Watchlist #49 - Ninja Scroll (Film)

One of most epic, nostalgic, gruesome, and over-the-top Anime films I've ever seen was titled Ninja Scroll. For those of you who don't know, Ninja Scroll is an Anime movie released in 1993 (was released in 1995 for Western audiences), directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, and features some pretty bad@$$ fight sequences, gruesome visualization of blood, & some impressive animation for its time. This was my first Anime film that I saw with my brothers and I got to say, even to this day ~ it brings back a lot of nostalgia. Set in feudal Japan, Ninja Scroll stars a vagabond who sets out to stop an enemy from achieving his goal of living in a Golden paradise while also trying to stop the incoming plague that is causing death amongst villages. Along the way he meets a princess and a shady monk and together, the three are able to bring an end to madness....but at a cost. Ninja Scroll's ending is bittersweet as it entails how tragic life is and how much weight it carries. The vagabond and princess are from different worlds, but oddly enough ~ the two developed an affection for one another after countlessly saving one another and treating each other with respect & humility. So it's bittersweet to see the princess die in the Vagabond's hands, but also illustrates that life shouldn't judge others based on differences. The vagabond clearly is the star of the film and, though we get to know more of his backstory, he was just a man wandering around until he was suddenly attacked by a group of thugs. This film, I will admit, isn't fully developed and I think focuses more on the appeal of the action & animation than its story, but nonetheless was pretty damn entertaining to see just some over-the-top action and NC-17 blood & gore. Let me tell ya, there's a lot of explicit content in this film. A man's arms can pulled from his body, there's a rape scene, and each of the antagonists are all given gruesome deaths. So yeah, don't show this film if you're squeamish....it isn't for the weak of heart. If you want a film that delivers when it comes to to story, you're not gonna get it here. If, however, you're looking for a solid action film w/the over-the-top fight scenes, a lot of blood & gore, and is from the 90s ~ this is for you. 

I hope you enjoyed this week's Watch-list post. Watch-List posts will be posted on Wednesdays. Until then, stay classy as always. Don't forget to check out the other Watch-list posts (in order):

1) Tenchi Muyo

2) Cowboy Bebop

3) Trigun

4) Dragonball Z

5) School Rumble 

6) Is This A Zombie?

7) Fairy Tail

8) Omamori Himari

9) FLCL

10) Gurren Lagann 

11) Shin-Chan 

12) Tenchi Muyo GXP

13) Tenchi Muyo In Tokyo

14) Power Puff Girls Z

15) Kirby!

16) Samurai Champloo 

17) Hanaukyo Maid Team 

18) True Tears 

19) Zombie Powder (Manga)

20) Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai 

21) Teen Titans
22) Yu-Gi-Oh
23) Rosario+Vampire
24) Death Note
25) Pokemon
26) Digimon
27) Big-O
28) X-Men (Anime Version)
29) D-Frag
30) Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun
31) Akame Ga Kill
32) Invaders of the Rokujyōma!?
33) OniAi
34) Ben-To
35) Testament of a Sister New Devil
36) Minamoto-kun Monogatari (Manga)
37) My Love Story (Ore Monogatari!)
38) Space Dandy
39) Wanna be the strongest in the world
40) When Marnie Was There (Film ~ Studio Ghibli)
41) The Garden of Words (Film ~ Makoto Shinkai)
42) Song of the Sea (Film ~ Tomm Moore)  
43) Nagasarete Airantou
44) DBZ: Resurrection 'F' (Film)
45) Bikini Warriors (First Impressions)
46) Yu Yu Hakusho
47) Monster Musume (First Impressions)
48) Code Lyoko
49) Ninja Scroll (Film)