| Ninja Scroll | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Yoshiaki Kawajiri |
| Produced by | Kazuhiko Ikeguchi Masako Fukuyo Shigeru Kitayama |
| Written by | Yoshiaki Kawajiri |
| Starring | Kōichi Yamadera Emi Shinohara Takeshi Aono (Japan) Dean Elliott Wendee Lee Jimmy Theodore (USA) |
| Music by | Kaoru Wada |
| Cinematography | Hitoshi Yamaguchi |
| Editing by | Yukiko Itō Harutoshi Ogata |
| Distributed by | Body Taing |
| Release date(s) | June 5, 1993 (Japan) |
| Running time | 92 min |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Followed by | Ninja Scroll: The Series |
| IMDb profile | |
- This article is about the 1993 anime movie. is a critically acclaimed writer / director of Japanese Animation. ( June 17, 1961 -) is a Japanese Seiyū, Actor and Tarento from Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture. born is a well-known Seiyū. She is employed by 81 Produce. She was born in Fukushima Prefecture and raised in Nagano. ( June 19, 1936 -) is a Seiyū and Actor from Asahikawa Hokkaidō affiliated with Aoni Production. Wendee Lee (born April 29, 1955 in Los Angeles CA) is a prolific American voice actress. Jimmy Theodore is a voice actor who is also known as Rudy Luzion and Stephen Platt. is a Japanese music composer music arranger conductor music orchestrator and pianist from Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture[http //www Events 70 - Titus and his Roman Legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem in the Siege of Jerusalem Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities is a Japanese animated Television series based on Yoshiaki Kawajiri 's Ninja Scroll. For the TV Series, see Ninja Scroll: The Series. is a Japanese animated Television series based on Yoshiaki Kawajiri 's Ninja Scroll.
Ninja Scroll (獣兵衛忍風帖 Jūbee Ninpūchō?) is a Japanese action thriller anime, set in feudal Japan, by critically acclaimed director/writer Yoshiaki Kawajiri who was best known for his previous thriller Wicked City (Yōjū Toshi). For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Action movies are a Film genre where action sequences such as fights, Shootouts Stunts Car chases or explosions either take precedence The thriller is a broad Genre of Literature, Film, Gaming and Television. (anime in Japanese, The written history of Japan begins with brief references in the 1st century AD Twenty-Four Histories, a collection of Chinese historical texts A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a Film. A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms is a critically acclaimed writer / director of Japanese Animation. is an animated horror Neo-noir directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, based on Hideyuki Kikuchi 's novel of the same name. The character designs were done by Yutaka Minowa. is a character designer and animation director who works almost exclusively with Madhouse, one of the premiere Japanese animation companies The movie is an homage to Ninpōchō series, ninja novels by Futaro Yamada. was the Pen name of, a Japanese authorHe was born in Yabu Hyogo. The main character, Jubei Kibagami, is an homage to the famed Japanese samurai folk hero Yagyū Jūbei. Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi (ja 柳生 十兵衞 三厳 1607?– April 21 1650) is one of the most famous and romanticized
The movie was released on June 5, 1993 and received a Western release on December 6, 1996. Events 70 - Titus and his Roman Legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem in the Siege of Jerusalem Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) The movie was also released in some regions as Jubei Ninpucho: The Wind Ninja Chronicles. It is licensed by Manga Entertainment in North America. This article is about Manga Entertainment the anime distributor Ninja Scroll won the Citizen's Award at the 1993 Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival. Ninja Scroll is among the most popular anime movies outside of Japan, along with such movies as Akira and Ghost in the Shell. is a 1988 Japanese animated Film co-written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo based on his manga of the same name is a 1995 Anime Film directed by Mamoru Oshii; an adaptation of the Manga Ghost in the Shell by Masamune It was well-received in its depiction of the ninja and Japanese legendary creatures such as the Stone Golem, and the Blind Assassin. Japanese folklore is the Folklore of Japan. It is heavily influenced by both Shinto and Buddhism, the two primary religions in the country
Contents |
Plot
A team of Koga Ninja is sent to investigate a plague in Shimoda village, but on their way they are slaughtered; the only survivor is Kagero, a beautiful Kunoichi who is their lord's poison-taster. Kunoichi (くノ一 is the term for a female Ninja or practitioner of Ninpo. Their assailant is a giant man named Tessai, a killer with stone skin, and a colossal double-bladed sword, which can be thrown like a boomerang. A boomerang is a simple implement used for various purposes It is primarily associated with Australian Aborigines but has been found amongst peoples of North Kagero attempts to escape, but the giant uses his weapon to cut off the branch she jumps onto, making her fall into his hands unconscious.
