Update - This show falls off hard mid way through, and putters out to mediocrity. I was not surprised to see the "Show Canceled" notice. I will leave my original comment up below, but now I can only rate it a 6 at best. "You must be as cold as fire, and as hot as ice". They repeated this line throughout the show as if it's profound, to give you an idea of the writing quality. I should have trusted my gut feeling when Episode 1 screamed low quality writing. Whatever hope I had for the show in episodes 2 and 3 quickly faded as most of the remaining episodes are filled with flashbacks, primarily two characters staring off into the sunset as they exposition dump. The plot seemed to be focused on quantity over quality. There were so many side stories and flashbacks jammed into a dozen 20 minute episodes. It wasn't hard at all to follow along, it was just hard to care about any of them. Exposition dump, exposition dump, sad thing happens, are you feeling emotional yet? Boring. Lastly, the battle scenes (which if we're being honest, that's why we're watching a ninja anime show) were lackluster. There were a couple good ones early on, then it's like they realized they didn't have the budget to maintain that quality. Visually meh, and terrible music choices. Original Comment - This starts off as a generic revenge plot done countless times before, but quickly finds its own lane and gets much better. Watch at least two episodes before passing judgment. I'm getting John Wick and Afro Samurai vibes. Unfortunately, it seems Afro Samurai has set an impossibly high standard for rap + fight scenes. This show makes a good attempt, but I imagine a "RZA at home" meme when the lyrics come in. I recommend searching YouTube for "Afro Samurai Resurrection: Bridge Fight" to see a true visual and audio masterpiece in this regard. A decade later and nothing else has yet to come close. At least this show tried. Nonetheless, this show is entertaining and has a good mix of plot and action. After a few episodes, I'm feeling a strong 7-8/10. They could have been more clever with Episode 1 rather than lay out a generic revenge plot the same cliche way it's always laid out. I'll finish the season before giving a final verdict and the rating.

I love the music and fight scenes. Modern day ninjas with Naruto level skills and power. Plus an FBI agent days from either retirement or death. Really great series.

Very average, it's a good story but I feel like I've seen it many times before... a solid cliché at this point. I started to get bored towards the later episodes unfortunately, and I'm also no fan of mecha... Overall 6.5/10.