Ninja Scroll

This article is about the 1993 anime movie. For the TV Series, see Ninja Scroll: The Series.

Ninja Scroll
Ninja Scroll poster
Directed by	Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Produced by	Kazuhiko Ikeguchi Masako Fukuyo Shigeru Kitayama
Screenplay by	Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Story by	Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Starring	Kōichi Yamadera Emi Shinohara Daisuke Gouri Takeshi Aono
Music by	Kaoru Wada
Cinematography	Hitoshi Yamaguchi
Editing by	Yukiko Itō Harutoshi Ogata
Studio	Animate Film
Distributed by	Tokyo Theatres
Release date(s)	June 5, 1993 (1993-06-05)
Running time	99 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Ninja Scroll (獣兵衛忍風帖, Jūbē Ninpūchō^?) is a 1993 Japanese animated action thriller film set in feudal Japan, written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri who was best known for his previous thriller Wicked City (Yōjū Toshi). The character designs were done by Yutaka Minowa. The movie is in homage to the Ninpōchō series, ninja novels by Futaro Yamada. The main character, Kibagami Jubei, is an hommage to the famed Japanese folk hero Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi.

The film was released on June 5, 1993, and received a Western release on December 6, 1995, and was critically acclaimed. The movie was also released in some regions as Jubei Ninpucho: The Wind Ninja Chronicles. It is licensed by Manga Entertainment in North America.

Plot

Five years before the start of the film, the fictious Yamashiro clan's chief retainers (vassal lords) dig gold out of a secret mine behind their lord's back. The lord of the Yamashiro clan wants to have the gold for himself, but his forces are not strong enough, so he cannot act alone. He also cannot go to the government first, because they would take the gold if they knew about the mine. He orders his ninja team, led by Himuro Gemma (Daisuke Gouri), to assassinate the chief retainers, claiming he would then report the mine to the government. Jubei Kibagami (Kôichi Yamadera) and Shinkuro are members of this ninja team. After the chief retainers are murdered, the Yamashiro lord does not report the mine to the government. Later, Gemma orders Shinkuro (Junichi Sugawara) and others to kill Jubei, hoping they would all kill each other, thus eliminating everyone who knew about the mine. Reluctantly, Jubei kills Shinkuro and the others in self-defense. While Gemma is riding along a pass, Jubei springs from the snow and cuts off his head to avenge Shinkuro and the others. Jubei then becomes a wandering swordsman-for-hire.

Sometime later, Gemma is inexplicably able to reincarnate himself, and over the next five years, becomes leader of a demon ninja group known as the Devils of Kimon, who in turn work for the mysterious Shogun of the Dark (really the lord of the House of Toyotomi), which holds a grudge against the current government, the Tokugawa shogunate, and wants to overthrow it. Gemma tells the Shogun of the Dark the location of the secret mine. Meanwhile, Tokugawa government spies are trying to determine where the mine is. The Shogun of the Dark sends the Devils of Kimon to protect the Yamashiro clan from the government spies and government intervention in return for gold from the mine. The Yamashiro clan sends a large shipment of gold to the Shogun of the Dark, but the ship is wrecked in a storm on the coast near the village of Shimoda, in Mochizuki clan territory. Gemma and the Devils of Kimon are sent to recover the gold. They wipe out Shimoda village by poisoning the wells to get rid of any witnesses. They make it look as if a plague has killed the villagers. The next night, a team of Mochizuki Koga ninja is sent to investigate the plague in Shimoda village, but on their way they are slaughtered. The only survivor is Kagero (Emi Shinohara), who is captured and is almost raped by her assailant, a huge stone golem called Tessai (Ryûzaburô Ôtomo). Rescued by the wandering mercenary ninja Jubei Kibagami, Kagero escapes to continue her mission, while Tessai vengefully pursues Jubei. Tessai succeeds in ambushing Jubei but is killed.

