History VideoGame / Ninjala

** DropTheHammer: All of the hammer-class weapons work this way. The first subclass has a special that destroys weapons on contact, regardless of whether or not the opponent is guarding, while the second subclass has stun attacks to make up for their slow movement.
*** ShoeSlap: Cerberus is a hammer class weapon with a shoe for a head.

** ThisIsADrill: Drill Beast has the look and function of an actual drill; Corn Bats are giant corn cobs that work the same way. A third variation resembling a bird, called the [ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Bird Drill], was introduced later.

* GenderNeutralWriting: There's no actual gender option in the game's customization, instead allowing the player to pick between male and female faces. The player can also equip their avatar with any outfit regardless of gender and the shape of the character's body is the same for everyone, the latter of which can be justified as the player character is a child.

* BalefulPolymorph: The Beyond the Gum Special move turns whoever gets caught in its radius into an ice cream-shaped statue with Gumchi's face, only allowing them to run, jump, and dodge. This leaves them helpless and open for follow-up attacks.

** IconicLogo: All of the ''World Ninja Association'' brand clothing has the WNA brand's shuriken icon and/or initials.

** The first 5 missions per day have an increased amount of experience points to boost levels faster. Taken UpToEleven during Ninjala Pass Matsuri (Festival) events.

* RestingRecovery: Players will recover health when not under attack after a few seconds. Recovery speeds up when transforming. Even faster when equipping certain Shinobi cards.
* RevenueEnhancingDevices: The game has a currency called Jala, which can be used to purchase clothing and emotes for your character or spin a [[LootBoxes Gumball Machine]] to gain cosmetic weapons skins or clothing exclusive to that section. While you can get small amounts of the currency by playing normally and advancing through tier levels, Jala can also be bought directly using real-world money. The game even keeps tabs on how much paid and free Jala you have, for whatever reason.[[note]]This is probably due to Japanese gambling laws, which dictate that purchased virtual currency must have an experiation date. While this has no affect on the game outside of Japan, any paid Jala purchased in Japan expires after 150 days.[[/note]]

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:The Game]]

* RevenueEnhancingDevices: The game has a currency called Jala, which can be used to purchase clothing and emotes for your character or spin a [[LootBoxes Gumball Machine]] to gain cosmetic weapons skins or clothing exclusive to that section. While you can get small amounts of the currency by playing normally and advancing through tier levels, Jala can also be bought directly using real-world money. The game even keeps tabs on how much paid and free Jala you have, for whatever reason.[[note]]This is probably due to Japanese gambling laws, which dictate that purchased virtual currency must have an experiation date. While this has no affect on the game outside of Japan, any paid Jala purchased in Japan expires after 150 days.[[/note]]

* VirtualPaperDoll: While there are named, preset characters, you can mix and match features such as hair, face styles, clothing, and accessories between them (including those of other characters, and others not specifically tied to specific characters).

