Supah Ninjas

Plot

The series follows Mike Fukanaga and his friends, Owen and Amanda. Following his grandfather's death, Mike receives a mysterious letter that leads him to discover that he comes from a long line of vigilante ninjas. Along with Owen, and later Amanda, they are ushered into the world of crime-fighting, forming the team "Supah Ninjas." They are trained by a hologram of Mike's grandfather, whom Owen refers to as "Hologramps", in Empire City.

Cast

Main

Michael "Mike" Fukanaga (portrayed by Ryan Potter) is a Japanese-American student, who is quiet, shy, socially awkward, and nerdy. He and his best friend Owen discover a secret underground dojo under his bed, where a hologram of his late grandfather awaits to train him in the ways of the ninja. Mike discovers that he is the latest in a long family line of ninjas, besides his father, and ultimately learns about leadership, friendship, discipline, deception, and romance while saving Empire City from villains. His weapon of choice is a pair of nunchucks and his necklace, or mon in Japanese, is a disguised shuriken. His love interest is his friend and fellow ninja Amanda. In the finale, Mike is kidnapped by Kagema.

Owen Reynolds (portrayed by Carlos Knight) is Mike's best friend and fellow Supah Ninja. He is of African American descent. Owen is eccentric, has a tendency to overreact and show little discipline, and can be food-loving and lazy at times; despite this, his instincts make him a powerful and fearless warrior. He is the only character to call Grandpa Fukunaga "Hologramps". His signature weapon is a Bō staff. He is always trying to impress girls, sometimes using Amanda or Mike as a "wing-man" of sorts.

Amanda McKay (portrayed by Gracie Dzienny) is a smart, stylish, talented, and popular cheerleader and scholar. In the first episode, she is kidnapped by The Rhymer before being rescued by Mike and Owen, who are still in basic training. Upon discovering who her rescuers are, she pressures them into letting her in on the action by threatening to tell everyone about the "Supah Ninjas", ultimately leading to her inclusion in the group. Her family is wealthy, as they own the chain of McKay Casinos. Later in the series, she seems to develop romantic feelings for Mike. According to Hologramps, she is distinctive from the rest of the group due to her methodical nature. Her weapons of choice are a pair of tonfa.

Yamato (portrayed by Travis Wong and Jake Huang and voiced by Matthew Yang King (credited as Matt Yang King)) is a sarcastic and wise-cracking X-39-P Fighting Robot trainer, nicknamed "Yama" by The Ninjas, who serves as a practice opponent at the dojo.

Hattori "Hologramps" Fukanaga (portrayed by George Takei) is the sensei of the Supah Ninjas and Mike's deceased grandfather. A hologram carrying the family ninja legacy, he guides the Supah Ninjas in an underground high-tech dojo beneath the Fukanaga home. He has Yamato guide them in combat while using other tactics, such as meditation, to round out their skill sets. He is disabled by his twin brother Kagema Fukanaga in "The Ishina Strike Back" before being brought back by Quentin/Kid Q in "The Floating Sword", telling the Supah Ninjas that it is time to start the next phase of their training.

Recurring

Martin Fukanaga (portrayed by Randall Park) is Mike's widowed father, who works as a police officer. Unlike Hologramps and Mike, the "ninja trait" skipped his generation. He is gullible and somewhat clueless, but well-intentioned, seeing the ninjas as heroes even when others in law enforcement do not seem to.

Cameron Vanhauser (portrayed by Jordan Nichols) is the son of the owner of Empire Condominiums. Amanda broke up with him after he told her that he felt she was too boring and straight-laced. In "Detention", Amanda tells him that he will meet the perfect girl, even if she is not the one.

Kelly (portrayed by Giselle Bonilla, season 1) is Amanda's friend and fellow cheerleader. Despite disliking Owen and Mike, she remains the object of Owen's unwarranted flirting and advances. However, it is revealed in "Detention" that she has a soft and considerate side.

Julie (portrayed by Victory Van Tuyl) is a kind, smart, and attractive girl. She and Mike share a love of comic books, and she becomes his love interest and eventual girlfriend. In "Flint Forster", she breaks up with Mike through a text after having moved away two weeks prior.

Paloma Peru (portrayed by Marissa Cuevas) is a school reporter who is introduced in "Shadow Fly". Owen seems to have a crush on her. She is actively pursuing the ninjas.

Quentin (portrayed by Matthew Gumley) is a science nerd and Owen's friend. In "Enter the Dojo", he is given the knowledge of the ninjas' secret identity and swears to secrecy as Owen gives him the moniker "Kid Q". He is the one to help fix the dojo, repair Yamato, and help re-enable Hologramps at the dojo.

