Ninja Wars Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Ninja Wars Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 22, 2026

Ninja Wars is one of many Japanese films that might jokingly suggest that some very powerful hallucinogens were getting passed around back in the day amongst various creative types, not that there's anything wrong with that. It might further be joked (?) that in some ways this film depicts a so-called "bad trip", in that dark and dangerous forces are at work, and any number of variously disfigured (not to mention decapitated) characters enter the psychedelic fray. Ninja Wars once again pairs Hiroyuki Sanada and Sonny Chiba from another film recently released on Blu-ray by Toy Robot Video, Roaring Fire, though in this case it's arguable Chiba is even more of a sidebar character than in the earlier film. (Fans will know there are a number of films on which these two collaborated.) Here Sanada is on hand as a ninja named Jotaro, who is tasked with a veritable Joseph Campbell-esque Hero's Journey through almost surreal at times environments.

Ninja Wars takes place in feudal Japan, and as such it may come as no surprise that women are often seen in ostensibly subservient roles where their eyes are often downcast, as if not to challenge the assumed superiority of nearby males. Interestingly in that regard one actress, Noriko Watanabe, portrays both Lady Ukyo, who is at least somewhat in that aforementioned category, as well as Kagaribi, a considerably less submissive woman who is, like Jotaro, a ninja. Suffice it to say that an ancient prophecy suggests Lady Ukyo is the key to world domination, but that achieving that goal requires the tears of a virginal twin, and only one guess as to whom that might be.

This is just the setup for a patently gonzo whirlwind which also involves a kind of black magician named Danjo (Akira Nakao), grotesque but maybe slightly funny in a squirm worth way head grafts after decapitations, and (to continue with the Hero's Journey theme) a somewhat Orpheus adjacent climax with Jotaro and Lady Ukyo in a kind of hellscape. The film also has five so-called Devil Monks, who have what might be called the "dark side" equivalent of some of the skills seen in other aggregations like The Five Deadly Venoms. The narrative here is chaotic at best, but the film has some enjoyable effects and is notable for its kind of unavoidably nihilistic ambience.

Ninja Wars Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Ninja Wars is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Toy Robot Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The back of one of the art cards included in the keepcase offers the following brief information about the presentation:

Ninja Wars is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono sound.

The master was provided by Kadokawa Pictures, Inc.

A prefatory text card before the main presentation offers a bit more information, describing a 2022 4K restoration by Kadokawa. The results are quite striking, with a nicely suffused palette and some excellent detail levels on the often sumptuous costumes and sets throughout. Some of the outdoor material in particular is pretty gorgeous, with everything from near paradaisical valleys to lush jungles on display. Occasionally color timing struck me as just slightly too yellow in some of the outdoor material, but also with regard to some scenes featuring the "dark arts" of a sorcerer named Kashin Koji (Mikio Narita). Some of the interior scenes as well as effects scenes or a few heavily blue graded moments can show a very slight downturn in detail levels. Grain resolves without any issues.

Ninja Wars Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Ninja Wars features a enjoyably forceful if sometimes slightly bright DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track. The film has some fun scoring choices, which sound full bodied if, again, just a bit brash on the high end. The film gets off to a bang of sorts with a violent battle, and throughout the story afterward a number of chaotic scenes ensue where some nice layering has been achieved even despite the inherent narrowness of the track. Dialogue (including some voiceover) is presented cleanly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Ninja Wars Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Jonathan Clements is accessible under the Audio Menu.


• A Japanese Ninja (HD; 22:08) features Matt Alt discussing the film.


• The Way of the Ninja (HD; 24:42) is a wider exploration of ninja in Japanese cinema by Daisuke Miyao. Somewhat interestingly if tangentially, this is another supplement on a Toy Robot disc bearing the imprimatur of Arrow Video.


• Theatrical Trailers (HD; 6:04)


• VHS Version (SD; 1:41:33) has interlacing anomalies galore and is somewhat hilariously anamorphically squeezed, both of which may make it even more "quaint" for some.


• Dark Magic Fantasy of Ninja Sword and Sorcery (HD; 1:00) is a text essay by Zack Davisson. This is another "slideshow" that Toy Robot has authored oddly with a timecode, meaning have the pause button on your remote handy to be able to read the essay, despite opening "instructions" advising use of the chapter skip buttons (those work, they just get you to the next chapter in the ongoing timecode). Hopefully Toy Robot will address this issue, which has been recurrent on all image galleries and supplements like this one, on future releases.

Toy Robot continues with its packaging regimen which includes a reversible sleeve, art cards, a slipcover and an Obi sleeve.

Ninja Wars Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Maybe I've been "Stockholm Syndromed", albeit courtesy of Hong Kong, with all of the Shaw Brothers outings I've reviewed through the years, at least some of which mirror this film's absolutely gonzo narrative tendencies and emphasis on the supernatural and "Dark Arts". That said, Ninja Wars is one of the more provocative outings in this particular and admittedly peculiar subgenre. Technical merits are solid and the supplements informative and enjoyable. Recommended.