Still fun, 30 years later

Important takeaways

• The iconic film Ninja Scroll recently celebrated its 30th anniversary with a limited theatrical run, showcasing its enduring influence.
• An action spectacle in the ero-guro genre that combines the erotic and the grotesque, providing an unforgettable and bold viewing experience.
• While Ninja Scroll's story may be thin, its exciting action sequences, artwork, and charismatic characters have helped it achieve cult status.

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

For three nights only, starting September 11, Iconic Events brought the film to theaters as part of Anime Expo Cinema Nights, with a special interview with the director before the show. Released in Japan in 1993, Ninja Scroll considered one of Kawajiri's best; an action spectacle that made its rounds during the anime boom of the 90s after its western release.

You'll know why it's a cult classic

Viewers with light sensitivity beware, this movie has a lot of flashing lights. Even the trailer published below contains a lot of strobe effects.

Ninja Scroll is the perfect storm of a film that is both a love letter to the director's influences, while becoming a highly influential work in its own right. It joins such Ghost in the Shell as an anime that helped inspire creators like the Wachowskis to create The matrix. For everyone else, it was and remains something of a taster, especially for younger viewers, to whom the film's action spectacle and ultra-violence are foreign.

The Story of the Ninja Scroll

The film follows Jubei Kibagami, a vagabond who wanders 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. While he has no patience for politics, he has no choice but to help the last survivor of a Ninja clan as she investigates the cause of a plague that killed a village. Along the way, he must battle Kimon's Devils to thwart a plan to overthrow the government.

Structurally, there's something very video game-like about its story, which largely adds to its appeal. The film is an adventure whose journey is sprinkled with a series of creatively constructed boss battles, with each of the Devils having a unique aesthetic, skills and/or power at their disposal. In contrast, Jubei – aside from his skilled swordsmanship – appears comparably “normal”. It gives him the air of an underdog while making his victories feel all the more deserved.

An Ero-Guro Action Spectacle

After the opening sequence and the viewer's introduction to Jubei, the film sets up its main plot through what is effectively a horror film. A group of ninja whose training is blindingly obvious are slaughtered by a force unlike anything they could understand; a man whose skin is hard as stone. The sole survivor of the surprise ambush, Kagero, watches in horror as the leader of her clan is torn limb from limb.

“Ero-guro” is a genre that describes the intersection between the erotic and the grotesque, which could not capture better Ninja Scrolls vibe. It's fair to call it pornographic, but the term applies as much to the dreams of battle as it does to the sexual content throughout. The sensual and titillating becomes inexorably entangled with the monstrous and occult, creating a bold and unforgettable viewing experience. You won't forget the first time you see this movie.

A simple story, but well thought out execution

There's a simplicity to it all, but at its best it doesn't feel simple. The execution is too skillful and the artwork too beautiful to be considered as such. Its story is by all accounts thin, but the way it is told gives the film a good sense of momentum. The action is exciting, but it is also considerably patient; there is an emphasis on building anticipation before sparks fly. The fight between Jubei and Tessai is a prime example.

A seemingly ordinary swordsman – not unlike the countless men the viewer has seen slaughtered – versus a brazen monster with a body made of stone. It's a well-paced stop that allows the tension to build organically, making the gruesome payoff that much more satisfying. Ninja Scroll always has a new trick to show the viewer, and rarely backs down from its most graphic imagery.

Acting cannot solve everything

The pacing is steady, the characters are striking and unforgettable, and the action is relentlessly violent in the best way. These qualities are what have elevated this film to its cult status, but even with that blessing anyone who has seen can Ninja Scroll can probably agree on a few things. First of all, whenever there is exposition, the film is practically allergic to being interesting.

Sure, the historical context of the film's setting is intriguing, but everything done with it is pretty lackluster. Such a thing might have hurt the final confrontation, but it is saved by the presentation, which is not small. “Aesthetic” is not the absence of story; the is story, and Ninja Scrolls climax is by all accounts masterful despite the weak story. What hurts the story much more noticeably overall is the sexism that runs throughout.

Second, the Kagero problem

A lackluster plot could easily be forgiven in a film so centered around its characters, their journey and their relationship. Sadly, even that is tarnished by how lame the portrayal of Kagero is. Despite a strong introduction, she never gets the chance to do anything cool. She never even gets to kill any of the bad guys, except for the first one, Tessai, and even then there's a catch, and a pretty big one at that. Kagero's body poisons anyone who sleeps with her.

Tessai died because he sexually assaulted Kagero before fighting Jubei. Even then, her poison is chalked up to an assist, as Jubei causes Tessai to fall on his sword, reducing her contribution to a spit thief. Meanwhile, her entire arc revolves around the shame of having a toxic body. One could charitably interpret her arc as Kagero learning to see herself as more than just an object thanks to Jubei treating her as a person, but that's giving it too much credit.

She lacks too much action to make that message feel 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 just as much of a problem because of how important she is to the story, and thus how annoying it is that a movie with so much legendary action couldn't be bothered to give one of the main characters more to do.

There are better movies than that

Ninja Scroll

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

When I went to the theater to see this again, I was prepared for things that would not age well in a movie that is 31 years old (obviously). The biggest disappointment, then, was realizing how much these negative traits persisted throughout the film. The title wasn't a lie – this is still a very fun action movie. It's just not as good as I remember, and that made it harder to appreciate what it did right. Make no mistake, though: it wasn't impossible.

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

Ninja Scroll will be available on a Limited Edition SteelBook Blu-ray on October 22 courtesy of Sentai Filmworks.