Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
MichaelMorbius
Not the best anime in terms of story or characters but definitely one of the best anime ever in terms of action scenes, which were some of the most entertaining and engaging I've ever seen. Some of the cleanest vibes I've ever felt watching a movie. Pure fun.
Plot: 6/10 - The plot is pretty simple, nothing too complicated. It's about a ronin named Jubei who, wandering around a poor Japan torn apart by civil wars, finds himself having to face the eight demons of Kimon, led by Genma, a man Jubei thought he had killed. Helping him on his mission will be the ninja Kagero and the government spy Dakuan. The plot, as mentioned, is simple. Jubei goes from one opponent to another as if he were in the levels of a video game, until he gets to the final boss, Genma. The love story with Kagero is not…
Read at the sourceDaubeny117
If I had to describe Ninja Scroll with only one sentence, I'd call it softcore porn with comically high production value.
The plot is beyond silly and the characters terribly written, especially the ninja girl who is supposedly really strong and competent but who's only function is to be sexually assaulted by all the vilains, making for an overall bad story with a very questionable treatment of women. In that sense, it's very similar to the director's previous movie, Wicked City.
Unlike Wicked City however, Ninja Scroll is actually very enjoyable. The main character is quite charismatic and most of the vilains have really fun and unique powers and fighting styles, which are exellently showcased by a famously extremely stylish artstyle and a masterful animation. The story is only a pretex…
Read at the sourceProudElitist
Do you know that animation, as a medium, has reached a point where its maturity and ability to discuss important, relevant issues and to inspire people in their daily life is equal if not greater than live-action movies and series? Kanashimi No Belladonna, the Satoshi Kon trilogy of Perfect Blue, Paprika and Millennium Actress (trilogy made by the same company who did this, of all things), Sailor Moon, Cowboy Bepop, Ideon etc. etc. etc. all helped to push the medium out of the sole children's reach (I mean it with no offense for children, who are everything other than stupid) and they're far more relevant and mature than so-called live action "masterpieces". By watching this turd and the infinite amount of accolades it has received during the years, you wouldn't believe it. Why? because th…
Read at the sourcePinkOni
Have you ever met somebody who was beautiful but lacked substance whatsoever as a person? In essence that's exactly how I view Ninja Scroll. There is only one positive of this show, and it just barely makes this failure of a movie watchable.
---Story---
In reality the story within this movie functions to move you from point A to point B in the fastest way possible. This type of storytelling allows for no world-building, no character development, no explanation of the ninja power system, among a list of other things. The barebones structure of the actual story is a fairly good concept and I could see an actual series being built off of this. If it were expounded upon and correctly presented I could see this being in my top ten as a series easily. Sadly we get a crap tier movie with a sto…
Read at the sourceHarryRambod22
I'm gonna say it Ninja Scroll is one of the greatest anime movies ever made. I've seen this film 6 times dubbed and subbed. Now Ninja Scroll is a truly classic anime that anime watchers who like MOE, CGDCT, and other high school romcoms should watch and learn from to cleanse their pallet and enjoy something great and culturally rich.
The story of Ninja Scroll deals with our protagonist Juubei Kibagami and basically he’s out to kill the 8 devils of Kimon because an insider from the government poisoned him, and if he doesn’t do it the government spy won’t give him the antidote for the poison. The story of Ninja Scroll really has nothing to deal with scrolls and the villains are more like super powered demons rather than traditional ninjas. Basically the main character Juubei was betrayed by…
Read at the sourceSmpavement
Ninja Scroll was a runaway hit when it premiered in America in 1993. Although it was never popular in Japan, it is not hard to see why it is a common gateway drug for western anime fans. Audiences who were unfamiliar with anime felt right at home with Ninja Scroll's plot, which is reminiscent of action films from the same late 80's to early 90's era (think Die Hard or Lethal Weapon). Juubee is a loner with a good heart and a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. To top it off, he's a rugged alpha male unlike the androgynous leads that are typical in anime.
On the surface, the plot seems uninspired: Three ninjas must stop the eight Devils of Kimon before they takeover Japan. There is also little in the way of philosophy or intellectual exercise. However, Ninja Scroll is pe…
Read at the sourcelawlmartz
Long before the Naruto craze and a myriad other ninja themed shows, there was Ninja Scroll. Premiering in 1993, Ninja Scroll could probably be the anime movie that fans everywhere could point their fingers at, saying that it jumpstarted the ninja trend, much like Gundam for mecha, Tenchi Muyo for harem, or Akira for cyberpunk, and what a spectacle it is. This is one of those movies that a lot of oldtaku were exposed to as kids, and is probably at least 50% responsible for the once-stigma of anime being sexed up, ultraviolent, and DEFINITELY not for kids.
