Aahana Swrup
The Japanese Netflix show, ‘House of Ninjas,’ follows a seemingly regular family with a big secret to keep. The Tawara family is possibly the last standing Shinobi clan in the country. However, a mission gone wrong pushed the family’s patriarch, Souichi, to force a life of normalcy upon his family. Even so, his wife, Yoko, and kids, Haru and Nagi, continue to feel their past absence in their new lives. As such, once the family’s longstanding rival clan, The Fumas, resurface, bringing new dangers and opening wounds of the past, the Tawara find themselves slipping into their Shinobi roles to protect their nation from an imminent threat.
In depicting the rivalry between the Tawara family and the Fumas, the show charts thrilling narratives with intriguing family dynamics and evil plots. As such, viewers must be curious to see where this reintegration into a ninja’s life brings for the Tawara and what new revelations it brings. SPOILERS AHEAD!
House of Ninjas Recap
Six years ago, the Tawara family undertook a mission to save governor candidate Mukai Toko after the Fuma clan abducted her. Although they rescued the woman, the family lost their eldest son, Gaku, after a Fuma ninja stabbed him to death, and his body became lost to the sea. As a result, Gaku’s father, Souichi, decided to put his family’s generational Shinobi duties behind him in favor of living a safe life as a “normal” family.
For the same reason, in the present time, eight-year-old Riku isn’t even aware of his family’s history. Meanwhile, his older siblings, Haru and Nagi, who received proper Shinobi training, continue missing their past adventures as they try to live a regular life. Still, Nagi honors her brother’s memories by secretly continuing her training. Inversely, Haru holds onto some guilt regarding Gaku’s death, which prevents him from stepping up to his role as the now-oldest Tawara kid. Through it all, Souichi attempts to save the drowning family brewery business since his family is no longer on the nation’s payroll as covert protectors.
Soon, BNM’s Hamashi, the Tawaras’ former handler during their warrior days, attempts to convince Souichi to return to the field. Recently, a pleasure cruise saw a mass homicide through toxins, perplexing the local police. Therefore, even though the Tawaras eradicated the Fumas in the past, the BNM suspects new Ninja warriors to have surfaced.
Thus, once Souichi turns down their offer, Hamashi approaches Yoko and covertly puts her to work on the cruise incident’s investigation. Meanwhile, Gaku breaks Shinobi rules by getting involved with a regular girl, Karen Ito. However, Karen is actually a journalist who is also looking into the cruise incident. Consequently, Haru involuntarily becomes involved in Hamashi’s investigation to keep Karen safe. Likewise, Nagi gets in trouble of her own after getting tricked by a stalker who knows her secret.
Thus, once Nagi’s and Yoko’s separate paths simultaneously cross with the Fumas, Souichi has no choice but to don his Shinobi robes again to defend his family by fighting alongside them. Around the same, Haru and Karen’s investigation leads them to the Gentenkai cult, helmed by Tsujioka Yosuke, the Fuma who killed Gaku. Thus, Haru discovers that the Fuma has returned with Tsujioka as the 19th Fuma Kataro to lead the group.
As such, the entire Tawara family ends up returning to their past Shinobi ways to figure out the Fumas’ plan and put a stop to it. Even Riku discovers their secret and starts his own training. Furthermore, Haru’s parents allow the boy to hide Karen at their Shinobi house to keep her safe from the Fumas and Hamashi, who wouldn’t be pleased to know the regular girl knows about the nation’s best-kept secret.
With the Tawaras back in the field wholeheartedly, BNM sees quick results in uncovering the Fumas’ evil plan and learns about a closely nearing Solar Eclipse scheme. Nonetheless, life throws another curveball at the Tawaras as they suddenly receive news that Gaku is alive. As it would turn out, the Fumas kidnapped Gaku after his presumed death and held him hostage until he finally managed to escape.
Still, Gaku’s adverse time among the Fumas has left him changed in more ways than just his missing leg. Therefore, even as everyone remains overjoyed at his return and attempts to carry out their missions, Gaku’s family can’t help but wonder if they’ve lost their eldest son to the Fuma, who brainwashed him to send him back to the Tawaras as a spy.
