History Main / NINJA

* Virtually everything about '' VideoGame/{{Ninjala}} revolves around this trope; fashion, culture, and especially the titular sport. An organization is built with the sole purpose of preserving ninja history and the sport and the scientifically enhanced {{Bubblegum}} serves to unlock the potential of any kid with ninja blood. The same gum seems to have a FountainOfYouth effect on adults.

* In ''Fanfic/MyHuntsmanAcademia'', Blake and Ren are TheSneakyGuy of their respective teams. They specialize in ambushes, CombatPragmatism, and vanishing without any warning. The [[AchievementSystem "achievement"]] for fighting alongside Blake, "WASHOOM! Ninja skills!" lampshades this.

** ''VideoGame/MegaManZXAdvent'' gives us Siarnaq, the one holding Model P (And that you later copies the data thus gaining his powers. His voice is robotic and monotone, kind of reflecting how a shinobi should control their emotions... That is, until you hear him [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi1xbDivZA0 laugh]]. [[spoiler:Perhaps it has to do with him being betrayed by his friends and left for dead in his past?]]

* The Shaw Brothers kung fu movie ''Heroes of the East'' features a ninja. Early in the film, the Japanese wife (Yuko Mizuno) of the kung fu hero (played by Gordon Liu) gives him a demonstration of ninjutsu. He is not impressed. Later, the hero fights the wife's old boyfriend, an actual ninja (Yasuaki Kurata) and out-tricks him at his own game. In both cases, the ninjutsu is based more on movies (Japanese ones rather than American ones): sneak attacks, hokey peasant disguises, gunpowder, etc., but does involve some real weapons. Even the costume is based on Japanese theater. The film subverts several ninja conventions: one, the ninja is portrayed as a man of skill and honor; two, the ninja is not out to kill anyone; three, his allegiance lies with his martial arts teacher, not a feudal lord.

-->[[https://youtu.be/YiCzTGRqCQ4?t=122'''Trixie''':Oh my god! Was that a ninja?!\\
'''Pops''': More like a ''non''ja. Terrible what passes for a ninja these days.]]

* In the ''Film/SpeedRacer'' live action movie, a ninja appears and attacks the Racer family... but he commits the sheer mistake of going against [[ActionDad Pops]] [[PapaWolf Racer]]. Cue an hilariously awesome CurbStompBattle - with the ''ninja'' at the receiving end!
-->'''Trixie''': Was that a ninja?!\\
'''Pops''': More like a ''non''ja. Terrible what passes for a ninja these days.

* Ditto with ''Ninja2009'' and its sequel ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2458106/ Ninja II: Shadow Of A Tear]]''

* A notable [=1980s=] ninja game is Irem's ''Ninja Spirit'', which was one of the earliest to feature RealTimeWeaponChange.

* In ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'', the girls of Hippo Team are mentioned as having had ninjitsu training before the start of the series and they get some mileage out of that training in their sensha-do matches. Taking advantage of their StuG III's low profile, they regularly engage in ambush tactics and camo to score some impressive kills; using [[BlingOfWar their ill-placed sashimonos]] to great advantage against St. Gloriana in their practice match, burying themselves in the snow to get a kill on Pravda's flag tank in their match and using ninja camouflage blankets in [[Anime/GirlsUndPanzerDerFilm the film]] twice in the theme park to great effect.

Compare TheHashshashin, the Middle-Eastern counterpart. They're likely to be {{Stealthy Mook}}s.

{{Sub Trope}}s include:
* CatNinja
* CyberNinja
* ConservationOfNinjutsu
* GratuitousNinja
* HighlyVisibleNinja
* McNinja
* NinjaBrat
* NinjaLog
* NinjaMaid
* NinjaRun
* PiratesVersusNinjas
* StockNinjaWeaponry
* TechnicolorNinjas

* ''VideoGame/DungeonsAndDragonsOnline'' offer the Ninja Spy, a Monk that uses KiAttacks, can turn invisible, use a blinding SmokeBomb, and poison enemies.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Shinobi}}'' series features hero Joe Musashi, who battles [[ConservationOfNinjutsu scores of enemy ninja]] in a variety of different situations, including while being on a ninja surfboard in the third game. Spin-off game ''Shadow Dancer'' starred Hayate as its heroic ninja, the [=PS2=] reboot starred Hotsume, and second spin-off ''/VideoGame/NightshadeKunoichi'' has the kunoichi Hibana.

