Ninja Scroll is a 1993 Japanese anime film directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri staring Koichi Yamadera, Emi Shinohara, Takeshi Aono, Daisuke Gori, Toshihiko Seki and Shuichiro Moriyama. In feudal Japan the film follows Jubei a mercenary swordsman who battles against the eight Devil of Kimon a team of ninjas with supernatural powers who want to overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate. On the way he is joined by Dakuan an elderly crafty government spy and Kagero a female ninja whose body is instead with toxins. Ninja Scroll is a fun crazy over the top film that old school anime fans will love.
The direction in the film is good. The film has a cool moody atmosphere to it combined with it being a classic samurai film. the film has a cool historical setting to it with the. film having a dark desolate feel with a destroyed village that has a surreal style with it. There is a genuine disturbing nature to the film as the film has a great traditional Japanese ascetic to it. Ninja Scroll is very much a samurai film with a 70s samurai style to it however at the heart of the film Ninja Scroll is a tragic love story. The film has a classic ninja style to it combined with crazy fantasy elements. The style of the anime is gory and over the top. The film has a lot of classic ninja troupes but uses them in a unique surreal way. The film uses classic horror tropes with monsters as the film very much feels like a 90s anime with over-the-top violent imagery. The film has a great stylisation to it with an element of coolness that works for the film. The sex and nudity in the film adds to the great element of sleaziness that the film has.
The film has great weird unique surreal imagery with a snake coming out of a vagina as the film is disturbing but also has a great sense of humour throughout the film. The film has great genuinely intense moments combined with great traditional Japanese imagery. The film showcases elements of the characters having PTSD as well as the film showcasing the dehumanisation of people throughout the film. The film has an over-the-top surreal style combined with classic anime villains, as the film has over the top gory anime combined with 90s stylised fight scenes. The world of the film is brutal as the film mixes sleaziness mixed with a classic Japanese style. The film has great surreal elements to it combined with omen of doom elements to the film. The film has classic samurai elements to it with the black and white flashbacks linking to Akira Kurasawa films as well as cool body horror imagery throughout the film. Ninja Scroll has Lovecraftian cosmic horror to it as shown with the over-the-top anime deaths. The anime elements in the film adds to the movies weirdness as death shown to be everywhere within the film. The film is a horror but there is weird beauty to the mysticism combined with weird horror imagery. The main character in the film is seemingly dying making for an interesting story combined with Japanese mysticism. The film has a weird style go it as it combines fantasy and politics very well. The film has very interesting imagery to it as Kagero’s death in genuinely tragic showing that at the heart of it Ninja Scroll is genuinely tragic love story. The anime superpowers a shown with a use of blue lighting as everyone in the film is evil double crossing and wanting power. The climax of the film is crazy as they set the ship alight as Jubei and Gemma meet and fight as the gold becomes molten and engulfs him as he sinks to the bottom of the sea. At the neds of the film Jubei and admires his and Kagero’s humility as Jubei resumes his life as Vagabond with Kagero’s headband tied around swords tilt. This demonstrates the film as a great crazy over top anime film but has a genuine element of sadness and tragedy to it.
The acting in the film is good. Koichi Yamadera does a good job as Kibagami Jubei a mercenary ex ninja. Emi Shinohara does a god job as Kagero a survivor of the ninja massacre. Takeshi Aono does a good job as Dakuan a Tokugawa spy. Osamu Saka does a good job as the Masked Samurai in the film. Daisuke Gori does a god job as Himuro Gemma the main villain of the film. Ichiro Nagai does a good job as Doujin. Ryuzaburo Otomo does a god job as Tessai a devil. Akimasa Omori does a good job as Shijima a devil. Gara Takashima does a good job as Benisato a devil. Katsuji Mori does a good job as Hanza. Yusaku Yara does a good job as Genpachi. Norio Wakamoto Utsutsu a devil. Toshihiko Seki does a good job as Yurimaru Gemma’s right-hand man. Masako Katsuki does a good job as Zakuro one of the three devils. Reizo Nomoto does a good job as Mushizo one of three devils. Junichi Sugawara does a good job as Sjinkuro. Katsumi Suzuki does good job as a villager. Shuichiro Moriyama does a good job as Sakaki Hyobu does a good job as Shuichiro Moriyama the Mochizuki chamberlain.
The writing in the film is good. The film is set in Edo period of Japan were Yamashiro clan mines for gold in secret and sends a shipment of gold to the Toyotomi Shogun of the Dark as a payment for his protection. From this the Shogun of the dark intends to use the gold to buy Spanish weaponry and overthrow the current government the Tokugawa Shogunate. The ship then runs into the Mochiizuki territory in the storm as the eight devils of kimon a ninja team with supernatural powers in the employ of the Yamashiro kill the people in the nearby Shimoda village to keep the gold shipment a secret. The samurai shogun of the dark kills the other samurai on their ship in a dispute over gold as the ronin Koihi steals a precious sword as the other samurai hunt him in pursuit, as the samurai wonder through a mascaraed village. The film then shows the bad guy possessing the daughter to say they are all dead due to an epidemic, as a group of samurai go to investigate the situation as well as there being a group of killers in the era. Koihi and Mei end up find out they have feelings for each other as one of the guys gets killed. People end up being killed via a spinning disc throwing weapon as ninja stars are thrown, as the bad guy is seeming indestructible with the over-the-top elements of the film with him being like a big monster, as a guy tries to help her and gets his arm ripped off. The devil Tessai then attempts to rape the sole survivor Kagero and is saved by Jubei a mercenary ex-yamashiro ninja who has a funny light-heartedness to him as well as serous brutal side, as they are group of warriors working for lord Gami. Kagero and Jubei then formally introduce themselves. As Kagero has PTSD from her rape as her boos is shown having sex with a woman as he doesn’t care about her and just wants the enemy eliminated.
