Still fun, 30 years later

Key recommendations

• The iconic Ninja Scroll recently celebrated its 30th anniversary with a limited theatrical run, showcasing its enduring influence.
• An ero-guro action show that combines the erotic and the grotesque, offering an unforgettable and daring viewing experience.
• While Ninja Scroll's narrative might be thin, its exciting action sequences, artwork, and charismatic characters helped it achieve cult status.

Few anime studios are as popular or revered as Madhouse, and among its many notable creative protagonists, few are as iconic—whether in their imagination or their influence—as Yoshiaki Kawajiri. Recently, Kawajiri's Scroll Ninja celebrated its (late) 30th anniversary with a brief North American theatrical run, and all these years later, it's still an expertly crafted wild ride 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-show interview with the director. Released in Japan in 1993, Scroll Ninja is considered one of Kawajiri's best; an action show that made the rounds during the anime boom of the 90s after its release in the west.

You'll know why it's a cult classic

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

Scroll Ninja it's the perfect storm of a film that's 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 an anime that inspired creators like the Wachowskis to create matrix. For everyone else, it was and remains something of a taste, especially for younger viewers who are alien to this film's brand of action and ultra-violence.

The story of Ninja Scroll

The film follows Jubei Kibagami, a drifter who wanders Japan as a sword for hire until a chance encounter sends him on a mission with the fate of the country in the balance. Although he lacks 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 has killed a village. Along the way, he must battle the Devils of Kimon to thwart a plan to overthrow the government.

Structurally, there's something very video-gamey about its narrative, which contributes greatly to its appeal. The film is an adventure whose journey is punctuated by a series of creatively constructed boss battles, where each of the Devils has a unique aesthetic, skill set and/or power at their disposal. In contrast, Jubei – aside from his adept sword skills – appears to be relatively “normal”. It gives him an air of underdog while making his victories feel all the more earned.

An Ero-Guro action show

Following the opening sequence and introducing the viewer to Jubei, the film establishes its main plot through what is effectively a horror film. A group of ninja whose training is blindingly obvious are butchered by a force unlike anything they could understand; a man whose very skin is as hard as stone. The only 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 the erotic and the grotesque, which could not capture it more perfectly. Scroll Ninjahis atmosphere. It's fair to call it pornographic, but the term applies as much to battle reverie as it does to sexual content. The sensual and the moving inexorably tangle with the monstrous and the occult, creating a daring and unforgettable viewing experience. You won't forget the first time you see this movie.

A simple story, but careful execution

There is a simplicity to everything, but at the best of times, it doesn't seem simple. The execution is too skilled, and the artwork too gorgeous, to be seen as such. Its story is thin in every way, but the way it is told gives the film a good sense of momentum. The action is exciting, but it's also appreciably patient; the emphasis is on building anticipation before sparks fly. The fight between Jubei and Tessai is a great example.

A seemingly ordinary swordsman – barely different from the countless men the viewer has seen slaughtered – versus a lecherous monster with a body made of stone. It's a well-paced standoff that allows the tension to build organically, making the horrific outcome that much more satisfying. Scroll Ninja he always has a new trick to show the viewer and rarely shies away from his most graphic images.

The show can't solve everything

The pacing is solid, the characters are striking and unforgettable, and the action is relentlessly violent in the best ways. These qualities are what elevated this film to its cult status, but even with this advantage, anyone who watched Scroll Ninja can agree on a few things. First, whenever there is exposition, the film is practically allergic to being interesting.

Of course, the historical context of the film's setting is intriguing, but everything that is done with it is rather weak. Such a thing would 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 it is narrative, and Scroll NinjaIts climax is by all accounts despite the fact that the story is weak. What hurts the narrative far more visibly is the sexism that runs throughout.

Second, the Kagero issue

A lackluster plot could easily be forgiven in a film so centered on its characters, their journey and their relationship. Unfortunately, even that is marred by how lame Kagero's portrayal is. Despite a strong introduction, she never gets a chance to do anything strong. He doesn't even manage 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 ends up making Tessai fall on his sword, reducing her contributions to one move. 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 due to Jubei treating her as a person, but that's giving her too much credit.

It lacks too much agency 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 such a big problem because of how important she is to the story, and therefore 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

Scroll Ninja

but at the same time, there's nothing like it, and combined with such inspired artwork and direction, that 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 (naturally). The biggest disappointment, then, was realizing how much those negative qualities persisted throughout the film. The title wasn't a lie – this is still a very entertaining action flick. It's just not as great as I remember, and that made it harder to appreciate what it got right. Make no mistake, though: it wasn't impossible.

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

Scroll Ninja will be available on a limited edition SteelBook Blu-ray on October 22, courtesy of Sentai Filmworks.