History Main / NINJA

The "classic" black ninja costume is, in fact, the outfit worn by stagehands in traditional Japanese theatre. Japanese stagehands are frequently in full view on the stage, but the audience was meant to ignore them and thus they are considered "invisible" by the audience. It became the practice to hide ninja characters in full sight by putting them in the same outfits as the stagehands, [[PaintingTheMedium for a startling effect when characters were suddenly attacked by "thin air"]]. The stereotypical black "ninja outfit" would be actually horribly conspicuous, even at night. For night stealth, real ninjas wore dark blue outfits; someone dressed in solid black will stand out like a silhouette. Usually, though, ninjas simply dressed like ordinary people (peasants, monks, merchants, scholars, etc). That way, they can move about unnoticed, day or night. Even the split or toe-divided boots which are a trademark of the ninja costume are actually an AnachronismStew: toe-divided shoes or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jika-tabi ''jika-tabi'']] were actually invented in the 20th century, and only some modern ninjutsu schools would adopt them for practicality reasons.

Female ninja are often called ''kunoichi'' in a pun on the kanji for woman (女, ''onna''/''jo''), which looks like it's made up of ''ku'' (く), ''no'' (ノ), and ''ichi'' (一). Kunoichi are often portrayed in media as experts in seduction and poisons. [[PoisonousPerson Or both at the same time.]] Kunoichi are also often seen in outfits that combine a hodgepodge of [[KimonoFanService traditional clothing]], [[StockingFiller fishnet]], [[{{Stripperific}} bared skin]], [[VictoriasSecretCompartment and strategically-placed weapons]]. In addition, "Shinobu" is a common name given to ''kunoichi'' in media, likely due to its potential as a PunnyName rhyming with "Shinobi". There may be some TruthInFiction, as real-life kunoichi would often use their attractiveness to lower the guards of their male targets in order to assassinate them in privacy or bribe information. The most common weapon for them is twin knives, which they DualWield and have at least one of them in a ReverseGrip.

* Ashida Kim is a self-proclaimed ninja who is based in Lake Alfred, Florida. Having written over 30 books on the subject, he claims to have learned his ninjutsu from someone named Shendai. He also claims to have met Count Dante (who is best known for his "Deadliest Man Alive" ads appearing for years in comic books) and trained under him. He also has posted a $10,000 challenge to anyone who wants to fight him. It should be pointed out that the aforementioned $10,000 is not awarded to the person who defeats Kim. It is Kim's fee (plus travelling/lodging expenses and a $25,000 appearance bond assuring the challenger is "serious") for showing up to the fight. Long suspected to be the pseudonym of a Christopher Hunter, recent investigations have suggested that Ashida Kim's birth name is Radford Davis. Also, despite the Japanese first name and Korean last name of his favorite alias, Mr. Davis is very caucasian.

** Besides Ninjutsu, there is another (and uniquely American) martial arts style developped for use in hand-to-hand combat. It's called MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program). You won't find schools in shopping centers that teach MCMAP, though, as only members of the US Navy or Marine Corps are permitted to study MCMAP. MCMAP is unique in that it is the only style in which people train in full combat gear, including training in the use of pocket knives and bayonets as offensive weapons (as opposed to something you might disarm an enemy of and use it against him). Basically, it's Ninjutsu adapted to modern combat.

* ''Film/NinjasInAncientChina'', directed by Shaw Brothers veteran Chang Cheh, has... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Ninjas in Anvient China]]. Their roles are to overthrow a corrupt Song Dynasty general, and for a Japanese-inspired element in a Hong Kong film, ''for once'' these ninjas are portrayed as the good guys.

* ''FanFic/MermaidMelodyPichiPichiDuo'': In chapter 8, Caren, Noel, and Coco, on Noel's suggestion, dress up as ninja to sneak into the aquarium.

* ''Film/{{Azumi}}''.

The "classic" black ninja costume is, in fact, the outfit worn by stagehands in traditional Japanese theatre. Japanese stagehands are frequently in full view on the stage, but the audience was meant to ignore them and thus they are considered "invisible" by the audience. It became the practice to hide ninja characters in full sight by putting them in the same outfits as the stagehands, [[PaintingTheMedium for a startling effect when characters were suddenly attacked by "thin air"]]. The stereotypical black "ninja outfit" would be actually [[HighlyVisibleNinja horribly conspicuous]], even at night. For night stealth, real ninjas wore dark blue outfits; someone dressed in solid black will stand out like a silhouette. Usually, though, ninjas simply dressed like ordinary people (peasants, monks, merchants, scholars, etc). That way, they can move about unnoticed, day or night. Even the split or toe-divided boots which are a trademark of the ninja costume are actually an AnachronismStew: toe-divided shoes or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jika-tabi ''jika-tabi'']] were actually invented in the 20th century, and only some modern ninjutsu schools would adopt them for practicality reasons.

The "classic" black ninja costume is, in fact, the outfit worn by stagehands in traditional Japanese theatre. Japanese stagehands are frequently in full view on the stage, but the audience was meant to ignore them and thus they are considered "invisible" by the audience. It became the practice to hide ninja characters in full sight by putting them in the same outfits as the stagehands, [[PaintingTheMedium for a startling effect when characters were suddenly attacked by "thin air"]]. The stereotypical black "ninja outfit" would be actually horribly conspicuous, even at night. For night stealth, real ninjas wore dark blue outfits; someone dressed in solid black will stand out like a silhouette. Usually, though, ninjas simply dressed like ordinary people (peasants, monks, merchants, scholars, etc). That way, they can move about unnoticed, day or night. Even the split or toe-divided boots which are a trademark of the ninja costume are actually an AnachronismStew: toe-divided shoes or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jika-tabi ''jika-tabi'']] were actually invented in the 20th century, and only some modern ninjutsu schools would adopt them for practicality reasons.

In American movies, especially the ones from the '80s with "ninja" in the titles, only the hero ninja and the BigBad ninja make any pretense of stealth or invisibility -- and sometimes, [[TechnicolorNinjas not even them]]. Any underling ninjas will be the class of {{mooks}} known as HighlyVisibleNinja. In the late 20th Century, they [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirates_versus_Ninjas became]] [[PiratesVersusNinjas the arch-enemies of]] {{Pirate}}s, for [[MemeticMutation no reason other than the]] RuleOfCool.

Female ninja are often called ''kunoichi'' in a pun on the kanji for woman (女, ''onna''/''jo''), which looks like it's made up of ''ku'' (く), ''no'' (ノ), and ''ichi'' (一). Kunoichi are often portrayed in media as experts in seduction and poisons. [[PoisonousPerson Or both at the same time.]] Kunoichi are also often seen in outfits that combine a hodgepodge of [[KimonoFanService traditional clothing]], [[StockingFiller fishnet]], [[{{Stripperific}} bared skin]], [[VictoriasSecretCompartment and strategically-placed weapons]]. There may be some TruthInFiction, as real-life kunoichi would often use their attractiveness to lower the guards of their male targets in order to assassinate them in privacy or bribe information. The most common weapon for them is twin knives, which they DualWield and have at least one of them in a ReverseGrip.

One of the earliest Japanese cultural tropes to make it to the West, where it has now branched out into the McNinja franchise. Look for ninja to make use of the SmokeOut, the FlashStep, the FuumaShuriken, KiteRiding and the aforementioned NinjaLog.

Compare TheHashshashin, the Middle-Eastern counterpart. They're likely to be {{Stealthy Mook}}s. See NinjaTropes for everything related to ninjas.

* ''FanFic/MermaidMelodyPichiPichiDuo'': In chapter 8, the girls, on Noel's suggestion, dress up as ninja to sneak into the aquarium.

* Series/{{Ultraman}}'s most famous foes, the [[InsectoidAliens Baltans]], are based on ninjas and have several abilities commonly associated with ninjas, such as [[DoppelgangerSpin making copies of themselves]]. Their BossSubtitles is even "Space Ninja".

