Ninja Scroll

It is extremely important to discuss the history of anime and its animation when talking about Ninja Scroll. A movie considered as one of the most influential anime ever made by many, it was one of the earliest anime to popularise mature, or adult oriented, anime outside Japan, along with classics such as Akira and Ghost in the Shell. The movie was one of the earliest popular slasher anime too, showing violence, blood and gore, and even nudity and sexual assault. It's important to keep in mind that Ninja Scroll is a historically important piece to the anime culture.

Ninja Scroll is not a difficult movie to examine in terms of story. The protagonist Jubei is a good hearted and talented Ninja who gets swept up in a conspiracy which actually has connections to his past. This is just another variation of the popular theme of Samurai-Ninja movies and is nothing special in itself. Rather, it's the simplicity in narration that makes the story interesting. Jubei fights with eight different enemies who possess special techniques of their own, but defeats them all using seperate countermeasures, after an initial struggle. The process itself is perhaps common, but the idea of countering adversities with not only power but also wit is intriguing to watch. In contrast to the so called 'nakama power-up' and 'breaking limits' in shounen anime and such, this is a very refreshing experience, not to mention it is one of the oldest anime to introduce the effectiveness of the technique. Another beautiful part about the story is the emotional attachment of characters in the story as well as their emotional awareness towards their self. Kagero is a woman who's fated to never really love a man because of her body constitution and have always been considered as a poison master. The experience with Jubei provides her with the awareness of being treated as a woman and asked to treasure the life one has. It's visible that she just wanted to escape her wretched fate when she reveals to Jubei that she just wanted him to take her. One visible flaw action films have more often than not is the incapability to emotionally attach characters to the story. Ninja Scroll is different in that regard and is successful in linking those emotional elements to the story well. But in essence, it is a story that starts with the arrival of a mercenary ninja and ends with the departure of him.

The more famous and beautiful part of the film is its animation. It is an anime that is pointed out by many as an example of dazzling cell animation. The story is simplistic but the art narrates on its own. As such, it can basically be included in the 'visual poem' category. As an action anime that's praised highly for its beautiful action sequences it's already a success. The short length nature of action scenes are actually extremely suitable to the story nature as well as a non hindrance to the narration. Kaoru Wada's music also is befitting for the anime ambience and is a perfect fit for the action scenes in particular. The lovely voicing of Kouichi Yamadera and Emi Shinohara also deserves praise.

Ninja Scroll is a film that represents all the beauty of vintage anime. Its story is lacking to be called as one of the greatest anime films, but technically it doesn't really fall behind any other anime. Its style is representative of an era and it is historically important, thus it's not exactly wrong to positively call the anime a 'relic'. Perhaps it's not to everyone's taste, but it has always been one of my favourite anime movies. The song 'Somewhere, Faraway, Everyone is Listening to a Ballad' by Ryohei Yamagishi is still my favourite ending song from all the anime I've ever seen, and in my opinion the whole essence of personal relationships in the films is beautifully conveyed through its lines;