Ninja vs. Gokudo Anime Gets a Same Day English Dub

Amazon’s Prime Video began streaming a same day English dub for the anime Ninja vs. Gokudo, based on Shinsuke Kondō’s manga, on Tuesday. The dub is directed by Chris Van Rensburg at Transperfect Media, with Azelle le Roux adapting the script.

The anime premiered the same day on NTV in Japan, with new episodes following every week, and it is streaming exclusively worldwide on Prime Video.

It comes from Studio DEEN, with Toshinori Watanabe directing and Keiichirō Ōchi handling series composition. The music has real flair too, as MIYAVI performs the opening theme Sweet Disaster and Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas handle the ending song.

The premise is gleefully over the top. It imagines that human history has been shaped by an endless war between ninjas and yakuza, and follows two members of these rival tribes as they tear through modern Tokyo to decide which side comes out on top.

Kondō launched the manga on Kodansha’s Comic Days in 2020, and Kodansha USA publishes it in English. A smartphone game based on the series is also on the way this fall.

My take: A loud, bloody clash between ninjas and yakuza is exactly the kind of unapologetically silly action I enjoy. A same day dub is a great bonus for fans who want to jump in right away.