Ninja Scroll

Ninja Scroll is easily one of my favorite anime movies. Great animation (the minimal movement in Japanimation far superior to the over-produced Disney cloned animation style), great story and characters, a decent running time - it all works for me.

Recently here in Australia, the movie has thankfully been re-released in the 10th Anniversary Uncut version. After a controversial screening on commercial TV some years ago, the video version was upgraded from MA to an R-Rating, and had some sex scenes cut. The new DVD has been restored, uncut.

A classic, highly entertaining and impressive anime - strongly recommended to Japanime newbies :)

This week I was fortunate to watch three fantastic animes(which I love from watching the likes of Studio Ghibli) in a row, Akira, Ghost in the Shell and this, Ninja Scroll. Ninja Scroll captivated me from start to finish, with the ultra-violent scenes and gore it is perhaps not for all, but from an animation and storytelling perspective it is really one of the most engrossing animated films I have ever seen. The animation is stupendous, every action has so much detail but the backgrounds and colours have many moments of dark or ethereal beauty to them. The music is haunting and sweeping, the characters are interesting with a lot of depth and conflict in them, but other than the fast, clean and incredibly compelling action the star was the storytelling, often dark and poignant but never less than riveting. Overall, captivating from start to finish, a must see. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Jubei, a rouge samurai who's wandering the land becomes involved unwillingly in the battle between an evil group of supernatural demon warriors known as the Eight Devils of Kimon and the country's government. After a town was wiped out overnight by a plague, so the eight devils could get in to get perform a certain mysterious task. Jubei soon is joined by a poisonous female samurai known as Kagero to find out the Devils' business is in this town, after one of them wipe out her ninja team and nearly her if it hadn't been for Jubei. He also encounters someone of the past, who he thought that he already had killed.

So I've gone back to my roots when anime was a childhood favourite of mine, but this one isn't for kids. I loved this flick when I was in my early teens, so watching it now was such a nostalgia trip and surprisingly it still holds up exceptionally well. The popular worldwide hit "Ninja Scroll", which was directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri (who brought us the excellent "Vampire Hunter D") paves way for a maturely slick, extremely violent and intensely erotic outlook. Everything about it comes thick and fast. It frenetically exploits the blood sprayed violence like a running tap, but still never loses that beautifully tender edge that seeps into many of the situations. The compelling premise isn't a mind-bender, although a bit jaded, but its simple origins only enhance the taut lay out and poignantly dark array of blisteringly out-there conflicts. It's surprising in it developments and you're left amazed by the film's personality and unique world that's created. It vividly captures the period of this atmospheric world. They're such an imaginatively diverse barrage of dynamic characters, with the likes of the rock-build demon to the hunchback whose hump are a wasp nest and a snake lady who can actually shed her skin. This gave it a real eastern mythological state and only proves that the bad guys had the most fun. The story might feel like its there only to set up one spirited confrontation after another and really it is. But the story-telling element is effectively defined, as most of the main players get enough time to mould there own back story and present their significance to where it could be heading. Jubei makes a cool anti-hero and Kagero fits nicely along side him. The skillful animation has class, agility, originality and distinguishing details making its way into these stunningly pristine visuals. An aggressively crisp sounding FX makes the experience a whole lot more impressive with such a wide range and the oriental twang found in the eerily mystic music score makes this presentation more brooding in its blinding passion and checkered emotion. Kawajiri faced no restrictions here, and was free to come up with an illustriously innovative and majestic anime piece that works in every frame.

"Ninja Scroll" is more highly involving than you would believe. Recommended.

Ninja Scroll is an Anime Classic which is usually mentioned in the same sentence as Vampire Hunter D or Fist of the North Star. However, I believe that as a movie, Ninja Scroll has a wider appeal.

The visuals are top-notch, and the action is fast and clean. The sword fights can be watched frame-by-frame (and may have to be, if you want to really understand what is happening) and your awe at the quality of this movie will just increase. Do I sound like an obsessed fan? Because this movie impresses me so greatly that I cannot over-rate it.

The story and characters, though, are the main focus of this presentation, which each battle, duel, and other confrontation serving to move the story forward, develop, reveal, or eliminate the characters - all of whom are revealed in a way that is engrossing.

Some maybe turned off by the gore, violence, and low value placed on human life; but that is what this time period was about. This is definately for mature audiences.

If you do not yet own a copy of this, watch it as if you had never heard of it and enjoy the story developing. Then be plesantly surprised by the superficial stuff - action, animation, sound, and depth of characters.

If you want to see a poor version of this, watch Sword For Truth. If you want to watch how Manga should be made, this is the film for you! The characters match those of folk tales, yet are completely believable, and lovable/detestable at the same time. The storyline is interesting, and the relationships between the characters.

The animation is terrific, and even though this film was made in 1993, it still captivates today.

Fans of this genre will enjoy this movie, but so will people who aren't into animé.

This is a terrific film, and one that you will be able to watch over and over again, if you love quality.