House of Ninjas Ending: Is Gaku a Fuma?
With Gaku’s return, his involvement with the Fuma remains the biggest mystery to ponder. Gaku grew up in a Shinobi family and embodied the ideal eldest son in many ways. He dedicated himself to his duties and became an excellent role model for his siblings. For the same reason, his presumed death leaves the Tawaras unbalanced, with each member struggling in their own way. Yet, after he returns, Gaku’s six-year stay with the Fumas remains impossible to ignore.
Although Gaku insists Tsujioka, the man who stabbed him, held him as a prisoner in the hidden Fuma camps, Hamashi reminds the family that the boy could easily be lying to gain their trust. Likewise, Grandma Tawara, the family’s oldest member, also remains suspicious of her grandchild. For the same reason, she hides away the Vision of Calamity scroll, an artifact a Fuma warrior previously sought out when they tricked Nagi by pretending to be her dead older brother.
Yet, despite his newly hardened disposition, Gaku attempts to be helpful to his family and even helps them locate the fields where the Fuma held their camps. However, Nagi catches her brother in an incriminating act when their parents set out on a mission to check out the Fuma camps and learn about their upcoming operations. During this time, Haru receives a tip from a former Fuma member, seeking revenge against the organization for killing his family.
Nevertheless, before the snitch can share details with Haru, Gaku intercepts him in secret and ruthlessly delivers him to his death. Nagi, who watches the entire event unfold, confronts Gaku about his involvement with the Fuma— something he steadfastly denies. Yet, the same night, Nagi learns the actual truth after a group of Fumas attack the Shinobi house in search of the Visions of Calamity scroll.
Since Nagi and Ruki are home alone with only their grandma, the Fuma, led by second-in-command Ayame, overpowers them despite the impressive fight they put up. Still, as the woman threatens their life, Gaku arrives, unveiling his status as a Fuma to prevent Ayame from harming his family and compelling his grandmother to hand over the scroll.
As it would turn out, Gaku’s years-long stay with the Fumas intrinsically changed his worldview. Although the man attempted to escape at first, his newly sawed-off leg prevented him from enacting an escape. Similarly, Tsujioka and Ayame refused to allow him to commit suicide. Instead, the 19th Fuma Kataro influenced Gaku against the Shinobi by bringing their blind dedication to the cause into question.
The Shinobi have always followed a master in their mission to keep the nation safe. Consequently, the Tawaras often kill as a part of political cover-ups. After sowing these seeds of doubt, Tsujioka immediately pitches the Fuma as a group born of freedom who use their skills for the greater good by deciding their fates for themselves.
As such, Gaku turns away from the rigid rules and duties of a Shinobi and becomes a Fuma, willingly participating in their rituals and earning a new moniker, “Crow.” In the end, after retrieving the scroll from his grandmother, Gaku returns to reunite with Tsujioka to carry out their plan. Consequently, Souichi and Yoko, running reconnaissance at the Fuma’s factory, realize their son’s betrayal. Nonetheless, despite Gaku’s heartbreaking departure, the Tawara family teams up to take down Tsujioka, even if it means facing their beloved eldest son.
Why Does Gaku Kill Tsujioka? Does Gaku Return to His Family?
When the Tawaras carry out their attack on the Fumas, the family remains grossly outnumbered by their enemies. Even though the Tawaras are the last of the Shinobi, the Fuma have been increasing their numbers in the past years. Tsujioka ensured that the BNM continued believing in the Fumas’ extinction and started a religious cult disguised as a naturalist organization, Gentenkai. As such, he has recruited several people to his cause, using a specific yellow toxin powder to turn those who are worthy into Fumas.
Therefore, in the final fight between the Fumas and the Tawaras, the scales stay tipped in the former’s favor. Yet, the Shinobi family fights with determination and remains steadfast in their attempts to bring Gaku back home with him. For the same reason, while the family faces their overwhelming enemy, they encourage Haru to follow Gaku to convince him to return home.