The giant takes Kagero to his hut and proceeds to rape her, but he is interrupted by an interloper who is not intimidated by his ability to turn his skin into stone. Rape, also referred to as Sexual assault, is an Assault by a person involving Sexual intercourse with or Sexual penetration of another person The interloper, a ninja vagabond named Jubei Kibagami, blinds one of his eyes with a dart and escapes with Kagero.
Although Tessai has the clear advantage in his pursuit, as Jubei cannot even scratch his stony hide, he begins to fall apart (later revealed to be due to poison received from raping Kagero). The giant throws his sword, but he cannot catch it when Jubei manages to cut his fingers off; the blade drives into the giant's skull, killing him. An old monk who witnessed the battle congratulates Jubei, but he remarks that although Jubei's triumph over the demonic warrior was impressive, he had outside help. He calls the monster one and the first of "the Eight Devils of Kimon. "
Several other strange characters are concerned with the stone man's death: The well-dressed man Yurimaru, who calls the giant Tessai, and the scarred, explosive-wielding female Zakuro, who lusts for Yurimaru, even though Yurimaru is gay (or Shudo) and sleeping with their master, Gemma. In the English language, gay is an Adjective that in modern usage refers to Homosexuality. is the Japanese tradition of age-structured Homosexuality prevalent in Samurai society from the Medieval period until the end of the 19th century
Jubei rests in a hot spring, but is entranced by a female bather and her snake tattoos. A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated Groundwater from the earth's crust. A tattoo is a permanent marking made by inserting ink into the layers of Skin to change the pigment for decorative or other reasons She identifies him as the man who killed Tessai, and her tattoos begin to move. This hypnotizes Jubei, and the snakes leave her body and approach him. Hypnosis is often thought to be a wakeful state of focused attention and heightened suggestibility with diminished peripheral awareness A shuriken strikes Jubei, which wakes him in time to cut the snakes down. Shuriken (手裏剣 lit "sword hidden in the hand" is a traditional Japanese Concealed weapon that were generally used by shinobi no mono (or ninja as He grabs the woman, but she sheds her skin and escapes. The old monk appears again; Jubei learns his name is Dakuan, and the shuriken was poisoned. Jubei must work for Dakuan, a Tokugawa Shogunate operative, in order to receive the antidote, or he will surely die within two days. The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the, and the, was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the Shoguns of is a military rank and historical title in Japan. The Japanese word for "general" it is made up of two Kanji words sho, meaning "commander"
As they boat down a river, Dakuan asks Jubei if he killed the chief retainers to the Yamashiro clan five years before, and leader of the Yamashiro ninja, Himuro Gemma, who were getting rich off a hidden and undisclosed gold mine. Dakuan claims that Gemma is still alive, despite Jubei's insistence to the contrary; a flashback reveals that Jubei did indeed kill his comrades in the Yamashiro clan in self defense after they were ordered by Gemma to kill him. In history film television and other media a flashback (also called analepsis) is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current Self-defense (or self-defence &mdash see spelling differences) is the act of defending oneself one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm As revenge, Jubei ambushed Gemma and cut off his head. Decapitation (from Latin, caput, capitis, meaning head or beheading, is the cutting off of the head of a person or animal
After landing, they are separated. A shadow attacks Dakuan with a mechanical claw, apparently impaling him against a tree, but the old monk escaped into the branches, camouflaging himself. A man rises out of the shadow, musing that nobody could escape "Shijima's claw," and then depart.
