''Mail Order Ninja'' is an
original English-language (OEL) manga written by
Joshua Elder and illustrated by Erich Owen. It was the winner of
Tokyopop
Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed J ...
's fifth
Rising Stars of Manga
''Rising Stars of Manga'' (RSoM) was an English-language comic anthology published by TOKYOPOP from 2002 to 2008, and a contest held by the same company. It was originally semi-annual, but switched to annual beginning with the 6th volume.
Each vol ...
competition. It is about a boy who orders a ninja from a comic book.
Synopsis
The story starts with ten-year-old Timmy McAllister, a boy living in the small town of Cherry Creek,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...
.
A fifth grader at
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not inclu ...
Elementary School, he faces issues such as
bullies. To help himself he enters a sweepstakes run by
French entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...
Jaques. He wins and in a few weeks later his favorite ninja hero, Jiro Yoshida, arrives in the mail; thus the title.
Characters
''Timmy McAllister'': The ten-year-old
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
of the story. He is a fifth grader at L. Frank Baum Elementary School. Timmy attends Miss Sarah Melton's class and is an above average student. In Mail Order Ninja Volume One, he faces problems with
bullies. His main bullies are Brock Breckenridge, Felicity Dominique Huntington, and even his own sister, Lindsay. To help with his bullying situation, he enters and wins a sweepstakes, and in turn gains a ninja in the mail, which turns out to be Jiro Yoshida, the main character of his favorite graphic novel. His favorite food is chocolate chip pancakes made by his mother, and he seems to be a
manga
Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...
reader, his favorite "graphic novel" being Ninja Warrior Gunshyo (Ninja Warrior Gunshyo is seen to be published by
TOKYOPOP
Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed J ...
as a joke in the manga). Timmy's best friend is Herman W. Poindexter.
''Jiro Yoshida'': A powerful
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 ...
from Clan Yoshida. Jiro once had a promising music career and was dubbed the "Japanese Barry Manilow" by critics. Barry Manilow is also on his Jpod (As seen on the Sunday comics version). After he arrives in Cherry Creek, he helps Timmy overthrow the social hierarchy and run things around Timmy's school. His rival is Hakuryuu Nobunaga, a ninja from the White
Dragon Clan. He seems to have a love interest for Timmy's teacher, Sarah Melton. In volume two he is almost executed until Felicity's assistant Aleasa betrays her, and sets him free.
''Felicity Dominique Huntington'': The stereotypical rich girl of the series, she is Timmy's most harmful nemesis. Her father owns half of Cherry Creek, so she is horribly rich. She is at the top of their school's social rank, being reigning Little Miss Cherry Creek and sporting a new outfit (designer brands such as
Versace
Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978 known for flashy prints and bright colors. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as ...
,
Armani
Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...
and
Gucci
Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty Inc., ...
) every day. At the end of volume one and also volume two, she becomes bitter of Timmy's sudden rise and orders her own ninja. Coincidentally, the ninja she got was Hakuryuu Nobunaga, Jiro's rival. She constantly flaunts her wealth to other students, much to their dismay.
''Herman W. Poindexter'': Timmy's best friend in the series who is a stereotypical
nerd
A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly techn ...
. He attends Timmy's class, and is probably his only friend. He is a part of his school's
Opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...
Appreciation Society,
Calligraphy Club,
Chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
Club,
Computer Club, and the International Council of
Sci-Fi
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univ ...
and
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...
Fandom. He has a habit of using long words in sentences. He had four years of
tap dancing
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perf ...
classes and is shown to be girl shy, during the dance in volume 2.
''Brock Breckenridge'': The main
bully at L. Frank Baum Elementary. Timmy is usually his target, and it is shown that he has extorted Timmy of more than three hundred dollars accumulated over the years. Every morning he runs a toll booth and forces other students to pay for passage. He seems to bully practically all the students who aren't up to his level, those including his own underlings. Just like Felicity, he is at the top of the social rank. He seems to know Lindsay personally, even sitting at lunch with her. He's not that strong of a reader. Brock has a bullying license from the American Bullying Association, which Timmy made Jiro slice into pieces.
''Remus and Romulus Wolfe'': Brock's underlings who assist him in bullying. They are obviously
identical twins
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
. Remus is more adapted to his left side (left-handed, hair covering left eye) while Romulus is more adapted to his right. They are the ones usually raiding the possessions of their victims. It turns out that Brock bullies them, two panels showing him pushing them and smacking their heads together. In the background of one panel, he is hitting Remus in the face. Their names are the ones of
Romulus and Remus
In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus (, ) are twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his fratricide of Remus. The image of a she-wolf sucklin ...
Wolf, mythological twins and the supposed founders of Rome.
''Jacques'': A man who runs Jacques Co., a toy company that is unusually odd. It turns out Jacques once worked for the army in making weapons, which is why his toys are usually
dinosaurs
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
,
ninjas
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. 21 ...
,
guns
A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, ...
, and other dangerous play toys. Jacques is responsible for giving both Timmy and Felicity Jiro and Nobunaga. He is also French.
''Aleasa Duesenberg'': Felicity's lowly assistant who usually follows her everywhere. She seems to do all of Felicity's minor tasks such as carrying her possessions in school or dusting off her show and tell objects. It's implied in her character card that she has very low self-esteem. In volume two she gains some redemption and sets Jiro free before he is to be executed.
''Sarah Melton'': Timmy's weary homeroom teacher. Her life is boring and meaningless until she sees Jiro for the first time. Afterwards, she falls instantly in love with him. She is possibly the first adult to snap out of Felicity's mind control. In volume two she leaves her classroom to save Jiro.
''Hakuryuu Nobunaga'': Jiro's rival, who is the leader of the White Dragon Clan. Surprisingly, he is also experienced in the law field and once sued his own mother because he simply did not like the birthday present she got him.
External links
''Mail Order Ninja''at Tokyopop's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mail Order Ninja
Humor comics
Tokyopop titles
Fictional ninja
Original English-language manga