During the ancient days of feudal Japan two rival ninja clans, the Byakuro and the Kabusu, wage a long and bloody war against each other. One night the Kabusu stage a fierce attack on the Byakuro's castle stronghold with the intent of capturing the clan's infant princess. Luckily, the child is rescued by a ninja and grows up training in their ways to one day become a ninja herself.
Many years later the Byakuro clan tasks a group of young ninja recruits with invading enemy territory and capturing their scrolls to prove themselves. Along the way they encounter a small group of rival ninjas from the Kabusu clan that are still seeking the long lost Byakuro princess. What follows is a story fill with action, comedy and more than a few epic ninja battles as the new cadets strive to become master shinobi!
The OVA is comprised of two half hour episodes for a total runtime of just under 60 minutes.
Ninja Cadets provides examples of:
- Checkpoint Charlie: The first episode of the OVA has the ninja teams trying to pass through an enemy checkpoint before a giant spider demon shows up, leading to a fierce and brutal battle that leaves said checkpoint in shambles.
- Expy: Sakura is a rather blatant one to Mai Shiranoi.
- Giant Spider: The ultimate summoning technique used by one of the rival ninjas summons a giant spider demon that terrorizes the checkpoint the protagonists were trying to pass through. Luckily, it's no match for their skill and is quickly put down by their combined efforts.
- No Ending: The titular ninja cadets stand triumphant in the ruins caused by the final battle. Sakura looks down at the scroll in her hand, wonders if she might be the lost Byakuro princess and... the scene just cuts to the end credits without much closure. That's all folks!
- Senseless Sacrifice: When all of his weaker summonings fail one of the enemy ninja sacrifices himself to call forth a giant spider demon with the ability to shoot deadly acid. Too bad it doesn't kill a single one of the protagonists and is promptly destroyed via a group combination attack and powerful explosive finisher, making his sacrifice completely worthless.
- Sequel Hook: It's never revealed who the Byakuro princess truly is. Sakura wonders if it might be her... and cue the end credits!
- Smoke Out: Hayashi uses this to allow him and Matsuri to escape from some checkpoint guards. Too bad a rampaging spider demon shows up at the checkpoint mere seconds later.
- Summoning Ritual: This is the main specialty of one of the 3 rival ninja. When his lesser offerings fail to produce a creature that can beat the heroes he opts to use himself as the final sacrifice by jumping into a bonfire and calling forth his most powerful monster ever. It still loses.
- Villainous Valor: One of the enemy ninja chooses to sacrifice his own life to summon a powerful monster to defeat the heroes. Unfortunately for him and his teammates the main cast make pretty short work of it... rendering his final summon completely pointless.
