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Ninja Scroll is among a small group of films like ‘Ghost in the Shell’ that are considered the quintessential Anime of the mid 90’s. This was a time when Anime was really starting to attract mainstream attention in the United States. Although Ninja Scroll is very derivative of its genre what sets it apart is quality. Like Street Fighter II the Movie it was released among a sea of similar type movies of inferior quality. SF II succeeded because it excelled in its core objective of creating thrilling fights. It is amazing to me how many fighting game tie-ins absolutely could not get the fighting right. That doesn’t mean that SF II or Ninja Scroll are at the quality of a Spirited Away or My Neighbor Totoro but they do what they do superbly. Unfortunately, for every Ninja Scroll there were dozens of garbage movies and eventually I lost interest in Anime because I was burned one too many times. My interest has been somewhat rekindled and I’m trying to replace some of the Anime I owned on VHS that loved but eventually got rid of when I upgraded to DVD and blue-ray. Ninja Scroll is one of the first to make the cut.
Ninja Scroll’s target demographic is young males and as such is an aggressive testosterone filled movie. There is nudity, sexual assault and tons and tons of blood. I’m not trying to say that young males are drawn to sexual violence but other demographics may be repelled. Blood doesn’t flow from wounds it sprays as if being forced through a pressure hose. What Ninja Scroll does is it delivers what fans of the genre want. The plot is simple but not dumb. The characters are well developed and the fighting is AWESOME! It’s hard for me to think of more than a few Anime with comparable scenes of fighting and more interesting combatants. That is not to say that Ninja Scroll is a one trick pony. Ninja Scroll is one of those rare movies that nails just about everything from story to music and even the excellent U.S. voice acting.
Let’s face facts. You can get away with almost anything in a film like this if you nail down the fighting. Do fans of Street Fighter II really remember anything besides the fights? The plot centers around an exceptionally talented Ninja named Jubei Kibagami who gets unintentionally embroiled in a war between the Tokugawa government and The Shogun of the Dark and must work his way through the Eight Devils of Kimon to take revenge on a man he already killed once. Jubei is cool, and reminds me a lot of Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop (which was released several years after Ninja Scroll), but it’s the Eight Devils who steal the show. They are by and large human in appearance and it’s never clear whether they are literally supernatural or simply extraordinarily talented fighters. In Asian film even normal humans are able to achieve supernormal powers through extreme training. Mushizo, for example, literally has a honeycomb within his back where killer bees live. That certainly is not something a human would be capable of having. Each of the Eight Devils is unique and highly inventive and it’s a blast seeing Jubei face off against these seemingly invincible foes. The writers were smart in keeping Jubei relatable and sympathetic and in most of the fights he wins only thanks to help from another.
So what do you get with this release? There are zero extras and it runs in 4:3 aspect ratio rather than widescreen so prepare to have black bars on both side. This is the way the movie was created so this isn’t a complaint just something to note. They used the same dubbing used on the VHS copy I owned years ago that was put out by Manga Video but given the quality of the dubbing I don’t mind. Seeing this film after so many years was an absolute blast. I’ll admit there is a lot of animation shortcutting but the film holds up both in look and in story. In my short list of must own Anime films Ninja Scroll is near the top.
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Reviews with images
Amazing movie in a basic Blu Ray package
Fantastic movie in a fantastic, if not simple package. I love the outer case which I didn't expect to see. The Blu Ray itself is lite on content and doesn't offer much besides the movie with Japanese commentary as an extra but even so, the movie itself is one of the all time greats of the genre.
Top reviews from other countries
Simon Omnes
"Only true sympathy can move the human heart." - Dakuan
Reviewed in Canada on October 25, 2019
