Jûbê ninpûchô: Ryûhôgyoku-hen

The animation is good, but the music (an instrumental combination of techno and traditional Japanese) made it feel like a video game. The ideas are original, but then again, completely bogus: electric ninjas, mutant ninjas, surgeon ninjas, undead ninjas, huge ninjas, parasitic ninjas... you get the idea.

The movie was a great thing, not only as animation is concerned, but also as the plot unraveled. This one is mostly "Jubei is cool". True enough, he kills just about everything that moves, and strong and weird opponents they are: electric ninjas, mutant ninjas... :)

The end is just as pointless as the rest of the series, but you feel good looking at it. It has the feel of Might and Magic (1 to 5) and you half expect to find out in the end that the entire land magic has the source in an extraterrestrial spaceship. Fun.

This series is set in a feudal Japan where demonic beings are common; in this land Jubei Kibagami, a mercenary ninja is given the task of delivering something called The Dragon Stone to a woman known as The Light Maiden. Meanwhile a village is attacked and the sole survivor is Shigure, who many believe is The Light Maiden. The two of them meet up fairly soon and travel together along with elderly monk Dakuan and a young thief named Tsubute. As they travel together they meet numerous Ninja clans who are desperate to get their hands on the Dragon Stone and the Light Maiden so they can get their hands on the treasure they are rumoured to be able to access.

Having not seen the Ninja Scroll movie I can't say how this compares but as a stand-alone series I found it surprisingly enjoyable. There is a decent plot arc along with monster of the week side plots. This means that there is a fair amount of action in every episode; this is well animated and rather violent… expect to see plenty of blood. Away from the action there are some laughs; mostly provided by sidekicks Dakuan and Tsubute, there are also a few poignant moments as some of the bad guys aren't entirely unsympathetic. There are of course some clichés and we never for a moment believe Jubei could lose a fight; still these scenes are handled well so it doesn't really matter. The characters were pretty good for the most part although the main antagonist was a bit over the top.

These Comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

Alright, I did read a few comments at the IMDb boards before I decided to watch the TV-series of Ninja Scroll. And I have to admit that it weren't that lame as I have seen some people ranting around in the forums claiming it to be. I actually enjoyed it quite well, and I do think I captured at least some sort of vibration being radiated from the series that reminded me of the masterpiece (yes I'm speaking about the movie). The story develops.. well it does in some way throughout the series, but as some other users mentioned, there are a set of duels that are not as good as those from the movie and the majority of duels are according to me taking up too much space throughout the shows (and will get quite repetitive). But I wouldn't deny that I would recommend this to all those who liked the movie - and of course anyone who's into ninja-style anime. The series are quite braindead in general though (which might be a good think depending on what you're looking for) and it doesn't require much attention from the viewers side nor concentration. I would probably give this one a 6 or a 7 out of 10, but if you yet haven't seen the movie I'd suggest you do that before you'll hook yourself up with the TV-series...

I actually love this series. I found it very entertaining. I've heard some missed reviews. Never go into any movie, anime, etc expecting something better or greater than the original. I hate that and i don't do it until watching it first. And that's what you shouldn't. And that's probably the results of the negative reviews 13 episodes of great adventures and excellent battles. I recommended this to any Anime fan around. WATCH IT!! You wont' regret it.

Better yet Buy it. Also check out the soundtrack. i enjoyed the music as must as the movie. I give it a 9/10. It will have you wanting more after it has went off.

I had seen Ninja Scroll, the Movie first before I watched the series version. The gap was about a year and a half apart, and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie despite its mature content.

The series takes place after the movie's storyline, obviously. But I'm disappointed in its lack of strong structure or character. Two rival clans compete for total power as they try to capture a girl and a magic stone necessary for the task, and Jubei and friends are caught in the middle. That's just what it's all about, really.

Especially after seeing the breathtaking action sequences of the movie, the series has a little rusty version of those that left me a bit jaded to be honest. The characters aren't that well developed, Jubei also lacks a lot of character, the animation is not as vibrant and alive as the movie. The bottom-line is that I don't think there is anything new or interesting to be seen here, regretfully speaking. It just tries to parrot the movie : violence, "sexiness" and stuff; and is doing a bad job at it.

Word of advice : if you have seen the movie first and are about to see the series now, I told you so; and if you have seen the series, but haven't yet seen the movie, go see it NOW!! Thirdly, if you haven't seen either of them yet, definitely go for the movie, trust me!!