** ''[[Final Fantasy|Final Fantasies]] [[Final Fantasy I|I]]'', ''[[Final Fantasy III|III]]'', ''[[Final Fantasy V|V]]'', and ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics|Tactics]]''.
** ''[[Disgaea]]'' and its sequels.
** ''[[Maple Story]]''.
* [[Mega Man 3|ShadowMan]]. Who scores double points for being a [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|ninja robot]].
** Don't forget what arguably may be his [[Expy
* ''[[Triangle Heart 3 ～sweet songs forever～]]'' has [[Hot Shoujo Dad|Shiro,]] [[Brother-Sister Team|Kyouya, and Miyuki]] [[Badass Family|Takamachi]]. They're usually bodyguards, but occasionally do some assassination work as well.
* ''[[City of Villains]]'' has Mastermind characters who summon ninja minions, and Stalkers who have the Ninja Blade (attack) and Ninjitsu (defense) power sets.
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** At one point in the first game, Lambert explicitly refers to Sam as a "SIGINT Ninja".
* ''[[Guild Wars]]'' has ninja as well in the form of the Assassin profession. Their primary weapon consists of a pair of daggers, they can vanish in a puff of smoke and instantly reappear at at different spot, and they have a variety of spells that fit with the media portrayal of a ninja.
* The Dark Templar of ''[[
* One of the [[Shout-Out|seven samurai]] from ''[[Throne of Darkness]]'' is actually a Ninja.
* [[Shotoclone|Jago]] from ''[[Killer Instinct]]'' is a [[McNinja|Buddhist Ninja]].
* Kisuke from ''[[Muramasa: The Demon Blade]]'' is an Iga clan ninja. This is notable because Iga was one of the actual places in feudal Japan where there actually were shinobi clan.
* The Komoris in ''[[Red Steel]]'' are a clan of
* There are
* The ''[[Wario Ware]]'' games have Kat & Ana, twin ninja preschoolers!
* A good number of
* ''[[Shinobido]]'' is about
* Kasumi from ''[[Mass Effect 2]]''. Thane could also qualify.
** [[Mass Effect 3]] brings us Cerberus Phantoms, which are
* The [[Soul Series]] gives us Taki. She's got the kunai/tanto/wakizashi, uber-agility and magical demon-sealing powers. Plus the purple skin-tight bodysuit.
** Also, the "create a character" in 3 had a class called "ninja" that could learn how to wield kuni (with use of ninjustu) , a katan and over sized shuriken (blatant use of jumping and the overly large throwing tool), a sickle that seemed to have been the love child of Ivy's whip blade and a chain whip with some sickle thrown in as an afterthought, Taki's moveset, and (the closest to actual ninjaness) Setska's parasol with a blade hidden in the handle of it. Any character creation after forwent any movesets only available to custom characters, so they then had to use character weapons.
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* In the ''[[Street Fighter]]'' series, [[Street Fighter Alpha|Guy]] uses traditional ninjustsu with street fighting influences, [[Street Fighter (video game)|Geki]] and [[Street Fighter III|Ibuki]] fits the popular image of a ninja, and [[Street Fighter II|Vega]] mixes savate and ninjutsu.
* In ''[[Sengoku Rance]]'', ninja units are among the various types available. While they generally have high Search stats (making them useful for strategic sabotage), they're also effective at tactical sabotage and assassinating enemy commanders in battle. They're not very effective toe-to-toe against warriors or foot soldiers, though.
* Shinobi from [[Command
* In the [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] series, Espio the Chameleon, ever since the Chaotix crew's return in ''[[Sonic Heroes]]''. Complete with invisibility powers and giant shuriken.
** He's a ninja in Archie's ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', but not in ''[[Sonic the Comic]]'', due to the fact it ended before he was made into a ninja.
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* The Scyther, Nincada, and Shelmet lines from ''[[Pokémon]]'' all have ninja motifs. Curiously enough, they are all also Bug-type Pokemon (Scyther=praying mantis, Nincada=cicada, Shelmet=snail) as well.
** Koga, the Poison-type Gym Leader from ''[[Pokémon Red and Blue]]'', has a ninja motif as well. He's training his daughter Janine in the art, and when he makes it to the Elite Four of the Indigo League in ''[[Pokémon Gold and Silver]]'', she takes over the Gym.
** Plus, in [[Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire|Hoenn]] and [[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl|Sinnoh]] there are several kid ninja trainers running around.
{{quote|"I am one of the Ninja Trio! Being discovered means I must battle!"}}
* You'll get a Ninja no matter what Branch you go on in ''[[Vanguard Bandits]]''. What type of ninja they'll be is path-dependent though.
* Though they're technically not
* The protagonist of ''Robo Aleste'' is Kage, a ninja piloting a [[Humongous Mecha]].
