Blandin - Ninja Scroll

Image Taken from Animehere.com

This week in anime class we discussed supernatural and cultural aspects of anime. Most anime reflect some, if not all, aspects of the Shinto religion. It is quite apparent regarding the supernatural qualities of Ninja Scroll. Though not entirely detailed, it still gets the point across about oni and other odd phenomenon in the feudal era of Japan. Usually when that era is discussed it makes me think of InuYasha. The first anime I ever watched that was based in feudal Japan. That series is all about demons and power corrupted humans. Making them believe they wish to be demons just to gain a considerable amount of power. It also shows the other side of things when it comes to the good in people… even oni or half youkai. The movie did make me think of InuYasha because of the setting, oni, and other strange qualities of the film. Ninja Scroll is a great deal more violent and only a 90-minute film so you can only fit so much into that time frame regarding explanations, character backgrounds and so forth… Though I’m pretty sure if you look into the Ninja Scroll anime series and the comic books, they may provide more details for those wishing to learn more about the story because they are technically considered a continuation in a way.

 Regardless of the time frame, the movie does get across this “battle” between good and evil. Some characters may seem kinda shady in categorizing them, like the old man Dakuan. Others are obvious in which side they belong. Jubei and Kagero are the heroes, while Genma and his crew are the villains. Jubei is the main hero of course with his supernatural abilities and powerful morals. He fights for those in need and treats women with great respect. Like when he helped a poor village for little pay, or decided not to use Kagero to cure himself of the poison that Dakuan used to force him into helping the old man. Genma is just an all over villain with the ability to reincarnate himself and chasing after gold. He does whatever he can to conceal its location. All that trouble and he ends up sinking with gold fused to his body. At least we can say, despite the death of Kagero, good prevailed and taught us all a lesson about the loyalty of a “samurai” even though the movie claims Jubei is a swordsman/ninja… I personally believe he is a samurai because he displays the qualities of the pure ones.

Aside from that, I believe, despite its simplicity, that Ninja Scroll was an artistically pleasant movie in design. It doesn’t compare to the quality of movement and scenery in Akira but it still does some justice. After all it was a low budget movie in comparison. I would recommend this movie to diehard anime fans and people who love violence, as for myself… I’d rather take a gander at something else content wise. I can’t stomach much with decapitations and whatnot.