[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Anime and Promo Shorts]]
* AerithAndBob: The names of the characters range on a spectrum of this. The most Aerith-Sounding ones among them would have to go towards Berecca.
* AlternateTimeline: The game takes place in an AlternateUniverse of Earth where ninjas had a major influence on global history and their imagery dominates pop culture. The names of many geographic locations are different but based on real life locations, such as Eagle City, Komerika (New York City, USA), and the country of Oedo (Japan).
* TheAnimeOfTheGame: Obviously.
* AmbiguouslyEvil: It's unknown if Ron has any intentions to harm Burton and Berecca, if he even recognized them in their kid forms. Jane is also this from Burton and Berecca's perspective, but she's at least willing to become friends with the kids (just in case their plan went south). [[spoiler:However, it seems this isn't case as Ron later defends Burton multiple times from attacks.]]
* BackToBackBadasses: [[spoiler:When Burton confronts Ron at night to ask if Ron had cut the rope while Burton was climbing, Ron quickly kills ninja assassins who were after Ron. Ron then gives Burton one of his weapons and they assume this pose]].
* BitchInSheepsClothing: After the success of creating the ninja gum, Ron wastes no time to reveal to reveal his true colors with an intent to kill Burton and Berecca for their research.
* TheConspiracy: There are a lot of implications that the WNA has some hidden motives.
** Ron is investigating the company after being targeted.
** Jane is similarly hunted down when she discovers hidden data linking Allen, the head of WNA's Intelligence Division, with [[spoiler:Harold Cook, the president of Komerika]].
* DefrostingIceKing: {{Downplayed}} example. We're still not sure about his true motives, but Ron gradually begins to smile more often in the anime, especially in the 14th episode where he's seen grinning more often (not counting Berecca's inaccurate ImagineSpot) particularly after Burton offers some aid in warding off two ninja assassins and as he's watching the rest of the kids playing in the new hideout.
* DoubleTake: In the CGI prologue, while Burton is explaining Ninja-Gum to Berecca, he turns into a child half-way through the explanation. Berecca looks at him for a moment while wondering if her father knew about the gum, then immediately looks back at Burton in shock.
* EagleLand: The description for Episode Zero states the setting to be Eagle City in the country of Komerika.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first episode of the promo shorts (Episode 0) is animated in 3D, while all of the webtoon episodes following it are animated in 2D. Furthermore, all of the 2D shorts serve to introduce the main characters (except for Burton, Berecca, and Ron). On the release of the anime, those episodes were either recreated to be more detailed or even retconned entirely before episode 6 introduces more plot.
* ExpospeakGag: Burton tries to explain to the kids how to blow bubblegum using the laws of physics, which only confuses them.
* FountainOfYouth: A side effect of the ninja gum; any adult who chews it turns into a child for some reason. This is what happened to Burton, Berecca, Ron, and Jane.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: The WNA regularly disposes of people who learn too much information. Burton, Berecca, Ron, and Jane are all being hunted down for this reason.
* InstantExpert: Despite moving awkwardly in his new child body, Ron is able to dodge Van's attacks with little effort and defeats him in one strike.
* LampshadeHanging: Burton is perplexed as to how the WNA has their hands on the Ninja Gum when he invented it less than a week prior, and even more so about how Van is already familiar with it.
* MagicalEye: [[spoiler: Revealed as a reason Lucy wears an EyepatchOfPower. It's unclear if the eye itself is the actual source of her power, though.]]
* MerchandiseDriven: The anime was obviously made to help promote the game, featuring several references to the game as well as most episodes having a small segment at the end discussing a weapon from the game.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: When the kids are trying to capture the Space Ninja on their own in episode 13, Lucy is so bloodthirsty for revenge that she kills the one they're about to capture instead. Fortunately, the capture team arrives to capture the last one.
* NinjaSchool: The WNA Academy is this, and serves as the main setting for the anime.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Despite it being unclear about how much Burton and Jane figured out about whether each other knows about how they weren't originally kids, in episode 12 they both figure out that they both have a similar pattern of reasoning and get along well.
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: [[spoiler:In episode 11, Ron and Burton team up to fend off the ninja assassins who came after Burton. By morning, Berecca is confused as to why Burton and Ron are suddenly getting along]].
* OhCrap: Burton panics when he notices he accidentally threw the cat into the gum making machine.
* PowerUpFood: Ninja-Gum is known to unlock "the power of the Shinobi" to any ninja descendants who chew it and provides them with many new abilities. It also has a mysterious FountainOfYouth effect on any adult who chews it, but the reasons for this remain unknown.