Jubei enters an abandoned shrine, where an old woman is chanting the sutra for the dead of Shimoda. She turns out to be a trap and is cut in half by Jubei (revealing that she was full of snakes), and the woman from the spring, Benisato, returns. Kagero grabs Benisato from behind and puts her knife to her throat. A snake slithers out of Benisato's vagina and bites Kagero, but she does not relent. Benisato suddenly dies of electrocution. A thin metal wire, glowing white hot, stretches for miles, and at the other end Yurimaru admonishes Benisato for her failure and disintegrates the wire before Jubei and Kagero can locate its source.
When Jubei tries to suck the poison from Kagero's wound, she kicks him away, telling him that she is immune. Dakuan returns and requests that Kagero join them in their fight against the common enemy, and claims he has valuable information: He tells Jubei that Kagero poisons any man she sleeps with, and that's how Jubei was able to defeat Tessai.
Meanwhile, Yurimaru, Zakuro, and two other Devils gather to figure out how to defeat the man who killed Tessai.
Jubei and Kagero go with Dakuan to Shimoda, where they see the well had been poisoned. A swarm of wasps descends on the village, going after the three of them. Kagero holds them off, and Jubei finds the master of the swarm, a hunchback named Mushizo, another of the Eight Devils, who lets slip that Gemma is still alive. The hunchback's hump is actually a wasp nest growing from his back, and the wasps attack Jubei. They fight in a water-powered mill, and then Jubei escapes into the river. Mushizo follows him, but remains on land. Jubei knocks him into the water, where the wasps sting Mushizo repeatedly in trying to escape, distracting him long enough for Jubei to kill him with his sword.
Danzan, Kagero and Jubei climb a cliff to get a better view of the land, but Kagero sees her former commander, Hanza (whose arms Tessai had torn from their sockets), walking aimlessly toward the brink. His eyes and mouth have been sewn shut. Kagero stops him, but Zakuro is there, and she releases streams of gunpowder into the air. Gunpowder is a an explosive mixture of Sulfur, Charcoal and Potassium nitrate (also known as saltpetre/saltpeter that burns rapidly producing volumes Hanza reacts with it, and explodes. Jubei grabs Kagero and throws himself off the cliff to save her.
Jubei is hanging by the cord attached to his sword sheath, and he has Kagero climb up the cliff. When Jubei gets there, a swordsman in white is holding his sword. He introduces himself as Utsutsu Mujuro, and challenges Jubei. Jubei lures the swordsman into a nearby bamboo forest, hoping to take advantage of his blindness, but Mujuro's ears are sharp. Bamboo is a group of Woody perennial Evergreen Plants in the True grass family Poaceae, subfamily Blindness is the condition of lacking Visual perception due to Physiological or Neurological factors Mujuro proves himself more than a match for Jubei. As Mujuro attacks, Jubei is barely able to deflect Mujuro's blows. Kagero tries to attack Mujuro from behind, but is unsuccessful, and her blade gets stuck in a bamboo tree. Mujuro then blinds Jubei with the reflection off his katana blade. A is a type of Japanese sword ( nihontō) and often is called a "samurai sword It is only by sheer luck alone that Mujuro's killing blow is blocked by Kagero's stuck blade. Jubei then impales Mujuro.
Jubei accuses Kagero of not valuing her life, and she responds by saying that she cannot touch a man, lest she kill him. Kagero passes out through fatigue, and awakens with Jubei. He notices a beached cargo ship, and concludes that the Devils poisoned Shimoda to keep it secret, so they could take the cargo. Kagero wants to stop the cargo from reaching Kishima Harbour, where it will be taken away by boat, so she agrees to work with Jubei until then.
Dakuan finds them, and tells them that the cargo is the gold from the secret Yamashiro mine, which the Shogun of the Dark will use to topple the Tokugawa and initiate a civil war. Jubei chases after something that has followed him, and Kagero sends a message to the chamberlain. She then demands that Dakuan give her the antidote for Jubei. He tells her the secret of the antidote, and it shocks her.
