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11. Tevesh 
People may have talked about how this anime has such great fight scenes, but the one reason why I loved this one is because it is the most realistic anime I have ever seen.
"What? Anime being realistic?" you say. To explain, I might have to spoil some parts of Ninja Scroll, so read this after you've seen it.
Well, Ninja Scroll is the most realistic, because it understands suspension of disbelief. That being, within that universe, those things make sense in our own. Ninja Scroll does so well in this because Demons do not die to humans, they die to Gods or perhaps Super Demon Killing Weapons, but never to normal humans.
In every case, Jubei doesn't kill the Demons except by flukes or interference. The Rock Demon's skin is weakened from the poison. The Blind Swordsman's blade was blocked by a randomly placed sword. The Snake Woman was executed by the Lightning Demon, who was killed by the Gunpowder Demon. The Hive Demon dies from the wasps killing him. The Regeneration Demon doesn't die, but lives at the bottom of an ocean. The Shadow Demon pulled too hard on Jubei's sword; Jubei didn't throw itat him. Finally, the Monk who had skills in dealing with Demons faced down the Gunpower Demon.
Ninja Scroll is also fast paced, and never relents in the action department. All the pauses are purposeful, and shortly lived. The treatment of women, while sad does reflect feudal Japan.
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| 10.
Avenant  
After hearing so many good things about Ninja Scroll,
I just had to see it for myself - the fact is that pretty much everyone will end
up watching this movie. But I for one was dissapointed -
first, its good points.
The animation is astounding - especially considering this was created back in
1993. The action scenes are also very well done, and so is the music. But that
alone does not
suffice - the plot is average, no more, no less. The charaters,
while they can be considered "cool", are somewhat shallow. Ninja
Scroll left me bored and looking elsewhere. If it's the action you're in for,
you will enjoy Ninja Scroll, but if it's anything beyond that - don't expect
deep, emotional material. |
| 9. Marshal
of Manga
Ninja Scroll is a great anime that encapsulates the
life and chivalry of ninjas… how loyalty and the willingness to die for your
(or someone else's) cause always comes first. What
I like about the movie is that it elicits many ideas in passing throughout its
90 minute duration - things are never explicitly pointed out to you, so you have
to be acute to pick up all the small messages littered across it. This
is not to say the movie shouldn't be enjoyed purely for the simplicities that
exist within it, such as the human pride that is adopted to shield oneself from
sympathy and compassion, which inevitably exposes someone's vulnerability. One
of my favourite scenes is where Jubei refers to Kagero (male and female protagonists
respectively) as a comrade just for having been through a few violent experiences
together - without necessarily sharing any personal codes or philosophies. The
action? Excellent. This isn't your run-of-the-mill Jackie Chan movie where
the good and bad guys lunge at each other for 20 odd minutes before any fatalities
occur. No, everyone who dies (and there's plenty), dies quickly, creatively, and
at times, subtly (except for the guy who reincarnates, a cat's got nine lives
but someone who can regenerate himself has potentially an infinite amount of lives!).
There are three short sex scenes that could be interpreted
as an excuse to root the audience to their seats (this is a blokey film after
all) - but on a deeper level, they are all relevant in that they allude to Kagero's
pain at being deprived of the pleasure to make love to a man she holds dear. (Yes,
even in her two rape scenes, there's the message that she can only be seen in
man's eyes as an object of lust, and not for the type of sexual union that exemplifies
true love - you'll discover that Kagero has a tragic flaw with her body) If
you like intrigue, romance (not a lot, but it exists where it counts), and long
swords maneuvering their way into people's bodies somehow, this is one for the
collection. |
| 4.
bremmi 
This movie has some great animation and action sequences. The
lead female character is extremely sexy and very deadly. Madhouse has created
a very well done twist on the standard ninja plot. A warning about violence and
sexual situations is probably necessary here - many people find the sex scenes
to be a bit tasteless. I however enjoy them along with the rest of the movie,
and I would definitely recommend that martial arts fans take a look at this one. |
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