[ Story/Plot ]

 

Ninja Scroll takes place in Feudilistic Japan and is the story of a wandering warrior named Jubei. The only things sharper than his sword are his wits and his courage. As the story starts there is a mysterious plague sweeping through the countryside and Shimota village has already been annihilated by it. A team of Ninja known as the Koga ninja Team are sent out to investigate the deaths, but before they can reach the village they are ambushed in the trees by an amazingly powerful enemy in the shadows, and all savagely mutilated... except one. A female warrior named Kagero. She is taken by their attacker only to be saved by our hero, Jubei. She thanks him and pretends to be strong and indifferent, but after he leaves, Kagero's pain is shown. Through out her entire life she has been treated as nothing more than an expendable warrior... living in a world void of emotion and overflowing with pain. In turn for Jubei saving Kagero (and later dispensing of her attacker) the rest of the Devils of Kimon come after him and he is unwillingly hired by a shrewd old ninja spy named Dakuwan. Together, Dakuwan and Jubei end up teaming up with Kagero to battle these demons with super-human abilities. As more information is revealed the plot becomes twisted and the blood just seems to fall like rain ! The ending is amazing. Your going to have to see it for yourself. - www.imdb.com

 


16th Century Japan - Ninja Scroll combines exquisite animation with a solid plot. This is considered classic anime fare. The setting is feudal Japan, and the mood is somewhat historic. There are political themes woven into the story, and the character development is excellent. Jubei and Kagero reveal a little of themselves with every incident, and viewers will gradually come to understand them fully. A bittersweet romance also develops between them. The villains benefit from good characterization as well, and they all possess distinctive personalities. The action sequences are virtual bloodbaths. The depiction of violence got too graphic and brutal for my taste, especially in the first part. I felt kinda queasy at one point. Fortunately, it mellowed down in the later parts. The art and animation have a very realistic feel. The characters don't have a cartoon-ish look, so they seem like actual people. The English dub is basically okay, the voices fit the characters well.