Ninjago (Seasons 11-15) Review!

Alright! Today I'm reviewing the 11th through 15th seasons of Ninjago, rebranded without the subtitleMasters of Spinjitzu, which is about six ninjas who protect the land of Ninjago from the forces of evil, be they snakes, other worlds, evil video game companies, the lost city of Atlantis, and eventually the Overlord in a battle for all of Ninjago. The second soft reboot of the series, Ninjago is back in full force with 11-minute episodes, a new animation style, and several familiar faces. 

Like all Ninjago seasons, each one brings questions about the infrastructure of Ninjago City. After introducing emperors or something in season eight, they're back to mayors? How does their government function? Do they have a constitutional amendment that requires a switch every two years or so? Also like other Ninjago seasons, there are plot points that feel like retreads (Prime Empire = Rebooted), and it's always impressive to see how many retcons they can shove inside one of these things.

However, unlike prior Ninjago seasons, the soft reboot comes in shades of eleven-minute episodes; while that works for shows like Infinity Train or Over the Garden Wall, Ninjago is decidedly not that. This is made to sell toys to children, not high-concept atmosphere builders that are Halloween-coded. It's about ninjas who drive mechs and giant motorcycles and get upgrades every other episode - extending that over 32 episodes is exhausting and feels much longer than the ten twenty-minute episodes. 

Additionally, the handling of the ensemble cast is once again shaky. Ronin, an awesome supporting character from the show's fifth season, returns to betray the ninja in a betrayal of his character arc. It's not great, and they obviously only wanted a familiar face to get audiences invested. Additionally, Dareth the Brown Ninja is criminally underused yet again (I wonder if the showrunners are aware of just how beloved the character is). However, there are bright spots, such as the introduction of Fugi-Dove, a pigeon-themed "archnemesis" for Jay, who absolutely stole the show every time he appeared. There are also a few anime-inspired episodes, which were just... bad. There's no sugarcoating that one, they were just bad. 

The animation is also far worse than season eight/nine/ten's post-LEGO Ninjago Movie boon. It's flatter and less LEGO-like, and the detailing continues the spiral until the textures look like clay. The series also greatly increased its silliness; while Ninjago was never "serious," it at least had a few grounded moments. Seasons eleven through fifteen are wholly superfluous, and repetitive, and often include random or derivative characters who take up far too much screen time. 

However, this is still Ninjago - the ninja are all back and doing their thing, and when the series focuses on their bond it's at its best. Lloyd is particularly funny this time around, but the rest of the cast takes turns in the spotlight and is otherwise a caricature of their season one selves (Although that's been happening to Kai ever since season three). This new wave of Ninjago also tries, once again, to "Phoenix Saga" this thing, which is just a fun euphemism for trying once again to revamp their most iconic arc. 

Ninjago has had five finales - the first was in season two, where Lloyd unlocked the Golden Ninja and defeated the Overlord; the second was in season three when they fought the Overlord and Zane died; The third was in season ten, which ended the "Masters of Spinjitzu" show we all loved through massive Oni retcons; The fourth is in season fourteen, where Nya sacrifices herself to become an ocean goddess or what have you; and the fifth finale is in season fifteen, where the Overlord shows up yet again, now with an army of Crystallized goons. 

It tries to be the grand Avengers: Endgame of Ninjago, the end of the path Sensei Wu started us on. However, it feels more like The Rise of Skywalker - a long-dead threat unexpectedly returns, and now they have to speedrun us through that exposition, how they rose to power, the implicated retcons, and trying to wrap it all up in eleven minutes (They did not stick the landing). It also has one of the most egregious deus ex machinas to ever occur on the show as they forget and overplay different characters (Harumi and Garmadon deserved better).

It's not all bad, however. Even if he's criminally underused, every time Dareth shows up the episode becomes a 10/10, seeing the Ninja work together is fun, Nya's Seabound sacrifice was actually very emotional, Prime Empire had Tron: Uprising vibes, and various characters introduced are fun additions to Ninjago's expansive cast. However, none of the positives can really balance the massive retcons and retreads they continually ask us to believe. 

Overall, I give Ninjago a 7/10. "Hampered by eleven-minute episodes and derivative plotlines, Ninjago is a so-so "end" to the series."

Dareth walked so Saul Goodman could run.