Ninja Attack!: True Tales of Assassins, Samurai, and Outlaws

Attack! #2

by Hiroko Yoda, Matt Alt, Yutaka Kondo (Illustrator)

Ninja Attack! introduces dozens of unforgettable real-life ninja straight out of the annals of Japanese history--many of whom are all but unknown outside their home country.

Ninja masters. Solo assassins and operatives. Femme fatales as deadly as they were beautiful. Swordfighters out of legend. And the Shogun and warlords who commanded them. Each individual in this graphic novel is profiled with a full-page manga-style drawing and a dossier brimming with top-secret information, including photos, anecdotes, and dramatic stories of the individuals in action.

The book covers ninja clothing styles, the types of weapons that were used, ninja tools, ninja tricks of the trade, and the basics of the ninja diet. It also includes a do-it-yourself tour of ninja related spots in modern Tokyo.

Ninja Attack! is everything you always wanted to know about ninja but were too afraid you'd get a shuriken in the eye to ask.

Legendary ninja covered in this book include:
Book 2 of 3 in the Yokai Attack! series. Others include Yokai Attack! and Yurei Attack!.

Genres: Japan, History, Nonfiction, Martial Arts, Asia, Folklore, Japanese History

208 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2010

Reviews

[Arthur Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as research for the sequel to Tanuki Tango Overdrive.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This informative and entertaining book traces the history of the ninja and discusses some of the secrets of ninjutsu (the art of stealth). Warning: some of the illustrations and information (particularly of the ku-no-ichi, or female ninja) are risqué, even by American standards. Also, a couple of illustrations are more than a little gruesome, so I wouldn't recommend the book to anyone who hates the sight of blood. Overall, I would say this book is probably appropriate for ages 16 and up, or even 18 and up.

[Aoife · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining and light-hearted.
A charming look at the origin of the ninja 'myth' and the most (in)famous individuals associated with the history both historial and fictional.
I found it informative and fun. I particulatly liked the dossiers and how each person was appropriately labelled. They included a nice range from the clearly fictional folk-heroes to legitimately suspicious spymasters of the era.
A quality piece of work and a good gift for any anime or manga fans.

[Julia Tsang · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected no less from the authors of Yokai Attack and Yurei Attack. Somehow this book managed to exceed my already high expectations by a mile. I am impressed.

...In all honesty, I really liked this book. Besides the usual humorous, detailed descriptions for each of the historical figures mentioned, the illustrations were gorgeous too (really liked the art style for some reason). I also found the Illustrated Ninja parts (that gave more info on ninja clothing, tactics/weapons they used, houses they lived in, etc...) really informative and interesting - I wish the other two books had these sections in them too. The only thing that bothers me about this book is the fact that Nobunaga and Ieyasu both had an entry while Hideyoshi didn't, so the Unifiers of Japan trio isn't complete, but then again, this is a book (at least mainly) about ninjas, so...

Favorite quote from this book so far: "Hobbies - fashion design, oenophilia, obliterating all rivals."

[Pieter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A list of ninja-like people in Japanese mythology and history whom form the basis of many modern popular media representation. The authors suggest it gives true tales, and in a few spots it clearly differentiates between myth and fact, but in others it keeps things muddied. It is an entertaining read for those looking for an introduction to the basic tales from various characters in modern media. I wouldn't treat it as hard fact though.

Note that other reviewers noted that the few women in the book are all depicted rather sexual, which I feel is a bit of an exaggeration. Not that it necessarily false, although there is one female samurai in full armour as well. It is just that there are only three sections on women, so there are about four comic-style pictures of women ninja. Although I do feel that picture of a woman fleeing kind of naked with her disguise being cut into ribbons is a bit odd.

[Renoir · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was very fun to read, but factually-speaking it's not very good. They just dump facts, lore, mythology, and folktales in one mixed jumble without differentiating or caveating which is based on "credible source" (e.g contemporary eyewitness accounts), and which are based on texts that might be "dubious/less credible" (e.g any texts that are written decades or centuries after the fact, even texts claiming to be "real" biographies).

So if you don't take it seriously, it's harmless and a hoot to read about. But if you actually want to learn something, take everything in this book with giant spoonfuls of salt.

[XZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this took me forever to read. The contents are pretty interesting though~

The Illustrated Ninja parts at the back I liked the most, because I've been to Tokyo, Iga, and Koka, so I've seen a good number of ninja museums. Since most of the museums had Japanese tags though, I'm happy to find an English explanation here :D

[Lieke · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a pet peeve of mine to see male warriors portrayed wearing full armor and female warriors wearing what is basically lingerie. This book takes things one step further by portraying all female ninja in the nude, except for a ribbon around their breasts or some fishnet stockings.
Why not show these women as the bad ass warriors that they were?