* Ninja/Tabletop Games

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Kirino and her village from ''Manga/AiKora''. Kirino herself doesn't exactly /hide/ the fact she's a ninja, but she doesn't announce it to the world, either. She's another subversion of the ninja attire stereotypes, in that she wears ninja clothes in her village, and context-appropriate clothes everywhere else.
* The two main families of the anime ''Manga/{{Basilisk}}'' are all very competent ninja with unique skills that range from cool to plain freaky. Its story is often summarized as "Romeo and Juliet, with ninjas".
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': The Onmitsukido is an entire organization of ninja comprised of several families who serve the Shihouin Clan. [[AmbiguouslyBrown Yoruichi]] was the 22nd head of her family and the first woman in its history to become head of the Keigun (lit. "Punishment Squad"). When she and her friend, Kisuke Urahara, defected from Soul Society, she was succeeded by her protege, [[EmotionlessGirl Sui-]][[LawfulNeutral Feng]], as both head of the Keigun and as captain of the Gotei's 2nd division. Making her the first member in the Feng Clan's history to ever attain a position of power; in addition to being the second woman to ever hold both titles.
* Shura Kirigakure from ''Manga/BlueExorcist'' is the descendant of an ancient clan of female ninjas. Her ancestor Tatsuko was a member of the Iga clan before going out on her own.
* ''Manga/Brave10'' is a fantasy manga[=/=]anime series drawn by Kairi Shimotsuki which centers around the Ten Braves of Sanada Yukimura. The tagline for the series is 'stylish ninja action' and boy there are a lot of ninjas in a lot of [[AnachronismStew unique]] [[RummageSaleReject styles]] getting a lot of [[UnwantedHarem action]].
* ''Manga/Change123'', in its later volumes, introduces an all-female ninja clan whose members infiltrate into Motoko's school to recruit Motoko (or, rather, to recruit her [[MultiplePersonalities alternate badass personalities]]). Unlike typical {{Highly Visible Ninja}}s, they actually blend into the normal world, wear plain clothes (even when they're in their ninja village), and use weapons which are disguised as normal everyday objects. Also, the words "ninja" and "shinobi" are mostly avoided. Instead, they talk about "our clan/family", "our business", "family business" and similar.
* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' has a number of ninja-inspired monsters.
** Two notable examples are Ninjamon and Kougamon, his PaletteSwap. It should be noted, in Japan, he and Kougamon both take their names from regions and styles associated strong with the ninja arts. Other examples include:
** Falcomon from ''Anime/DigimonSavers'', who's a rather straight example of this trope, along with his evolutionary stages. His Champion form, Peckmon, is a ''[[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Ninja Ostrich]]''.
** ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' has Shurimon.
** Monitormon from ''Anime/DigimonXrosWars'', which beats out all other examples in ridiculous by being ninjas with ''televisions'' for heads.
** Finally, there's several digimon conflated with ninja in the american version, but these are more straight-up samurai.
* From the Red Ribbon arc from ''Manga/DragonBall'' we have Purple (what title he has depends on whether your watching the original or the dubbed version). He doesn't have any true powers, but he pulls a lot of classic ninja tricks including doppelgangers (Cardboard) invisibility (hiding under water with a straw to breathe) ... er ... he's not very good at it, [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain okay]]?
* ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'' is another example of the HighlyVisibleNinja variety. It has Ayame Sarutobi using her ninja skills for ''stalking'' of all things.
%%** There's also Zenzo Hattori, The Oniwabanshuu and the Shinobi 5.
* In ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'', the girls of Hippo Team are mentioned as having taken ninjutsu as an elective 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.
* The manga ''Hanzo no Mon'' (titled ''Path of the Assassin'' in the Dark Horse translation) subverts the stereotypes regarding ninja attire; although Hanzo (and his [[spoiler:wife]]) are ninja (usually called ''suppa''), they wear light armor on the battlefield and the stereotypical ninja outfits when they need not to be seen at all, but otherwise wear context-appropriate clothing and act accordingly. Likewise, certain ninja have notoriety and may even appear openly when a lord holds court. In fact, Hanzo, his wife and Hanzo's ninja relatives have their wedding ceremony in normal noble/samurai clothing! (After she demonstrates her abilities as a ninja wearing "the" outfit.)
* ''Anime/{{Himawari}}!'' and its sequel series are all about the ninja. Most of the ninja in the series actually are fairly stealthy. The heroine herself...not so much.
* One of the antagonists in ''LightNovel/{{Katanagatari}}'' is the Maniwa Corps, which is filled with ninja that rival Naruto in the [[HighlyVisibleNinja visibility]] department.
* While her character class/subclass is specifically an assassin and StealthExpert, BadassAdorable Akatsuki from ''LightNovel/LogHorizon'' combines her talents with ninja prowess and defines herself as such.
* Ninja are one of the major types of opponents faced by Ogami Itto of ''Manga/LoneWolfAndCub''. They're depicted very realistically, between the Kurokuwa ninja, spies and assassins of the shogunate, and the "Grass" ninja, who functions as extreme deep-cover agents and spies. Masters of disguise and employing all manner of "dirty" tricks imaginable, ranging from poison to psychological warfare, ninja provide Ogami's greatest challenges in the first half of the series. [[spoiler:By the finale, after the Kurokuwa have all been lost in failed assassination attempts on Ogami, Retsudo calls in the Grass for one last desperate attempt. When all is said and done, Ogami has managed to kill his way through '''every ninja in Japan.''']]
* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' has Kaede. While she doesn't necessarily [[HighlyVisibleNinja stick out like a sore thumb]], she isn't very concerned with stealth either. Wields a [[FuumaShuriken big friggin' shuriken]] that from tip-to-tip is taller than she is. And [[HugeSchoolgirl that's saying something]].
* Akira from ''Anime/MaiHiME'' and ''Anime/MaiOtome'' uses a lot of classic ninja tricks and tools, including shuriken, kunai and smoke bombs. She also uses the title "Secret Ninja", while fighting in disguise (which [[PaperThinDisguise doesn't fool anybody]]). Curiously, sometimes she's seen interacting with other shadowy kuroko-wearers, implying that she indeed is a genuine ninja from a genuine ninja clan, even though that never becomes a major plot-point.
* ''Manga/MakenKi'': In chapter 33, Haruko explains that the Amado family has served the Rokouju's for generations as their private oniwaban. Yuuka, in particular, is the treasurer of Tenbi's [[AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil student council]] and doubles as their advanced scout.
* ''Anime/MazingerZ'': Blazas S1 and S2, two way-smaller-than-usual {{Robeast}}s BigBad Dr. Hell built for a sabotaging mission. He especifically stated that they were ninjas. Although not very stealthy ([[http://garada.net/mediashare/o5-6e3kjgy0boqeow3l7uukwa5i2kl1s0-pre.jpg three-meter-tall, blue-and-yellow Mechanical Beasts tend to stand out]]), they played the part, leaping around over walls and from branch to branch, throwing shuriken and infiltrating into the enemy base.
* ''Ryuusei no Rockman'' (a.k.a. ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'') has an entire episode devoted to Ninja. HighlyVisibleNinja with all the typical tricks. Though, the guy teaching the main cast the tricks of the trade is damn good at it. They add [[VerbalTic -de osaru]] on the end of every one of their sentences...and apparently, the art of ninjutsu was developed by people from the ancient civilization of Mu. One of the Ooparts is a Shuriken, and Mega Man can take on the form of a ninja... of wood.