Nevertheless, in a showdown between the two brothers, Gaku makes his position clear. The boy’s allegiance has shifted to a different cause— one that he encourages Haru to join. As such, the younger brother realizes all hope has been lost once his brother wipes his hands off the family. Haru unleashes his rightful anger and bests his brother in their fight.
Afterward, Haru seeks Tsujioka in a room full of smoke, where the Fuma leader delivers several lethal blows and slashes to the Shinobi by equipping his stealthy techniques. Still, Haru’s years-long practice in patience comes in handy, and he subjugates his nemesis by ripping his arm out. Even so, Gaku arrives and kills Tsujioka when the time comes to deliver the finishing blow.
Years ago, on the day that Gaku should’ve died, Haru hesitated to kill Tsujioka, who was only a Fuma soldier then. As a result, he blames his reluctance to kill— a persisting issue— on birthing the 19th Fuma Kataro and leading to his brother’s demise. Although Haru thinks he’s prepared to undo the same mistake now and finally commit to his duty as a Shinobi by taking a life, his older brother knows better.
Gaku knows how suffocating the Shinobi rules and regulations have been for his brother, who has always had a gentler disposition despite his skill. For the same reason, the Shinobi-turned-Fuma kills his own leader to spare his brother a stained conscience. Nevertheless, even though Gaku acts with compassion toward his brother, he still hasn’t changed his values. As a result, with Tsujioka’s death, Gaku leaves his brother behind, turning his back on his family forever.
What Is The Solar Eclipse Plan? Do The Fumas Succeed?
While the Tawaras and BNM assume that Tsujioka’s end means the end of his Solar Eclipse plan, the same doesn’t end up being true after all. Initially, the Shinobi think that the Fumas are planning to deliver toxins, packaged as “Powder of Hope.” to their thousands of nationwide cult followers and commit mass murder. After finding the Gentenkai factory, their suspicions are affirmed. Therefore, as the BNM closed down the factory and got rid of the packaged toxin, they believed they had successfully avoided the crisis.
Nonetheless, Haru remains doubtful of the same because of Tsujioka’s dying words wherein he implies a bigger game to be at play. Meanwhile, Karen, who has been forced to return to her regular life and cut off contact with the Tawaras, stays out of the loop and anxiously tries to figure out the reality behind the Solar Eclipse plan. Eventually, the journalist finally cracks the code and realizes the Fumas’ real target.
Since the Fumas targeted Mukai Toko all those years ago, Karen believes their real plan is to go after the woman, now a presidential candidate, again during the solar eclipse, when the Democratic party candidates will attend a gathering. However, her attempts to prevent the incident are in vain since no one at the event is willing to believe her. Consequently, her hunch turns out to be true.
The Fumas, now under Ayame and Gaku’s control, spiked the gatherings’ champagne flutes with their toxin powder, which killed every democratic party official in the room. However, Mukai emerges as the sole survivor. As it would turn out, Mukai is actually the descendant of the Hojo/Sakaki family, who have long since held ties to the Fumas. Therefore, her initial kidnapping had been a way to boost her ratings as a governor candidate and trap the Tawaras. Similarly, the solar eclipse is a plan to eliminate her competition within the DNP party to ensure she becomes the chosen Democratic presidential candidate.
The show’s first season ends with the Fumas successfully implanting a puppet within the government. The same would help them take control over Japan and return the nation to what the Fumas consider its “former glory.” Furthermore, in the wake of Tsujioka’s death, the clan also receives their newest leader, the 20th Fuma Kataro: Gaku Tawara, the ironic descendant of Fuma’s rival, Hanzo Hattori. Inversely, Haru also stops running away from his familial duties and dedicates himself to his Shinobi identity. Yet, a shift in governmental power suggests adverse changes within the BNM. Thus, the story ends with a new match set for the Tawaras and the Fumas to unravel in a potential second season.
Read More: House of Ninjas: Where Is the Netflix Ninja Series Filmed?
