Still fun, 30 years later

Key things

• The cult film Ninja Scroll recently celebrated its 30th anniversary with a limited theatrical release, showing its lasting influence.
• An action spectacle in the ero-guro genre, combining erotica and grotesque, providing an unforgettable and daring audience experience.
• While Ninja Scroll's narrative may be thin, its exciting action sequences, artwork, and charismatic characters have helped it achieve cult status.

Few anime studios are as renowned or revered as Madhouse, and of its many notable creative figures, few are as iconic – either for imagination or influence – as Yoshiaki Kawajiri. Recently Kawajiri's Ninja scroll celebrated its (late) 30th anniversary with a brief theatrical run in North America, and all these years later, it's still a wild ride expertly crafted to get the blood pumping.

For three nights only, starting September 11th, Iconic Events brought the film to theaters as part of Anime Expo Cinema Nights, featuring a special pre-screening interview with the director. Released in Japan in 1993, Ninja scroll is considered one of the best Kawajiri; action spectacle that appeared during the 1990s anime boom following its Western release.

You'll know why it's a cult classic

Photosensitive viewers beware, this film has a lot of flashing lights. Even the trailer posted below features a lot of strobe effects.

Ninja scroll is a perfect whirlwind of a film that is both a love letter to the director's influences while becoming a powerfully influential work in its own right. It joins the likes Ghost in the Shell as the anime that helped inspire creators like the Wachowskis to create Matrix. For everyone else, it was and remains something of an appetizer, especially for younger viewers who are alien to the action spectacle and ultra-violence of this film.

The Story of Ninja Scroll

The film follows Jubei Kibagami, a drifter wandering Japan as a sword for hire until a chance encounter sends him on a mission with the fate of the country hanging in the balance. Although he lacks the patience for politics, he has no choice but to help the last surviving Ninja Clan investigate the cause of the plague that killed the village. Along the way, he must fight the demons of Kimon to thwart a plan to overthrow the government.

Structurally, there's something very video game-like about its narrative, which adds a lot to its appeal. The film is an adventure whose journey is littered with a series of creatively crafted boss fights where each of the fiends has a unique aesthetic, skill and/or power at their disposal. In contrast, Jubei – aside from his sword skills – seems comparatively “normal” to me. It gives him the air of an underdog, while making his victories all the more deserved.

Action spectacle Ero-Guro

After the opening sequence and the audience's introduction to Jubei, the film sets up its main plot through what is essentially a horror film. A group of ninjas whose training is blindingly obvious are slain by a force unlike anything they can fathom; a man whose very skin is as hard as rock. The sole survivor of the surprise ambush, Kagero, watches in horror as her clan leader is torn limb from limb.

“Ero-guro” is a genre that describes the intersection of erotica and grotesque, which could not be more perfectly captured Ninja scrollatmosphere. It's fair to call it pornographic, but that term applies as much to the dream about fighting as it does to the sexual content throughout. The sensual and tantalizing are inexorably intertwined with the monstrous and the occult, creating a daring and unforgettable viewing experience. You will never forget the first time you watch this movie.

A simple story, but a thoughtful execution

It's all about simplicity, but it's not that simple at the best of times. The execution is too skillful and the artwork too gorgeous to be considered such. His story is thin by all accounts, but the way it is told gives the film a good sense of depth. The action is tense but also noticeably patient; the emphasis here is on building anticipation before sparks fly. The fight between Jubei and Tessai is an excellent example.

A seemingly ordinary swordsman – hardly different from the countless men the viewer has seen killed – versus a lustful monster with a body of stone. It's a well-paced, balanced situation that allows the tension to build organically, making the gruesome payoff that much more satisfying. Ninja scroll he always has a new trick to show the viewer and rarely shies away from his most graphic imagery.

Spectacle can't solve everything

The pacing is solid, the characters are striking and memorable, and the action is relentlessly violent in the best ways. It is these qualities that elevated this film to its cult status, with this benefit to everyone who watched it Ninja scroll we can probably agree on a few things. First and foremost, whenever there's exposition, the film is practically allergic to being interesting.

Admittedly, the historical context of the film's setting is interesting, but everything that happens with it is relatively bland. Such a thing may have hurt the final confrontation, but it is saved by the presentation, which is no small thing. “Aesthetic” is not the absence of narrative; it is narration and Ninja scrollThe climax is by all accounts masterful despite the weak story. What hurts the narrative more noticeably overall is the sexism running through it.

Second, the Kagero problem

The lackluster plot could easily be forgiven in a film so focused on the characters, their journey and their relationship. Unfortunately, even that is tainted by how poor Kagero's portrayal is. Despite a strong introduction, he never gets a chance to do anything great. She never even manages to kill any of the villains except for the first one, Tessai, and even that has a catch, and a pretty big one at that. Kager's body poisons anyone who sleeps with her.

Tessai died because he sexually assaulted Kagero before fighting Jubei. Even after that, her poison is credited for helping, as Jubei eventually makes Tessai fall on his sword, reducing her contributions to a pittance. Meanwhile, her entire arc is about the shame of having a poisonous body. One could charitably interpret her arc as Kagero learning to see herself as more than an object thanks to Jubei treating her like a person, but that's giving too much credit.

It lacks too much of an agenda to make the message sound serious. Plus, even if Kagero hadn't been sexually assaulted (twice, I might add), it's not like her and Jubei's relationship was all that interesting to begin with. This is only such a big deal because she's important to the story, which is why it's annoying that a movie with so much legendary action didn't bother to give one of the main characters more to do.

There are better movies than

Ninja scroll

but at the same time, there's nothing like it, and combined with such inspired artwork and direction, it makes all the difference.

When I went to the theater to see it again, I was prepared for things that wouldn't (naturally) age in a 31-year-old movie. The biggest disappointment was realizing how much these negative qualities persisted throughout the film. The title didn't lie – it's still a very entertaining action movie. It's not as great as I remember, making it harder to appreciate what it did right. But make no mistake: it was not impossible.

There are better movies than Ninja scrollbut at the same time, there's nothing like it, and combined with such inspired artwork and direction, it makes all the difference. As long as we don't pretend her problems don't exist, there's no harm in celebrating what's right.

Ninja scroll will be available on limited edition SteelBook Blu-ray on October 22nd courtesy of Sentai Filmworks.