Madhouse blends this winning combination of stylized, but grotesque, bloody violence with a touch of sexuality, and an unhealthy dose of visual awesomeness to bring Ninja Scroll to life. The story follows a lone wanderer, a ninja swordsm…
Read at the sourceOmegaKatana92
Where to begin with my short review here Oh yes the story is really weak but that makes this a dumb fun rule of cool popcorn movie to begin with. The characters besides the main lead Jubei Kibagami and the villain Genma the rest of the characters are pretty forgettable.the OST is pretty weak and not remember able at all. The Animation on the fight scenes and in general is pretty good in my opinion. That reminds me the ending fight at the end of the movie on the burning ship has to be the best anime fight that I ever experienced in my whole life watching anime. I also first heard of it when my parents are talking about when they watched anime while growing up.
Read at the sourceLuquillo
Considered by some(not me) to be one of the best anime films ever. Ninja Scroll is an action anime that has gained quite a solid and very rabid following. I have seen reviewers attacked mercilessly for saying anything negative about it. I'll never hear a reason good enough on why someone should be attacked for expressing their opinion on anything but those things happen, and I only mention that point with intentions on providing insight on how loved this animated feature is.
Ninja Scroll is definitely one of the most violent and action packed anime films ever. To include, the film boasts some of the most incredible visuals for its time which still holds up until now. For being a film that was released in 1993. It really doesn't show a lot of age.
Director and writer Yoshiaki Kawajiri is…
Read at the sourcePowerUpOrDie
'Bakkakkoii' a Japanese slang word meaning "Stupid-Cool". Ninja Scroll is both very, very stupid and very, very cool.
-Story-
From what I know, during the early 90's hyper-violent and gratuitous movies and OVA's were very common in the anime industry. If Ninja Scroll is any indication... I heard exactly right. After their overthrow by the Tokugawa Shoguns, the Toyotomi clan has assembled an army of the night and... ah, who freaking cares? It's all an excuse to get a bunch of awesome ninja fights. If I had to describe the story in one word it would be 'gratuitous'. Blood? Gore? Violence? Fan-Service? Special Powers? All check. Ninja Scroll has the plot of any number of cheap American action films, this one just happens to be animated. One scene that sums up this movie perfectly has a geis…
Read at the sourcedefunctmaluser
With the recent onslaught of wish-fulfilment garbage and grimdark bullshit getting popular as of late, a lot of people have taken up the mantra that anime nowadays is shit and that the older stuff is undoubtedly better. Whilst I can certainly see where those people are coming from, I want to take a better look at what the so-called "good old days" of anime really had to offer. Today, we're taking a look at Ninja Scroll: a harbinger of nostalgia for the many oldtaku here on MAL that actually bought tickets to see Akira and Ghost in the Shell in theatres when they first came to USA. Is Ninja Scroll truly a masterpiece like the nostalgia-hungry oldtaku out there make it seem? Nope. Is it still an enjoyable movie to watch? Indeed it is, now let's get into great lengths to find out why.
Before…
Read at the sourcemykk
Ninja Scroll was the first anime I have ever seen. I probably was going to elementary school at that time and I’m not sure how my friends parents allowed us to see this sick and twisted story full of gore and tits.
Needless to say, I couldn’t understand a jack shit of what was actually going on, but man did I love it.
Ninja Scroll also marks my new found interest in anime. It is the first anime movie I’ve seen in 5 years. I loved it, and since then I’ve already watched about 10 anime movies.
It is, in a nutshell, an action movie. And action here is great. Let me rephrase that: it’s awesome beyond belief! But what is action alone without great characters, interesting storyline, fitting music and heavy atmosphere? For me, action is never a key ingredient into great movie, and too often mov…
Read at the sourceCbubbles
Misogyny! Gore! Everything wrong with anime! etc etc! Really though, the way I see it is that Ninja Scroll is fundamentally an exploitation film that happens to be animated, more or less structured like a 70s grindhouse film in terms of emphasis on very base payoff. Funny how people get a lot less lenient about that kind of sleaze once it's animated, i.e. real people aren't being exploited in the process. Anyway, it's actually rather unique in how it takes a period story with ninjas and, without sacrificing the romanticism of such a setting, does something grotesque and almost horror-oriented with it. Great oldschool animation to boot--they can capture this kind of fluidity digitally very easily now, but it just doesn't have the same soul as the traditional method. Yeah, it's misogynistic,…
Read at the sourceexplicit707
This was once my favorite anime movie, and though it no longer holds the crown on my list, it is still an outstanding movie that has held up over time. Every person I have shown this to, whether they are an anime fan or not, has enjoyed this movie. When someone I know asks for a recommendation for anime I always start with Ninja Scroll.