* PrecisionFStrike: In the CGI prologue short, after avoiding Ron's attack, Burton asks, "Who the hell are you?!"
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Lucy's left eye turns a combination of this and slight SupernaturalGoldEyes after her powers awaken.
* {{Retcon}}: A lot of the scenes in the webtoon are changed/retold in the official anime, effectively rendering it obsolete.
** During Burton's recap before the anime opening, Burton and Berecca discover they turned into kids when they look at their reflections in a river. There is no such scene in the webtoon, where they instead discover they've transformed in their lab when they show each other's reflections with a hand mirror.
** The reason Ron and Jane chew Ninja Gum is changed: when Ron realized that they're about to be blown up by a bomb, he makes Jane and himself chew Ninja Gum so that they would be small enough to escape. In the webtoon, Jane chewed the gum on accident, and Ron chewed the gum for the sake of not drawing attention.
* TheReveal: The kids (Van, Lucy, and Kappei) learn that their families are descendants of ninja, and are given an opportunity to hone in on their skills by attending the World Ninja Association and taking part in the Ninjala tournament. Emma, an orphan, learns about this from a talent agent who reveals herself to be a WNA recruiter. The adults (Burton, Berecca, Ron, and Jane) learn that there may be something shady going on in the WNA and, after becoming children thanks to the Ninja Gum, compete in Ninjala to find out the truth and return to normal.
* TheRival: Van and Kappei are this to each other, constantly trying to outperform each other in ''literally everything''. HilarityEnsues.
* TheScream: Burton pulls one after seeing that the Ninja-Gum turned him into a child.
* SecretKeeper: Genryusai figures out that Burton and Berecca used to be adults and that the head of the WNA's Intelligence Division is on their trail after the latter two broke into the WNA Headquarters searching up confidential information about the Ninja Gum and the WNA itself. He advises that it's best if the two stayed as kids until the right time has come, as turning back to adults wouldn't be their best option at that point.
* SpaceX: Space Ninja are a recurring enemy throughout the series.
* SpottingTheThread: Aside from Ron looking familiar and acting cold, Burton and Berecca notice that Jane acts suspicious as well, but they still haven't made any confirmations yet.
* StockShonenHero: Promo material describes Van as being like the hero in a kids' manga, and carries some traits of the shonen protagonist archetype such as being an IdiotHero.
* ThenLetMeBeEvil: While she doesn't exactly become a villain, this is partially why Lucy is depicted as CuteAndPsycho:
** [[spoiler: In the past, she unleashed an untapped power to save her friends on two separate occasions: two from bullies and a newer one from an out-of-control car. The friends she saved from the bullies ran from her and called her a monster after seeing her in action. While her other friend later didn't see the connection (Lucy tried to hide it in order to avoid this), other bystanders asked "what kind of monster is responsible" due to the collateral damage made while saving her, though she ran off before anyone noticed. Upon attending WNA academy, encouraged by her parents, she embraces her power and "monster" motif as her own way of being herself]].
-->'''Lucy:''' I'm exactly... who I'm ''supposed'' to be!
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Burton casually lets Berecca know that the machine is going to explode because of the bell. As they have failed numerous times before, this doesn't seem new to him.
* VocalDissonance: The adults who transformed into kids through Ninja Gum keep their voices, but no one seems to notice. This is especially noticeable when the main cast consists of a mix between actual kids and the adults who turned into kids.
* WhatTheHellHero: In the CGI short, Berecca is less than pleased to find out that the gum she had been helping Burton to make could be used to make weapons and calls him out on keeping such a fact a secret from her.
--> '''Berecca:''' But...how could keep that a secret from me?!\\
'''Burton:''' Because I knew you'd object to working on weapons technology.\\
'''Berecca:''' Of course I object! This isn't what we set out to achieve! Are you trying to start a war, man?!
* WorldOfTechnicolorHair: Unnatural hair colors seems to be a common trait in the Ninjala universe as Berecca has naturally pink hair, while Kappei and Lucy have light blue hair. Van has white hair with a purple streak, but it's unclear whether the streak is part of his natural hair or dyed.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: The lore reveals the ninjas were hunted down once their services were no longer necessary in Japan. The remaining ninja scattered across the world to escape before fading away from history.
* YouMonster [=/=] IAmAMonster: [[spoiler: Because of her hidden powers, which involves summoning tentacle-like objects, Lucy suffers the former by the first friends she saved from a duo of delinquents. She attempts to avoid this until she was forced to save a newer friend from an incoming car. She doesn't say it, as she didn't see Lucy do it, but other bystanders do, though they never see her either. Lucy soon believes the latter and says it word for word, but later makes it her new persona when attending WNA Academy]].
[[/folder]]