Tokugawa shogunate spy Dakuan (Takeshi Aono), who had been observing Jubei, reveals that Tessai belonged to a supernatural ninja group known as the Devils of Kimon, who will constantly attack him to avenge the death of their comrade. Calling his bluff, Jubei is fatally poisoned by Dakuan in an attempt to force Jubei into his employ, the reward for his service being 100 pieces of gold and the antidote to his poison, which will kill him in under a day. The two unite with Kagero to determine the Devils of Kimon agenda and how it relates to the mysterious plague in Shimoda. Dakuan continues the main investigation on his own, using Jubei and Kagero as decoys, who must constantly fend off deadly attacks from the remaining members of the Devils of Kimon, the leader of whom is reputed to be Jubei's old nemesis Gemma, who was killed several years previously. Later on, Dakuan reveals to Kagero that the poison in Jubei can only be cured if she sleeps with him, much to her shock. During this she is abducted by the Devil Shijima, but is later rescued by Jubei.

The Devils of Kimon recover the gold and move it by cart to nearby Kishima Harbor, to have it picked up by another ship and sent to the Shogun of the Dark. Jubei, Kagero, and Dakuan attempt to stop them, but Kagero is fatally wounded by Gemma, who was impersonating her lord - the Mochizuki clan leader, Sakaki Hiyobu. In her dying moments, Jubei rushes to Kagero's aid, who confesses her love for him and the two share a kiss before she passes away, curing Jubei of his poison. Enraged by the death of Kagero, Jubei fights through the enemy forces to get to the ship as it is casting off. Dakuan has also sneaked on the ship; he overhears the Toyotomi retainer and Gemma discussing the Shogun of the Dark's plan for the gold. The Shogun of the Dark plans to use the gold to buy advanced guns from Spain and to overthrow the government. Gemma reveals that he had planned to steal the gold for himself all along, to use it to raise the largest ninja army ever. He ultimately plans to rule the country from the shadows. Gemma kills the Toyotomi retainer, and takes over the ship. Meanwhile, Jubei and Dakuan sneak into the hold of the ship, and in a fight with Zakuro, the ship is set on fire. Gemma goes down to the hold, and in a final battle with Jubei amongst the flames, he falls into the molten gold. Jubei and Dakuan escape the burning ship while Gemma's golden body sinks with the rest of the gold to the bottom of the sea.

Characters

Jubei Kibigami: A vagabond ninja who becomes an enemy of the 8 Demons of Kimon when he interrupts Tessai raping Kagero, ultimately resulting in Tessai's death. His talent rests in his expert swordsmanship being able to defeat a vast number of opponents by himself.

Kagero: The official food taster for the Koga Clan Chamberlain. She follows a team of ninja into a rural village to investigate a sudden epidemic that has been spread by the 8 Demons of Kimon and which has killed all the villagers. All her fellow ninjas are massacred by Tessai, who captures Kagero. She is soon rescued by Jubei and ordered by the Chamberlain to further investigate the Demons of Kimon. This leads to her making an alliance with Jubei and Dakuan. Kagero has an immunity to poisons and her work as a food taster has resulted in her body becoming poisonous due to her ingestion of so many toxins and poisons. Anyone who sleeps with or even kisses her therefore dies shortly after due to the poison in her body. Gemma later impales her with a sword while he is disguised as the Chamberlain. The injury kills her shortly after.

Dakuan: A shady government spy who is also sent to investigate and stop the 8 Demons of Kimon and their allies, the Shogun of the Dark who wish to overthrow the government. He commits Jubei to his cause by stabbing him with a poisoned shuriken and promising him an antidote and 100 pieces of gold only after the demons have been defeated. When he is attacked by Shijima, Dakuan demonstrates his ability to blend into his environment, like a chameleon, as he disguises himself as a tree branch to avoid confrontation.

Gemma: The leader of the 8 Demons of Kimon who is working with The Shogun of the Dark to overthrow the government. He later betrays the head of the shogun, taking possession of his vast quantity of gold as well as taking charge of the shogun's men. He was decapitated by Jubei prior to the film's events, but has the ability to reincarnate himself and therefore keeps coming back to life as demonstrated by his last confrontation with Jubei. He is finally defeated by being cast in liquid gold and sinking to the bottom of the ocean as his ship is destroyed.