* Almost assuredly parodied in ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam''. Midway through the story a [[McNinja German ninja]] is introduced and takes on the role of surrogate mentor to the protagonist, Domon. He even practices German Ninjutsu. Hilariously enough, he shuns the traditional garb of a ninja and dresses in clothes that are not remotely useful in maintaining stealth. Most absurd is [[CharClone the mask he wears]]. While it does obscure his features, it is painted in the bright, primary colors of the German flag and sports a jester hat-like protrusion. [[RuleOfCool That doubles as a shuriken.]]
** While he looks ridiculous, Schwartz is otherwise a straight example of a ninja. He's also extremely badass, able to fight on roughly the same level as Master Asia.
* ''Manga/NabariNoOu'' takes place in a ninja world called Nabari which are full of modern day ninja.
* Almost everybody in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''. [[HighlyVisibleNinja Not remotely stealthy about it]], either, though they ''are'' pretty tricky with things like duplication, illusions, and replacing yourself with '''''[[WebVideo/NarutoTheAbridgedSeries A LOG]]'''''.
** 'Ninja' in this series seems to simply refer to those who use [[MagicByAnyOtherName ninjutsu skills.]] The ANBU black ops division would be the local equivalent to ninja, as a group of elite warriors who are assassination experts.
** As is the {{Animesque}} counterpart ''WesternAnimation/ShurikenSchool''.
* The ninja in ''Manga/NinjaNonsense'' are incompetent ninja who usually don't even carry shuriken; when they all suddenly produce shuriken and every one hits its target, causing another character to think that maybe they are skilled after all, one calls his mother on a cell phone to tell her that he has touched a shuriken for the first time.
* Nobuo Matsuri of ''Manga/NinjaPapa'' is a retired ninja. Or he would be if he weren't forced to bust out his deadly skills at least once a chapter.
* ''Anime/NinjaSlayer'' is the story of a man [[HunterOfHisOwnKind who becomes a ninja]] [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin so he can slay all evil ninjas]]. That said, in this setting, most ninjas are more than just assassins; they have to fuse with the soul of a dead ninja (which on-screen only happens when the recipient is at the brink of death) which then gives them superhuman powers, and they're frequently equipped with high-tech gear such as PowerArmor.
* ''Manga/{{Ninku}}'': The heroes are all Ninjas who face off against some former Ninja as well as practitioners of other ethereal martial arts such as Feng Shui users. The Ninku gain their powers by drawing on the power of the elements themselves which take the form of a dragon. This means they aren't constrained to chi or chakra or some finite internal reserves.
* Surprisingly, a [[LongRunner Long Running]] series like ''Franchise/OnePiece'' has had several warrior archetypes, such as knights, samurai, and even Roman-style gladiators, but a common one such as ninja rarely appear.
** First, there's [[GreenThumb Binz]], one of the CoDragons from the movie ''[[Anime/OnePieceFilmZ Film Z]]''. Yes, that's a NonSerialMovie villain.
** On the cover page of [[http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/onepiece/images/e/e8/Chapter_766.png Chapter 766,]] there's a character behind Nami that is heavily implied to be Naruto himself[[note]]This was Eiichiro Oda's tribute to Masashi Kishimoto, author of the ''Naruto'' manga, which ended the same day Ch. 766 of ''One Piece'' was published[[/note]].
** When Kanjuro the samurai speaks about his comrade named Raizo in Chapter 803 and mentions that he's a ninja, all of the guys are amazed, complete with gleaming lights above them (including [[NotSoStoic Law]]). It's as though they're anticipating the first canonical Ninja of the entire series.
* ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'' has Speed-of-Sound Sonic, who, as his name makes redundantly clear, can move [[SuperSpeed at the speed of sound]], and is an all around capable enough fighter to be a match for some S-class heroes. Unfortunately for him, his appearances mostly end with him [[CurbStompBattle being thoroughly]] [[GroinAttack thrashed]] [[IWasJustPassingThrough 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]] as well as Sonic were [[spoiler: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.]]
* Yamazaki Susumu is one of the two ninja who appear in ''Manga/PeacemakerKurogane''.
* Like their game counterparts, Koga and his daughter Janine in ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' are modeled after stereotypical ninja, but the author obviously had some fun making their techniques even more ninja-esque, such as outfitting their Pokeballs into shuriken. At one point, Janine even uses hand seals, presumably as signals to command her Grimer without having to actually say anything out loud.
* The CanonForeigner Sasuke Sarugakure in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' subverts the character type by being borderline incompetent (he's clumsy and has virtually no combat capabilities, but is a master of stealth and can move too fast to be seen) in a neighborhood filled with world-class non-ninja martial artists. In the manga, WholesomeCrossdresser Konatsu plays it a little more straight. Ukyō Kuonji uses a spoof style that merges archetypical ninja moves with cooking tools.
* ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' has the Oniwabanshuu, a group of ''onmitsu'' that are initially opponents to Kenshin under the leadership of Shinomori Aoshi. When Kenshin travels to Kyoto to fight Shishio Makoto, they become allies. They are a somewhat more realistic interpretation, being inspired by the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oniwabanshuu real thing.]]
* ''Anime/SaintSeiyaOmega'' has Wolf Haruto, a descendant of a clan of shinobi who mixes his ninja fighting style with Saint techniques. So, he both is a Ninja and a Saint of Athena.
* The {{OVA}} version of ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'' slyly acknowledges the origin of the traditional ninja garb -- The stage crew of the Imperial Theatre -- the secret headquarters of the Flower Division -- are all ninja, and ninja with all manner of "ninja magic" at that.
* ''Manga/SamuraiDeeperKyo'' has many ninjas on both Kyo's and the Mibu clan's side. Sanada Yukimura has the Jyuuyuushi (The Ten Sanada Brave) which includes Sarutobi Sasuke and Kirigakure Saizo. Fuuma Kotaro is Sasuke's childhood friend, who is also one of the Jyuunishinnsho (The Twelve Heavenly Gods) and believes Sasuke had betrayed him.
%%* ''Manga/SgtFrog'': Dororo and Koyuki.
* In ''Manga/{{Shy}}'', there exist multiple ninja villages in rural Japan detached from the outside world. Their goal is to protect the world from the shadows against potential threats.
* ''Anime/SonicX'' has Espio the Chameleon. He is (unlike the others in his group) calm and collected. As a part of the Chaotix detective agency, he made his debut in episode 39 (a loose tie-in with the game ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes''). That was, however, his only appearance on Earth. In fact, that was his ONLY appearance in the original 52 episodes! He would later go on to appear in episode 59, where he is again seen with the Chaotix crew. During season 3 he became more of a prominent character. The appearances of the Chaotix were strictly for filler episodes until episode 74, where they became background characters for each of the remaining episodes, participating in combat against the Metarex. Akin to his video game counterpart, Espio uses all manner of Ninja skills to battle opponents. His trademark ability is to turn invisible to sneak up on his enemies. He also uses a variety of weapons including an enormous collection of shuriken, and even threatens Sonic's life at one point with one of his kunai ninja knives.