Jubei returns from the chase that yielded nothing to find Kagero kidnapped, and a ransom note carved into a tree. Dakuan tries to dissuade him, but he runs off after her. He finds her in an abandoned building, but when she awakens, she attacks him, with a disembodied voice goading her on. Jubei has to allow Kagero to stab his wrist so he can block the incoming spring-loaded claw from the shadow. He throws his sword toward the shadow, and he impales Shijima in the back. Kagero snaps out of her trance with her captor's death.
Two hours later, the Koga army hasn't arrived, and Kagero wonders why Jubei stepped into an obvious trap to save her. He tells her that she's his comrade, as they've worked together since the day before. Kagero then tells him that she has to pay back the debt garnered when Jubei saved her, and insists that she do so now. She strips, and tells him the antidote for his poison is another poison: She can save him, if he sleeps with her. He refuses, and departs to intercept the Shogun of the Dark's forces, leaving Kagero in tears.
Jubei meets up with Dakuan, and plans to sink the ship when it's fully loaded and out to sea. The Mochizuki have apparently decided to intervene, but the chamberlain stabs Kagero, and transforms into Gemma. Jubei attacks, slaughtering the ninja horde that stands in his way. Yurimaru asks for the honour of killing Jubei, and Gemma lets him.
Yurimaru leads Jubei into a warehouse, where he strings him up and electrocutes him. Yurimaru notices a rat scurrying about, and then it collapses. He sees the sutured cut on its belly, and the gunpowder on the ground, and then the rat explodes. Yurimaru's dismembered arm falls into the water, and Zakuro picks it up. She muses that he "accidentally" walked into her trap, and now he's "Queen of the Devils. "
Jubei finds the dying Kagero, who is glad that she found someone who treated her as a person, and not an expendable soldier. She expresses her wish that they could have made love just once, and they kiss just before she dies, curing Jubei. Setting her adrift on a funeral boat, Jubei takes her headband and tears the arms off his shirt.
Gemma meets the leader of the Toyotomi ninja, and declares that the Devils of Kimon (of which only two remain at this point, himself and Zakuro) will take the gold and build a ninja army to terrorize Japan, and not even the Shogun of the Dark can stop them.
Zakuro finds Dakuan rooting about in the hold, and he throws one of his gourds at her. She cuts it in half, spraying liquid on her and the floor. Dakuan grabs a candle, but she puts it out. Jubei appears with another lit candle, and ignites the flammable oil, immolating Zakuro. Her gunpowder also explodes, breaching the hull and setting alight the ship's interior.
Gemma enters the hold and finds Jubei, and they fight to the death. Jubei cuts Gemma's arm off, but Gemma still manages to throw Jubei a beating before reattaching it. The fight is brutal, but even when the ceiling crashes down on him, Gemma keeps going while impaled on a wooden beam. Jubei stabs him and cuts upward, splitting him in half from the belly up. Gemma again recovers, but a river of molten gold flows over him. Gemma grabs onto Jubei climbing to safety, but Jubei slices off his left arm in one swift cut at the last second while delivering the iconic line, "Gemma, burn in your golden hell!" The villain falls into the molten metal, sinking to the bottom of the sea as a statue.
In the epilogue, Dakuan congratulates himself for such masterful manipulation of Jubei and Kagero. Angry at being used, Jubei sends the gold Dakuan is holding (including his cut, one hundred gold pieces) into the sea and tells the old man to stay away from him. He jumps into the water, and is last seen walking into a fog, with Kagero's headband tied around the sheath of his sword.
Ratings and censorship
In 1995, the BBFC cut the UK version by approximately 52 seconds. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 The British Board of Film Classification ( BBFC) originally British Board of Film Censors, is the organisation responsible for Film, DVD The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This included a rape scene and images of imitable weaponry. Rape, also referred to as Sexual assault, is an Assault by a person involving Sexual intercourse with or Sexual penetration of another person The UK and Australian DVDs were affected by these cuts — it was not censored in Australia but the Australian DVD was an exact copy of the UK disc. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is In 2004 the footage was reinstated and the movie in both countries was released uncut.