* Chipp Zanuff from ''[[Guilty Gear]]'' is an American Gaijin who learns the art of ninjutsu. Unfortunately, [[Highly-Visible Ninja|he's rather loud and yells "FIND ME!" when trying to hide himself]].
* Bang Shishigami from ''[[
* ''[[Aztec Wars]]'' has
== Webcomics ==
* And then there's the the title character of the SNAFU Webcomic, [https://web.archive.org/web/20130808182545/http://tin.snafu-comics.com/?comic_id=0 TIN: The Incompetent Ninja] who takes incompetent to it's logical extreme and is able to commit unbelievably violent acts to anyone ''except'' his target.
* ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]'''s titular Dr. McNinja, as well as his mother, father, and brother. There are other ninja in the plotline too, but they're less prominent.
* The obscure, unknown webcomic ''[[Dreamaniac]]'' has resident ninja Andrew (who's actually from [[McNinja|Switzerland]] and his younger brother, ninja-in-training Mark.
* ''[[Freefall]]'' had an arc involving a restaurant run by [[McNinja|French ninja]] who would deliver food to your table without you ever noticing, with the nod to ''real'' ninja invisibility noted in the trope quote.
* ''[[Megatokyo]]'' features Junpei, nowadays a ''l337'' ninja, thanks to his training under Largo.
*
*
* ''[[Springiette]]'' features Chop Chop Ninja Doom, who throws chips instead of stars.
* [[Blade of Toshubi|Toshubi]] is a ninja mouse.
* Feskus of the ''[[Nami Warriors]]'' is a very skilled ninja...who apparently [[Pokémon-Speak|communicates with just the word "hoy"]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120527170709/http://www.rhjunior.com/NT/00727.html introduced for the] [[Show Within the Show]] of ''[[Nip and Tuck]]''.
* ''[[Mountain Time]]'' takes place in a universe where onions use their ninja training to kill condors.
== Web Original ==▼
* [http://askaninja.com/ Ask a Ninja!]▼
* [[Greek Ninja]]▼
* [http://www.realultimatepower.net/index4.htm Real Ultimate Power]: The Official Ninja Webpage!▼
* Ultimate Ninja, leader of the [[Legion of Net.Heroes]].▼
* Can't forget the [[Atop the Fourth Wall|Ninja-Style Dancer]].▼
* In V3E1 of ''[[RWBY]]'', Nora describes Ren as a ninja, even though he is (pseudo-)Chinese and not (pseudo-)Japanese.
== Western Animation ==
* ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'', naturally.
* ''[[Kim Possible]]'' is infested with them: a few one-shot bad guys, some specialized "embarrassment ninjas", a secret ninja high school where Ron spent a week as an exchange student, and of course Monkey Fist's ninja clan made entirely of monkeys.
** Sumo Ninja ftw!
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* ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' has [[The Stoic|Prowl]] and [[Jive Turkey|Jazz]] as goddamn NINJA ROBOTS. [[Rule of Cool|How much cooler can you get?]] Ironically, Prowl's a pretty honourable guy as a ninja (as is Jazz) but the moment he puts on the Samurai Armour Upgrade, he becomes a totally arrogant asshole one step away from turning into a villain.
** Prowl was slightly arrogant already, as he seems to think a lot of his own abilities. This is tempered by the fact that he actually just is that [[Badass]].
** ''Animated'' went on to reveal that there's an entire order of
* The short Australian CGI spoof ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSPy_4HYqGs Samurice]''. Ninja Rice steal the sacred Soya Scroll, and [[Samurai]] hero Ricesashi has to get it back.
* Kyodai Ken (a.k.a. the Ninja) from ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]''.
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'''Mumm-Ra''': This... is the NINJA! If the samurai has all honor, then the ninja has none. His methods are silence, secrecy, and stealth. And his weapons -- dagger and disguise... }}
* In ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', Katara and Zuko dress in all black and stealth their way around several Fire Nation navy commands, seen by no one until they attack, in order to get information on the man that killed Katara's mother. It's all kinds of bad-ass.
** The Dai Li are Earthbending
** Also, Zuko in Blue Spirit mode. Silent, stealthy, wears all black, incredibly badass, one of the only characters to be actually ''deadly'' in each appearance... total ninja right there.
* Kabuto, the main villain of [[Pixar Shorts|''Tokyo Mater'']] has ninja ''racing cars'' for henchmen. He summons them to distract [[Cars|Mater]] about halfway through the short, only for them all to be knocked out by Dragon McQueen. At the end of the short, Mater wins the race, and since Kabuto threatened him that if he lost the race, he will strip Mater of his modifications, when Kabuto lost, he is stripped of his own modifications, and is laughed at by his own
* ''[[Transformers Prime]]'' has Wheeljack. No longer a wacky scientist with a penchant for inventions that blow up. He's now a badass ex-Wrecker ninja with a pair of laser-deflecting katanas and a mask to boot. Not to mention quite cocky.