* ''Manga/SoulEater'''s Black Star and Tsubaki. Black☆Star is your typical Highly Visible variety, and somehow manages to make a big deal of being 'stealthy' even when he bothers to try. Tsubaki is a member of a clan of ninja-associated Living Weapons (kunai, (big) shuriken, smoke-bomb, camouflage, katana, chain-scythe) and frequently has to remind her meister how he should be behaving. Such as the fact that telling your target you're here to assassinate them is a bad idea.
* One two-part episode of ''Anime/SpeedRacer'' featured ninjas who drove ninja racecars. Since American audiences at the time had not yet heard of ninja, the dub for American TV called them "assassins."
* In ''Anime/TransformersHeadmasters'', Sixshot is presented as one of these. Subsequent series would feature [[Anime/TransformersSuperGodMasterforce Sixknight]] and [[Anime/TransformersVictory Greatshot]], who were all members of the same secret order of ninja six-changers as Sixshot, called the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Six Clan]].
** In the Japanese version of ''Anime/TransformersRobotsInDisguise'', the Spy Changers are portrayed as ninjas.
* ''Anime/VariableGeo'': Chiho Masuda is [[NinjaMaid a ninja waitress]], in service to a shadow organization that has secretly monitored the events of the VG tournament since its inception. She enters the competition under orders to investigate [[NebulousEvilOrganization The Jahana Group's]] activtities in order to find evidence of their corruption and expose them.
* Sagiri from ''Manga/YuunaAndTheHauntedHotSprings'', is part of the Ameno clan, who are Demon Slaying Ninjas.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Card Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': All "proper" ninja (not counting changelings et al.) so far come from the ''Betrayers of Kamigawa'' expansion set. They all have the ability (known, of course, as ''ninjutsu'') to pop into play by replacing an attacking unblocked creature on their side plus a variety of followup abilities that trigger off of their dealing combat damage to a player. The implication of this is that an individual ninja can masquerade as absolutely anything, from a flock of squirrels up to an [[CosmicHorror Eldrazi]]. Talk about ParanoiaFuel...
* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'' contains a whole lot of ninjas. A trio of them even serve as a ShoutOut to Konami's popular video game series ''Ganbare Goemon''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'':
** The Skaven of Clan Eshin are essentially ratman ninjas. They learned the arts of stealth and subterfuge in the setting's FantasyCounterpartCulture of Japan, Nippon, and make heavy use of ninja trappings and aesthetics such as StockNinjaWeapons, a well-earned reputation for espionage and assassinations, shuriken, and all-concealing black outfits.
** The Assassins of the Dark Elves take several elements from this archetype. Their leader, Shadowblade, is so awesome he can disguise himself as a mook of the enemy army. Even if they are composed of magically-reanimated corpses. Did we mention his skill with weapons is so great he can match an incarnation of the God of Slaughter in terms of sheer skill, and outmatch it in speed?
** Ogre Maneaters are a special units in the Ogre Kingdoms army, consisting of ogres who've served as mercenaries in the many armies of Warhammer. Thus you can have an Imperial ogre, a pirate ogre... and, you guessed it, a ninja ogre.
** A fan-made army book for Nippon gives them squads of ninjas as a Special choice whose main strength is mobility, and individual elite ninjas as Hero choices that function like Dark Elf Assassins.
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
** The Complete Adventurer expansion for 3.5e features the Ninja base class. They are a viable alternative to the traditional Rogue, trading in more efficient sneak attacks and extra skill points for supernatural dodging and, at higher levels, the ability to turn invisible or incorporeal for a short duration.
** The 3.5 splatbook Tome of Battle gives us the Swordsage, a highly versatile class that can fulfill many roles in a party, their most common role being that of a secondary meleer. They have plenty of maneuvers to help with whatever concept you could try to make, and one of the easiest is that of being a ninja (Shadow Hand maneuvers, specifically; things like shadow teleportation and precise, crippling strikes are the meat of the discipline). There's even a prestige class for them, called the Shadow Sun Ninja.
** Ninja have, in various forms, been present as a class throughout several editions. 1st Edition AD&D featured them as a complicated 'secret' class you had alongside your public class (on pain of execution if you were revealed), 2nd Edition retooled them as a more standard class, 3E/3.5 featured several ninja {{Prestige Class}}es as well as the aforementioned 3.5 base class, and 4E had ninja as the name for a suggested build for the assassin class.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' has ninja as an alternate class to the core rogue class. Mechanically it combines some features of rogues and monks, with more focus on poison usage, rapid mobility, and leaving no trace rather than the rogue's trap skills.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', each type of Exalt has at least one caste that focuses on stealth, deception, and similar acts of larceny. Sidereals fit the ninja archetype best, though, what with their being snapped up and subjected to intensive training within days of Exaltation, their undisputed mastery of martial arts, their residence in a hidden community that most in Creation can't even find, much less enter, and that whole business with the Arcane Fate that makes them all but impossible to track or keep records on (or even, for that matter, remember clearly). The term 'fate-ninja' really sums them up very nicely.
* ''TabletopGame/FengShui'' lists the Ninja as a PC archetype. Their Martial Arts skill and Fu attributes are just one point lower than the Martial Artist, and they have the second highest Intrusion skill in the game (the Thief has the highest with a 16 AV). In addition, one of the Fu paths of the game, the Path of the Shadow's Companion, is tailor-made for the Ninja, with powers that allow you to make silent martial arts attacks and bypass the Toughness of your opponent when attacking someone unawares. You also get to fight ninjas a lot as both mooks and named characters.
* , ''TabletopGame/LegendOfTheFiveRings'': The Scorpion Clan, especially the Shosuro Assassins and Bayushi Ninja Infiltrators, plays the trope straight and subverts it at the same time: the real assassins rely on disguise to blend into the crowd, while the "typical" ninjas in black pajamas are HighlyVisibleNinja {{Mook}}s often used as a distraction.
** In fact, the ninja mooks are aspirants to be "proper" shinobi; if they can survive trying to be "stealthy" in the worst way possible for a year, then they're ready to learn how to do it ''right''. The books even point out that "ninja" gear, by and large, is ''completely awful''. Never use a ninja-to against a katana, for instance.
** [[InsistentTerminology They ask that you call them "shinobi", though]]. The term "ninja" is somewhat offensive, as the other ninjas in Rokugan are primarily shapeshifting servants of a CosmicHorror that's also an identity-stealing version of TheVirus.
** One of the books states that all Clans have their own ninja-style groups, like the Daidoji Harriers of the Crane Clan (who focus on guerrila tactics) or the Ikoma Spymasters of the Lion Clan (who focus on information gathering). This despite the fact that ninja are outlawed by Imperial Edict, and thus do not officially exist.
* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'': The ninja from ''GURPS: Dungeon Fantasy'' is a mix between the [[NinjaPirateRobotZombie thief, artificer and swashbuckler]], even getting a whole installment of the series devoted to it.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'': In the adventure "Warriors of the Night Cycle", from the ''Acute Paranoia'' supplement, the High Programmer Hik-U-VRS creates a group of elite stealth warriors with the skills of the Old Reckoning ninja.
[[/folder]]

