Ninja Scroll (Review)
Japan/1995
Netflix Streaming: No
Amazon Prime: No
"...a gory, creative anime that impresses
to this day."
Amidst
a deadly plague, Jubei Kibagami, a lonewolf ninja, Dakuan, a government
spy, and Kagero, a Mochizuki Koga ninja, team to destroy the Devils of
Kimon, a demon ninja group. Although they have different motives and
goals, the group share a common enemy with sinister plans.
Ninja
Scroll is an action-packed anime. The story is deeper than my
description, but not at all complicated. Most of the film consists of a
battle against a demon ninja, moving a few steps forward, another
battle, and so on. What may have been a repetitive formula is saved by
the thrilling battles and unique characters. However, some, and I mean
some, of the battles end underwhelmingly compared to the epic buildup
leading up to said fights. The story continues at a ferociously fast
pace towards a truly epic final battle.
The enemies in this film
are unique, and creativity is required to defeat them; this adds much
needed variety to the film. The designs ranged from nightmarish to
erotic, and everything in between. The fights are mostly short as there
are 8 demons and some of these fights end quickly, and the story also
attempts to add some romance into the short 1hr 30min run time;
fortunately, it is enough to satisfy action fans. Ultimately, the
creative characters and their impressive designs are enough to keep me
interested in the world of Ninja Scroll.
The animation is
fantastic with great use of color and movement. This is an extremely
gory film, and the animation is awe-inspiring during these sequences.
The Blu-ray features fantastic picture and sound quality, although not
quite matching contemporary animation. The Japanese voice acting is
superb, the English voice acting is good if you'd rather not read
subtitles and don't understand Japanese. The music fits perfectly with
the film and helps create the epic vibe.
Overall, Ninja Scroll is
a great, action-packed animation; a gory, creative anime that impresses
to this day. It is hardcore action from beginning to end, and action
worth watching - anime fan or not. I strongly recommend a purchase for
fans of the genre, a rental otherwise.
Score: 8/10
Parental Guide: Very strong violence and gore, nudity and sex.
No comments:
Post a Comment