The first time I saw this series was when I randomly downloaded chapter 47 and looked at the RAW Japanese scans. The art was beautiful, and even though I couldn't understand much, the emotion of the series was strong in every line on every single page. Because of that, I began reading from the very beginning. The art has evolved a lot since the first chapter, but the story, in essence, is about similar people making emotional connections.

There's a certain element of mystery and enough action and plot development to keep the story rolling, but at its base, Nabari is about the characters. When we begin reading, Miharu is a boy who has willfully closed off all of his emotions. He refuses to feel.

However, as the story moves forward, he begins to develop as a character. This evolution is subtle and beautiful to watch. The characters are ever-evolving. Every single one has motivations that are gently revealed throughout the course of the story. However, this isn't a series for shounen-lovers. There isn't much in the way of truly epic battles. Said battles do not take up chapters upon chapters filled to the brim with characters yelling the names of their techniques.

Instead, the story moves along at its own pace, driven by character and emotion. Kamatani Yuki's art speaks volumes to people who take the time to look at it. The characters live and die and laugh and cry so that it breaks your heart to read it. (If you doubt me at all, read chapter 51.)

The characters are all interesting and different. The plot is top-notch. If things move along slowly and clunkily to begin with, I think it's probably because the lead character was precisely the same way. If you read this and take the time to traverse the story with its interesting and developed cast, I doubt you'll come away from it unaffected.

I'd recommend this to anyone.

When asked about an incident where another famous horror writer was accused of ripping off his ideas, Stephen King simply brushed it off. He said that he had no problem with someone creating a story with similar themes and ideas. He compared it to having an apple and a pear—both equally delicious, sweet, and juicy, yet distinct in their flavor and composition. It is true that Kamatani, the mangaka, is a huge Naruto fan-girl and looks up to Kishimoto as a role model. However, her work isn't meant to copy nor is meant to compete with Naruto. Nabari is paying tribute to Kishimoto and Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll) in the same manner that Naruto pays tribute to Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira) and Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball). This is a very common aspect of Japanese culture, since those who come after always want to respect those who have come before. I think those who are comparing Naruto and Nabari and those who insist that there are no similarities ought to keep this in mind. They are similar in themes and ideas, but also are quite distinct. They both have their strong and weak points. So why should we sit here and say one is necessarily better than the other? As a fan of both Naruto and Nabari, I certainly won't. What I think is helpful is to compare and contrast the two series.

I think that anyone who likes Naruto will most likely enjoy Nabari. The mysterious inner demons, unique style of shinobi, interesting adventures, twists, crazy sensei, and tragic back-stories will undoubtedly be familiar. Yet, the abundance of differences that you find in the world of Nabari will pique your interest and keep you hooked. The settings in which the stories take place are quite different. In Naruto, you have an alternate world with what seems like a weird mix of Edo-period, Meiji-period, and present day settings and technologies, most of which give it a more historic than modern flavor. However, Nabari is firmly set in present-day Japanese society, with all its conveniences and conventions. In Naruto, you don't see things like automobiles and firearms, but these are as fundamental to the world of Nabari as shuriken and kunai. I believe it must have been a real challenge to do this, especially when ninja and samurai are obsolete in a modern world of highly skilled snipers and mercenaries. However, Nabari manages to pull it off and the result is a complex setting that is both interesting and eminently believable, despite the occasional over-the-top incidents (ninjutsu presentation at a science fair?!?).

