I apologize for the title. I just could not help myself.

Back when I received both Demon City Shinjuku and Street Fighter II in VHS, I also got Ninja Scroll. I’d heard all sorts of things about how awesome Ninja Scroll was so I had high hopes.

Hmm. Not bad.

Jubei is your average roaming ninja – actually I’d rather go with ronin, but moving on – he gets hired to do jobs and does them. End of story. He’ll kill you while eating a riceball if he must, so watch yourself; the man has skills.

While Jubei minds his own business, a little town is inexplicably wiped out. The claim is some kind of plague, but the facts don’t add up. A team of ninjas is sent out to find the truth behind the mystery. However, things go horribly wrong. Every ninja is killed, except for Kagero, who is taken prisoner by the killer, who is much more than any normal man. Things seem grim until she is rescued by Jubei. From that point on, he finds himself stuck in the middle of things revolving around demons, government rebellion, and the poisonous (literally) Kagero.

That’s just a taste of what you’ll get with this movie. You have to be careful though; if you can’t handle blood or some quite sexual situations, this movie will never be your cup of tea. Not to mention the fact that there’s a bit of swearing involved.

It’s quite interesting and at first I wasn’t quite sure what was going on – that was when I was younger and still getting into anime, but later on after more viewings I got it. Being older does make you a little wiser I guess. You get plenty of action, as we have ninjas and demons facing off and interactions such as those are bound to prove interesting. Along the main plotline you also get a little sub-plot between Jubei and Kagero. I’d rather not spoil it but I think it’s quite out of the ordinary, which makes it good fun. The characters are intriguing in themselves and you grow to like everyone (well, not the demons anyway but they’re pretty cool too, each with his or her own unique powers).

As for animation, there’s no downside. It actually ranks up there as some of the better animation I can remember. Sure, I don’t buy that blood is going to come spraying out fire hose style, but otherwise the detail, coloring, and everything is great. Sure to please any anime or animation fan in general.

I believe they’ve kept the original music (as I only have the English version), which was a good move because it works out perfectly. The drums, the tense sounds, everything works together to help add to the mood of the specific scene.

As I only have the English VHS, I can’t comment on the Japanese version. So sad. But at least I can tell you that the English version is pretty good. Sometimes you hit a sour note on voicing, but here everything is pretty spot on. I’ve actually heard Kagero’s voice actor in more than one place (Vampire Hunter D anyone?) Repeat VAs mean they have skills, which means good stuff for you and me. Yay.

All in all, a very good movie with plenty of entertainment for you to enjoy. I never quite understood all the hype about this movie, but hey, the people like what they like, and they have good reason to like Ninja Scroll. So I say let them have their cake.

NT

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age