{{quote|'''Starscream''': "Do you not see that you are vastly outnumbered?"
'''Wheeljack''': "I see fellas who might vastly enjoy watching me pound some dents into you." }}
* ''[[American Dad]]:'' When Roger shows up in one episode: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_Pb-EnT560&feature=relmfu "I'm a ninja everybody! I'm doing NINJA stuff now!!"]
== Other ==
* In a story published during spring training of 2007, Chicago Cubs then-closer (now starter) Ryan Dempster claimed to be training as a ninja. He was joking... we think.
▲== Web Original ==
▲* [http://askaninja.com/ Ask a Ninja!]
▲* [[Greek Ninja]]
▲* [http://www.realultimatepower.net/index4.htm Real Ultimate Power]: The Official Ninja Webpage!
▲* Ultimate Ninja, leader of the [[Legion of Net.Heroes]].
▲* Can't forget the [[Atop the Fourth Wall|Ninja-Style Dancer]].
== Real Life ==
* ''[[
** Ninja can catch arrows in flight - BUSTED! Guiness book or Records champion Ninja, they shot safety arrows at him. 6 arrows hit him. He jumped away from 3 and caught the 10th arrow; in a real fight, he would have been dead before that 10th arrow.
** Ninja can lie in a carp pond all night breathing through his blow-pipe and when the victim goes for a morning stroll, shoot him with poisoned darts. PLAUSIBLE. Using a blow-pipe underwater takes a bit of practice, but is doable. Tory managed to stay under cold water for one hour.
** Ninja with sword versus archer 30 yards away. Archer shoots. Ninja knocks away 1st arrow with sword and charges before Archer can reload. CONFIRMED! Jamie guessed he could have reloaded if the distance were 100 yards, but they never tested it.
* Similar to [[
** They proved that ninjutsu really does have a deadly punch (compressing the ribcage enough to cause fatal damage to the heart).
** Insane Balance: While standing on one foot on a pole five feet tall, [https://web.archive.org/web/20130511202925/http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=675 a ninja can dodge shuriken and not fall.]
* Some of the more infamous
** [[Hattori Hanzo]], Iga ninja in service of the Tokugawa, and probably the ninja equivalent to [[Miyamoto Musashi]].
*** Actually, Hanzou is more of a proto-Ninja; as at that time, he was seen more as a retainer with an exceptional special skillset and known for tactical bravado (earning him the moniker 'Devil Hanzou')- however he was also reknown for swordsmanship excellence, and skills with a spear (he is NOT however, the same person as another historical Hanzou, Yari-Hanzou, who as the name implies, was a master of yari/spear combat). His appearance as a ninja nowadays is probably a direct result of his tactical choices that earned him his Devil nickname; tactics along the lines of subversion, misinformation, assassination, etc. Don't mistake him for wearing all-black or anything like that, pictures and portraits exist, and he looks quite like a normal samurai of the times. Legend or not, all aspects considered, he's quite the interesting figure what with being both ninja-and-samurai all in one.
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*** He inspired not one, but FOUR Ninja in ''[[Naruto]]'': Hiruzen Sarutobi the Third Hokage; Konohamaru Sarutobi, who is basically Naruto's apprentice; Asuma Sarutobi who is Shikamaru's sensei; and finally Sasuke Uchiha himself.
*** Technically five, as we have recently been told that the Third Hokage's father was actually named Sarutobi Sasuke.
** Fuuma Kotarou, Hojo's ninja, most famous for that myth about him luring and killing Hanzou in a naval battle, suicidally.
** Mochizuki Chiyome, Takeda ninja and credited as the founder of ''kunoichi''.
* The SAS, Navy SEALs, Spetznaz etc. are
** Or rather,
* Masaaki Hatsumi, who claims to be part of the last remaining ninpo lineage.
** And yes, they wear the black pajamas. They also wear pajamas in various colors that fit the environment.
* Ninja schools exist, even in America. They're usually specifically trained for the army.
** Besides Ninjutsu, there is another (and uniquely American) martial arts style developped for use in hand-to-hand combat. It's called MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program). You won't find schools in shopping centers that teach MCMAP, though, as only members of the US Navy or Marine Corps are permitted to study MCMAP. MCMAP is unique in that it is the only style in which people train in full combat gear, including training in the use of pocket knives and bayonets as offensive weapons (as opposed to something you might disarm an enemy of and use it against him). Basically, it's Ninjutsu adapted to modern combat.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Ninja Tropes]]
[[Category:Stock Japanese Characters]]
[[Category:Invisibility Index]]
▲[[Category:Ninja]]
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