Tsunami Jones' Weekly Anime Review: Ninja Scroll: The Series

[Tsunami Jones]

Yay! This week's review is actually on time!


Ninja Scroll: The Series (spoilers = light)



When two rival ninja clans both seek the “Light Maiden,” with one trying to protect her, and the other wanting to take her to force her to reveal the treasure that only she can unlock, our hero Jubei Kibagami gets stuck between the two protecting her and the mysterious Dragon Stone.

This series brings new meaning to the term “action-packed.” I can’t remember when I’ve seen that much action squeezed into anything (excluding things like DBZ of course). The action is practically continuous, and the small amount of dialogue that does exist is barely able to break it up at all. Thankfully though, the action is awesome, as I would hope you would expect from a Ninja Scroll series. Jubei fights his way through ninja after ninja, and shows off how much of a bad-ass that he really is. He barely has any problems at all with anyone in the first few episodes, and there is a lot of people that he fights in those few episodes.

The character design in the show is damn sweet, although if you’ve seen the movie (I’d be surprised if you haven’t), you’ll quickly notice that the character designer has changed between the movie and the series. Instead of the sharper, “longer” faces that the characters used to possess, they now have more “rounded” features. Jubei, and everyone’s favorite wily old ninja/monk Dakuan, will still be easily and quickly recognized. Something that is very different from the movie however, is the large presence of technology. In the movie there are only two cases of anything mechanical that I can remember (the guy on the bridge at the beginning of the movie that has the wooden, mechanical suit, and the shadow ninja who has his mechanical claw), but here in the series, technology is rather prevalent, mainly in the Kimon ninja clan. One of the Kimon “ninja” is in fact a large robot who can jump many miles at a time, and even has a “car mode” where he drives around running down people with giant spikes and shooting out flames everywhere. If you’re thinking to yourself, “Wow, that sounds absurdly crazy,” you’d be right.

Just about everyone except for Jubei and Dakuan either have technology or supernatural powers. So much in fact, that it becomes almost mundane very quickly into the series. Apparently, “normal” ninja just aren’t good enough anymore. And most of it is fine, if not very strange, but other times, it’s just plain retardo. Naked chick that sprouts demon frogs out of her skin? I’m ok with that. Giant machine jumping guy who has a vehicle mode? I’m ok with that too. Ninja who is actually a giant centipede? Now that’s pushing it a little bit too far. So most of them are either cool, or just plain stupid. Like the centipede guy, or the ninja that has an umbrella/spear/flying machine.

So other than the lack of dialogue, or the insanity, this is a pretty solid series. The animation is excellent, and the music is pretty good, with a strange feudal Japanese music and rock mix. And the extras on the DVD are pretty good too, with trailers, an art gallery, interviews with the soundtrack composers, and even a “creating the cover art” segment, which shows the artist drawing the cover in fast forward.

In conclusion, I give Ninja Scroll: The Series, 3.5 out of 5 stars. If you’re an action fan (or just into ninja craziness), this is a must see. And it’s a small series to boot, showing up on only three DVDs.

[Rhyevaln]

SPOILERS

I thought the series lacked a solid story from the beginning hoping a sense of mysteriousness would capture the audience. The story couldn't hold water even if you gave it a bowl....During the series you constantly have to ask What is that green thing they keep calling a jade? Why is that chick targeted by everyone? What's going on? Why is Jubei so friggin weak? Why is that tree chick constantly being raped left and right? OK, so those last two where my pressing questions...where was I? Oh yeah- you constantly have to ask those questions otherwise you loose any reason to keep going. I strongly believe the 'mystery' was second to wanting to watch Jubei kickass. However, he is nothing like his old self... Since he knows the old man when he mets him, I am most certainly positive that the series takes place after the movie. Another very important thing to mention about why I dislike this series is because if Jubei did not allow the fight between Wolf Boi and Umbrella Bitch to interupt his Nap, this whole thing would have never included Jubei, ultimately ending up with the bad guys winning... assuming Jubei never gets involved, but we shall save that for some idiot who wants to make a fanfic.

The action was... for lack of a better comparison "Less entertaining than Ranma½'s battles" for I actually cared about the outcome in Ranma½ (sad? -Hardly).

Running into many, not only weird, but obviously ridiculous "monsters" (humanoids), throughout the series - 80% of them don't last longer than one episode or harbor any addition to the story; in fact, you almost didn't know which side they where actually fighting for (yet, both appeared to want to kill Jubei). There happened to be a tangent story about an obsessive incest inclinded sister and her revenge agaisnt Jubei for killing her brother that may have well been a totally different story altogether (they happened to throw that damned jade in to make it fit >.<)

The Tree Lady, ah... the real hotty of the show, gets sexually assaulted multiple times. It is a horrible WASTE that the only tradition they keep with the movie is not a good story, good characters, good battles, but what? The rapes!!!! What is this world coming to? Oh, before dying she gives back the jade to whom she originally took it from. yet again, another waste...

Too many coincidences, too many one episode battles, too many rediculous monsters, too much BAD plot progression.

BUT! (yes, one but) The show could only go as low as "Decent". There have been worse stories, with worse battles, and worse monsters. The action was cool but talk about pointless gore and violence.

If you really enjoyed Ninja Scroll, you can either choose make your love for the movie that much more by either watching this series or staying loyal to the one and only true Jubei and NOT watch it.

Conclusion:
Each episode felt like I was watching something that was thrown together at the last minute. The mistakes were so obvious that I began to realize how much of a money making scheme this Series was.

[Tsunami Jones]

Yes, Rhyevaln, you just hit about everything I missed. I still enjoyed the action, however. I thought that was rather well done, and enjoyed the fights. But yes, as you point out, it seems that the actual point of the show is to show off how much ass jubei can kick. Which is alot.

I'm still going to stick with my rating on the show for now. It could probably go a little lower though. Maybe to 2.5 or something. It is the only anime show that's given me a headache after watching a few episodes back to back.

[Miyavi-type]

Q: Which is worse...this series or Ninja Resurrection?

[Tsunami Jones]

Q: Which is worse...this series or Ninja Resurrection?

Hmmm . . . I'm probably going to say that this series is worse. Besides some of the messed up stuff, I enjoyed Ninja Resurrection . . . I just wish that there was an actual ending instead of the anti-christ ripping a village to shreds. Neither of these are however are near as bad as the live action Samurai Armageddon (i think that's right) in which Jubei Yagyu fights famous samurai that have been brought back from the dead, or something like that. I have no idea why I just mentioned that though.