Nintama Rantaro The Movie trailer suggests Hansuke Doi gets kidnapped by a group of suspicious ninjas
Michelle Topham 
Oh wow! It is probably close to 15 years since I watched an episode of the comedy ninja anime Nintama Rantaro but, seeing the new trailer for the upcoming full-length Nintama Rantaro The Movie just brought those fun days hurtling back.
For those who have never watched the Ajia-do Animation Works anime series, it premiered way back in 1993, had a bunch of dubbed episodes on cable TV at one point, and is still releasing new episodes in Japan today.
(I checked and, as of late 2019, there were more than 2,000 episodes out but, weirdly, it’s almost impossible to find any outside Japan except a few episodes here and there on YouTube and some via links on Reddit).
2024 Nintama Rantaro The Movie trailer
The new movie based on the anime series is called Nintama Rantaro the Movie: The Dokutake Ninja Team’s Strongest Strategist (aka Gekijōban Nintama Rantaro Dokutake Ninjatai Saikyō no Gunshi), and will premiere in movie theaters in Japan in December.
It is the first film from the franchise since 2011, when Gekijō-ban Anime Nintama Rantarō Ninjutsu Gakuen Zenin Shutsudō! no Dan was released.
You won’t learn much from the new Nintama Rantaro The Movie teaser trailer, as it’s less than 30 seconds long, but it does suggest Hansuke Doi, Rantaro’s home room teacher, has been kidnapped by a group of suspicious looking ninjas.
We then hear one of the first-grade boys say “What happened to the teacher?”, followed by the narrator asking “What is the true nature of the white darkness that approaches the Ninjutsu Academy?”
The movie is apparently based on author Kazuhisa Sakaguchi’s 2013 novel, which tells the story of Hansuke Doi losing a battle and, as a result, becoming a teacher at Ninjutsu Academy.
Sakaguchi is also writing the screenplay.
Studio Ajia-do is back to animate the film, as is director Masaya Fujimori, who also directed the 2011 film (which you can find if you scout around online).
The plot of Nintama Rantaro
The anime series and now-films are based on the hit manga series by Sōbē Amako. A series that only finished publishing in 2019.
It tells the story of 10-year-old Rantaro Inadera, a student at a mountainside ninja school and his would-be ninja friends.
If I remember correctly from oh so long ago, the anime is “very Japanese” with slapstick-style comedy that’s surprisingly funny, and with the mini-ninjas constantly involved in crazy escapades that leave you asking “Why?”
There’s no word yet on if/when Nintama Rantaro The Movie: The Dokutake Ninja Team’s Strongest Strategist will be getting a western release, but it’s probably not likely.
Which, again, will eventually and sadly leave you scouring the Internet for a “dodgy” version.
But, at least you can watch the Nintama Rantaro The Movie trailer below, and get your hopes up, right?
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Steven Reynolds 