!!Examples:

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/NinjaBattleHeroes'': The PlayerCharacter, Saizo, is one. His allies are ninja, and he fights plenty of them.
* Yoshimitsu appears in both the ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' series and ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Calibur]]'', though WordOfGod states they're two different characters. They are ''far away'' from the common depiction, however, acting more like Samurais on crack. ''[=Tekken's=]'' Yoshimitsu is a ninja thief who has become a full-time cyborg over time, while the one from the ''Soul'' series is [[TheFaceless the mysterious]] leader of a band of thieves, and [[LastOfHisKind the last survivor of an actual ninja clan]].
** ''Tekken'' also includes Raven, who's more a secret spy/agent with ninja stylings. He's, however, dowright ''appalled'' at Yoshimitsu's "un-ninja" quirkiness and is quick to try to correct him.
** ''Soul Calibur'' also includes more "traditional" ninjas in the form of Taki and her student, Natsu. They come from a whole clan of ninja who defend Japan from evil spirits.
* The Tenno (read: all the player characters) of ''{{VideoGame/Warframe}}'', who are essentially space ninjas with guns.
* In ''VideoGame/ShogunTotalWar'' you can hire both ninja and shinobi as strategic units. The game makes a distinction between ninja (who assassinate enemy characters) and shinobi (who are spies, saboteurs and seditionists), although historicaly there is no such distinction. The ninja is also ''horribly'' outclassed at his job by the [[GameBreaker Legendary Geisha]] unit, an ultimate assassin which gets close to the target in her role as a geisha before killing them with concealed weapons, probably much closer to how real-life ninja worked. The expansion also allowed you to train small units of "battlefield ninja", tiny but elite squads which used stealth on the battlefield to get close to the enemy general.
** The [[VideoGame/TotalWarShogun2 sequel]] has the Ninja and Shinobi as the same unit (it's called a ninja but refers to himself as both when clicked) taking over all aspects of spying, sabotage and assassination. The Geisha still exists but is also given a heavy {{nerf}}; while she can never be caught and killed during a failed mission, she's much more expensive, easier to spot than a ninja and just as vulnerable to enemy [[SecretPolice Metsuke]]. Also, the building that recruits geisha also allows for recruitment of rank 2 ninja, which when constructed in a ninja speciality province like Iga allows for rank 4 ninja straight off the bat, which horribly outclass the Geisha. Battlefield ninja, called Kisho Ninja, also exist, and are the speciality of the Hattori and Tokugawa clans.
*** ''Fall of the Samurai'' flips the whole thing around a bit further. It doesn't even have ninja agents, instead having the shinobi agent fulfill the same role as the ninja has in the base game. It really doesn't differ all that much from it's core game counterpart, the core difference being that it has a slightly different skill tree and retainers. Oh, and the kisho ninja units are still around and recruitable by traditionally focused daimyos.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' has the Sheikah; an ancient, technologically advanced ninja clan dedicated to protecting the goddess Hylia and her descendents who would later became the Hylian royal family. They were skilled in both magic and hand-to-hand combat, while also using weapons such as kodachi, [[StockNinjaWeaponry naginatas, kunai,]] and [[SmokeOut Deku Nut smoke bombs]]. Most of them were assumed to have died out during the Hylian Civil War (or even earlier) other than a few notable examples such as Impa and Sheik (who was Zelda in disguise) in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', but by ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' they finally make a comeback although they choose to live normal lives at this point.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' has the Yiga Clan, who are a group of rogue Sheikah that dedicate themselves to killing Link and Zelda in order to allow [[BigBad Ganon]] to take over. They typically wear [[TechnicolorNinja red and black costumes]], but can jump an unsuspecting player by disguising themselves as civilians. The Yiga are somewhat of a {{reconstruction}} of traditional ninja, as while they wear noticeable clothing, they don't [[HighlyVisibleNinja merely stand around conspicuously]]; they either appear suddenly in ambush, or disguise themselves effectively to look like ordinary people (although a savvy player can learn to recognize a disguised Yiga from a distance).
* Squirrel Fish from ''Shiwuyu/Tale of Food'' despite being Chinese. He plays every part of the "shadow assassin" archetype straight except [[HighlyVisibleNinja attire and coloring]] – quiet and reserved personality, UndyingLoyalty and a combat style that utilizes knives, speed and stealth.
* The ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series has Sheik, who originally was a form of [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Princess Zelda]] in disguise but now is a separate fighter, and [[VideoGame/PokemonXandY Greninja]].
** Also, Kat and Ana from ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' appear as assist trophy.
* One of the more interesting portrayals in recent memory comes from a level of the video game ''VideoGame/EliteBeatAgents''. It starts as a subversion: Ken Ozu, lazy heir to a car company, is forced into a ninja outfit by his father and forced to retrieve stolen automobile plans from a rival company, despite having little to no talent. After this, however, the player's success (or lack of) determines what happens. If the player fares poorly, it remains a subversion, as Ken fails miserably whenever called upon to use his "ninja powers". If the player does well, however, it becomes a DoubleSubversion, as Ken runs smoothly through the "classic" ninja abilities and completes his mission.
* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters''' has several, including:
** [[MsFanservice Mai Shiranui]] immediately comes to mind, seeing as she's more the [[HighlyVisibleNinja highly visible]] variety, due to her voluptuous figure and how [[{{stripperiffic}} scantily she dresses]]. She wasn't quite as bad in [[VideoGame/FatalFury her native game]] series. By the time of ''[[VideoGame/GarouMarkOfTheWolves Garou: Mark of the Wolves]]'', Hokutomaru takes her and Andy's place as the game's resident ninja.
** Speaking of Andy, he's pretty visible himself in that bright white outfit and his [[RapunzelHair long blonde hair.]] And doubles as a McNinja, since he's originally from Southtown.
** [[VideoGame/ArtOfFighting Eiji Kisaragi]] is a more traditional example, hailing from a remote region of Japan and enters the ''King of Fighters'' to settle a grudge against the Kyokugenryu Team. Though he and his team end up being a comedic group of [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain ineffectual]] [[PunchClockVillain "villains".]]
** Spinoff ''Maximum Impact 2'' introduced Nagase, another HighlyVisibleNinja described in-game as "The Ninja Computer Geek".
* ''[[VideoGame/AdvancedVariableGeo Advanced V.G.]]'' has a pair of [[NinjaMaid ninja waitresses]]:
** Chiho Masuda is a rogue ninja, who [[IJustWantToBeNormal wants to live a normal life]], as a highschool girl. Which is why she fled her family to join the VG Tournament: in hopes of winning the prize money to fund her new life.
** Her cousin, [[AloofDarkhairedGirl Kyoko]] [[LadyOfWar Kirishima]], is from one of the Masuda's branch families. She's been ordered to find and capture Chiho, or kill her if she refuses to comply. Kyoko succeeds in tracking her down and defeats her [[spoiler: but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzoFapcll9c she lets Chiho go, instead]]]].
* ''VideoGame/WorldHeroes'' had [[ShotoClone Hanzo and Fuuma]], who were the ninja equivalent of ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterII Street Fighter's]]'' RyuAndKen. They even wore matching colors, with Hanzo being the one in blue (instead of white), while Fuuma wore red, ala Ken.
* ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'' had a number of them, the most typical one being Hattori Hanzo.
** Hanzo also appears as a ninja in the ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'' games. In the first game he was contrasted with Sanada Yukimura in a "ninja vs. samurai" way, but in the second game he's contrasted with Fuuma Kotaro, another ninja, in a similar way to their ''World Heroes'' counterparts. The other ninja is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Kunoichi]], an original character based on the Sanada Ten who supposedly did Yukimura's dirty work for him (subverting his own archetype).
** ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors 2'' adds Fuuma Kotaro and Nene, although the latter is a samurai's wife whose "ninja-ness" is in being a gameplay replacement for the removed Kunoichi. (acknowledged by Hanzo, who, if they meet in one stage, would comment on her having gotten stranger, "since the last time we met.")
*** In one ''VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi'' gaiden mission, Kunoichi and Nene face each other on the battlefield, and Kunoichi [[LampshadeHanging points this out]]: "Well, if it isn't my SpiritualSuccessor!" (exact words)
** Hattori Hanzo was an actual legendary figure in Japanese history, rumored to have been a ninja as well as a pretty decent soldier.
* Altaïr from ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' fits the MO of a historical ninja in that he is an assassin who escaped notice by blending in with a crowd, but lives in crusade-era Israel rather than feudal Japan. Ironically the historical Ḥashshāshīn, of which he is a member, acted far more like media depictions of ninja than actual Japanese ninja did.
** Ezio in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' is more or less the same, only he can swim, is Italian and FABULOUS!!
* Ryu Hayabusa from the ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' and ''Videogame/DeadOrAlive'' franchises. The latter series has a few others, including Kasumi, Hayate, and [[spoiler:their half-sister]] Ayane. Hayabusa in particular has the distinction of being known as the most famous videogame ninja in the eyes of many video game players.
* A certain not very good ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' module had the player as part of a sect of female ninjas called Kunoichi (which happens to be a historically accurate term for female ninjas).
