I don't think anyone knew just how big of a franchise "Senran Kagura" would be at first. When the first fighter video-game came out, it seemed to be just another among dozens of B-grade anime-stylized Japanese game, alongside other beat-em-ups and RPGs struggling to stand out in an industry where mid-sized developers were disappearing and small indie-teams were multiplying. "Senran Kagura" only had one real hook: the characters were all cute teenage girl ninjas, whose clothing would explode after a devasting attack. Through perseverance, the series not only had multiple sequels, but also spin-off games in genres like "cooking," third-person shooters, and pinball, as well as expansions in trading cards, art books, manga, and of course, anime.The 2013 series "Senran Kagura - Ninja Flash!" was animated by Artland, a studio with a varied output. But "fanservice action-comedy" an unusual choice for them. I wasn't expecting much from the series going in, but came out pleasantly surprised, and I believe the studio had a lot to do with it's strengths. Of course, it isn't THAT good, but that's a limitation of the shallow source-material. Either way, Funimation was clearly proud of their release, with a strong English dub and a suggestive dub-step track used in their promotional trailers and Bluray menus (complete with the sound of sloshing water). As a disclaimer: their release includes the 12-episode series, but not the OVA's, despite previous advertising claiming they did, a massive blunder by their licensing team. The bare-bones story stars Asuka, a grand-daughter of a legendary shinobi ninja, and herself a student at a secret ninja school. But compared to her talented peers, she's a bit clumsy and lacks confidence, seemingly without the necessary talent expected of her. But she tries hard, and on occasion, shows signs of untapped potential that can lead her to becoming a powerful ninja. A ninja story wouldn't be much without a powerful enemy. About half-way through the series, we stop watching the girls' antics at school to focus on this group, a rival ninja school that trains "evil ninja." Yes, the show literally calls their two sides the "good" and "evil" ninja... either they were self-aware, or too lazy to think of a better name. And the plot thickens when events take place to fullfill a secret ninja prophecy. Will the girls learn the power of friendship in time to save the day?The early episodes seem very self-aware, with low stakes and sexy fanservice a-plenty. The five leading girls are cute, with distinct personalities, and bouncing boobs as big as their heads. That fanservice can be a bit distracting; boobs bounce a bit too much, and one girl (Katsuragi) has a tendency to grope her girlfriends, fondling Asuka's breasts three times just in the first episode. On the other spectrum, a handful of scenes impressed me with their riske-ness. Knowing exactly what they're doing, the show occasionally spins the theme on its head. One great example is when big sushi-rolls are brought as a treat: we see a closeup of the girls putting them in their mouth, their tongue gently and bashfully eating the long tube of rice. In the next moment, their male ninja teacher (one of the few males in the show) comes in and is offered a roll: the camera gives a close-up of him eating it in exactly the same way.Knowing to not take itself seriously, and pushing its fanservice to ridiculous but mostly non-offsensive heights, makes the show much more watchable than it would be otherwise. Funimation's English dub takes a few liberties to add even more jokes: a narrator that often explains ninja-moves and jargon will often mention the show's benefit of T&A to the viewer, even though the Japanese dub never does. Personally, I felt the dub was all the more stronger for it, even if it isn't 100% faithful. And miraculously, the show never shows nipples, and that lack of nudity helps make it fun for the whole family! (That was a joke: please don't watch this with your kids... or your parents...).
Sadly, when the show takes itself a bit more seriously with the "evil ninja" focus, I grew less interested, despite the different ending themes in the credits for multiple episodes. It had potential: the evil ninjas train in a school that lacks the funding or compasion the good ninjas have. Most of the students were denied entry to the good ninja academy, due to past incidents of violence or trauma from bullies or family. None of the girls are actually evil: they just took the side that accepted them. But with a cast of nearly a dozen girls, the background history of each character doesn't succeed in making them feel any less one-dimensional. Whenever a flashback came up, I rolled my eyes, thinking "oh, another traumatic past." One example of a misopportunity is the difference in wealth and resources between the good and bad ninja. One girl on the bad side brings it up, and seems to have a good argument. But she KEEPS bringing it up, every time she's on screen, and reduces it to a recurring joke of her love of bean sprouts, a cheap but nutritious food that increases in price. When I should have felt sympathy, I just felt annoyed. The girls I cared for the most wasn't based on their background, but just whomever seemed the cutest.How's the action? "Ninja Flash!" is effectively a shonen-style show, with floaty physics and increasingly dangerous moves without the threat of anyone dying. Each character yells out their ninja-art before each kick or jump. Some girls use bizarre weapons, ranging from katana swords, to umbrellas, to rifle-canons that peak out from nowhere under a girl's skirt. And there are transformations, where the girls magically change from their school-uniforms to clothes appropriate for fighting... sort of. Katsuragi's fighting suit is just her school uniform with the buttons undone, but magically never opening up enough to show her breasts. And their ultimate last-attempt form is to fight in their underwear. Overall, I don't think action fans will be satisfied. But it depends on your personal tastes and what else you've watched. "Ninja Flash!" basically has the depth and storytelling skill of "Naruto," but with more bouncy boobs and comedy to match. So basically, it's "Naruto," but much better. By itself, it isn't great, but can be decent if you compare it to the right shows.Visually, the character designs vary wildly. The franchise has dozens of girls with distinct silhouettes, made through unique hair-styles, bold color-palettes, crazy clothes, tattoos, and more. It's a common problem in shonen-anime, and as expected, the top main characters look good, but everyone else just looks silly. Animation quality varies a lot too: I expected it to be poor, and most of it is, barely meeting the minimum expected quality of a show in 2013. But occasionally, especially during action early and late in the show, we get a little better output with facial expressions, action choreography, and yes, even boob-bounce. It's a shame the animation couldn't keep that quality throughout, but the little we did get puts it slightly above average to other anime. "Senran Kagura - Ninja Flash!" might be stupid, but it is fun. Stand-alone for newcomers to enjoy without experience of the games, it looks good enough to be preferable to those otherwise poor-looking video games, while taking full advantage of the silliness of the premise. It should have known better than to try to be serious in the second half, but the fun first-half still remains. If you're in the right mood, you can have a ball with it, and I wouldn't mind seeing the girls again... maybe not fighting for the fate of the town, but just a light-hearted trip to the beach instead.