On November 10th, 2021, it was announced that game would be getting its own anime adaptation, produced by Creator/OLMIncorporated. It follows the story of Burton and Berecca, as well as the rest of the cast, during their time at the WNA Academy and builds on the series' characters and lore. It premiered on January 8, 2022 on Tokyo TV, and each episode is available for a limited time on the official [=YouTube=] channel.

On November 10th, 2021, it was announced that game would be getting its own anime adaptation, produced by Creator/OLMIncorperated. It follows the story of Burton and Berecca, as well as the rest of the cast, during their time at the WNA Academy and builds on the series' characters and lore. It premiered on January 8, 2022 on Tokyo TV, and each episode is available for a limited time on the official YouTube channel.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Played straight with Kappei and slightly with Lucy (as she also has streaks of red) but abnormal hair color also is a staple trait in the pink-haired Berecca, the neon green-haired Emma, and the two-toned purple and pure white of Van. Customization features for the avatar also allow a rainbow of possible shades.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Unnatural hair colors seems to be a common trait in the Ninjala universe as Berecca has naturally pink hair while Kappei and Lucy have light blue hair. Van has white hair with a purple streak, but it's unclear whether the streak is part of his natural hair or dyed.

''Ninjala'' is a free-to-play CompetitiveMultiplayer online arena brawler video game developed by Soleil and published by GungHo Online Entertainment for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, released on June 24th, 2020.

* PowerUpFood: As shown and explained in the anime shorts, Ninja-Gum is known to unlock "the power of the Shinobi" to any ninja descendants. It also has a mysterious FountainOfYouth effect on any adult who eats it.

* StockShonenHero: On the character creation screen Van's base template describes him as being like the hero in a kids' manga; indeed, in his chapter in the story, he is told to become the best in the Ninjala tournament and carries some traits of the archetype such as being an IdiotHero.

* AlternateTimeline: The game takes place in an AlternateUniverse of Earth where ninjas had a major influence on global history and their imagery dominates pop culture. The names of many geographic locations are different, such as Eagle City in Komerika (New York City, USA), and the country of Oedo (Japan).
* AmbiguouslyEvil: It's unknown if Ron has any intentions to harm Burton and Berecca if he even recognized them. Jane is also this from Burton and Berecca's perspective, but she's at least willing to become friends with the kids (just in case their plan went south).

* BitchInSheepsClothing: After the success of creating the ninja gum, Ron wastes no time to reveal himself as a ninja with an intent to kill Burton and Berecca.
* TheConspiracy: There are a lot of implications that the WNA has some hidden motives. The Space Ninjas in the Story Mode seem connected.
** Ron is revealed in the shorts that he's investigating the company after being targeted for his failed assignment.
** Jane becomes suspicious when she discovers she hired by WNA's Intelligence division to hack data from its R&D department.
** A loading screen in the game hints that winning Ninjala is the key to discovering WNA's true purpose.
** The WNA somehow has their hands on the Ninja Gum and know all about its uses despite it being made not too long ago.

* DoubleTake: While Burton is explaining Ninja-Gum to Berecca, he turns into a child half-way through the explanation. Berecca looks at him for a moment while wondering if her father knew about the gum, then immediately looks back at Burton in shock.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first episode (Episode 0) is animated in 3D, while all of the episodes following it are animated in 2D. Furthermore, all episodes up to Episode 5 are "shorts" serving to introduce the main characters. On the release of the anime, those episodes were either recreated to be more detailed or even retconned before episode 6 introduces more plot.
* ExpospeakGag: Burton tries to explain to the kids how to blow bubblegum using the laws of physics, confusing them greatly.
* FountainOfYouth: A side effect of the ninja gum; after beating Ron, Burton and Berecca turn into children.
** [[spoiler:Ron and Jane would do the same. But for Jane however, she does that by accident.]]
* InstantExpert: Despite moving awkwardly in his child body, Ron is able to dodge Van's attacks with little effort and defeats him in one strike.
* InterfaceSpoiler: The game's art spoils the fact that Ron [[spoiler:eventually turns into a ninja kid just like Burton and Berecca]].

