Since it's release in 1993, Ninja Scroll has become one of the best-known anime movies out there. Manga was wise to choose this film as one of it's earlier DVD releases. Directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, the creator of Wicked City, Ninja Scroll combines lightning-fast action, with an engaging story line, to produce a memorable movie experience. If you like Samurai films, and are into the more serious style of Japanese animation, then Ninja Scroll is exactly your type of movie.

Jubei is a wandering ninja who hires out his services to the top bidder, but he soon stumbles onto a situation he was not prepared for. When a small village is struck by a deadly plague, a team of ninja are sent to investigate the cause. After being ambushed and slaughtered by a fearsome monster, all that remains is a lone ninja named Kagero. This beautiful female warrior is rescued from the monster by Jubei, who soon begins to fall in love with her. These two warriors decide to team up in order to track down a ninja that they both thought had been killed years earlier. Jubei and Kagero must face the deadliest of enemies, in a world where magic and martial arts create power. This film has not been given a formal rating, but it is certainly intended for mature audiences. The back of the box shows that it contains violence, strong language, brief nudity, and adult situations. I don't feel this explanation accurately portrays the contents of the movie. There are two violent sexual depictions toward women, and the action is very bloody. I watched this movie for the first time at a party, and all of the girls there were extremely offended by a scene only ten minutes into the film. Obviously, we decided to shut it off.

Picture-This movie is a visual masterpiece. Though I have seen better in many newer anime features, the character models and animation are superior to anything else released in the early 90's. My only complaint was a minor dislike for the color choices in some scenes. Although this was meant to be a dark movie, the colors look rather plain and boring, especially for such good animation. Manga did an excellent job in transferring this film to DVD. Line noise is kept to a minimum, and jaggies seem to be non-existent. A lot of attention was paid to keeping a solid level of picture clarity throughout the feature. Sound-When comparing the sound in this film to other anime releases, I would have to conclude that Ninja Scroll is slightly above average in some areas, and below in others. One aspect that set this film apart, was the successful use of background noises. During the night sequences, you can hear hundreds of tiny crickets rubbing their legs together to produce their well-known chirping sounds. There is also a scene where a swarm of bees attacks our group of adventurers. You can hear the buzzing off in the distance, before you ever see any bees. The Dolby digital 5.1 separation was not too impressive in my opinion. Sounds are separated nicely across the front three speakers, with the majority of the dialogue coming only from the center (which is normal). The only times I noticed much activity from my back speakers, were during the fight sequences. But even then, the sounds produced seemed to simply mimic the sound from the front speakers. The English dubbing in Ninja Scroll is good, and the choice of voice talents fits well with the characters.

The main value-added feature on this DVD is a complete movie synapses, and a short description of every key character in the film. These are especially nice to have since the movie gets a bit confusing at times. I discovered a lot of good information from reading the synapses that I never picked up from watching the film (probably due to translation problems). The only other features, include the standard collage of Manga trailers and fan club info.

Don't be fooled by the poor animation that is shown on the backside of the DVD case. The true animation of the film is more like the beautiful visual depiction on the cover. All-in-all, I was pleased with Manga's transfer of Ninja Scroll. The insert and disc-art look good, and aside from the lack of extra's, this DVD is technically sound. My only warning to potential buyers of this movie, deals with the adult content in Ninja Scroll. The sex and violence depicted will not be suitable for most people under the age of 16 or so. That said, at a moderate price this film belongs in any anime lover's collection.