[Timothy Pitkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great book that not only talks about historical ninjas but also about the timeline, techniques, and other historical facts about shinobi. Nice pictures and graphics and I do like that the book does also mention many the legends and other fictional aspects of the figures presented in the books. It also does acknowledge the difficulty of trying to separate fact from fiction.

[Danielle Shroyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and accessible book profiling ninja and ninja-adjacent characters. The authors used reliable sources, many of them Japanese language sources.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cool

Good book about the ninja, very informative. although I wish Hattori hanzo got a bit more pages. But overall good book

[Brent Millis · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCELLENT, fun book of profiles, styles, and history.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a lot of information in this book about different Samurai, Ninja etc., over a long period of time in Japanese history plus some great illustrations.

[Star · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt like reading fun history book

[Stephanie Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations were great and the story telling too. I just don't believe this book was interesting to me. Others may really enjoy it.

[Jansen Wee · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy, light read - good humoured, and modern day witticism and style. Covers largely on the more renown ninjas, as well as others that actually work in tandem with, or were their masters (employers). Each portrayal is done in a dossier style, with a manga illustration depicting a defining moment of that particular individual's career as a ninja, or some prodigious feat. And each would touch upon "The Man", "The Moment of Glory", and "The End". Informative bits in between these 'dossiers' also let on about ninja apparel, equipment, weapons, tactics, and even what they eat on missions. Dispels the common misconception that ninjas were merely assassins. They were more intelligence operatives that were able to operate clandestinely, by blending into whichever setting they find themselves. The narrow shadow-killer image being a product of cultural filters grabbing onto to what sensationalizes the popular imagination than fact. While I would not question the historical facts surrounding their specialized area of Japanese research, their casual reference to history elsewhere is wanting. Like Washington crossing the Potomac. (Its the Delaware that he crossed to ambush Hessian troops serving under the British). And also putting Alexander the Great as a Roman! But all in all, if you can ignore such irritations, its still a fun read.

[Dergrossest · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suspect that this book about Ninjas was written by Ninjas since it claims that there are no Ninjas today. What better way to conceal the existence of Ninjas than to claim there aren’t any? My suspicions as to the book’s Ninja authorship are further heightened by the fact that it reads more like the product of a martial arts expert than a literary master. It is organizationally odd, stylistically over-casual and relatively content-lite. Nevertheless, it contains some cool graphics, interesting snippets on the fascinating history of Japan, and a judicious dose of sex and violence.

Perfect for a pre-teen boy (there is not that much sex and violence), but not recommended for anyone else.

[Stephen Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some occasional annoying and bizarre mistakes (Alexander the Great referred to as a "Roman"), but it is a solid collection of entertaining tales and biographies about ninja. I particularly like how the book emphasized that ninja were more often used as spies and irregular soldiers than assassins (the more common Western depiction).

The book is accurate insofar as it corroborates what I've read elsewhere about many of the personalities mentioned and actual academic histories on ninjutsu and unconventional warfare in Japan. The information is presented in an accessible, entertaining, and easy-to-read format.

[Puty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice and fun to read without keeping facts & figures aside. It tells us not only about ninjas but also their rivals, masters, and also the criminal ninjas (called Ninja Gone Bad!) This book gives information about the glory moments and the downfall of each subject. It fulfills my expectation explaining shuriken and now I have an idea about how ninja in popular culture is related to magic scroll and mystical toad! (hint: get to the last quarter of the book ;))

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read about true life Ninja who actually existed. Some of the histories got interconnected and confusing but I mainly read it for the cool bits they had about Ninja weapons, tricks of the trade, original dress, and how some of their houses were set up. I'll have to watch Ninja Assassin again now.

[CK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you have any books that have died from mysterious accidents, or simply disappeared? Then you might already have this book.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

[The Lotus Eater · Rating 3 out of 5]

True tales of crazy Japanese ninja that would appeal to manga and anime fans. It's colourful, informative and has a great glossary.

[Sae-chan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skimming through the book, I thought it looked entertaining. But when I read it, I felt it was really tedious. I end up not reading it, just looking at the pictures and read a bit here and there.

[Ari Karishma Dewi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't believe that I know several people in this book just from my habit read historical manga. Lolol

[Sparkie Allison]

Enjoyed reading the history of Ninja. It seems, however, that though they say there are no more Ninja I would think there are and we just don't hear about them for obvious reasons.

[Brian Samaniego · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very light, informative, and fun read. Gives an interesting insight to those times in Japan.

[Eustacia Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute and interesting book about ninja's (through lots of biographies). I got this for my little brother (who's turned nine) and he loves it!

[Sorobai · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice and funny book with a bit of information. It's not an encyclopedia far from it but has a funny tone of language and it's quite entertaining at that for a younger reader.

[Acha · Rating 4 out of 5]

based on history, makes me even curious about super human training in the past!!