Ninja Scroll is set under the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan and follows female ninja Kagero as she is sent to investigate a blighted town under the control of Tessai, a monster that can transform his flesh to stone. Kegero and the weird lone ronin Jubei Kibagami become friends when the former saves the latter from the monster's clutches. Jubei is deceived into working with Dakuan, a shogunate agent, into hunting down the 'Eight Devils of Kimon,' a group of super ninjas allegedly commanded by Jubei's old foe Himuro Genma, whom Jubei claims to have slain many years before. If Jubei doesn't slay each of the Eight Devils, they'll eventually murder him.
While it delves into many of anime's standard themes, it takes them to extremes visually, turning gratuitous sex into grotesque and vivid scenes of kidnap and rape, and abundant violence into nothing short of a bloodbath; the result is a film that has had a lasting impact because it was so daring, shocking, and ultimately enlightening at the time and now. Kawajiri's film, however, delves deeper into its themes by creating a compelling and contradictory dynamic between its central characters and also between the sexes; it even poses a further dynamic by presenting the Eight Devils as a third entity; a band of beings that can be arguably seen as sub-human in nature, showcasing the director's interest in horror created by "blending reality and fantasy."
Certainly, a more in-depth examination of Ninja Scroll would unearth a plethora of symbolism and historical allusion, but the visual is where Kawajiri's picture shines. Ninja Scroll is a landmark in the annals of anime, with its blazing reds and deep plumes of blue and black, angular framing of character emotions, and editing that often employs the jump-cut to emphasize a feeling of confusion that rattles the spectator and establishes greater chaos.
PS
But seriously, who brings along someone who has explosives in their body on a ship.
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