* Sam Fisher in ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' is repeatedly confused for one by guards. Might go to the point of a running gag as whenever the topic is brought up in conversation the other guard calls them an idiot saying they don't exist. Possibly played for laughs as interrogating a certain guard will prompt him to ask you to kill him with your blowpipe.
** At one point in the first game, Lambert explicitly refers to Sam as a "SIGINT Ninja".

* The very obscure ''VideoGame/ReturnOfTheNinja'' is a SpiritualSuccessor of Tenchu in UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor, having you sneak through stages to avoid the next screen being filled with mobs and losing rank points for being detected. A ShoutOut it makes to Tenchu comes in the cards you receive after completing the stages or trading with a friend, where some cards makes visual reference to tools you use in Tenchu.

Or so popular legend has it. While ninjas did indeed exist, their reputation for invisibility and infiltration more likely stemmed from their willingness to dress as members of a lower social class when no one else in Japan would consider doing such a thing. Their "invisibility" was part ''psychological'' in cause -- by dressing as a peasant, they were ignored and dismissed, or [[BeneathNotice never even noticed at all]], by the upper classes, a useful thing despite the oft fierce travel restrictions on the lower classes. Superior knowledge of survival skills, a lot of actual stealth, poisons, assassination techniques and [[CombatPragmatist unorthodox tactics]] (added to the fact that the ninjas actively encouraged the spread of rumors of their magical abilities) were the most important though. A popular myth states that ninjas came from lower classes (at least compared to the {{samurai}}) and they were often hired to do the dirty deeds honorable samurai would not do, but in reality ninjas were usually samurai, or in some rare cases, mercenaries who work for samurai. Ninjas were mainly used for espionage and sabotage, and sometimes assassination.

Ninjas were also quite skilled with a variety of tools, such as the multipurpose ''kunai'' [[strike: knife]] trowel. Plainly put, while a [[{{Stereotype}} stereotypical]] ninja would [[RoofHopping jump around on rooftops]] in [[TechnicolorNinjas ridiculous clothing]], a real ninja most likely would [[BoringButPractical simply infiltrate the household staff]] [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim and poison a meal.]] Among many other things, a good ninja [[Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy always knew where his]] ''[[Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy sanjaku tenugui]]'' [[Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy was]].

** Later chapters reveal that there is an [[spoiler: entire village dedicated to training children into Ninja who sell their services,]] and the S-Class hero [[SuperSpeed Flashy Flash]] as well as Sonic were [[products of this village. It is run by a [[NoOneSeesTheBoss Mysterious Leader]], who is built up to be light-years ahead of Sonic and Flash in skill...and gets off-screened by Saitama.]]

** Later chapters reveal that there is an [[spoiler: entire village dedicated to training children into Ninja who sell their services]], and the S-Class hero [[SuperSpeed Flashy Flash]] was [[spoiler: a part of in his youth. The village also comes with a [[NoOneSeesTheBoss Mysterious Leader]], who is built up to be light-years ahead of Sonic and Flash in skill...and gets off-screened by Saitama.]]

* ''Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe'' by Creator/RobertAsprin and Creator/GeorgeTakei features a member of a surviving ninja clan in the future. It actually [[DidTheResearch averts most of the usual tropes]].

** In ''Discworld/ThiefOfTime'', the Monastery of Wen the Eternally Surprised has ninja-like martial artist monks working as TimePolice. Lu-Tze is highly contemptuous of anyone running around rooftops in black outfits ("others trained them, I just tried to undo the damage"), and his own strategy of passing unnoticed as a humble sweeper is actually closer to the real ninja.
** Similarly, in ''Discworld/InterestingTimes'', we first see HighlyVisibleNinja in the imperial palace of [[{{Wutai}} the Agatean Empire]], working as bodyguards. (They're apparently pretty good fighters, but much too flamboyant and not as good as a bunch of very, very experienced[[note]]i.e. geriatric[[/note]] barbarian heroes.) Then, later, protagonist Rincewind discovers that if he just wears a farmer's hat; nobody looks at him.

* ''WesternAnimation/PJMasks'' has Night Ninja, one of the original three [[RoguesGallery Nighttime Villains]]. He is supported by a group of smaller ninja's called Ninjalinos. As a typical ninja, he is very agile, and some of his powers include (dis)appearing in a puff of smoke, and telepathically levitating objects. Since's it is a show aimed at preschoolers, he does not use actual weapons, but he and his mooks have [[StickySituation Sticky Splat]] which can be used for various purposes.