Tessai attacks jubei as they fight with him defeating him. the film has some interesting character moments as the films female villain feels for the male villain, but he doesn’t showcase the brutal world of the film has they must kill one another. The female spy has a snake tattoo that becomes a real snake as takes him as she then becomes snakeskin, as the eight devils of the dark want to rebuild the house of the eight rulers of japan to destroy the government. As spy’s wanting to hire Jubei to spy on Kagero, as Dakuan stabs Jubei with a plosion shuriken and promises to give him the antidote when the mission is complete as Benisato is questioned by Jubei as he was killed by Yurimaro. The shogun ultimately uses the clan to control the government as Himuro gives them the info. The film then shows a flashback of Junei being betrayed by Yamino as he found evidence of the government wanting them to kill each other off and he avenged them by killing them. Jubei kills a demon who takes form of a nun which then attacks him. Jubei is attacked by the devil Benisato but is saved by Kagero who is bitten by Benisato’s snake. Kagero questions Benisto but before she answers she is elocuted to death from afar by Yurimaru Gema’s right hand man for failing her mission. Kagero, Jubei and Dakuan agree to work together, Kagero has a toxin in her were whoever kisses or has sex with her dies. They then go to the town and find the villagers dead from poisoned well water that was made to look like an infectious disease as they are planning something. Jubei finds one of the devils and ask if Gemma is still alive. He then runs away from one of the bad guys that has a beehive on is back as the bee swarm.
As Jubei is seemingly dying the film shows flashbacks of where he came from giving him some depth as the clan members are deformed as the swarm bee woman uses a guy like a bomb. Mushizo then challenges Jubei which adds an interesting mystical element to the films magic. The clan ultimately wanted control that’s why they slaughtered the villagers as she faints. The clan wants to control the people want as ultimately Ninja Scroll is a story about two people just doing their jobs caught up in the middle of something bigger than them. The clans mining will make them more powerful so they could fight the shogun and lead to a civil war, as Kagero gets kidnapped and Jubei goes after her. Jubei goes to rescue Kagero but she is being controlled and attacks him as he vomits blood and faints, as he has sex with her as he can use his poison with her poison but it doesn’t cure her linking to the sleazy 90s anime elements of the film. Kagero arrives and meets Sakaki, but he stabs her revealing himself to be Gemma in disguise as he had the real one days before as Jubei goes on a kill crazy rampage. Jubi fihgts Yurimaru and is nearly killed but then Yurimaru is killed by a gunpowder rigged rat left as a trap by Zakuro for Yuruimaru rejecting her advances allowing him to escape, as Ninja Scroll at its heart is a tragic love story. Jubei then finds Kagero mortally wounded as she admits her love or him, they kiss curing his poising as she gives him her headband. This again shows that Ninja Scroll is ultimately a tragic love story. Jubei and Dakum board the ship and confront Gamma. On board Gemma reveals his true intentions to use the gold to raise a ninja army to terrorise japan rather than serve as an ally to the Toyotomi. They set his ship alight as Jubei and Gemma meet and fight as the gold becomes molten and engulfs him as he sinks to bottom of the sea. This act of hubris is also shown in a way that shows the film as a great over the top 90s anime. The film ends with Dukan thanking Jubei, admiring his and Kagero’s humility as Jubei resumes his life as a vagabond with Kagero’s headband tied around his swords tilt. Ninja Scroll is tragic love story as the end of the film shows that Jubei will love Kagero forever.
The cinematography in the film is good. The cinematography is decent throughout with a good yellow dust effect being used in the film. the film has good use of blue colouring and a gesture of shadows in general. There is a good use of lighting in the film as the film’s visuals have a great surrealness to them. The film has a good use of yellow silhouette shots as well as a god use of red within the film. The film uses black and white in flashbacks as well as good x-ray effect in the film when the screen flashes white and blue. There is a beautiful shot of Kegero standing as a swarm of bees approach her and a good use of green lighting. There is a good use of blue effects and orange lighting. The film has a good use of white lighting and good animation in general.
Ninja Scroll is ultimately a good example of 90s style animation as well as a good use of light flashes. The film has a good electric lighting effect, as the film also is a great prime example of 90s gory anime animation. There is a great bit of animation were lighting projectiles becoming several ninja stars when thrown as the film has a great piece of animation that adds to the grittiness of the anime in general. The film has classic over the top 90s anime style to it with gory fight scenes in it which great granny gritty animation. The film has great body horror animation to it which is further shown with the animation of the demon like creature which is a tentacle monster which links to the film being like a Lovecraftian cosmic horror. The film has great visuals of blue electricity and laser effects in the film. The film has a beautiful shot of Kegero standing as a swarm of bees approaching her which is combined with great body horror imagery of a wasp nest on a guys back. The film has great weird horror imagery to it and just interesting imagery in general as well as good fire animation.
Ninja Scroll in a great insane anime film that fans of anime will love.