The main character of Nabari, Miharu, has a very different personality from that of Naruto. Ah, how to say, the word apathetic does not do it justice. Rather than merely being “window dressing,” Miharu's reluctance seems to be more of a way to defend himself from further hurt caused by emotional attachment. The indifference is nothing more than a façade; the reality is that he cares more than he lets on. In fact, despite the shell Miharu erects around himself, he comes to have a core set of “important” people whom he is willing to go to great lengths to protect. He also finds himself inextricably linked to one character particular, Yoite, who he wants desperately, above anything else, to save from the darkness and self-destruction. It may seem that he is similar to Naruto because of these latter aspects, but, unlike Naruto, he doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve. They both share tragic, parent-less pasts due to their inner demons, but Miharu receives far more support earlier on while Naruto is left to on his own. I think this key difference reflects an important theme shared between the series. The kanji for “nin” in the word “ninja” has the main meanings “endure” or “bear.” It is because Miharu has the support early on that he strives not to burden others with his problems. Miharu's quiet and reserved way of enduring is just as compelling as Naruto's, but connects the reader to Miharu in an entirely different way. Miharu is quite perceptive and is anything but naïve, thus his approach to problems stands in stark contrast to Naruto's more emotional and direct approach. Also, Kamatani really likes to use Miharu's harmless emotional manipulation as a source of comic relief. Sometimes this can be quite distracting and over-the-top, but it is a trait that also makes Miharu likeable in his own way. Like others have said, the intensity of some of his true feelings really is borderline shounen-ai. In many ways, the Miharu/Yoite relationship mirrors that of Naruto/Sasuke, but in many ways it does not. This is mostly due to the fact that Yoite lacks the same inferiority complex and is far more consigned to what he feels is his own self-destruction. Also of importance is the fact that Yoite is introduced from the start as a serious enemy of Miharu, so the amount of time they actually spend together is quite brief. Yet, in spite of this, strong bonds and connections are built. As for the other supporting characters, their development and stories are also compelling. You have the foreign teacher, Thobari, whose connection with Miharu is quite complex. His eccentricity is sometimes interesting, but at other times it is just stupid. Also, there is female samurai, Shimizu, whose tragic past—involving her older brother's murderous betrayal of the clan—seems to mirror that of Sasuke from Naruto. Yet, she could not possibly be more different. She is headstrong, hot-blooded, emotional, and even quite noisy at times. She seems quite set on taking revenge on her brother at all costs, which is not unlike the primary motives of Sasuke. Usually, I simply detest bimbetts and moes, but there is something about Shimizu that makes her quite likable. Shimizu's brother is also interesting, but seems quite similar to Itachi from Naruto when you learn more of his past.

The art is decent, though the super deformation gets annoying at times. As for action, there is enough to keep to series interesting, but clearly it does not play as much of a role as it does in Naruto. The slice-of-life theme tends to get more face-time in this series. Also, contrary to what some have said, the characters still call out their techniques, so you can expect that along with technique explanations during battle. The story tends to get somewhat stuck at times, but I feel that could be due to the poor quality of some of the scans as well as the disjoint manner in which they are released. Nonetheless, you can still expect an emotional roller coaster, as there are times where you really feel your heart being tugged at. If there is any negative aspects, it is that important details are not explained thoroughly and end up falling through the cracks while trivial ones are sometimes given too much weight. Unlike Naruto, it was planned to be a short series, so perhaps the level of detail was restricted by necessity. I think the are both good and bad aspects to being a planned short series with a definitive end. I do not agree that being a short series necessarily makes it superior to the longer, open-ended series. Still, I definitely think that is one of the better manga out there and well worth the time I invested into reading it.

Originally, I was going to give "Nabari" a bad review. The first half of the series isn't very good. The art is sketchy and rather bad, the characters are shallow and wooden, the story moves so very, very slowly and makes little to no sense, and the relationships form out of thin air. The mangaka doesn't really use the beginning to lay the foundations of the story as much as she could. She just throws the reader little pieces and drags out each chapter as much as possible. The anime only covers the first 5 volumes of the manga, and as so, is pretty bad. I was seriously disappointed and I wasn't going to finish reading the manga. I decided that I had to read the whole thing in order to form a proper opinion of the series. I'm very glad that I did.

Most of the things that were wrong with the first half of the series are fixed in the second half. The art becomes gorgeous, the characters get fleshed out and their motivations are explained (this happens in the last few chapters), and the story is explained in greater detail. "Nabari" is one of those series in which everything moves very slowly until the last few volumes. Everything becomes clear at the end.

I do wish that the mangaka had worked harder in order to grab and keep my attention in the beginning of the series. I had to force myself to keep reading, and that's bad. Also, I still don't understand why some of the characters became so attached to each other. Some of the relationships are so intense that it feels like they're entering shounen-ai territory I'm not sure if this was intentional. It doesn't bother me, but it may bother other readers. More explanations in the beginning would have made the story and character relationships work better for me.

Over-all, I'm enjoying the series. I'm current with all the chapters, and things are moving very quickly. I think "Nabari" is reaching its end, and everything is coming together rather well. I'm very interested to see how the story will end. I'm giving it an 8 because the last half is good enough to make up for the first half being so bad.

... Last updated on December 19th, 2009, 5:37am

If you guys think that another ninja-themed manga other than Naruto is sucks or not original. Too bad, you've just missed this cool and very underrated manga: Nabari no Ou (The Ruler of Nabari)!