* MagicalEye: [[spoiler: Revealed as a reason Lucy wears an EyepatchOfPower]].
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: When the kids are trying to capture the Space Ninja on their in episode 13, Lucy is so bloodthirsty for revenge that she destroys the one they're about to capture instead. Fortunately, the capture team arrives to capture the last one.

* PlaylistSoundtrack: One of the categories of customization items is music tracks. In matches, the music tracks selected by all players are shuffled together, and when one track ends, the track chosen by another player is played.
* PrecisionFStrike: After avoiding Ron's attack, Burton asks, "Who the hell are you?!"
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Combined slightly with SupernaturalGoldEyes when Lucy's powers awaken. The color itself comes from her mother's ninja ancestry.
* {{Retcon}}: Some of the scenes in the webtoon are changed in the official anime.
** During Burton's recap before the anime opening, Burton and Berecca discover they turned into kids when they look at their reflections in a river. There is no such scene in the webtoon, where they instead discover they've transformed when they show each other's reflections with a hand mirror.

* TheRival: Van and Kappei are this to each other, constantly trying to outperform each other in ''everything''. HilarityEnsues.
* TheScream: Both Burton and Berecca pull one after seeing that the Ninja-Gum turned them into children.
* SecretKeeper: Genryusai figures out that Burton and Berecca used to be adults and that the head of the WNA are on their trail after the latter two were searching up confidential information about the Ninja Gum and the WNA. He advises that it's best if the two stayed as kids until the right time has come, as turning back to adults wouldn't be their best option at that point.

* ThenLetMeBeEvil: While she doesn't exactly become a villain, Lucy's short explains why she is depicted as CuteAndPsycho:

* WhatTheHellHero: Berecca is less than pleased to find out that the gum she had been helping Burton to make could be used to make weapons and calls him out on keeping such a fact a secret from her.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: In Van's short we learn the purple in his hair is apparently a hereditary trait from both his parents. Unnatural hair colors seems to be a common trait in the Ninjala universe as Berecca has pink while Kappei and Lucy have light blue. (But similar to Van the latter is a two-tone and shares hers with a light red shade).

* BackToBackBadasses: [[spoiler:When Burton confronts Ron at night to ask if Ron had cut the rope while Burton was climbing, Ron quickly kills ninja assassins who were after Ron. Ron then gives Burton one of his weapons and they assume this pose.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first episode (Episode 0) is animated in 3D, while all of the episodes following it are animated in 2D. Furthermore, all episodes up to Episode 5 are "shorts" serving to introduce the main characters. Episodes starting from Episode 6 are full fledged episodes.

''Ninjala'' is a free-to-play CompetitiveMultiplayer online arena brawler video game developed by Soleil and published by Creator/GungHoOnlineEntertainment for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, released on June 24th, 2020.

[[YearX The year is 20XX]].

On an alternate Earth, being a ninja isn't just about learning the skills. Being a ninja is also a trait carried deep within the blood. But as the centuries went on and the old ninja clans spread out across the globe, their bloodlines have thinned and these silent warriors started gradually fading from sight.

Oh, and [[AliensStealCable ninja-obsessed aliens]] are also involved with all this... somehow.

It's ''WebVideo/NinjaTheMissionForce'', Splatoon-style.

''Ninjala'''s gameplay boasts similarities to other FreeFloorFighting titles such as ''VideoGame/NarutoToBorutoShinobiStriker'' and ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', having a focus on melee combat and [[LeParkour parkour]]. The game has two main multiplayer modes: Battle Royale and Team Battle. Battle Royale is an eight-player free-for-all where combatants duke it out to [[ScoringPoints score the most points]] through knocking out opponents and breaking drones. Additional points are awarded for "Ippon", which are flashier [=KOs=] accomplished after winning a parry state, beating a player that's in a [[StickySituation Gum Bind]], or using [[LimitBreak Gum Ninjutsu]]. Team Battles follow the same scoring format, but divide players into teams of four. In addition to the main multiplayer modes, ''Ninjala'' features a paid, [[EpisodicGame episodic story mode]]. The first chapter, focusing on the character Van, released alongside the game at launch. The second chapter, starring Berecca, released on October 28th, 2020.