* The ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series has {{Cyborg}} Ninjas in most of the ''Solid'' series. ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' allows you to play as one.
** You can also play a set of VR missions as Raiden in cyber-ninja form in MGS: Substance.
* Crypto questions why there are Ninja in Japan in 1969 in ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans 2''. Everyone he asks tells him to go with it, and that "everyone loves ninjas".
* The titular character from ''VideoGame/IzunaLegendOfTheUnemployedNinja'' and its sequel.
* Ninja are commonplace in the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series, whether as a class to use, unique party members, or as random enemies. They often possess the Throw command (Which can turn undesired weapons into lethal projectiles), elemental ninjutsu, and the ability to dual wield weapons.
** Yuffie is ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Final Fantasy VII's]]'' resident kunoichi, though she's an optional and ''[[GuideDangIt very missable]]'' character. Most fans remember her for joining them long enough to steal their Materia, [[SoLongAndThanksForAllTheGear then pulling a disappearing act.]] [[TheSneakyGuy Very ninja of her.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' blends the pop culture portrayal of ninja with reality, as while they utilize the supernatural powers of ninjutsu, when it comes to espionage, the Doman ninja you interact with simply dress as commonfolk, generally donning their traditional garb only if they know they're going to end up in a combat situation. The sole one among their number who goes about perpetually in uniform is Yugiri Mistwalker, presumably because being an [[DraconicHumanoid Au Ra]] (A race that only recently began immigrating to Eorzea), she's liable to draw attention to herself regardless of how she dresses.
* ''VideoGame/BloodyRoar'':
** Bakuryu becomes the chief resident ninja of the series from ''[=BR2=]'' onwards and has the type of speed and versatility one would expect -- from freely [[TeleportSpam teleporting]] around the ring, to [[WallRun wall running.]]
** Kohryu is a bonus character, who was introduced in ''[=BR3=]'' and is essentially a MovesetClone of Bakuryu. Though he lacks his ability to WallRun, nor can he create body doubles. Kohryu was given unique abilities of his own, such as being able to temporarily immobilize his opponents with a stun beam, and fire his gauntlet as [[RocketPunch a multi-hitting projectile.]]
* The village of Mizuho in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' and [[spoiler:its successor]] the village of Japoni from ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' are hidden ninja villages. [[AbsoluteCleavage Sheena]], one of your party members, is from the former, and in the remake of ''Phantasia'', you can get Suzu in your party from the latter.
* 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 [[VideoGame/Shinobi2002 PS2 reboot]] starred Hotsume, and second spin-off ''/VideoGame/NightshadeKunoichi'' has the kunoichi Hibana.
* In no particular order from ''Franchise/MortalKombat'': Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Reptile, Noob Saibot, Kitana, Mileena, Jade, Chameleon, Khameleon, Cyrax, Sektor, Smoke, Ermac, Rain and Frost. Fifteen ninjas in the course of one ''very'' ninja-happy series.
** Technically, Sub-Zero's clan are the Chinese warriors that Japanese ninja ripped off, and they hate being called ninja. Not that it stops anyone...
*** Technically, only Scorpion is a ninja. Sub-Zero, Noob Saibot, Cyrax, Sektor, Smoke, and Frost all belong to the [[AluminumChristmasTrees Lin Kuei]]. Jade is Kitana's bodyguard, who is a princess, and Mileena is a clone, both of whom would likely be trained in some form of self defense. Rain, also royalty, is also likely trained in self defense and Reptile is another bodyguard. Ermac might count just from the sheer amount of souls he is made with, probability might dictate one of them was a ninja in life. Most of them are made fairly moot anyways, as only Scorpion and the Lin Kuei are from Earthrealm.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Tenchu}}'' series, in contrast to many ninja series, [[StealthBasedGame places full emphasis on the ninja's true strength: stealth]]. Ninjas in this series are unsuited for the open hand-to-hand combat of the samurai, but are the undisputed masters of the stealth kill.
** Later games in the series have even improved in their portrayal, such as including alternate paths to "stealth kill" a boss without having to face him as a boss.
* ''Franchise/MegaMan'':
** ''VideoGame/MegaMan3'': [=ShadowMan=]. Who scores double points for being a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot ninja robot]].
** He has two {{Expy}}s, Phantom (''VideoGame/MegaManZero'') and [=ShadowMan=].EXE (''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'').
** ''VideoGame/MegaMan2'': Metal Man is also dressed like a stereotypical ninja, though instead of shuriken he hurls sawblades.
** You can become a Ninja in ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'' and its sequel, by obtaining Model P or copying its data.
** ''ZX Advent'' 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?]]
* ''VideoGame/CityOfVillains'' has Mastermind characters who summon ninja minions, and Stalkers who have the Ninja Blade (attack) and Ninjitsu (defense) power sets.
* 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".
* ''VideoGame/GuildWars'' has ninja as well in the form of the Assassin profession. Their primary weapon consists of a pair of daggers, they can vanish in a puff of smoke and instantly reappear at at different spot, and they have a variety of spells that fit with the media portrayal of a ninja.
* The Dark Templar of ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}'' are Alien Ninjas who can bend light to make themselves invisible.
* One of the [[ShoutOut seven samurai]] from ''VideoGame/ThroneOfDarkness'' is actually a Ninja.
* [[{{Shotoclone}} Jago]] from ''VideoGame/KillerInstinct'' is a [[McNinja Buddhist Ninja]].
* Kisuke from ''VideoGame/MuramasaTheDemonBlade'' is an Iga clan ninja. This is notable because Iga was one of the actual places in feudal Japan where there actually were shinobi clan.
* The Komoris in ''VideoGame/RedSteel'' are a clan of ninjas who fight with guns and poisoned swords, and yes, they wear the stereotypical black pyjamas. Scott himself gets to undertake some ninja training over the course of the game.
* There are ninjas in ''VideoGame/MadKarateMan'' that serve as obstacles to prevent your revenge against businessmen from being fulfilled. You can just click them away though.
* ''VideoGame/NinjaShadowOfDarkness'' is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. The titular hero, Kurosawa, is a ninja warrior out to stop the Shadow Demon from awakening, and many of the game's recurring mooks are ninjas.
* The ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' games have Kat and Ana, twin ninja preschoolers!
* A good number of ninjas feature in the ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' gameverse, most of them being more [[HighlyVisibleNinja visible]] than not.
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' brings us Cerberus Phantoms, which are ninjas armed with insanely sharp wakizashis and are protected by barriers. There's also Kai Leng, who's basically the boss version of a phantom.
%%* Gale from [[VideoGame/VirtuaCop Virtua Cop 3]].
* In the ''VideoGame/StreetFighter'' series, [[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Guy]] uses traditional ninjutsu with street fighting influences, [[VideoGame/StreetFighter Geki]] and [[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII Ibuki]] fits the popular image of a ninja, [[VideoGame/StreetFighterV Zeku]] is a flashier ninja with some anime-inspired ninjutsu, and [[VideoGame/StreetFighterII Balrog / Vega / "Claw"]] mixes savate, and ninjutsu, with bullfighting influences (hence his nickname of the "Spanish Ninja").
* In ''VideoGame/SengokuRance'', ninja units are among the various types available. While they generally have high Search stats (making them useful for strategic sabotage), they're also effective at tactical sabotage and assassinating enemy commanders in battle. They're not very effective toe-to-toe against warriors or foot soldiers, though.
* Shinobi from ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'' are the Empire's infiltrator units, who can throw smoke bombs and shurikens, killing infantry with a single sword blow. While they can't use stealth (the smoke bombs only force enemies to de-target them for a few seconds), a single one infiltrating a tech structure will instakill all that player's T3 air units.
* In the ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' series, Espio the Chameleon, ever since the Chaotix crew's return in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes''. Complete with invisibility powers and giant shuriken.
* Rogues of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' can do things like turn invisible, flash step, walk on water, and pick locks. They also make use of intangibility, smoke bombs, poisons, and countless dirty tactics.
* ''VideoGame/{{Pokemon}}''
** The Scyther, Nincada, and Shelmet lines all have ninja motifs. Curiously enough, they are all also Bug-type Pokemon (Scyther=praying mantis, Nincada=cicada, Shelmet=snail) as well.
** Koga, the Poison-type Gym Leader from ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'', also has a ninja motif. He's training his daughter Janine in the art, and when he makes it to the Elite Four of the Indigo League in ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', she takes over the Gym.
** Plus, in [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Hoenn]] and [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondandPearl Sinnoh]] there are several kid ninja trainers running around.
-->"I am one of the Ninja Trio! Being discovered means I must battle!"
** Furthermore, the moves "Double Team" and "Substitute" are based on popular ideas of ninja techniques.
** [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Kalos]] introduces the franchise's strongest Pokemon example in the form of Greninja, the final evolution of the region's Water starter. It learns every single ninja-esque Pokemon move naturally (Smokescreen, Double Team, Substitute, and Spikes), along with having two new signature moves (Mat Block and Water Shuriken) that are also ninja-inspired.
* You'll get a Ninja no matter what Branch you go on in ''VideoGame/VanguardBandits''. What type of ninja they'll be is path-dependent though.
* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series, the Dark Brotherhood invokes the aesthetic of ninjas, though they aren't technically ninjas. The Dark Brotherhood, an illegal [[MurderInc organization of assassins]] whose membership mostly takes a [[PsychoForHire sadistic glee]] in killing and who practice a ReligionOfEvil. Tthe Brotherhood's standard armor ([[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver mostly black]] light armor with a [[InTheHood hood and/or cowl]]) and propensity toward stealth and assassination certainly invoke the ninja aesthetic.
* The protagonist of ''RoboAleste'' is Kage, a ninja piloting a HumongousMecha.
* Chipp Zanuff from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' is an American Gaijin who learns the art of ninjutsu. Unfortunately, [[HighlyVisibleNinja he's rather loud and yells "FIND ME!" when trying to hide himself]].
* Bang Shishigami from ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' is the SpiritualSuccessor of Chipp, though he's 100% 'Japanese' (as much as the setting allows it), and [[HighlyVisibleNinja twice as loud]]. And HotBlooded like hell.
* ''VideoGame/AztecWars'' has Ninjas, clad in blue, as one of the Chinese units (supposedly, the Chinese empire in the game has conquered most of Asia). They're the basic infantry unit, and they fight with martial arts.
* ''VideoGame/AnarchyReigns'' has a playable ninja in the form of Zero, a mercenary with a PoweredArmor and a pair of katanas!
* Kaede in ''VideoGame/DuelSaviorDestiny'' is a ninja and ridiculously formal, for which she gets mocked quite frequently. To Taiga's disappointment, ninjas from where she's from don't employ kunoichi, making her just a normal fighter instead of allowing him to have the sexy fun times he would like.
* ''[[Creator/{{Cactus}} Shotgun Ninja]]'', as the title would imply, stars a ninja whose WeaponOfChoice is a [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter shotgun]] and grenades. As for ninja abilities, he can wall-jump and hang from the ceiling.
** Cactus, the author of the game, seems to like ninjas. ''Ninja Flu'' features another one, this time wearing a missile launcher on his back, to destroy the falling bird flu-infected ninja angels (yeah, his games are weird sometimes). ''Saru Ga Daisuki'' features a ninja monkey as its protagonist, with a grappling hook-like tool and the ability to climb walls and ceiling, and a more regular, human ninja who can run and make really far jumps.
* ''VideoGame/ShadowWarrior'' features ninjas as basic {{mook}}s; unlike most ninjas, they wear nothing but pants and shoes and tend to use firearms, though they toss shurikens as well sometimes. They also seem prone to [[AteHisGun committing suicide]] for no reason. Some of them are almost invisible.
** Lo Wang himself is also a ninja, though he does not engage in much stealthy action in-game. The remake series, however, changes this, with the second game allowing Wang to go into stealth mode and deliver heavy damage with a single strike.
* ''VideoGame/BadDudes'' features ninjas as enemies who kidnap the President of the United States, requiring you to step up and be a bad enough dude to rescue him.
* 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.
* VideoGame/LaMulana's Kosugi family are descended from ninja; Shawn, Lemeza, and Lumisa all use ninja infiltration techniques to investigate ancient ruins, and it's implied Shawn's father did as well. There are also more stereotypical ninja enemies that appear suddenly, attack, and vanish just as quickly.
* Though they are not seen in-game, the player character in ''[[{{VideoGame/Tropico}} Tropico 4]]'' can hire ninjas to infiltrate a heavily-guarded fortress in Tibet. Unfortunately, the price for genuine Japanese ninjas is too high to afford, so the player hires [[McNinja Chinese ninjas]] instead.
* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' features the Kinkou Order, ninjas dedicated serving the balance of power. They consist of Shen, Akali (a kunoichi) and Kennen (a ''yordle''), and all of them are playable to varying degrees, Akali serves as a traditional assassination-based Ninja, Kennen is more about blasting your enemies with lightning, and Shen is an unusually tough ninja that is capable of tanking while having a body built more like a traditional ninja (not very big). They also get their ArchEnemy, shadow-based ninja named Zed.
* ''VideoGame/DungeonsAndDragonsOnline'' offer the Ninja Spy, a Monk that uses KiManipulation, can turn invisible, use a blinding SmokeBomb, and poison enemies.
* ''VideoGame/SenranKagura'' is a series where sexy shinobi-in-training schoolgirls from different schools fight each others, and is some strange blend of comedy and drama : in spite of being heavy on the fanservice side (the series is marketed as ''cute & sexy hyper-breasted battle action''), the characters are deadly serious about their shinobi duty, some of the backstories are quite dark and the worldview is rather truthful to the hard-boiled world one would expect from a ninja world.
* Hiryu and all the other members of the Striders in ''VideoGame/{{Strider}}'' have all the visual style of ninja, but in truth their job occupation is better described as "mercenaries for hire". Officially, however, they are explicity described as having "descended" from the ninja of Japan.
* Ninja Commando Ginzu from ''VideoGame/CaptainCommando'' is a traditional ninja in a four-man band of misfits including a Mummy-like alien and a super-genius baby. He's also a master of the same style used by [[VideoGame/FinalFight Guy]].
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' has ninjas as a [[{{Wutai}} Hoshidan]]-exclusive unit class; they're fast and frail, use hidden weapons to attack, and can pick locks and open treasure chests, making them similar to Thieves from previous ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' games. The most prominent ones are Kaze, Saizo (Kaze's older brother), Kagero, and Asugi ([[spoiler:Saizo's son/Kaze's nephew, with both Kagero and a Female Avatar among his prospect mothers]]); with the exception of Kaze (who follows the PlayerCharacter regardless of what path they choose), they will only join the party on the ''Birthright'' ([[spoiler:and ''Revelation'']]) path.
* In ''VideoGame/WiiPlayMotion'', the second level of ''Trigger Twist'' pits a shuriken-shooting player against a bunch of ninjas.
* ''VideoGame/NintendoLand'' has a minigame where the player has to shoot some cardboard [[TechnicolorNinja Technicolor Ninjas]].
* Ever-present in Klei's VideoGame/MarkOfTheNinja. Often praised for being a particularly accurate depiction, as well.
* Genji from ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' is a CyberNinja, though his gameplay is surprisingly close to accurate depiction of ninjas: really dependant on stealth (without having a skill that makes himself invisible in naked eyes, thus depending on finding a hiding spot and coming out in the right time) and eliminating stray targets and then swiftly getting out before being detected.
* ''VideoGame/ShadowTacticsBladesOfTheShogun'' is a ''VideoGame/{{Commandos}}'' SpiritualSequel set in 17th century Japan. Three of the available player characters (out of five: the two remaining are a samurai and an old marksman) fit the trope:
** Hayato is a typical ninja, since his role (both in gameplay and in-universe) is stealth and infiltration. He's masked and his abilities include attacking a single target with a Ninjato (on the ground or by jumping from above), throwing a shuriken, or climbing on roofs with a grappling hook.
** Aiko fits well the female archetype. She can wear disguises (especially a geisha costume) and distract enemies; she also can temporarily blind them with sneezing powder and stab them with her hairpin. Like Hayato, she also has a grappling hook.
** Yuki is a borderline example. She's not supposed be a ninja in-universe (she's a kind of vagabond teenage girl living as a trapper and thief), but her abilities fits the trope too, since she can stab enemies with a small knife, set traps, use distraction (with a flute), and pick pockets. She also has a grappling hook.
* ''VideoGame/AkaneTheKunoichi'' features them (as the name obviously suggests). Besides Akane, most of the enemies she fights are also ninjas of some description. Some just try to charge her, but others can throw kunai like she does (albeit only one at a time and much slower).
* A notable 1988 ninja game is Irem's ''VideoGame/NinjaSpirit'', which was one of the earliest to feature RealTimeWeaponChange.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfKage'' has the titular Kage (pronounced "KAH-geh") rescuing a princess using shuriken and daggers used as swords.
* ''The Last Ninja'' series for the UsefulNotes/Commodore64 (with the second game later ported to the NES as just ''The Last Ninja'') centers on a ninja attempting to settle the score with an evil shogun.
* ''VideoGame/SekiroShadowsDieTwice'' has you play as the ninja bodyguard Wolf, who will need to rely on a combination of swordsmanship, stealth, agility, and the many gadgets contained within his prosthetic arm (ranging from a grappling hook to firecrackers) in order to aid his young lord. However, included among Wolf's many foes are a number of other highly skilled and agile shinobi with their own techniques, the two most notable being [[spoiler:Wolf's former mentor Lady Butterfly with her illusion magic]], and [[spoiler:Wolf's foster father Owl, who has many of his son's tricks plus a few of his own]].
* Ayame from Capcom's ''VideoGame/PowerStone '' is, on the surface, a more subtle example than most. She's a young street performer and acrobat who dresses the part and is the star artiste for her family's troupe: who, along with herself, are all secretly descended from a long line of master ''ninja'' and use their act as a cover for what they do and to travel the land. She acts as the game's resident FragileSpeedster, using [[SheFu plenty of graceful flips and somersaults]] and [[DanceBattler acrobatic dance-inspired attacks]] and occasionally using a ''[[StockNinjaWeaponry kunai]]'' she hides in her sleeves. And '''then''' there's her [[SuperMode Power Change]], where she transforms into a [[HighlyVisibleNinja pink-clad butterfly-like form that hurls volleys of giant]] ''[[HighlyVisibleNinja shuriken]]''.
* ''VideoGame/{{Tamagotchi}}'': Gozarutchi, his family members and most breeds originating from Gozaru Village all dress and act like ninjas.
* 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.
[[/folder]]

