Ninja Scroll

Animation: A

Story: A

Overall impression: A

Ninja Scroll is a violent, spellbinding movie. It moves like lightning in the battle scenes but actually slows down for the interaction between people. The plot is almost simplistic compared to other anime but still has some twists. The loner ninja Jubili (excuse the spellings, I am sounding it out from memory) is a mercinary but has good under his rough exterior. Jubili teams up with an old man, not by choice, and a mysterious ninja woman whos body is literally swimming in poison. They must battle 8 demons including the leader who has connections the Jubili.

I was impressed by the animation and quality of the soundtrack. With the exception of a few scenes, the movie was pretty tight and well done. The battle scenes are incredible, if not bloody. The 8 demons are a mixed bag. Some were really cool. I liked the guy with the hornets nest on his back, the blind samurai, and the resurected big boss. On the other hand, the two female demons were strange. I guess one of them could make dead people explode, the other controlled enough snakes to scare Indiana Jones. They were not built up to anything, unlike the female ninja who is equal to Jubili. Overall, I was really impressed by the movie.