The story happened in real-time Japan, not an alternate world. It's a story about Rokujou Miharu, our very 'cute' protagonist (also a little devil, master of indifference, you name it~) who obtained 'shiranbansho,' an art which have power to change the world. And for this power he was being targetted by those who wanted it. These events destroyed his dream to have regular and indifference lifestyle. But there are those who wanted to protect him (Three original protagonist are introduced to the story early!).

The artwork is really neat and balanced, with bit of shounen-ai looks^^ And the use of screentones and effects are very effective and sufficient. Followed with unique plot, cute comedy and action. Even the first chapter is enough to make me put the series in my favourite list. I really looking forward for the next releases!

The Timcanpi group had released the first 3 chapters from the total 4 volume going on Japan. I really wanted this manga to gain more attention and popularity, that's why you have to read it! In hope that we can 'push' the group for new releases^^

There isn't enough of this scanslated for me to be able to leave one of my huge, whopping reviews... But the few chapters that are available are certainly intriguing. I really like the main character, and his determination not to be a hero. I mean, in most stories, the high school kid either rejoices when he discovers that he has superpowers, or he angsts endlessly over his destiny. In this case, the protagonist does neither. He's too laidback and too disconnected to really give a damn. I find that quite cute.

Others have pointed out that this manga has shounen ai undercurrents, and I'm inclined to agree with them. It's nothing obvious, but it's there. You don't have to notice it if you don't want to. (I do, though!)

Sensei is great. I'm really looking forward to finding out more about him as the story progresses. Maybe he can stalk the hero some more, and teach him how to be a real ninja at last...

... Last updated on July 16th, 2007, 9:31pm

No way. The first chapter was enough to hook me. I already know I am going to really like this series. Keep it up scanlators, I am following this one to the end!

... Last updated on July 24th, 2007, 1:38pm

yes, another Ninja theme. Yet, I must say that this series is hilarious. I only wished that there were more releases of this manga or more scanlators doing this series.

As for art and story, the person above me is entirely correct.

This series is amazing. Since I have never read a series that involved ninjas before, so I was hesitant at first. I found out about this series due to an amv that someone had created on Youtube that displayed the anime version. It took me months before I finally watched the anime because I was afraid that I would feel I was wasting my time watching a shounen series, since I usually only watch or read shoujo. The artwork that was displayed through the amy really drew in my attention until I just gave in and watched the series.

After I watched it, I had to read the manga to find out more. At first, the drawings may catch you off guard, since Kamatani Yuhki has an interesting art style, but I eventually found it to be strangely moving. The plot is complex and the deeper meaning in the story seems to be thoughtfully calculated and inspiring. Often you find in manga series that the author tries to make the situations they are portraying more dramatic then necessary, but this did not stand true for this series. The series has just the right amount of seriousness to faithfully portray a true understand of the meaning that is try to get across to the reader. Sure, the comic relieve could be a little better, but the characters' complex personalities are better understood due to all the effort that goes into explaining their thoughts and actions.

Do not pass up this series because you are afraid it will not have enough shoujo or romance for your liking. The deep relationships, mainly Miharu and Yoite's, make up for it. Once you get past the first few chapters, the plot will become more intruiging, and who knows? You might find yourself buying your first manga series because you love it so much (just like me!) I hope this helped someone on the fence to take the chance and read this awesome story.

Although I was initially drawn in by the action aspect and the nice art, I stayed for the characters. Despite what it presents itself as in the beginning, it is really heartfelt and the most appealing aspect is the formation of relationships. As they are made, broken and reformed throughout the manga I saw character growth and the satisfaction from seeing the characters I loved mature throughout the series was overwhelming. The strength of the relationship between Yoite and Miharu as well as Miharu's emotional fortitude especially during the last few chapters made up for all the faults throughout.

Kamatani-sensei may not be able to promise you the happiest ending you want for your favourite character or a conclusion that nicely ties up all the strings that were unravelled but she is able to bring about a depth that makes you feel like it was all worth it. After I cried it out a few times I realized that the open ending attribute to the manga only breeds hope for the future of the beloved characters of Nabari no Ou.

I agree with the people that have said that the beginning was slow; It was, but somehow that just makes me want to know more, and it starts picking up as the series progresses.
As for the people that say the characters lack depth, I liked the fact that they all came in w/ their personalities established and I particularly enjoy Raimei's character, she's so spunky.
It may seem like relationships build out of thin air, but that's how some relationships start out even in real life and sometimes they make no sense to others either.
This is not a fast paced story, but it does have the right amount of drama, friendships, romance and action.
The first couple of chapters might be boring, but the intrigues keep piling up later on....