Zakuro: The 7th demon to be defeated. She is in love with Yurimaru, who instead loves Gemma. Zakuro has the ability to set explosives traps both in living and dead organisms. She is burned to death by Jubei and Dakuan.

Yurimaru: The 6th demon to be defeated and the right hand of Gemma. He kills Benisato after hearing from Zakuro that she is sharing her bed with Gemma, who he is also in love with. He has the ability to electrocute people and nearly kills Jubei, but is instead killed himself by an explosive trap set by Zakuro.

Shijima: The 5th demon to be defeated. He has the ability to merge into the shadows, create clones of himself, fire a large metallic claw from his hand and even possess people's minds. He kidnaps Kagero and possesses her mind so that she fights Jubei. Jubei kills him shortly after.

Majuro Utsutsu: The 4th demon to be defeated. He is a blind swordsman who challenges Jubei to a fight to the death. He is an incredibly skilled swordsman, having an uncanny hearing ability to engage his enemy as well blinding his enemy by reflecting light from his sword. Despite his skill he is ultimately defeated by Jubei.

Mushizo: The 3rd demon to be defeated. A dwarf who holds a hornet's nest in his back and is able to control these insects to do his bidding. He sends massive swarms of hornets after Jubei but is defeated when he falls into the lake, and is stung to death by the hornets as they try and escape from the nest in his back.

Benisato: The 2nd demon to be defeated. A seductive woman who has snake tattoos all over her body. Believing Jubei killed Tessai, she tracks him down to some hot springs where he is bathing. The snake tattoos on her body come to life and attack Jubei, who kills them easily and holds a blade at Benisato's neck. She escapes by shedding her skin like a snake and fleeing. She encounters Jubei again in a temple, disguised as an old woman praying. This time she captures Jubei with her swarm of snakes, but he is rescued by Kagero. Benisato is then killed by Yurimaru who is angry that she is sleeping with Gemma.

Tessai: The first demon to be defeated. He is an incredibly large man who has the ability to turn his skin as hard as rock and fights with a staff with large sword blades on each end. After wiping out the Koga Clan ninja and capturing Kagero he begins to rape her and he becomes poisoned from the toxins in her body. His short temper soon sees him in a fight with Jubei who interrupted him to ask him for directions. In his second encounter with Jubei, the poison takes effect and Tessai is weakened. He is killed by his own weapon after he throws his staff at Jubei, who dodges it and manages to cut off one of his hands. When the staff returns to him like a boomerang, he fails to catch it and it stabs him through his head.

The Chamberlain: He sends Kagero to investigate the demons and she sends her reports to him throughout the film. He has little respect for those who work for him, as he is shown having sex while hearing that his entire team of ninjas were killed by Tessai and describes them as "useless". He later brings reinforcements to Kagero and Jubei before their final showdown with Gemma and the Shogun, but this ends up being Gemma himself in disguise, as he explains that he murdered the Chamberlain three days prior.

Hanza: The captain for Koga clan ninja team. He is killed by Tessai who tears his arms off. Jubei and Kagero encounter him again seemingly alive walking near a cliff face. However his body is filled with explosives and his body is detonated by Zakuro.

Ratings and censorship

In 1995, the BBFC cut the UK version by approximately 52 seconds. This included a rape scene and images of imitable weaponry. The UK and Australian DVDs were affected by these cuts — it was not censored in Australia but the Australian DVD was an exact copy of the UK disc. In 2004 the footage was reinstated and the movie in both countries was released uncut.

The film was initially given an MA15+ rating by the OFLC in Australia. In 1996, following an uncut screening of the film on free-to-air television, the Federal Attorney General lodged an application to review the classification of the film. As a result of this, the film's classification was upgraded to an R18+ rating, meaning television airings must be censored as R18+ material cannot be screened. Confusion often occurs due to the re-rating as well as the BBFC cut — someone could purchase the original BBFC-cut 18 DVD thinking it contained more graphic material than an MA15+ VHS copy, only to discover it contained less.

In Canada the film was given an R18+ rating, while it was released Unrated in the United States.