The game gets its own anime series that premiered on January 8, 2022.

The E3 2018 teaser trailer, featuring music by Music/BabyMetal, can be viewed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNJCFcK12Ks here.]] The launch trailer can be viewed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgqyhc3ax4I here.]]

* AgeInappropriateDress: Quite a few female outfits are a bit too risque for the ages the characters are or seem to be, with miniskirts and thigh-high boots in particular being rather common.

** When an opponent takes enough Gum Damage, they become Gum-Bound, which makes them temporarily immobile and makes them susceptible to an IPPON if KO'd in this state.

* AndYourRewardIsClothes: Completing the Story Mode chapters unlocks various cosmetics, including outfits for the player to wear in battle. Completing every mission in a chapter with a high rank unlocks more.
** Special limited headgear items also have a random chance of dropping during Featured Battles.
* BackgroundMusicOverride: If the "Sinobuz Sound Playback" option is enabled during a match, the music changes to the selected song of the player in first place every so often. The song for your character is always heard at the start, then changes every to the song of the player in first place at the time mid-game. If more than one player has the same song, it simply restarts for the leading player. This keeps going until the final 30 seconds, which has its own track.

* BalefulPolymorph: The Beyond the Gum Special turns whoever gets caught in its radius into a an ice cream-shaped statue with Gumchi's face, only allowing them to run, jump, and dodge. This leaves them helpless.

** When a ninja kid has 8 or more S-Energy, their gum bubbles turn huge, which allows them to cling on and float to slow their fall. This can be used to rocket up with a dash and float down as a vantage point, or to glide down to get the jump on an enemy.
** The Gum Balloon Gum-Shot consists of two floating gum mines that target the locked-on opponent and explode. When S-Energy is at eight or more, it turns into three, which is an instant gum bind for the poor target, assuming all three hit and that none of them burst upon contact with the ground.
* BattleRoyaleGame: Unlike the regular "Battle Royale" mode, Season 7 introduces a Featured "Last Ninja Standing" Battle that plays this straight. 8 players fight until only one remains. Respawns are disabled, and the stage adds in two consecutive layers of electricity at time passes, to isolate the remaining players to smaller spaces and damages outside stragglers overtime.

** A successful IPPON will swat the recipient to a wall adjacent to the direction of the blow, gluing them to the wall with ninja-gum upon impact.

* BritainIsOnlyLondon: Fort Riverdale takes place in Ninjala's Great Britain, known as Great Kisten, which contains the London Eye and a Big Ben-like clock tower.

* DeadlyGas: The Gum Gas Gum Ninjutsu releases a cloud of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin gas]] that gradually damages any enemies inside and results in an IPPON if someone's health goes down to 0 while in the gas.

* DifficultButAwesome: The Piercing Mixer is a [[LimitBreak Ninjutsu attack]] with a relatively small hurtbox and leaves one a sitting duck (getting hit while using Ninjutsu cancels the attack.) However, if one goes up to a high place, such as the monitors in WNA Academy, and knows what they're doing, they have a vantage point from which they can reach most of the map and potentially [[OneHitPolykill rack up several [[IPPONs]] in a row.]] In addition, it temporarily allows you [[XRayVision to see enemies through walls]], so you can go hunt someone down after the attack ends.
* EagleLand: One of the game's maps is outright called "Eagle City" and is located in "Komerika", Ninjala's North America. There's also a skin for the IPPON Gum Katana that decorates it with stars and a red-white-and-blue color palette.