The opening scene is all the character development you need for Jubei. They sum up his character in a quick defensive attack and short piece of dialogue. From there, you know exactly who he is and what he does. The scene then changes and the plot begins. As other characters enter the stage, Jubei wanders into the spotlight and fast explosive action graces the stage.
Though this movie has quite a bit of violence, it is fast and well presented. Fights are…
Read at the sourceLima-Sama
Ninja Scroll is awesome! There! that's the review.
The story is not great, it's actually pretty basic: An evil group, working for an evil shogun, trying to take over Japan. Our poor hero Jubei unfortunately gets stuck in the middle, when he decided to help some ninja girl that was being raped by a giant muscle-head freak who tells her to behave, because: it would not make a difference to him wether she's dead or alive while he's doing his thing. Yeah.. it's not classy. Jubei and the ninja girl, let's call her Kagero, end up joining forces to take on the evil group, yada yada yada, we've seen it many times before. It's pretty straigh-forward.
But it isn't the story that makes this movie a "MUST WATCH" classic, it's the action packed, bloody, raw and uncut fighting scenes! If there's one th…
Read at the sourcecobrascope
This is a fantaastic action film. It's an homage to a series of ninja novels and the main character an homage to a famous samurai folk hero...but never mind all that rubbish! All you need to know is it's a high octane thrill a minute action adventure with great characters, great fight scenes and a decent plot (certainly much better than you'd expect for a movie of this type). Be warned it's very violent and it will shock anyone who equates animation with Mickey Mouse or only knows anime through Studio Ghibli. Having said that all the extreme content is handled in a mature and responsible manner. It's certainly not a tastless or nasty film.
My main criticism? The song for the closing credits is abysmal and totally out of sync with the rest of the film.
Read at the sourceLebowitz
This was the very first anime film I ever saw. This takes me back to a time before even pokemon was in the US. Although a lot of people today will say that the art isn't that good. Or that the character development is terrible etc. etc. Those are also the people that have only been watching anime since it became popular in the US.
The story is amazing. Demon ninjas with terrible powers, each unique.
The Art for it's time is also excellent. This is the movie that made me realize that cartoons could be serious, not just Bugs Bunny style.
If you like movies that have amazing villians, and a hero willing to fight them, and not cry about it the whole time. Violence. Great visuals. Imagination. Very good storyline. This movie is for you. I'll also mention that this is one of the only animes t…
Read at the sourcePhill-z
Ah Ninja Scroll, the epitome of everything a ninja anime needs and tries...and fails to be. My friend and I saw this at our local Blockbuster and he had heard of it from a coworker who said "WATCH THIS MOVIE!" Now generally when I get recommendations from my friends I don't enjoy them all too much but Ninja Scroll was and is possibly one of my favourite films.
Story: Ninja Scroll in a very realistic sense is an anime B-movie. So the story was pretty heinous. Essentially the entire plot can be seen as a device to switch setting and to move to the next fight scene. However the story itself (if you're actually paying attention) isn't all too bad. There were some interesting little character developments and a couple neat twists and turns. It gets slightly weird towards the end and the actual…
Read at the sourceTazeyo
This is one of the Japanese animated movies that have left a long lasting mark on me.
It influenced me alot in artistic style, and other ways.
It's very much like typical old Japanese samurai stories, but with all the stuff animation allows in.
Ninja techniques were great.
I loved watching it and I watch it again now and then.
I don't know why many people have a bad experience with it.
Anyway, I'd reccommend this anime to hardcore samurai or ninja anime fans.
Or men who are interested in animations and over the age of 27.
Best suited for men in their 40s.
Best Ninja Animation Movie ever!!
Read at the sourceYourMessageHere
Ninja Scroll was one of the first examples of anime I ever saw, and it made a lasting impression on me - a bad one. Luckily, I was already convinced of the ability of anime to stand up to anything that live action could throw at it. This, on the other hand, went a long way towards making me realise that, as with anything else (I now realise - I was young and had no sense), not all anime is superb.
So, what's wrong? Well, ninjas. I await the day when I can see a ninja character that I can even begin to believe in. However, it seems it is illegal to have ninjas that you can actually believe in; they all have to be supernatural and/or sublimely skilled, to an order of magnitude above and beyond your garden variety trained killer. Ninja Scroll is the very epitome of this attitude. They're not…
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