Essence of Anime: Ninja Scroll [DVD]

The great ninja Jubei Kibagami is a quick and tricky killer ninja for hire. Circumstances force him to take on a group that works for an evil leader, the shogun of the dark. Jubei travels alongside a monk named Dakuan who he meets early on in the film.A ninja girl Kagero who is part of an investigation with her ninja clan are seeing about a plague in a village. They are ambushed and all are killed except Kagero. She is captured by one of the killers, only to be saved by Jubei. Her mission and Jubei's are the same with investigating the village so they join forces.The shogun hires the 8 devils, who each have unique deadly abilities. These devils try to stop Jubei, Kagero, and Dakuan from reaching the village. They do not want the three to find out what is going on in this plagued village.The 8 devils make for some great action scenes in this movie. From a man who can turn his skin to stone, a snake woman, also a man who can use invisible wire to shock people. These are just a few instances of the devils powers. Jubei along with his 2 comrades have to overcome each strange situation. This really makes ninja scroll entertaining with over the top action.The story isn't too complex, but there is a mystery still throughout. It's really all setup for the action of the devil battles. The movie has some explicit sexual scenes and gore. It's not something that would be aired on Cartoon Network. So if you want some great battle scenes and some investigation mystery you should check out this movie.

A classic, and probably the best example of anime from the 1980's when this genre took off. I've yet to see a contemporary movie that attains much less surpasses Kawajiri's landmark film. Excellent!