Pockie Ninja Mixes Naruto With Bleach, Unofficially

After weeks of teasing something called Project Ninja with images of tiny Naruto and Bleach characters, online game operator NGames reveals Pockie Ninja, a web game featuring characters “inspired by” those popular anime series. So far all I’ve seen is bits of character art and this trailer, released today with the reveal of the game’s official name, so there’s no telling what players will be doing when Pockie Ninja goes live later this year, other than interacting with characters that look an awful lot like a lawsuit. Today’s press release says the game is “poking fun at anime’s most infamous characters and paying homage to them at the same time.” Here’s the game’s description: Pockie Ninja will focus on the unique life and journey of a ninja, entrusted with defeating the world’s most evil and destructive warrior corporations. As the last hope of the world and the ‘chosen one’, the ninja needs to protect Angel City and restore the natural balance of order, utilizing extraordinary ninja skills along the way. While this is not an official Naruto product, NGames isn’t holding back when it comes to name-dropping the go rummy series’ iconic characters. In describing some of the wallpapers available on the Pockie Ninja website, NGames names some of the anime’s biggest stars. “The powerful Itachi Uchiha is seen using red contact lenses; Sasuke is crashing his car while playing on a mobile phone; and Jiraiya, holy rummy Kakashi and co. are shown hanging out at a bus stop – Kakashi is even wearing a suit and playing with an iPad while he waits! ” I’m curious to see royally rummy how Naruto and Bleach fans react to the upcoming game. Is this close enough to get their attention, or will the lack of a license lose their interest?