* The ninja in ''Manga/NininGaShinobuden'' are incompetent ninja who usually don't even carry shuriken; when they all suddenly produce shuriken and every one hits its target, causing another character to think that maybe they are skilled after all, one calls his mother on a cell phone to tell her that he has touched a shuriken for the first time.

* Shinobi from ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'' are the Empire's infiltrator units, who can throw smoke bombs and shurikens, killing infantry with a single sword blow. While they can't use stealth, a single one infiltrating a tech structure will instakill all that player's T3 air units.

* The Skaven of Clan Eshin in ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'' are essentially ratman-ninjas.
** As are the Assassins of the Dark Elves. Their leader, Shadowblade, is so awesome he can disguise himself as a mook of the enemy army. Even if they are composed of magically-reanimated corpses. Did we mention his skill with weapons is so great he can match an incarnation of the God of Slaughter in terms of sheer skill, and outmatch it in speed?
** A certain fan-made army book for Nippon gives them squads of ninjas as a Special choice whose main strength is mobility, and individual elite ninjas as Hero choices that function like Dark Elf Assassins.

* All 'proper' ninja (not counting changelings et al.) in [[TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering Magic]] so far come from the ''Betrayers of Kamigawa'' expansion set. They all have the ability (known, of course, as ''ninjutsu'') to pop into play by replacing an attacking unblocked creature on their side plus a variety of followup abilities that trigger off of their dealing combat damage to a player. The implication of this is that an individual ninja can masquerade as absolutely anything, from a flock of squirrels up to an [[CosmicHorror Eldrazi]]. Talk about ParanoiaFuel...
* The Complete Adventurer expansion for ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' (3.5e) features the Ninja base class. They are a viable alternative to the traditional Rogue, trading in more efficient sneak attacks and extra skill points for supernatural dodging and, at higher levels, the ability to turn invisible or incorporeal for a short duration.

* TabletopGame/YuGiOh contains a whole lot of ninjas. A trio of them even serve as a ShoutOut to Konami's popular video game series ''Ganbare Goemon''.

* The Scorpion Clan, especially the Shosuro Assassins and Bayushi Ninja Infiltrators, in ''TabletopGame/LegendOfTheFiveRings''. Plays the trope straight and subverts it at the same time: the real assassins rely on disguise to blend into the crowd, while the "typical" ninjas in black pajamas are HighlyVisibleNinja {{Mook}}s often used as a distraction.

* The ninja from ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}: Dungeon Fantasy'' is a mix between the [[NinjaPirateRobotZombie thief, artificer and swashbuckler]], even getting a whole installment of the series devoted to it.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' supplement ''Acute Paranoia'' adventure "Warriors of the Night Cycle". The High Programmer Hik-U-VRS creates a group of elite stealth warriors with the skills of the Old Reckoning ninja.

The shadow warriors of feudal Japan, reputedly possessed of all manner of mysterious powers known as ''ninjutsu'', including invisibility and intangibility. Able to infiltrate even the most heavily guarded fortress without being detected. If they are caught, they may trick their pursuers by [[NinjaLog mysteriously swapping places with a log]]. They may be portrayed as cutting down any opposition with superhuman swiftness. Traditionally dressed in black bodysuits with black masks or veils to hide their faces (or sometimes in white). They are the ultimate spies and assassins, gifted with their own deadly magic and martial arts. Born in [[HiddenElfVillage hidden villages]], they are trained from birth to obey ''nindo'', an alternative CodeOfHonor to ''bushido''; to [[TheStoic show no pain, feel no emotion]], and remain loyal to their clans under pain of death - or the third code of [[HiredGuns getting as much money as possible.]]

* In ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'', the girls of Hippo Team are mentioned as having taken ninjitsu as an elective 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.

* ''Ryuusei no Rockman'' (a.k.a. ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'') has an entire episode devoted to Ninja. HighlyVisibleNinja with all the typical tricks. Though, the guy teaching the main cast the tricks of the trade is damn good at it. They add [[VerbalTic -de osaru]] on the end of every one of their sentences...and apparently, the art of ninjitsu was developed by people from the ancient civilization of Mu. One of the Ooparts is a Shuriken, and Mega Man can take on the form of a ninja... Of wood.

* Creator/TheCannonGroup's ninja trilogy: ''Film/EnterTheNinja'', ''Film/RevengeOfTheNinja'', and ''Film/NinjaIIITheDomination'':
* In the ''Film/SpeedRacer'' live action movie, a ninja appears and attacks the Racer brothers... 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!

** Bakuryu becomes the chief resident ninja of the series from ''[=BR2=]'' onwards and has the type of speed and versatility one would expect - from freely [[TeleportSpam teleporting]] around the ring, to [[WallRun wall running.]]

* The ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' universe has [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2928 SCP-2928]], which are literally ninja. One of the disciplines of ninjitsu that they use binds them to the idea of what a ninja is, which means that as long as whoever is looking at them believes that actual ninja are stealthy, sneaky, and undetectable, they will be. But if whoever looks at them believes that ninja are [[HighlyVisibleNinja highly visible]], then they stand out like a sore thumb. The Foundation intentionally funded shows that made ninja seem more open and visible to weaken them. Also, according to one of the ninja in Foundation custody, [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles the turtles are real]], but [[NoodleIncident their creation involved a lot of cocaine.]]

* It took four seasons before ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' fought a ninja, but he did - a robot ninja at that. It was, at least, a stealthy one, made completely invisible whenever it stood in shadows. And then Jack revealed he could do the same trick with sunlight, leading to one of the most visually incredible fights in the series (which is ''saying'' something), [[RuleOfCool as the series is made of cool]].

** Ninja can [[ArrowCatch catch arrows in flight]] - BUSTED! Guinness Book of Records champion ninja, they shot safety arrows at him. 6 arrows hit him. He jumped away from 3 and caught the 10th arrow; in a real fight, he would have been dead before that 10th arrow. It is possible, but highly impractical. Also Busted because ninjas knew better than to put themselves in a place to get shot at.

* Ashida Kim is a self-proclaimed ninja who is based in Lake Alfred, Florida. Having written over 30 books on the subject, he claims to have learned his ninjitsu from someone named Shendai. He also claims to have met Count Dante (who is best known for his "Deadliest Man Alive" ads appearing for years in comic books) and trained under him. He also has posted a $10,000 challenge to anyone who wants to fight him. It should be pointed out that the aforementioned $10,000 is not awarded to the person who defeats Kim. It is Kim's fee (plus travelling/lodging expenses and a $25,000 appearance bond assuring the challenger is "serious") for showing up to the fight. Long suspected to be the pseudonym of a Christopher Hunter, recent investigations have suggested that Ashida Kim's birth name is Radford Davis. Also, despite the Japanese first name and Korean last name of his favorite alias, Mr. Davis is very caucasian.

* Shinobi from ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'', who can throw Shurikens, smoke bombs and kill with a single sword blow.

* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' features the Kinkou Orders, ninjas dedicated serving the balance of power. They consist Shen, Akali (a kunoichi) and Kennen (a ''yordle''), and all of them are playable to varying degrees, Akali serves as a traditional assassination-based Ninja, Kennen is more about blasting your enemies with lightning, and Shen is an unusually tough ninja that is capable of tanking while having a body built more like a traditional ninja (not very big). They also get their ArchEnemy, shadow-based ninja named Zed.

[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]

--->A voice spoke up. "There was that one time where I was a ninja. I noticed Twilight and Shining were both acting very strange, so being the concerned mother that I was, I decided to follow them to wherever they were headed."
The entire bar fell silent. One by one, the patrons let their gazes climb upward.
"Hi hon." Hanging from the ceiling and dressed in a skintight suit, Twilight Velvet waved at her daughter. "Time loop, huh?"
"...yep."
"I guess we both have our secrets." She paused a moment, then pointed at Nyx. "Did that black filly call you ''mom'' earlier?"