Main villains

Ishina: A rival ninja clan to the Fukunaga clan, who seek a weapon known as the Floating Sword. They "kidnap" Connor, but this was a set-up, and Connor is revealed to be their leader, who serves a more powerful master: Grandpa Fukanaga's evil twin brother Kagema. He finds out that Mike, Owen, and Amanda are ninjas in "Quake". They appear again in "Cousin Connor", where Connor tries to get the ninjas to turn on themselves. However, Mike learns that Connor is one of the Ishina and that he tricked them, leading to a battle that ends in Kagema defeating the ninjas and escaping with Connor. Connor manages to get hold of Mike's medallion and uses it to get into the dojo, where he intends to relieve Mike of the Floating Sword.

Connor (portrayed by Brandon Soo Hoo) is Mike's cousin and the grandson of Mike's grandfather's sister (great-aunt), who is the co-leader of the Ishina. Along with the Ishina, he seeks to take the Floating Sword back from the Fukanaga family to create a powerful weapon to attempt world domination and enact revenge on the members of the Fukanaga family. At the end of the first season, in the episode "Cousin Connor," he stole Mike's mon, which he used to open the secret entrance to the dojo. After his infiltration attempt is thwarted, he tricks the ninjas into thinking that the Ishina were holding his parents hostage to try and take out the trio. However, he is foiled again and sent to Madagascar in a shipping crate.

Kagema Fukanaga (portrayed by George Takei) is Hologramps' evil twin brother and Mike's great uncle, who is the current leader of the Ishina clan. He was entrusted to protect the Floating Sword, but betrayed his family and attempted to steal it, only to be thwarted by his brother. He manages to take out the ninjas and escapes with Connor. In "Grounded Ninja", it is revealed that he needs the Floating Sword to complete his ultimate weapon, a robotic ninja named "Hakaisha - The One Who Destroys". In the episode "The Floating Sword", he was defeated by Mike and Connor, but Kagema kidnaps Mike and escapes.

The Rhymer (portrayed by Christopher Reid) is a villain who rhymes when speaking and robbed places whose names rhymed with each other. He was pursued by the Supah Ninjas in the pilot episode; after his minions were defeated by Mike and Owen and arrested, the Rhymer escaped after being furious that nothing rhymes with "orange".

Katara (portrayed by Sydney Tamiia Poitier) is a knife-throwing cat burglar who stole priceless antiquities. She started dating Mike's father in order to break into a museum he was guarding, and managed to escape before the ninjas could capture her.

Minor villains

Subsiders: A crew that lived in the shadows of abandoned subway tunnels. Every time a new member joins, they give them a new name. The crew included Subsider (Christopher Kien Dao), Moth (Xin Sarith Wuku), Toad (Victor Lopez), Roach (Gabriel Nunez), Rat (Caine Sinclair), and Viper (Ramses Jimenez), with Owen's friend James (Jonny Weston) once being part of the crew. They wear hoodies and white masks and rob trucks full of valuable items, such as money. They attempted to escape, but were defeated by Mike and Amanda, with Viper being defeated by Owen.

Komodo (portrayed by Bryan Friday): A former assistant to Cameron's father, Dr. Theodore Anton wanted revenge for being double-crossed by Vanderhaussen. He wears a large dragon helmet and uses an atomic flamethrower to burn down buildings.

Dollhouse (portrayed by Tyler Poelle) captured people and put mind control devices around their necks so they would act like moving dolls. Towards the climax of the episode, Mike finds that Dollhouse never had any friends and had a lonely childhood, which influenced his evil plan. He is defeated when he attempts to shoot Mike with tranquilizer darts, but is subdued after Mike catches one and throws it at Dollhouse's hand.

X (portrayed by Christopher Maleki) is a skilled assassin from the mob that sought to kill the person Mike's father was protecting. He was identified by the X-shaped scar on the back of his neck. He was disguised at the train conductor and took control of the train leading to a Sci-Fi convention.

House of Lords: A British crime group led by Sir Nigel Wickett, whose members wield cricket paddles. They were after Kickbutt (Lucas Cruikshank) after he stole their money, but are defeated by the ninjas and Kickbutt. Two of their members are portrayed by Mark Lindsay Chapman and Ray Park.

Morningstar Academy: A boarding school where the headmistress, Ms. Morningstar (Paulette P. Williams), turns troubled girls into skilled thieves who rob for her and are wanted in several countries. These thieves included Clarissa (Daniella Monet), Fiona (Allison Caetano), and Bethany (Kiralee Hayashi), who are defeated by Amanda.

Production

On September 30, 2010, Nickelodeon announced that it had ordered 26 episodes of the series, which was slated to begin production in Los Angeles for a 2011 premiere. Initially, the series was planned to star YouTube comedian Ryan Higa as the lead character Mike Fukanaga. In an update video posted to his channel on July 16, 2011, Ryan Higa explained, "The reason why I turned it down is because they wanted me to remove my YouTube videos."

On May 7, 2013, it was announced that the series would not return for a third season. Chris Breakwell, owner of the show's production facility 31st Street Studios, stated "Nickelodeon liked it but they're going in a different direction."

Episodes