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adamwatchesmovies · 3 years ago

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Ninja Scroll (1993)

I know Ninja Scroll is a favourite for many, but an anime classic? Let's dial it down a bit. This film was released at the right time. That's why it's influential.

Jubei (voiced by Dean Elliot) is a wandering swordsman-for-hire whose path crosses with the ninja Kagero (voiced by Wendee Lee). Learning that his old enemy Genma Himuro (voiced by Richard Epcar) has resurfaced and is leading a group of eight demons to thrust the country into civil war, Jubei joins forces with Kagero and a shady government spy named Dakuan (voiced by Stephen Apostolina) to stop the malicious forces.

The film's visuals are solid. There are many sequences of action and the movements are fluid, the blows have impact and the stakes feel high. The character designs, their abilities and roles in the story make them memorable. Seeing the heroes battles the demons to the death is exciting. To a certain extent, I also enjoyed the plot. The overall story is simplistic, mostly an excuse to get our heroes and their opponents face to face but subtle touches here and there go a long way. There's political intrigue, the demon's motivations aren't as simple as taking over/destroying the world, and Kagero’s master isn’t really that nice of a guy. You’re unsure how things will go, even if our heroes manage to beat the villains.

It's ironic that Ninja Scroll is credited (along with Ghost in the Shell and Akira) for showing North America that animation could tell adult stories. The film is like a 13-year-old who's just discovered boobs. The story is caked in violence and sex. Every major scene sees either a demon woman or Kagero taking off her clothes, having sex with someone, getting sexually assaulted, rejected sexually, or involves some advance made regarding the fact that as a woman, she would be awesome naked in bed, etc. It gets downright vile when the visuals lingers on a long rape scene. From there, Kagero and Jubei of course have to fall in love. That's what she's there for. With this film and Wicked City I get a strong sense that director Yoshiaki Kawajiri either doesn’t like women, doesn’t know how to relate to them, or has never met one.

I have mixed feelings about the violence of Ninja Scroll as well. It slows down as the picture progresses, but the carnage is nearly as excessive as the sex. People get decapitated, dismembered, electrocuted, cut in half vertically, horizontally, or die from their heads getting sliced in two. On its own it might be fine. Combined with the over sexualization of so many female characters, it'll make any adult feel like they're too old to be watching this.

I wonder how much of the success of Ninja Scroll is due to it being released back in the mid 90’s when so many wanted anime to be taken seriously. It’s violent, gory, contains adult material and very stylish. This was the film many people had been waiting for. Even if you don't care for it, you can't help but say "woah!".

Maybe another visit down the line will change my mind. For now, I recommend the film but more for scholars than casual fans of anime, and hardly at all to those looking for "adult animation". Ninja Scroll is sexist, and gratuitous. It's also historically important, groundbreaking, and influential. (English Dub on VHS, February 29, 2016)

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