Story of movie Ninja Scroll : Ninja Scroll (?????? J?b? Ninp?ch?, lit. "Jubei the Wind Ninja") is a 1993 Japanese animated jidaigeki-chanbara film written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, starring the voices of K?ichi Yamadera, Emi Shinohara, Takeshi Aono, Daisuke G?ri, Toshihiko Seki and Sh?ichir? Moriyama. The film was a co-production between JVC, Toho, Movic and Animate, with Madhouse serving as the animation studio. Ninja Scroll was theatrically released in Japan on June 5, 1993, and received an English-dubbed release in Western countries through Manga Entertainment in 1995.
| Ninja Scroll | |
|---|---|
Japanese film poster | |
| Japanese | ?????? |
| Hepburn | J?b? Ninp?ch? |
| Directed by | Yoshiaki Kawajiri |
| Produced by | Shigeaki Komatsu Haruo Sai Masaki Sawanobori |
| Screenplay by | Yoshiaki Kawajiri |
| Starring | K?ichi Yamadera Emi Shinohara Takeshi Aono Daisuke G?ri Toshihiko Seki Sh?ichir? Moriyama |
| Music by | Kaoru Wada |
| Cinematography | Hitoshi Yamaguchi |
| Edited by | Harutoshi Ogata Yukiko It? |
Production company | Madhouse Animate Film |
| Distributed by | Tokyo Theatres |
Release date |
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Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
The film takes place in feudal Japan and follows Jubei Kibagami, a mercenary swordsman who battles the Eight Devils of Kimon, a team of ninjas with supernatural powers who are intent on overthrowing the Tokugawa shogunate. During his quest, he is aided by Dakuan, an elderly but crafty government spy, and Kagero, a Koga kunoichi whose body is infused with poisonous toxins. Ninja Scroll's story and style was influenced by the works of novelist Futaro Yamada and Western spy fiction, with Jubei's character being loosely inspired by the historical figure Yagy? J?bei Mitsuyoshi.
Praised for its animation and action scenes, Ninja Scroll is regarded by many as one of the most influential anime films ever made. Alongside Akira and Ghost in the Shell, it was responsible for increasing the popularity of adult-oriented anime outside of Japan. The film has been cited by The Wachowskis as an influence on The Matrix franchise, and resulted in Kawajiri later contributing to two segments of the anthology film The Animatrix.
A televised stand-alone sequel, Ninja Scroll: The Series, was aired in Japan in 2003.
Screenplay
In Edo period-Japan, the Yamashiro clan mines gold in secret, and sends a shipment to the Toyotomi Shogun of the Dark as payment for his protection. The Shogun of the Dark intends to use the gold to buy advanced Spanish weaponry and overthrow the current government, the Tokugawa Shogunate. The ship runs aground onto Mochizuki territory in a storm, and the Eight Devils of Kimon, a ninja team with supernatural powers in the employ of the Yamashiro, kill the people of the nearby village of Shimoda to keep the gold shipment a secret.
While investigating the deaths, a Mochizuki Koga ninja team is massacred by the Devils. The sole survivor, Kagero, is captured by a Devil, Tessai, who molests her. She is rescued by Jubei Kibagami, a mercenary ex-Yamashiro ninja, who fights and eventually kills Tessai. Dakuan, a Tokugawa spy, blackmails Jubei into helping him kill the remaining Devils. To ensure his compliance, Dakuan stabs Jubei with a poisoned shuriken, and promises to give him an antidote once the mission is complete. Jubei learns from Dakuan that the leader of the Devils is Himuro Gemma, the former Yamashiro ninja leader, who had ordered his team’s members to kill each other to cover up the location of the goldmine five years earlier. Jubei, who had been forced to kill his comrades to survive, decapitated Gemma in revenge; Gemma survived due to his immortality. Jubei is attacked by another Devil, Benisato, but he is saved by Kagero; before she can be questioned, Benisato is killed from afar by Yurimaru, Gemma's right-hand man, for failing her mission. Kagero agrees to work alongside Jubei and Dakuan, who informs Jubei that her body is infused with such deadly toxins that anyone who kisses or sleeps with her dies, which was why Jubei could kill Tessai.
The trio arrive in Shimoda, where they discover that the villagers died due to their water supply being poisoned, making it appear that they were killed by a plague. Jubei and Kagero fend off attacks from three of the Devils – Mushizo, Zakuro and Utsutsu Mujuro; Jubei succeeds in killing Mushizo and Utsutsu. After finding the beached ship, Kagero deduces that the gold has been taken to Kashima Harbour, where it will be transported to the Shogun of the Dark in another ship.
Jubei, Kagero and Dakuan arrive at Kashima, which has been evacuated due to the townspeople’s fear of the plague. While Jubei battles another Devil, Shijima, Kagero sends a message to Sakaki Hyobu, the Mochizuki chamberlain, to bring his army to the harbour. She also learns from Dakuan that Jubei’s poisoning will only be cured if he copulates with her – the poisons in her body will counteract his. Kagero is captured by Shijima, and Jubei kills him, rescuing her once more. Kagero asks Jubei to sleep with her to cure himself. He decides against it, and upon the arrival of the Shogun of the Dark's envoy in a ship, he leaves to prevent the gold reaching its destination.
Kagero arrives to meet Sakaki, but he stabs her, revealing himself to be Gemma in disguise. Enraged, Jubei fights through waves of ninjas, but is nearly killed by Yurimaru. A gunpowder-rigged rat, left as a trap by Zakuro for Yurimaru for rejecting her advances, kills him, allowing Jubei to escape. He finds Kagero; mortally wounded, she admits her love for him and they kiss, curing Jubei’s poisoning. Before dying, Kagero gives Jubei her headband.
