Copyright © Youmex / Toshiba Emi

One night in feudal Japan, the Kabusu Clan attacks and destroys the Byakuro Clan castle. They hope to capture the Byakuro's baby princess alive, but a ninja manages to escape with the royal infant.
Years later, a group of young ninjas is preparing for their final test before being recognized as true Byakuro ninjas. Their instructor, Kaoru, tells them their mission is to sneak into the old Byakuro castle and retrieve some scrolls. They are divided into pairs: bright and cheerful Sakura with Pochi, who seems to have a minor crush on her. Matsuri, who possesses great physical strength but is afraid of frogs, teams up with Hayashi, an expert with explosives. Soft-spoken Yume, the cook in the group, is only too happy to find out her partner is Kaoru himself.
Unbeknownst to the ninjas, three mercenaries watch the procession with great interest. Jame, Nikko and Matsuzaka have been hired by the Kabusu Clan to capture the Byakuro princess, who has grown up to be one of the young ninjas. The problem is they have no idea which one is her; their only clue to her identity is a cross-shaped birthmark on her shoulder. Not wanting to reveal their hands prematurely, Jame decides to observe the group for the time being.
Soon, the usual competitive spirit between Sakura and Matsuri causes them to split up and travel with their partners only. The Kabusu mercenaries seize the chance to strike at Sakura and Pochi. The two Byakuro ninjas are victorious at first, but when Matsuzaka invokes his Final Summoning, the battle turns against them. Only the timely arrival of Kaoru allows everyone to beat a hasty retreat.
Meanwhile, Matsuri and Hayashi arrive at the checkpoint to old Byakuro territory. They try to cross the checkpoint without incident, but fail when Matsuri punches a custom official that gropes her. "Fortunately" for them, Sakura and others arrive, still under hot pursuit by Matsuzaka. The ensuing mayhem quickly destroys the checkpoint and all the guards. With a coordinated assault, the group is able to defeat Matsuzaka and gain entrance to the old Byakuro domain.
From there on the story picks up its pace as Sakura and others break into Byakuro castle. Look for the struggle between a giant frog (don't ask) and a towering mecha — the whole sequence is a spoof on GODZILLA films. The creative minds at Youmex successfully blend action, mystery, comedy and cute girls into two entertaining episodes.
The animation is good, with decent action sequences. Character designer Eiji Suganuma, who also came up with the story and directed it, gave his characters a mix of cuteness, coolness and sensuality. As a ninja flick, NINJA CADETS! has unusually bright and cheery visuals, perhaps to emphasize its comedic nature. On the other hand, the music falls on the flat side, and is likely to be unnoticed by most viewers.
The dub version is surprisingly good. The American voices fit their roles well, and capture their character personalities with just the right touch. They also demonstrate skills in handling the trickier aspects of voice acting — long screams, expressing angst or cuteness, and convincing grunts that match the actions on screen. Comparing the subbed and the dubbed version, I found the English talents are on par with their Japanese counterparts cue for cue. Of special mention are Sandy Fox and Lia Sargent, who voiced Sakura and Matsuri respectively. Ms. Fox's performance is every bit as lively and cute as Konishi Hiroko's, while Ms. Sargent's angry Matsuri is quite memorable indeed.
My two complaints about the dub are the occasional stumbles in pronouncing the name Kaoru (Kah-or-loo). The cast has a tendency to say "Cow-roo" instead. Also, at the scene where Kaoru orders a retreat, Jack Cox's voice sounds surprisingly calm and unconcerned, which jars with the character's expression. Overall, the quality of Mr. Cox and his colleagues' production is very good. Kudos goes to the casting job, and to the direction of Eric Sherman, who also wrote the script.
If you are looking for a light-hearted adventure, look no further. NINJA CADETS! has all the right ingredients for an enjoyable viewing experience.

Released in North America by AnimeWorks, a division of Media Blaster
60 minutes
$24.95
(VHS Color/Stereo)
AWVD-9930 (sub) / AWVD-9931 (dub)
ISBN#: 1-890228-51-6 (sub) / 1-890228-52-4 (dub)
UPC#: 6-31595-99303-5 (sub) / 6-31595-99313-4 (dub)
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