Did you know that the very first comic books were meant for adult consumption?  And so it remained for a decades until Disney came along and softened the genre with cartoons.  Some might argue the Marvel and DC Comics are written and illustrated with children in mind, and indeed I used to read them growing up, but the stuff of fairy tales these comics are not.  They are festooned with violence and all sorts, magic, the arcane, and plenty of sex, though nary an untoward body part be seen.    

Enter Japanese animation or Anime as it is popularly know.  The Japanese are known for their rather risqué set of animation that can be ultra-violent and graphic.  My interest in anime dates back to my days as a young man stationed in Hawaii when such fair was readily available.  Back then I confined myself to books and magazines, but with the advent of DVD's a whole not world has opened up, bringing us well respected titles like Ninja Scroll, which started out as a movie and is now a series, not unlike the more renowned Dragon Ball Z.    

The title Ninja Scroll (American title); the Japanese title is Jubei Ninpucho-has a meaning beyond the words that help lend insight into the world of an arcane-laced Feudal Japan where the story-line takes place.  The title Ninja Scroll directly relates, or so I have read, to the character of the wizened little monk with the bug eyes named Dakuan, who manages to get Jubei, our main character, into so much trouble. Dakuan records the story as he experiences it, or is going to experience it.  And once committed to the "Ninja Scroll," facts, tragic or happy, cannot be altered or changed.   

The Story

The plot of Ninja Scroll is extremely hard to follow; sufficed to say that given the setting there are plenty of Ninja, Samurai, ronin, demons and sword play to go around.  As mentioned above Jubei Ninpucho is our main character, he is a Ninja for hire, or more accurately, he is a ronin for hire; a ronin is a samurai without a master or clan.  Jubei roams the countryside hiring himself out as a master swordsman, and master he is.

As the story opens Jubei is confronted by two men on a bridge and quickly dispatches them both without breaking a preverbal sweat.  We then move to a team of Koga Ninja sent to investigate a mysterious plague in a nearby village.  But before they can get there they are slaughtered to a man, except one, Kagero, a beautiful female Ninja who acts as their lord's food taster and has now ingested all manner of poison, so much, so that even her touch can mean certain death.  The Ninja are dispatched by a giant Ninja with stone skin by the name of Tessai, who uses a huge double-bladed sword, which he throws like a boomerang and cleaves anything in its considerable path.  Clearly outmatched Kagero attempts to escape, but Tessai uses his weapon to bring her to heal and makes off with her unconscious body in his clutches.

Tessai hauls Kagero back to his house and attempts to rape her, but he is interrupted by a fearless Jubei who is not intimidated at all by Tessai's ability to turn his skin into stone. Jubei blinds Tessai in one of his eyes with a dart and he and Kagero escape and thus become companions.  We later learn that Tessai is just one of many demons in the employ of the Dark Ninja Jubei will have to defeat.   

My Thoughts

A friend recommended Ninja Scroll some time ago, but I just recently picked the DVD from Amazon.com unsure of what I was getting into.  I wanted something a little more graphic than Dragon Ball Z, sort of DBZ for adults and Ninja Scroll does not disappoint. Be forewarned this movie is not for the kiddies.  There are copious amounts of blood, nudity, graphic violence, and sexual situations.

This unabashed fair combined with Japanese style animation makes Ninja Scroll very entertaining, and only whets my appetite for more of the same.  The movie is smartly written, though I have to admit that I do not know enough about feudal Japanese society to know the difference.  But I am a rapid fan of magic and the arcane so Ninja Scroll with its magical creatures and super human characters is just the sort of escapism needed when the weather turns cold and nasty and even the thought of going outside makes the toes curl.

Ninja Scroll is a keeper, one of those rare movies where watching it again and again brings something new to the viewing table.    

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age