Jubei and Dakuan board the departing ship. On board, Gemma reveals his true intentions to the Shogun of the Dark’s envoy (who he kills) – he intends to use the gold to raise a ninja army to terrorize Japan, rather than serve as an ally to the Toyotomi. During an altercation with Zakuro, Jubei and Dakuan set the ship ablaze. As Jubei and Gemma engage in a brutal fight, the gold becomes molten and engulfs Gemma, who sinks to the bottom of the sea. Afterwards, Dakuan thanks Jubei, and expresses admiration for his and Kagero’s humanity. Jubei resumes his vagabond lifestyle, with Kagero’s headband tied around his sword’s hilt.
Characters
- Jubei Kibagami (?? ??? Kibagami J?b?): The main protagonist; a vagabond ninja who once served the Yamashiro clan and is blackmailed by Dakuan into fighting the Eight Devils of Kimon. A wisecracking, cynical figure with a strong moral sense, his skill and speed with his sword are such that he is able to attack opponents and destroy objects using the winds created by his slashes. The character was inspired by the famed Japanese folk hero Yagy? J?bei Mitsuyoshi.
- Kagero (?? Kager?): The food taster for the Mochizuki clan's Chamberlain, and the only kunoichi in the clan's Koga ninja team. Kagero has an immunity to poisons as her body itself is infused with toxins; anyone who sleeps with or even kisses her dies shortly thereafter. She is also able to conjure pollens and flower petals that are mixed with a powerful incapacitating agent. The character is a homage to Futaro Yamada's first novel in the Ninp?ch? series, The Kouga Ninja Scrolls.
- Dakuan (??): A shady Tokugawa spy who is also sent to investigate and stop the Eight Demons of Kimon and their employer, the Shogun of the Dark. He is able to elongate his limbs and body, blend in with his surroundings, and can use a staff that allows him to vault long distances.
- Sakaki Hyobu (? ?? Sakaki Hy?bu): The Mochizuki clan chamberlain, he sends Kagero and the clan's Koga ninja team to investigate the plague in Shimoda and she sends her reports to him throughout the film.
- Hanza (??): The lord of the Koga ninja team. He is killed by Tessai, and his body is used as a booby trap by Zakuro.
The Eight Devils of Kimon
The Eight Devils of Kimon (????? Kimon Hachinin-sh?, "Eight People of the Demon Gate") are eight demonic ninjas with supernatural powers, seven of which were gathered under Himuro Gemma's leadership after he reincarnated himself from Jubei's ambush, and appear to serve under the Shogun of the Dark.
- Himuro Gemma (?? ?? Himuro Genma): The leader of the Eight Devils of Kimon and the last demon to be defeated. Gemma formerly served under the Yamashiro clan and was decapitated by Jubei prior to the film's events, but has acquired immortality by mastering control of his body down to the tiniest bone and blood, allowing him to reconnect any severed body parts, including his head. Gemma can also shapeshift as a side effect of his mastery over his entire body. He cannot be killed due to his immortality, but he is instead encased in molten gold and trapped at the bottom of the sea for eternity. Gemma is bisexual, as he is involved in a polyamourous but strained relationship with Yurimaru and Benisato.
- Tessai (??): The first demon to be defeated, he is an incredibly large man who has the ability to turn his skin to stone. He fights with a double-bladed sword, which he can hurl great distances and have it return like a boomerang. He is essentially invulnerable until his skin falls apart as a result of him being poisoned by Kagero while trying to rape her; this allows Jubei to kill him by cutting his fingers, resulting in him being impaled by his own sword due to his inability to catch it.
- Benisato (??): The second demon to be defeated, and the female lover of Gemma. She is a seductive woman who has snake tattoos all over her body that can come to life; she also can summon a larger quantity of snakes to envelop her victims and shed her skin. She is killed by Yurimaru after she fails to kill Jubei, but also because of Yurimaru's jealousy towards her for being Gemma's lover.
- Mushizo (?? Mushiz?): The third demon to be defeated, he is a hunchbacked warrior who holds a hornet's nest in his back. He wields a two-pronged spear and is able to control his Hornets to do his bidding, as well as shoot needles from his throat. He is killed by Jubei in a fight underwater when the Hornets try to escape from their hive, fatally stinging their master.
- Utsutsu Mujuro (? ??? Utsutsu Muj?r?): The fourth demon to be defeated, he is a blind swordsman who challenges Jubei to a fight to the death in a bamboo forest. He uses his uncanny hearing abilities to seek out his enemies and can blind them by reflecting light from his sword. He is the only Devil of Kimon without any apparent supernatural powers. He is killed by Jubei due to Kagero's sword blocking his own, which he could not hear, making it appear as if Jubei had blocked and attacked him at the same time.
- Shijima (???): The fifth demon to be defeated, he has the ability to merge into the shadows, create clones of himself, fire a large metallic claw from his hand, and possess peoples' minds. He is killed by Jubei while rescuing Kagero (whom Shijima had hypnotized to try to kill Jubei) when Jubei throws his sword into the shadows just as Shijima attempts to hide in them.
- Yurimaru (???): The sixth demon to be defeated, he is the right-hand-man and male lover of Gemma. Yurimaru has the ability to generate electricity from his body and can combine this ability with a steel wire that he wraps around a target's neck to conduct the electricity. Zakuro "accidentally" blows him up during his fight with Jubei, due to her hatred towards him after Yurimaru rejected her advances.
- Zakuro (??): The seventh demon to be defeated, she has the ability to manipulate gunpowder and plants them inside living or dead organisms, having them move as explosive traps. She is in love with Yurimaru, who instead loves Gemma. Eventually, she becomes very vengeful and takes revenge against Yurimaru for rejecting her. She is killed by Dakuan and Jubei on the ship when they ignite her gunpowder body.
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