Ninja High School
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Ninja High School is a long-running mangaesque Urban Fantasy rom-com comic created, written, and illustrated by Ben Dunn. Debuting in 1987, it was originally intended to be a parodic mini-series, but took off like wildfire in the /co/ underground and became a long-running series; the first "volume" ran continuously until November 2002 (15 years of unbroken publishing!), and the series has seen multiple attempts at continuations, spin-offs and revivals up until 2020.
Story
In the quiet American Midwest town of Quagmire, Jeremy Feeple is an average high school student. And then one day two girls show up and start fighting for his hand in marriage; the Japanese ninja Ichikun "Itchy Koo" Ichinohei and the alien princes Asrial, a hot alien skunkwoman with super strength in disguise as a skimpily clad blonde human. And that's when Jeremy starts to learn that Quagmire isn't so ordinary after all, as he gets caught up in ancient ninja clan feuds, an ongoing rivalry between local mad scientists, localized alien invasions, and other weirdness.
Originally a slapstick romcom, the series eventually matured and took on more serious tones, examining things like murder, drugs and homosexuality. /a/ grognards will note a distinct resemblance to Urusei Yatsura, with a dash of Ranma 1/2, in addition to a massive cascade of references to other anime of the time period.
The Sagas
Volume 1: The original run of the series, focused on Jeremy, his would-be brides Ichikun and Asrial, and Rivalsan Lendo, the local teenage multimillionaire who wants Ichikun as his own bride.
Volume 2: An informal term used by fans to distinguish the volume 1 section that came after a time-skip, where the story was refocused onto Jeremy's little brother Ricky and a new cast of crazies having their own adventures. Volume 2 concluded with the 100th issue of the original run in November 2002.
Hawaiian Series: Ran from December, 2002 - June, 2005. Officially considered issues #101-#129 in the overarching story. Follows former side-character Yumei as she goes to Hawaii and has her own weird adventures.
Shidoshi Series: Ran from August, 2005 to August, 2009. Officially considered issues #130-#175 in the overarcing story. A continuation of Volume 2 taht focuses exclusively on Ricky as he and a new cast of characters are attacked by a deadly rival ninja clan.
Volume 3: Attempted revival series; published issue #176 in June 2014, then went on hiatus until 2020. A new alien race, the "Kuroni", have possessed the people of Quagmire and plan to enslave all of Earth. Anne Feeple and Professor Steamhead are the only two unaffected and are forced to jump to an alternate dimension to find means to defeat them.
Ninja High School Yearbook: Annual special edition publication that is comprised entirely of fan-submitted stories and material.
Ninja High School Swimsuit Edition: As per the Ninja High School Yearbook.
Dragon Blade: Crossover with Gold Digger.
Super Ninja High School: One-issue special spin-off to Volume 3 that has Anne Feeple and Professor Steamhead dealing with various videogame character expies.
Quagmire USA: A mini-series published alongside Volume 1, focusing on the various supporting characters of Quagmire.
Furry (Not!) Ninja High School: Mini-series parody of Volume 1 that reimagines the cast as furries (Asrial becomes an alien skunk-woman who can turn into a non-anthro skunk) and tones up the sexual explicitness. Followed by a second mini-series, Furry Ninja High School Strikes Back.
/tg/ Relevance
Battlefield Press has created licensed RPGs for the series in both a d6 format and under the Savage Worlds system. Updated rereleases for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition and Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition are scheduled for 2021 (April and June respectively). The RPGs can be purchased on DriveThruRPG.
External Links
The series has been uploaded to Webtoons, including both the original run, Volume 2, Shidoshi, Quagmire USA and Volume 3 (Though no Hawaii series for some reason) as well as some of the crossovers with ComicBook/GoldDigger. You can Read it here] and here's a checklist for the links to certain parts of the series.
!!! Main Runs
- Start of the 1st volume.
- Start of Vol 2
- Start of Shidoshi
- Start of Vol 3 (Technically the next issue of the series, they forgot to upload the first part).
!!! Mini-Series and One Shots
- Start of Quagmire USA
- Start of Dragon Blade (Crossover with Gold Digger)
- Super Ninja High School