** Information about major mechanics such as the [[RockPaperScissors parrying system]] (Up > Down, Down > Side, Side > Up, and L button to escape the encounter), the fact that [[RegeneratingHealth your health regenerates faster]] when transformed (did you even ''notice'' your health regenerates in general?), and even the ability to [[CameraLockOn lock-on to specific opponents]] (R3/right stick to start targeting, L3/left stick to switch targets) are only found within the [[https://ninjalathegame.com/en/manual/ online manual]] accessed via the "Help" menu, as opposed to being taught via a tutorial or the Story Mode DLC. A proper tutorial is set to finally be added in Season 5.

* HammeredIntoTheGround: The Tenchi Muyo Gum Ninjustu ensnares an opponent in a large gum net, then slams them into the ground for an [[OneHitKO instant IPPON]].

* HighlyVisibleNinja: Most of the costume and accessory options are bright and vivid streetwear, although there's some more traditional "anime ninja" items among them too, including masks, hoods, and a ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''-like headband. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], as the playable characters are ''descendants'' of ninja with the attached abilities, long after ninja were driven into hiding.

* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: You can purchase or earn your avatar some really impressive clothes, like classic ninja threads, spy suits, [[Franchise/SuperSentai Super Sentai-style spandex]], and even wedding dresses (Some are more expensive than others, and all cycle throughout a given season and only available for a limited time [[note]]As of Season 3, everything except for Gumball Machine-Exclusive and collaberation Outfits are available in a backlog menu called "Special Collections".[[/note]]). InUniverse, each clothing brand carries a specific theme.

** IconicLogo: All of the ''World Ninja Association'' brand clothing has a shuriken icon and/or WNA initials.

* ImprobableWeaponUser: Since kids are the main players of Ninjala, the weapons available in-game are unconventional at best, resembling everyday foods and objects. Lucy is depicted carrying a ''stop sign'' as a melee weapon in promotional material, a variation of which later became an actual weapon usable in-game.

*** BFS: The Ninja Calibur is a giant sword that can be ridden as a CoolBoard.

** DropTheHammer: All 4 of the hammer-class weapons work this way. Two have a special to destroy weapons on contact, regardless if the opponent is guarding, while the other two have stun attacks to make up for their slow movement.

** KillerYoyo: The Yo-Yo class, which consists of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin an actual yo-yo]], a fidget spinner, a basketball, and even a doughnut, falls under this as they're attached to string and attack from a distance.

*** RollingAttack: DJ Scratch and Exteme Motor are wheel-like yo-yo weapons. Appropriately, their Special allows you to ride on them similar to [[Franchise/{{Kirby}} Wheel Kirby]].

** TelephonePolearm: Similar to Lucy's "stop sign" weapon in the promotional art and short, the Scrap Saber resembles a stop sign glued to a pole by gum.
** ThisIsADrill: Drill Beast has the look and function of an actual drill. Corn Bats are giant corn cobs that work the same way.
** WaveMotionGun: The Piercing Mixer Gum Ninjutsu is a gum laser that pierces terrain, similar to the [[VideoGame/Splatoon2 Sting Ray.]]

*** SpinningPiledriver: A unique Break Attack is included to these weapons (by hitting the Break button while holding down on the control stick), allowing players to do this and instantly IPPON a gum bound opponent.

* InvoluntaryDance: Shinobi Disco Gum Ninjutsu forces close-ranged opponents to dance, leaving them vulnerable to attack.
* KillSat: A player who grabs a rainbow-colored "Judgement" gumball in Fort Riverdale can summon a group of massive "gum lasers" from above that deal considerable damage to their targets. Those caught while low on health are K.O'd or IPPON'd instantly, depending on gum damage.

* ManaBurn: The Ninja Ghost gum-shot locks onto a target and takes away five of their S-Energy. This can be devastating under the right conditions, as the now-crippled target won't be able to S-Burst or Gum Boost away, leaving them easy pickings for you to swoop in and beat them up.
** Gum Searcher works the same way, but can remain stationary if it doesn't hit an opponent.

