7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.7 |
A ninja-for-hire is forced into fighting an old nemesis who is bent on overthrowing the Japanese government. His nemesis is also the leader of a group of demons each with superhuman powers.
Starring: Emi Shinohara, Kôichi Yamadera, Takeshi Aono, Daisuke Gōri, Toshihiko SekiForeign | 100% |
Anime | 92% |
Martial arts | 19% |
Action | 15% |
Fantasy | 8% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
There seems to be a large contingent of anime fans who were introduced to the genre through either Akira or Ninja Scroll. Akira debuted in 1988 and Ninja Scroll in 1993 (though it didn't matriculate stateside until a couple of years later), which means Leonardo DiCaprio would have been around 14 when Akira came out and around 18 when Ninja Scroll premiered, but it wasn’t until more than a decade later that DiCaprio, having moved on from “mere” superstardom to having his own production company, announced that he was trying to develop live action versions of both of these anime classics. Akira had actually been kicking around Hollywood for a while, with various drafts and casting preferences having been widely ballyhooed. Ninja Scroll, however, was a “new” entity, at least in terms of being suggested for a live action remake. As of 2012, neither of these properties has seen the live action light of day, but in revisiting Ninja Scroll after all of these years, some may be asking why another Hollywood heavy hitter never thought of adapting this weird and frankly incredibly violent piece into a live action feature, namely Quentin Tarantino. Ninja Scroll’s dryer than dry humor coupled with its kick ass ethos would seem to be a near perfect combination for the auteur. But unless (or until) that live action version comes along, fans will probably be more than content with this new Blu-ray release of one of the most iconic nineties anime titles, a piece that in some ways may seem kind of quaint (if that’s the right word for an anime that features a supernatural ogre raping a woman, not to mention intense amounts of blood and gore), but which in other ways clearly influenced a whole glut of properties which are still being churned out with great regularity today.
Ninja Scroll is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Sentai Filmworks with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.35:1. Anyone more familiar with more contemporary anime outings may find this film features a surprisingly bland palette, at least relatively speaking. A lot of the anime plays out in shades of beige and brown, with many sequences tinged with a blue luster. The image seems to have been rather aggressively cleaned, which means there's barely any grain, which may displease some, though in the case of an animated feature like this, it obviously doesn't create the same waxy effect that often shows up in live action outings. Line detail is exceptionally crisp in this film, and the fluidity of the motion also looks beautiful in this high definition presentation.
Ninja Scroll features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix for its English dub and a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix for the original Japanese language track. Both of these tracks sound great, and purists will no doubt want to opt for the Japanese language track, which features excellent fidelity and some fulsome low frequencies. Those really wanting more of an over the top mix should be well pleased with the English dub, however, as it offers some fantastic surround activity throughout the action sequences. The English voice cast is also quite well modulated, with some good character turns. Fidelity on both of these tracks is excellent, and dynamic range is wide, especially on the 5.1 option.
Ninja Scroll is not an anime for everyone, and indeed it's not even an anime for every anime lover. This is one of the most graphically sexual non-hentai releases you'll ever see, and the violence is similarly graphic, to the point that it's almost hard to watch at times. But the story and especially the characters are extremely gripping, the animation style is unsurpassed, and there's rarely been an anime of any kind that has featured this kind of visceral impact. Despite the violence and sexuality, there's also a rather sly sense of humor that runs through the piece, though some viewers may be too shocked to realize it, at least on the first viewing. This is one of the most unique and inventive anime of the past generation, and while this high definition transfer seems to have been degrained rather dramatically, the fact that this is an animated feature may help to ameliorate that issue for at least some viewers. Recommended.
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