Shinobi Life Vol. 1

One of my favorite manga to read. I wish the story never ended. Can't wait to see if there's more from this writer.

I love it. I can’t wait to buy all of the volumes. The book is in great condition

I loved the book it was exciting invigorating I just wish I also bought two also it was in perfect condition

This is one of my favorite mangas series, I'm glad it is finally being licensed in the US! It's a really sweet shoujo story, with plenty of romantic tension, but it also has some awesome shinobi action and time travelling thrown in for a different twist. The art and character design is really excellent as well. I would highly recommend it.

If you are looking for a great manga romance then look no further. This series is sooo good that you won't want to put it down. As soon as I picked it up and read a few pages I instantly fell in love with Kagetora. I would explain the story, but it really should be read and not explained. The summary of the story would just turn you off from reading it, it certainly did for me until I glanced at the beautiful artwork of the drawings. (Besides, I don't want to be the one to spoil it) Once you read book one you will definitely want to read more, it is just not a book to ignore!Word of warning though....the series is on hiatus for right now since the publishing company, Tokypop, went out of business. One through 7 has been written in English, but sadly fans are having to wait for 8, 9, and 10 for the others to be published from Japanese to English. So, don't get into it if you think you can't handle the wait!

Shinobi Life is a manga series about an adolescent boy who falls through a time “tear” and travels from historical Japan to the present. Upon his arrival he meets a girl who is the descendant of the princess that he was charged with protecting from his original era. This girl just so happens to look a lot like the princess. Lots of story elements unfold and the two end up falling in love.Time travel is a HUGE aspect of this series, occurring way more than necessary. I feel like the characters are always going backwards and forwards and backwards again; it’s a gimmick that gets old quickly. At varying points in the story I felt that the author could have taken a route separate to time traveling that would have led to the same overall finale. Maybe I’m just upset that she didn’t get more creative with the whole concept. The tedious nature of these “time jumps” began to bore me far sooner than I had anticipated.The characters themselves are nothing truly special. They follow your standard shōjo tropes making them invariably lackluster. The female protagonist is a spoiled girl who has two guys that fall for her, the good boy and the bad boy. The bad boy has mommy and daddy issues that contribute to his douche-bag nature. But the woman that he cares for so fondly for helps him realize the error of his ways so he vows to become a “better person.” Meanwhile, the good boy follows said female around like a lost puppy until they reach their inevitable happily ever after. You also have your badash villain boy who is more handsome than the other two, but also has issues stemming from a horrid childhood that makes him the monster. Does he mend his ways? Why of course he does! Isn’t that the standard shōjo way of life?I didn’t absolutely hate everything about the series. The ninja backdrop that makes up the past for two of the male characters is actually pretty interesting. I don’t think I’ve come across a manga series with such a motif before; at least not in a shōjo romance type series set in modern times. These facets provide two of the male characters, Hitaki and Kagetora, with much more depth than any of the other people in the series. It explains the conflict characteristic of the story’s development and is probably the best written portions out of the whole darn thing.The art was immensely disappointing when I first started reading Shinobi Life. It felt very sloppy and rushed. The expressions on each of the character’s faces were uninspired. I really didn’t care for the way that the mangaka drew their eyes whenever they were feeling sad or sorrowful. I’m not sure if she just didn’t know how to express it, or if she believed that a pile of lines would amount for something called countenance. But whatever it was, it wasn’t good, however. I did see improvement as the series went on. The lines and images began to have a crisper feeling to them and the character’s moods were discernible in a more fluid way. It’s still not the best thing out there, but it was far better than the first chapter of the first volume.I will give the series as a whole three stars, which is an entire star more than it deserves. Art improvement and an interesting premise are worth more than nothing, I believe. Also, I would be lying if I said that I didn’t get invested in what would happen next. It was compelling to an extent.

Kagetora, a ninja from the past who is sworn to protect Princess Beni, suddenly enters the modern world and runs into Beni Fujiwara: a descendant of Princess Beni who looks exactly like her! Kagetora mistakenly thinks she is his "Beni Hime" and pledges his devotion to protect her. When he returns to the past and finds the real Beni Hime and realizes that they're not the same person (and yes, you knew that was coming) he plans to abandon Beni, but his Beni Hime says she doesn't want to be princess anymore, so he decides to come back to the future with Beni.Shinobi Life is not the typical "two high school students meet and fall in love" shojo plot which makes it very refreshing to read. Also, there is a lot more to this plot than meets the eye. It has serious moments, but it also has a very sweet side. And it also has some very beautiful artwork. Very well worth the read!