* TitleScream: The announcer screams the game's title upon hitting ZL and ZR together on the title screen.
* TooAwesomeToUse: Cosmetic weapon skins are this to an extent, as they are consumable items. If you got a cool or even rare weapon skin from the Gumball Machine, you're probably not gonna want to use it in a match as it will disappear from your inventory afterwards. This is especially true for skins obtained in an event or special physical cards that are limited-time or have a chance of not returning.
** As of Season 3, players can personally subvert this if they purchase the Ninjala Pass, which grants them unlimited use of obtained weapon skins for its duration. Newly obtained skins also count to this, but it's important to buy a pass or choose another, more common skin to prevent yourself from accidentally using up a skin obtained from physical codes or events.

* VocalDissonance: The FountainOfYouth effect of Ninja Gum any barely effects a person's voice, so a kiddified adult will still sound like an adult. Best seen with Ron, whose voice is really deep.
* WeaponOfXSlaying: The ability of the Trick Ball and Mellow a la Mode weapons deal more damage to gum-morphed opponents.

* WreckedWeapon: Break Attacks can break through S-guards (sacrificing S-Energy to trigger a parry), while a couple of hammer weapons with a special attack can break regardless; both resulting in breaking those weapons. Opponents are left vulnerable to attack until they are KO'd/Ippon'd or can craft another weapon, whichever comes first.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Played straight with Kappei and slightly with Lucy (as she also has streaks of red) but abnormal hair color also is a staple trait in the pink-haired Berecca, the dark and bright green-haired Emma, and the two-toned purple and pure white of Van. Customization features for the avatar also allow a rainbow of possible shades.

[[folder:The Anime]]
* AerithAndBob: The names of the main eight characters range on a spectrum of this. The most Aerith-Sounding one among them would have to go towards Berecca.

* BigWHAT: Berecca screams this after Burton tells her that their lab machine is about to blow up.

* ImprobableUseOfAWeapon: The Ninja Caliber introduced in Season 2 is a large broadsword used as a surfboard instead of the conventional way.

* ExospeakGag: Burton tries to explain to the kids how to blow bubblegum using the laws of physics, confusing them greatly.

* LampshadeHanging: Burton is perplexed as to how the WNA has their hands on the Ninja Gum when he invented it less than a week prior, and even moreso about how Van is already familiar with it.

* PlaylistSoundtrack: One of the categories of customisation items is music tracks. In matches, the music tracks selected by all players are shuffled together, and when one track ends, the track chosen by another player is played.

* ThenLetMeBeEvil: While she doesn't exactly become a villain, Lucy's short explains why she is depicted as CuteAndPsycho:
** [[spoiler: In the past, she unleashed an untapped power to save her friends on two separate occasions: two from bullies and a newer one from an out-of-control car. The friends she saved from the bullies ran from her and called her a monster after seeing her in action. While her other friend later didn't see the connection (Lucy tried to hide it in order to avoid this), other bystanders asked "what kind of monster is responsible" due to the collateral damage made while saving her, though she ran off before anyone noticed. Upon attending WNA academy, encouraged by her parents, she embraces her power and "monster" motif as her own way of being herself]].
-->'''Lucy:''' I'm exactly... who I'm ''supposed'' to be!

* {{Retcon}}: The reason Ron and Jane chew Ninja Gum is changed: when Ron realized that they're about to be blown up by a bomb, he makes Jane and himself chew Ninja Gum so that they would be small enough to escape. In the webtoon, Jane chewed the gum on accident, and Ron chewed the gum for the sake of not drawing attention.

* LampshadeHanging: Burton is perplexed as to how the WNA has their hands on the Ninja Gum when he invented it less than a week prior.

* RedEyesTakeWarning: Combined slightly with SupernaturalGoldEyes when Lucy's powers awaken. The color itself comes from her mother's ninja ancestry.

* {{Retcon}}: The reason Ron and Jane chew Ninja Gum is changed: when Ron realized that they're about to be blown up by a bomb, he makes Jane and himself chew Ninja Gum so that they could escape. In the webtoon, Jane chewed the gum on accident, and Ron chewed the gum for the sake of not drawing attention.