Original soundtrack

Jubei Ninpucho Ninja Scroll
Soundtrack album by Kaoru Wada, Ryouhei Yamanashi
Released	2000
Label	ADV Films (North America)

A soundtrack was released titled Jubei Ninpucho (Ninja Scroll) with music composed by Kaoru Wada from the movie. Tracks 8 and 15 are composed and sung by Ryouhei Yamanashi with lyrics by Shou Jitsukawa.

Track listing:

1. "Prologue"
2. "Jubei"
3. "Eight Warriors of the Demon Clan"
4. "Blood Wind"
5. "Kagerou"
6. "Visions"
7. "Devil Shadow"
8. "To Those Who Face the Wind"
9. "Pursuit"
10. "Devil Swordsman"
11. "Strategy"
12. "Reincarnation"
13. "Struggle to the Death"
14. "Epilogue"
15. "Somewhere, Faraway, Everyone is Listening to a Ballad"

Reception

Ninja Scroll won the Citizen's Award at the 1993 Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival. During the 1990s, Ninja Scroll was among the most popular anime movies outside of Japan, along with such movies as Akira and Ghost in the Shell. In 2011, UGO featured Kagero on their list of 25 Hot Ninja Girls.^[1] As of 2011, the film is rated 100% "Fresh" (5/5 positive critic reviews) with an 86% audience (over 11,000 votes) rating on Rotten Tomatoes.^[2]

Legacy

Anime series

Main article: Ninja Scroll: The Series

A Japanese animated television series named Ninja Scroll: The Series aired in Japan in 2003 and ran for 13 episodes. The series is partly written by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, but remains only a spiritual sequel to the film because the story stands alone; however, many references suggest that it is indeed a continuation from the movie. In the series, Jubei gets caught in the middle of a battle between the Kimon clan and the Hiruko clan. He meets up with the Light Maiden Shigure, a young lady whose village was destroyed by the Kimon clan and whom Jubei was charged with delivering a Dragon Stone to. The duo are joined by Tsubute (a young thief) and Dakuan (Tokugawa shogunate spy), and together they try to find out why both the Kimon and the Hiruko clan are after her and why the Dragon Stone she carries is so important to them. The show was directed by Tatsuo Sato (Martian Successor Nadesico), with character design done by Takahiro Yoshimatsu (Trigun).

Anime sequel

An official sequel, Jūbē Ninpūchō 2, is classed as in production with no specific release date. The film is scheduled to be written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, and will most likely be released in the west as Ninja Scroll 2.

In North America, the Ninja Resurrection anime films were marketed as sequels to Ninja Scroll, but were actually created by a separate animation studio. The only similarity they both share is a lead character named Jubei. The Jubei in Ninja Resurrection was Yagyū Jūbei while Ninja Scroll featured Jubei Kibagami.

Comics

In September 2006, Wildstorm launched a 12-issue Ninja Scroll comic book series written by J. Torres, which follows the further adventures of Jubei.

Live-action film

In October 2008, Warner Bros. began development of a live-action remake of the anime. The production companies Appian Way, Madhouse Productions, and Jungo Maruta are involved in development. Screenwriter Alex Tse, co-writer of the movie adaptation of Alan Moore's Watchmen, was hired to write the adapted screenplay.^[3]

Video game

In December 2009, Synema3 Entertainment Ventures acquired the video game right based on the original IP, and currently developing as Ninja Scroll World, a series of games, starting with an action-RPG for Facebook.^[4]

References

1. ^ Ninja Chicks are So Freakin' Hot, UGO.com, January 5, 2011
2. ^ Ninja Scroll Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes
3. ^ "Warner Bros. Acquires Ninja Scroll". ComingSoon.net (CraveOnline). October 26, 2008. http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=50000. Retrieved April 12, 2010. 
4. ^ "Ninja Scroll World Facebook Page". Ninja Scroll World. Synema3 Entertainment Ventures. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ninja-Scroll-World/137273953002089. Retrieved 28 September 2011. 

External links

• Ninja Scroll (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Ninja Scroll at the Internet Movie Database