If you know anything about Japanese animation,
you have definitely seen a film by the legendary Studio Ghibli. The work of
Hayao Miyazaki is so prolific and consistently excellent that many have
referred to him as the "Walt Disney of Japan." While the work of
Studio Ghibli is undeniably influential, its quality is a double edged Samurai sword,
on the sharp side it introduces viewers to the world of Anime, on the dull side
it might prevent viewers from branching out beyond itself. Digging a little
deeper into the world of Anime films viewers might discover the diverse wealth
of quality. Not to say that the works of Studio Ghibli are in any way inferior
to these other films, but too much of one thing can perhaps stunt the viewer’s
knowledge. From the surreal dream-like films of Satoshi Kon, to the pure adrenaline
rush of movies such as Redline there
is always something new to discover. Today I want to talk about the film Ninja Scroll.
I have known about Ninja Scroll for some time, but I have not had
access to it until recently, when I began purchasing films online. Upon doing
some research you will almost always find Ninja
Scroll on lists of high-quality Japanese animated films.
To start off I have to say that "Ninja Scroll" is
an excellent title for a film, but not this one. Sure there are plenty of Ninja
in the film but no Scrolls. I carefully watched every frame, but I have yet to
find the titular scroll. This title is in fact a creation of the English
language translation, as the Japanese title is Juubee Ninpuuchou. This would
not have been a problem if not for the fact that it was distracting. Perhaps a
better title for the film would have been "Ninja Gold," because there
is some gold in this movie. But this is all beside the point. Ninja Scroll is awesome!
Ninja Scroll follows a wandering swordsmen-for-hire named Jubei Kibagami.
During his travels he is poisoned by a government agent
and is blackmailed into fighting against a group of Ninja called the Devils of
Kimon. With the help of the female warrior Kagero, Jubei must take down all
eight of these Demonic assassins before his time runs out.
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| Kagero is pretty awesome. |
This whole setup
adds tension in the form of a countdown to Jubei’s demise.
The film is very much a product of its time.
Because it came out in the early 90's, it definitely feels different from what
most average Anime viewers are used to. Other than the films of Studio Ghibli
and of OLM (the studio that produced Pokemon), there were not a ton of films in
Japan at the time intended for kids.
Lots of films from that decade opted to use
beautiful landscape paintings for their backgrounds. Lots of films still do
this, but they tend to look cleaner now. Character designs tended to be more
realistic, and even the shadows were handled differently.
The style might be
characterized as messier or grittier than more modern animation. This older
style grew out of the popular Shonen
(boys) action shows of the 80's, and it continued to persist
roughly until the early 2000's. For examples of both trends, I would suggest
watching the films Laputa: Castle
in the Sky (1986) and Spirited Away (2001) back to back. You will
easily be able to pick out the differences in these films, based on when they
were made.
As for the animation quality of Ninja Scroll, the movement is as smooth
as butter, and the fight scenes are done spectacularly.
This comes as no
surprise, considering the animation was done by Studio Madhouse. Madhouse
productions have an excellent track record when it comes to the amazing
animation they produce. This studio is responsible for such hits as Death Parade, One Punch Man,
Trigun, and Ore Monogatari!!, not
to mention that it produced the animation for all the films of Satoshi Kon, and
Mamoru Hosoda.
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| Ore Monogatari!! |
Ninja Scroll is an anime B-movie through and through, but it wears this like a badge of pride. It knows that you have come for the fight scenes over the story, and the story is only there to supplement the fights. From the premise of the film you would assume these fights to be outrageous and over the top. Jubei and Kagero fight enemies like an eight-foot-tall rock man, and a naked snake lady, but Ninja Scroll brilliantly juxtaposes this with with quick realistic fight scenes.
In these scenes there is a
few seconds of tense action before the first and final blow is struck, leaving
the victor in a shower of blood. The film’s over-the-top villains are often
introduced just moments before they are killed, almost anticlimactically. But
the film uses this sense of realism similar to that of fights from old black
and white Samurai films to ground itself. I will admit that this was not what I
was expecting from the film, but if you going in knowing this you will enjoy
it.
The voice acting is top notch in Japanese.
Kouichi Yamadera provides the voice of Jubei, and he does an excellent job. He
has notably played Spike Spiegal in Cowboy Bebop, and Ryouji
Kaji in Neon Genesis Evangelion. He brings a gruff-but-noble
feeling to the character. Emi Shinohara plays Kagero, and she might be familiar
to you as Makoto Kino (Sailor Jupiter), in Sailor Moon and as Eri
Ochiai in Perfect Blue. She does an excellent job here as well. She
makes Kagero a tough woman, who can still have a bit of a soft side.
The English dub, on the other hand, is
horrendous, but this could actually be good in your opinion if you plan on
watching it in the context of a Samurai B-movie. The best voice-acting in
English is provided by Wendee Lee, who later went on to play Haruhi in The Melancholy
of Haruhi Suzumiya.
The plot of Ninja
Scroll can drag a little here or there, (many scenes feel like filler until
the next fight scene), but for the most part I do not have any complaints
there. Probably the most interesting part of the plot for me was what happens
to the character of Kagero. The film establishes early on that she is a poison
taster (similar to Westley in The
Princess Bride), meaning
she is immune to them. Because she has consumed poison for years, her
body has stored poison in her system with the result that anyone who has sex
with her will die. This whole setup would normally be ludicrous, but you have
to remember this is Ninja
Scroll. We can see how Kagero
can use this to her advantage, but it also means that she cannot make love to
anyone with whom she has fallen in love. So problems begin to arise when she
develops feelings toward Jubei. The characters catch a lucky break when they
learn that the only way to cure Jubei of his poison would be for them to have
sex. Because poison cures poison, I guess. At this point Kagero is still
wrestling with her feelings for Jubei, but it is in her best interest to keep
him alive. So Kagero offers herself up to Jubei so that he can stay alive.
Getting over the fact that this entire scenario is completely and utterly
ridiculous, what happens next is interesting. Jubei, being the honorable
Samurai that he is, doesn't take the offer. He would pefer a slow, painful
death than use Kagero as an object. This was a unique and refreshing way to
deal with sexuality in a film, and it even left it open for the characters to
grow to have a relationship.
The characterization in the film tends to be
subtle. We do not get much about Jubei's past, but we know that he is an
excellent swordsman, who killed the main villain five years before the start of
the film. He is a wanderer with no home, and he takes jobs even if the pay
isn't good because he needs something to eat. I imagine that upon completing
his task he severs any ties he made and continues his lonely journey. As the
film ended, having watched him fight all these monsters, it was surprising to
see him continue on as if nothing had happened, almost like this were a normal
day in his life.
Jubei is definitely not the best-written character, but his
story was interesting enough to keep me engaged until the end. He also becomes
more interesting once you do a little research. Turns out he is based on the
real life Samurai Yagyu Jubei Mitsuyoshi, who lived from 1607 to around 1650
A.D. He is one the most famous and romanticized Samurai from the feudal era,
and is believed to be the best swordsman of the Yagyu clan. A legend exists in
which he lost an eye, and in some accounts he used a sword guard as an
eyepatch.
Mitsuyoshi has been a character featured in many different stories in
all forms of Japanese media, similar to Don Juan in western literature. So you
can imagine a Japanese viewer coming to Jubei with tons of context, when a
western viewer might not.
While Ninja Scroll might not be
the deepest or most thought-provoking film, its excellent action, beautiful
visuals, and over-the-top characters make it one of the most stylish anime
films around. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but if you are looking to
branch out beyond Studio Ghibli, this film might be one place to start.
Have fun!
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