The film was initially given an MA15+ rating by the OFLC in Australia. The Office of Film and Literature Classification is a Statutory Censorship and classification body which provides day to day administrative support for the Classification For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. In 1996, following an uncut screening of the film on free-to-air television, the Federal Attorney General lodged an application to review the classification of the film. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) As a result of this, the film's classification was upgraded to an R18+ rating, meaning television airings must be censored as R18+ material cannot be screened. Confusion often occurs due to the re-rating as well as the BBFC cut — someone could purchase the BBFC-cut R18+ DVD thinking it contained more graphic material than an MA15+ VHS copy, only to discover it contained less.
In Canada the film was given an 18 rating, while it was released Unrated in the United States. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
Continuation
A Japanese animated television series was released in 2003 called, Jubei Ninpucho: Ryuhogyoku-hen and ran for 13 episodes. is a Japanese animated Television series based on Yoshiaki Kawajiri 's Ninja Scroll. is a Japanese animated Television series based on Yoshiaki Kawajiri 's Ninja Scroll. It was released in the west as Ninja Scroll: The Series. is a Japanese animated Television series based on Yoshiaki Kawajiri 's Ninja Scroll. The series is partly written by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, but remains only a spiritual sequel to the film because the story stands alone; however, many references suggest that it is indeed a continuation from the movie. In the series, Jubei gets caught in the middle of a battle between the Kimon Clan and the Hiruko Clan. He meets up with the Light Maiden Shigure, a young lady whose village was destroyed by the Kimon Clan and whom Jubei was charged with delivering a Dragon Stone to. The duo are joined by Tsubute and Dakuan, and together they try to find out why both the Kimon and the Hiruko Clan are after her and why the Dragon Stone she carries is so important to them. The show was directed by Tatsuo Sato (Martian Successor Nadesico), with character design done by Takahiro Yoshimatsu (Trigun). (often shortened to Nadesico) is a Science fiction Comedy Anime TV series and a later Manga series created by Kia Asamiya is a Manga series written and illustrated by Yasuhiro Nightow, published from 1995 to 2007 and spanning 14 collected volumes.
An official sequel, Jubei Ninpucho 2, is classed as in production with no specific release date. The film is scheduled to be written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, and will most likely be released in the west as Ninja Scroll 2.
In North America, the Ninja Resurrection anime films were marketed as sequels to Ninja Scroll, but were actually created by a separate animation studio. Ninja Resurrection, known in Japan as is a two-part Original video animation directed by Yasunori Urata. The only similarities they share is a lead character named Jubei. The Jubei in Ninja Resurrection was famed swordsman Yagyū Jūbei, not Jubei Kibagami from Ninja Scroll.
In September 2006, Wildstorm launched a twelve issue Ninja Scroll comic book series written by J. Torres, which follows the further adventures of Jubei. WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, (sometimes rendered Wildstorm) is a publishing Imprint and studio of American Comic book J Torres is a Filipino -born Canadian Comic book Writer. History The writer was born in Manila and raised in
Original soundtrack
| Jubei Ninpucho Ninja Scroll | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Soundtrack by Kaoru Wada, Ryouhei Yamanashi | ||
| Released | 2000 | |
| Label | ADV Films (North America) | |
A soundtrack was released titled Jubei Ninpucho (Ninja Scroll) with music composed by Kaoru Wada from the movie. is a Japanese music composer music arranger conductor music orchestrator and pianist from Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture[http //www In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music AD Vision (commonly referred to as ADV) is an American international Multimedia entertainment company based in Houston Texas, active is a Japanese music composer music arranger conductor music orchestrator and pianist from Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture[http //www Tracks 8 and 15 are composed and sung by Ryouhei Yamanashi with lyrics by Shou Jitsukawa.
Track Listing:
- Prologue
- Jubei
- Eight Warriors of the Demon Clan
- Blood Wind
- Kagerou
- Visions
- Devil Shadow
- To Those Who Face the Wind
- Pursuit
- Devil Swordsman
- Strategy
- Reincarnation
- Struggle to the Death
- Epilogue
- Somewhere, Faraway, Everyone is Listening to a Ballad
External links
- Ninja Scroll: The Series Official website
- Ninja Scroll at the Anime News Network
- Ninja Scroll at the Internet Movie Database
- MySpace
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic