Long ago the great Ninja tribes worked together to create a scroll with all their wisdom and power, the Shinra Banshou. They discovered that it was too dangerous, sealed it in a single person, and killed them. 10 years later it reappeared in another human. It has proved to be too much for any one to handle and the person who is endowed with the knowledge and power dies instantly, as soon as they release it within themselves. Now Miharu has become the next bearer of this burden. Miharu is so apathetic that he makes slackers look good.

Highlights

The series opens with a flashback were our main character is very young, around 4, and he is being protected by Thobari Kumohira (Miharu's guardian). They are surrounded by hundreds of Ninja and all looks lost. Suddenly, with a bright light and a scream, we are transported 10 years into the future, to the present. We find Miharu working in his grandmother's Okonomiyaki restaurant while Thobari is getting onto him about being reckless and the possible harm that could come to him.

The story develops and the real plot is revealed. Miharu is attacked by a group of Ninjas and discovers that he has the secret art of Shinra Banshou within him. This power begins to come out and Thobari and another class mate, Kouichi, steps in and help protect Miharu and the attacking Ninja from death. With the discovery of this hidden secret, Miharu make it very clear that he does not want it or want anyone to help him. Miharu is not only apathetic he is also a pacifist who does not want anyone to help or die for him.

In their search to find a way to help train or remove the Shinra Banshou from Miharu they come across another Ninja, Yoite, with a dark power that is used to kill others at will. Yoite, finds a way to make a connection with Miharu and makes agreement to help him. This secret relationship sets up a complex working of the story during the remainder of these episodes.

Overall

My first thought was, oh no, not another Naruto. There is a lot about this series that mirrors Naruto, the grouping of 3 early teens, 2 boys and 1 girl and a male leader or sensei. A boy with a great power sealed within him and a group of ruthless Ninjas out to get that power. There are also a great deal of other things that mimic Naruto, but as I got into the series I found the originality within and was very pleased with it. 

The fact that Miharu is the consummate slacker with this hidden desire to protect those people around him is a pleasant change of pace, but at the same time that apathy was very frustrating. 

The writing was strong enough to get me past the initial appropriation of another super star Anime series, and once I began to become more involved with the story, I was hooked. There is a wonderful development of these characters and their relationship to each other. These characters are bonded to one another in ways that seem very natural and non-contrived. There is also a clearly eastern way of making the adversaries seem as though they could also be right. The antagonists are just as human and devoted to their cause, which makes them just as right as the protagonist. This is one of the devises that the Japanese love to use that helps create these wonderful stories.

By the end of these 13 episodes I found myself wanting so much more. I know that I will be very excited to discover how this series is brought to a close. Nabari is one of those series that asks deeper questions of life, but also provides simple pleasures of action and adventure.

ComicsOnline gives Nabari: The Complete Series, Part One 4.5 out of 5 Kinjutsu Scrolls.