''Shuriken School'' is an

animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...

that first aired on August 20, 2006. It was produced by

Xilam Animation Xilam is a French production company that specializes in animated television series and feature films. Marc du Pontavice and his wife Alix founded it in 1999 as a replacement for the animation division of Gaumont Multimédia; though Gaumon ...

and Zinkia Entertainment in association with

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services provi ...

and

Jetix Europe Jetix Europe N.V. (formerly known as Fox Kids Europe N.V.) was a European television broadcasting company that owned children's television channels and programming blocks across the Europe and Middle East, such as Jetix and Jetix Play. History ...

Characters

* Eizan Kaburagi is an only child, 10 years old, raised in a working-class family from Tokirohama. Eizan is intelligent, hardworking, and eager to learn. His sole aim since childhood has been to become a

ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance, espionage, infiltration, deception, ambush, bodyguarding and their fighting skills in martial arts, including ninjutsu.Kawakami, pp. 2 ...

and to avoid selling rice balls. His signature weapon is a green plastic ruler. He is clumsy, as shown in the episode "Phantom of the Kabuki". * Jimmy B. comes from a comfortable New York family, but pretends to be much more streetwise than his true origins. He spent all his time with his rap gang, developing a real talent for break-dancing. His parents, perplexed and fed up with their neighbors' comments, sent him to Tokirohama to stay with his aunt and uncle. Before coming to Shuriken, he went to Katana school, Shuriken's rival school, but was kicked out after a week. His weapon is a skateboard. * Okuni Dohan is the sole female member of the main group, and the most well-studied of them. She frequently cites examples from important lessons, and possesses great deductive skills and

origami ) is the Japanese art of paper folding. In modern usage, the word "origami" is often used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into a f ...

talent. There is also hinted rivalry between Okuni and Ami. Her primary weapon of choice is a jumprope.

Voice cast

French-language version

* Hélène Bizot - Eizan Kaburagi *Sophie Arthuys - Jimmy B. *Emilie Rault - Okuni Dohan *Pierre Baton - Principal Sensei, Zumichito *Isabelle Volpe - Jacques Morimura *Stéphanie Lafforge - Choki *Sauvane Delanoë - Marcos Gonsales, Daisuke Togakame *Ariane Aggiage - Kita Shunai, Nobunaga *Bruno Magne - Vladimir « Vlad » Keitawa *Denis Laustriat - Kubo Utamaro *Philippe Valmont - Tetsuo Matsura *Brigitte Lecordier - Kimura Twins *Jean-Claude Donda - Naginata, Yota Suguimura, Cleaning Lady *Benjamin Pascal - Bruce Chang *Pascal Massix - Principal of Katana

English-language version

Nathan Kress Nathan Karl Kress (born November 18, 1992) is an American actor and director. Kress began his career at the age of four, notably appearing in several television commercials and providing the voices of Easy and Tough Pup in the comedy-drama film ...

- Eizan, Jacques, Choki, Marcos * Charlie Adler - Vladimir, Principal of Shuriken, Tetsuo, Principal of Katana, Cleaning Lady *

Jessica DiCicco Jessica Sonya DiCicco (; born June 10, 1980) is an American actress. She is known for voicing in animated television series and video games. Her first voice role was the announcer for Nickelodeon's educational channel Noggin. DiCicco has since v ...

- Okuni, Ami, Kita, Kimura Twins, Yota *

Maurice LaMarche Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor, comedian, and impressionist. He has voiced the Brain in '' Animaniacs'' as well as its spin-off '' Pinky and the Brain'', Big Bob in ''Hey Arnold!'' (1996–2004), and a variety of ...

- Daisuke, Naginata, Kubo, Zumichito *

Kimberly Brooks Kimberly D. Brooks (née Lawson) is an American voice actress who works in the voice-over, film, video games, and theatre industry. She has voiced in video games since the mid-1990s. She has played Ashley Williams in the ''Mass Effect'' serie ...

- Jimmy, Nobunaga, Bruce Chang

Episodes

Home video

In the United States, the entire series was released onto DVD on August 12, 2014 from Cinedigm.

Movie

An animated film, entitled ''Shuriken School: The Ninja's Secret'' (also known as ''The Ninja's Secret: A Shuriken School Adventure''), has been produced by

Xilam Xilam is a French production company that specializes in animated television series and feature films. Marc du Pontavice and his wife Alix founded it in 1999 as a replacement for the animation division of Gaumont Multimédia; though Gaumo ...

. It aired on 21 December 2007 on

Disney Channel Asia Disney Channel was a pan-Asian pay television kids channel owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia; part of The Walt Disney Company Asia-Pacific. It began broadcasting in Taiwan on 29 March 1995, until its main launch on Ja ...

. In the US, it was released onto DVD on April 15, 2014 from Cinedigm.

Plot

"The plot of Shuriken: the Movie follows lead protagonists Eizan, Jimmy and Okuni during the summer holidays. The three friends soon engage an interesting albeit dangerous struggle for reputation, family, and a whole lot more when Eizan's dad is kidnapped by professional ninjas. Upon setting out to find and rescue Eizan's father, the kids must employ the skills and techniques they studied so fervently during their first year of ninja training. Things are difficult however, when they learn that the Jade

Shuriken A ''shuriken'' ( ja, 手裏剣; literally: "hidden hand blade") is a Japanese concealed weapon that was used as a hidden dagger or metsubushi to distract or misdirect. They are also known as throwing stars, or ninja stars, although they wer ...

, an ancient symbol of extreme ninja power, threatens Eizan's dreams and potential to become a true ninja. A series of events unravel as Eizan strives to clear his name, realize his dreams and secure his place at Shuriken School."

Voice cast

- Eizan * Charlie Adler - Vladimir, Principal of Shuriken, Tetsuo, Principal of Katana, Eizan's Father *

- Okuni, Ami *

- Jimmy, Nobunaga, Bruce Chang, Eizan's mother *

- Daisuke, Naginata, Kubo, Zumichito *

Billy West William Richard Werstine (born April 16, 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'' and several subsequent projects, the title characters of ''Doug'' ...

(uncredited) - additional voices

References

External links

Xilam Shuriken School website

Zinkia Shuriken School website
* {{Jetix French flash animated television series Spanish flash animated television series Jetix original programming Xilam YTV (Canadian TV channel) original programming Ninja fiction Anime-influenced Western animated television series 2000s French animated television series 2006 French television series debuts 2007 French television series endings French children's animated action television series French children's animated adventure television series French children's animated comedy television series Spanish children's animated action television series Spanish children's animated adventure television series Spanish children's animated comedy television series 2006 Spanish television series debuts 2007 Spanish television series endings Animated television series about children