Still fun 30 years later

Important things to remember

• The acclaimed Ninja Scroll film recently celebrated its 30th anniversary with a limited theatrical release to showcase the film’s lasting influence.
• A blend of eroticism and the bizarre, this ero-guro film offers an unforgettable and daring viewing experience.
• While Ninja Scroll's story may not be as intense, its exciting action sequences, artwork, and charming characters have helped it become a cult favorite.

Few anime studios are as storied and revered as Madhouse, and among its many illustrious creative leaders, few are as iconic, whether in their imagination or their influence, as Yoshiaki Kawajiri. Kawajiri, more recently Ninja Roll It celebrated its (belated) 30th anniversary with a small theatrical release in North America, and all these years later, it remains a provocative, expertly crafted film that gets your blood pumping.

Iconic Events is bringing the film to theaters for three nights only, starting September 11, as part of its Anime Expo Cinema Nights event, which will feature a special interview with the director before the event begins. The film was released in Japan in 1993. Ninja Roll Hailed as one of Kawajiri's finest works, this action film was a huge hit during the anime boom of the 1990s after its release in the West.

You'll know why it's a cult classic.

Light-sensitive viewers beware, as the film contains a lot of flashes. Even the trailer posted below has a lot of strobe effects.

Ninja Roll It is a highly successful film that is at the same time a love letter to the director's influence, and at the same time a very influential work in its own right. It joins other films in the genre such as: Ghost in the Shell It is an anime that helped inspire creators like the Wachowski brothers to create. The MatrixFor others, it was, and still is, a taste-setter, especially for younger viewers who find the film's action and extreme violence a novelty.

The story of the ninja scroll

The film tells the story of Jubei Kibagami, a vagabond who roams Japan as a swordsman for hire, until a chance encounter sends him on a mission where the fate of the country is at stake. Despite his impatience with politics, he has little choice but to aid the last survivor of his ninja clan as she investigates the cause of a plague that has devastated a village. Along the way, he must battle the demon Kimon to thwart a plot to overthrow the government.

The structure of the story is very video game-like, which is a big factor in what makes this movie so interesting. It's an adventure where the journey is filled with creative boss fights, where each demon has a unique appearance, skills, and/or powers. In contrast, Jubei, aside from his masterful swordsmanship, seems quite “ordinary”, which makes him seem less fortunate while his victory seems all the more worthwhile.

Eroguro action show

After the opening scene and the audience's introduction to Jubei, the film begins its main storyline through what can only be called a true horror film. A group of incredibly trained ninja are slaughtered by an unexpected force: a man with skin as hard as stone. The sole survivor of the sudden ambush, Kagero, continues to watch in horror as her clan leader is torn to shreds.

“Eroguro” is a genre that describes a mix of eroticism and the bizarre, which cannot be expressed more perfectly than this. Ninja RollThe atmosphere of the film is considered pornographic, but this term applies to both the fight fantasies and the sexual content throughout the film. The allure and excitement are inevitably intertwined with the dread and mystery, making for a daring and memorable viewing experience. You will never forget the first time you saw this film.

A simple story but with a meaningful plot.

All of this is simple, but at its best, it doesn't feel simple. The pacing is too amateurish, and the art is too beautiful to be considered as such. The story is thin from all angles, but the way it's told keeps the film in a good rhythm. The pacing is exciting, but also somewhat patient. There's an emphasis on building anticipation before sparks can even fly. The fight between Jubei and Tessai is a great example.

An ordinary-looking swordsman – unlike the countless men audiences have seen slaughtered – versus a stone-bodied monster is a well-paced encounter that builds tension naturally, making the terrifying payoff all the more satisfying. Ninja Roll There are always new tricks for the audience to watch and they rarely shirk from the most violent images.

Performances can't solve all problems.

The pacing is tight, the characters are distinctive and memorable, and the action sequences are relentlessly violent in the best way. These are the qualities that make this a cult film. But despite these virtues, anyone who has seen this film Ninja Roll I agree with a lot of things. First and foremost, every time there's a narrative, the movie loses its appeal.

Admittedly, the historical context of the film's setting is interesting, but everything done with that context is rather lackluster. That could have ruined the final confrontation, but the presentation saved it, which is no small feat. “Aesthetics” doesn't mean the absence of story, but rather… is Stories and Ninja RollThe climax of this story is excellent, even though the plot isn't very good. What makes the overall story worse is the sexism that occurs throughout the story.

Second, the Kagero problem

An uninteresting plot is easily forgiven in a film that focuses on its characters, their journeys, and their relationships. Unfortunately, that plot is tarnished by a lackluster portrayal of Kagero. Despite a strong introduction, she never gets a chance to do anything cool. She never gets to kill a single bad guy, except for the first one, Tessai. And even then, there's a major clue: Kagero's body will poison anyone who sleeps with her.

Tessai died because he sexually assaulted Kagero before fighting Jubei. Even then, her poison was seen as a contribution, as Jubei knocked Tessai onto his sword, reducing her contribution to nothing. Meanwhile, her entire story is about the shame of having a toxic body. One could charitably interpret her story as Kagero learning to see himself as more than an object because Jubei treated her like a person, but that would be going too far.

She's too indecisive to take the message seriously, and while Kagero isn't sexually assaulted (twice, I might say), her relationship with Jubei isn't interesting to begin with. The big problem is how important she is to the story, and it's annoying that a film with so many epic action sequences can't give one of the main characters a bigger role.

There are better movies than this.

Ninja Roll

But at the same time, nothing else can compare to this, and when combined with the inspired art and direction, it makes a huge difference.

When I went to see this movie in the theater again, I was prepared for some things that didn't quite fit with a film that was released 31 years ago (naturally). The biggest disappointment was realizing that those negative qualities were still present throughout the film. The title doesn't lie; this is a very enjoyable action movie, but it's just not as great as I remembered, and that makes it hard to appreciate what the film did right. However, don't get me wrong, it's not impossible.

There are better movies than this. Ninja RollBut at the same time, nothing else quite compares to it, and when combined with inspired art and direction, it makes all the difference. As long as we don’t pretend its problems don’t exist, there’s no harm in celebrating what it does right.

Ninja Roll It will be available as a Limited Edition SteelBook Blu-ray on October 22nd, courtesy of Sentai Filmworks.