Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Section 23
Release Date: December 4, 2012
Run Time: 94 minutes
Film: 5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 1.5 out of 5 stars
“Ninja Scroll” is easily one of the most influential anime EVER…that’s right ever. It ranks up there with “Ghost in the Shell”, “Fist of the North Star” and “Akira”, as the best things to ever come out of Japan…in terms of anime that is. It was also one of the film that is responsible for introducing and hooking in the US into the format. The film is 20 years old next year but is still completely bad-ass and is able to hold its own in the genre. It is still very graphic as well and packs a nice warning stating “Contains intense scenes of graphic violence” and trust me that warning should not be taken likely. This release is long awaited and thanks to Sentai Filmworks it is presented in HD for the first time.
Official Premise: Swords shatter, blood sprays and demons suck the life out of dying men as the wildest samurai adventure ever made is unleashed to tear your senses asunder! Jubei Kibagami has always been the master dealer of death, but in rescuing a ninja woman from a monster he sets loose a chain of events that puts death in his own veins and sends them on a nightmarish odyssey through a surreal and devil infested ancient Japan. How do demonic possessions, an annihilated village and a man Jubei thought safely buried in his past all connect? If Jubei can’t piece the blood-soaked clues together, his only consolation will be that he won’t live to regret it for very long! Prepare your mind and steel your gut for the insanely gore-packed orgy of violence that still stands alone and unchallenged as the ultimate anime action feature: the epic milestone in animation that is the legendary NINJA SCROLL.
The Blu-ray presentation is glorious. The 1080p transfer is extremely impressive for an animated film almost 20 years aged. The colors are still sharp, especially the red…get it? The audio tracks are also very impressive with a English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. But I am still a fan of the origonal Japanese audio which is delivered in a stunning DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. The only thing disapoointing about this release are the special features. The only extras are an exclusive Japanese commentary track from the director Yoshiaki Kawajiri and a trailer and TV spot. Fans of the film though are going to be satisfying enough it this amazing transfer to Blu-ray that it should be enough to warrant the purchase alone.