The 1990’s was the decade where Anime began to cement itself as “Not for Kids”. In the wake of Akira, the more action/adult side of the genre was embraced and a whole new breed of entertainment was unleashed upon the world. Ninja Scroll is one of the greatest offspring of that era and, in my honest opinion, also one of the greatest Anime ever made PERIOD. This is a movie from the glory days of ultra violent Anime and it is a helluva lot of fun to watch.
Ninja Scroll surprisingly has something for everyone. There’s mystery, action, horror, action, romance, action, nudity, action…ok it has something for everyone but we all know why you’re here. You’ve come to Ninja Scroll for the bloody mayhem that comes from Samurai taking on supernaturally powered Ninjas and in that regard, this movie is legend. Jubei Kibagami is a seriously underrated Anime protagonist, the Spike Spiegel before Spike even existed. Easy going, cool under pressure and wicked good as dispensing death, Jubei brings the pain against the monsters and manages to rack up an impressive kill count given the odds he’s up against. Director Yoshiyaki Kawajiri made a name for himself with the heavy action scenes of this film. Rapidly paced, intense in both speed and sharpness and even well choreographed, each battle Jubei finds himself in is never the same as the last. This is thanks to a pretty entertaining batch of baddies, despite their singular dimension of character. Their skill sets, however, are both effective and terrifying. While not Horror/Action per say, some of the images in this movie will give you nightmares beyond the endless blood splatter that comes with hacking off limbs.
But then again, all of this is a sign of the time at which this movie came out. There are moments where Ninja Scroll borders on Hentai territory with the amount of nudity and sexual situations in it. Lead heroine Kagero is at the forefront of some of these moments and while I love her character arc and her sexy ninja girl design, it feels wrong she ends up being treated as more the tragic damsel in distress throughout the movie. Kagero endures some truly horrific moments and doesn’t even get a proper action scene to show just what she can do in combat. As much fun as it is to see Jubei literally tearing up the screen, he shouldn’t get to have all the fun. That said, as cruel as the movie can be to Kagero, it’s also very kind thanks to a rather surprisingly thoughtful romance between her and Jubei, the man who doesn’t see Kagero as a tool or weak but rather as a beautiful woman he just wants to help cause he’s a nice guy (Seriously, he could be a distant ancestor of Spike or even Gene Starwind from Outlaw Star).
As formidable and terrifying as the bad guys are, their plans bugs me. It’s a simple one: take over Japan with an army of demon Ninja. But Ninja Scroll’s writing and exposition sometimes make you feel like you’ve missed a movie or two worth of backstory to properly set all of this up. The mystery of a diseased village and a secret treasure horde come together in a satisfying way. However, Ninja Scroll sometimes wants to be a bit more complex than it should when really, it’s just a dumb ultra violent action flick and doesn’t need to be anything more than that. And honestly, while those story and plot movements can be seen as just a way to get to the next big action scene, the action is that extraordinary, you’re ok with that.
Ninja Scroll is freaking awesome and is a perfect example of everyones love for the hyper bloody action Anime of the 1990’s. Bolstered by a couple of fun leads and fight sequences that basically set the gold standard for the entire genre, Ninja Scroll is a film I once and still consider to be one of the few Anime you should watch if you watch any Anime at all (besides Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Your Name and Spirited Away). This is as far from a Disney sing along fantasy as you can get. This…is…ANIME…and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
9/10
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