Ninja Scroll

By John Robinson     January 11, 2003
Release Date: May 19, 1998



The Review!
Content: when I first began to research this anime on the web, I (being a major fan of ninjas and anime) was left quaking in my boots. I can certainly say that as a film, it's a great piece of work. In fact, there were only two reasons I didn't give content an A+. The first reason regards the dubs(which i'll expand on later.) The second is because of the sexual content, which I found suprising and disturbing since it caught me off gaurd, but if you too find it unconftorable, become good friends with remote and skip it.

Audio: When Ninja Scroll begun I heard a kind of hollow noise with the sound, but it didn't seem prevelant or annoying enough to be a real problem. As for the dubs, they seemed a wee bit out of place, so I recommend the Japanese track as opposed to the english one. Overall, nefarious demons being sliced into sushi will be music to your ears.

Video: Nice, clean look to everything(of course, they COULD have done something pionneer-esque and digitally pump it up, but thats okay.)I liked the fight scenes in particular, perhaps they are the focal point of the film, but they're a GOOD focal point!

Packaging: As a seasoned viewer of anime, I usually buy a disc for the ova or movie that it has, but a nice case makes it easier to shell out 30 bucks. The disc itself is attractive and is held securely inside the case.

Menu: Like I said, it's not something that really matters to me, but the menu kind of wilts in comparison to something like Spriggan. It's also a little faulty concerning the issues of playing trailers and then trying to watch the movie, but personally it's no biggie.

Extras: "Yawn"...Manga Studios tends to never really make extras one of the reasons you buy the disc, but at least they're there. Perhaps one day we'll see a "gasp!" special edition loaded with features. Or not.

conclusion: I like this movie alot, but I couldn't tell you to give this to a kid, with a straight face.

Review Equipment
Standard Sony DvD player, 52" Sony Projection Television