Ninja Scroll Steelbook

I originally owned this on VHS, once upon a time when I was a young kid. It along with "Fist of the North Star", "Akira", "Ghost in the Shell" and "Street Fighter II" was my original introduction to anime and I have been hooked ever since. Out of these 5 CLASSICS that I was lucky enough to grow up with in the `80s, I have always been fondest of "Ninja Scroll", for its great story, pacing and characters with their cool and unique abilities. I have of course expanded my view to include many other styles and themes of anime, like the wonderful works of Miyazaki at Studio Ghibli. But, I always find myself wanting to go back and re-watch "Ninja Scroll" for the pure entertainment value, fantastic story line, and kicka$$ characters that have some great development through their smart action sequences.The true value of this classic anime might be lost on newer viewers, but as I was growing up I had always used this to introduce my friends to anime. It might not be my first choice of recommendation now, as there have been many other great animations I have seen since this was created, but many modern anime styles and story lines have come out of the study of classics like "Ninja Scroll", so I will continue to always at least recommend it as a must-see-film for anyone interested in anime and/or ninjas. You have to remember that when this first came out there was little development of computer animation and software to help draw or model and color animation cells like there is today, so watching anime like this can really help you appreciate the quality that was achieved before the advent of what is now "modern computer animation". The amount of raw talent that went into this film is spectacular. Its combination of great artwork and animation along with an imaginative story line loosely based on Japanese folk-lore/history still far exceeds the quality of many animations created today.Having finally exchanged all my old VHS players out for DVD players and still wanting to be able to break out this oldie-but-goodie, I found this 10th Anniversary Edition fit the bill nicely. I did deduct one star, as like many others have pointed out, the widescreen version does crop the top and bottom off the original to make it fit. But, that is not the version I usually watch. Plus, if they ever do come out with a proper transfer to widescreen then I will buy that version as well.What makes this 10th anniversary edition worth the purchase, besides being one of the best action/adventure ninja movies ever created, is the sound and overall picture quality. It is a two sided disc that includes both the original re-mastered full screen and the cropped widescreen, both in Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 6.1. Also, the DVD quality with the auto-upscale that most DVD and Blu-Ray players have now, makes this version look way better then the old VHS, which I have played so many times now that it has a lot of hiccups throughout its play (^.^).If you can not stand watching video in full screen format, then unless you have watched this in its original format a hundred times like me, or especially if you have never seen it, you won't be able to tell that the widescreen is cropped anyways. Really, for a cropped video, the widescreen version is still a good transfer with good picture quality and I have watched that version many times as well, especially when I know others in the room are new to the film. There are a few scenes that look a bit pixilated in the widescreen, but overall it is not as terrible of a transfer as some other reviewers would have you think.If you are a true fan of anime then you have to own a copy of this. This is also a must have if you only own the older VHS version or for some ridiculously insane reason have never heard or seen "Ninja Scroll". If you have any interest in anime, especially anime that features bada$$ ninja action, then you owe it to yourself to buy a copy. Also, make sure to check out all these classics: "Akira", "Ghost in the Shell", "The Fist of the North Star", "Street Fighter II" along with "Ninja Scroll". If I were to include a classic anime series then I would also have to also recommend "Cowboy Bebop". I will stop there because if I really take the time to think about all the other ones I adore then this might end up being the longest review ever written on Amazon.Oh, and by the way, "Ninja Scroll" is not as bloodthirsty and perverted as many of these other reviewers are trying to make it seem. Making this out to be some sort of rape-porn is like calling a movie with two short nude scenes a hardcore porno. These other reviewers singular focus on the short graphic scenes in this film is very narrow minded. Chalking the entire film up to be a bloody rape-porno is just utter non-sense and I suggest just ignoring these small minded fools.

Ninja Scroll is among a small group of films like ‘Ghost in the Shell’ that are considered the quintessential Anime of the mid 90’s. This was a time when Anime was really starting to attract mainstream attention in the United States. Although Ninja Scroll is very derivative of its genre what sets it apart is quality. Like Street Fighter II the Movie it was released among a sea of similar type movies of inferior quality. SF II succeeded because it excelled in its core objective of creating thrilling fights. It is amazing to me how many fighting game tie-ins absolutely could not get the fighting right. That doesn’t mean that SF II or Ninja Scroll are at the quality of a Spirited Away or My Neighbor Totoro but they do what they do superbly. Unfortunately, for every Ninja Scroll there were dozens of garbage movies and eventually I lost interest in Anime because I was burned one too many times. My interest has been somewhat rekindled and I’m trying to replace some of the Anime I owned on VHS that loved but eventually got rid of when I upgraded to DVD and blue-ray. Ninja Scroll is one of the first to make the cut.Ninja Scroll’s target demographic is young males and as such is an aggressive testosterone filled movie. There is nudity, sexual assault and tons and tons of blood. I’m not trying to say that young males are drawn to sexual violence but other demographics may be repelled. Blood doesn’t flow from wounds it sprays as if being forced through a pressure hose. What Ninja Scroll does is it delivers what fans of the genre want. The plot is simple but not dumb. The characters are well developed and the fighting is AWESOME! It’s hard for me to think of more than a few Anime with comparable scenes of fighting and more interesting combatants. That is not to say that Ninja Scroll is a one trick pony. Ninja Scroll is one of those rare movies that nails just about everything from story to music and even the excellent U.S. voice acting.Let’s face facts. You can get away with almost anything in a film like this if you nail down the fighting. Do fans of Street Fighter II really remember anything besides the fights? The plot centers around an exceptionally talented Ninja named Jubei Kibagami who gets unintentionally embroiled in a war between the Tokugawa government and The Shogun of the Dark and must work his way through the Eight Devils of Kimon to take revenge on a man he already killed once. Jubei is cool, and reminds me a lot of Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop (which was released several years after Ninja Scroll), but it’s the Eight Devils who steal the show. They are by and large human in appearance and it’s never clear whether they are literally supernatural or simply extraordinarily talented fighters. In Asian film even normal humans are able to achieve supernormal powers through extreme training. Mushizo, for example, literally has a honeycomb within his back where killer bees live. That certainly is not something a human would be capable of having. Each of the Eight Devils is unique and highly inventive and it’s a blast seeing Jubei face off against these seemingly invincible foes. The writers were smart in keeping Jubei relatable and sympathetic and in most of the fights he wins only thanks to help from another.So what do you get with this release? There are zero extras and it runs in 4:3 aspect ratio rather than widescreen so prepare to have black bars on both side. This is the way the movie was created so this isn’t a complaint just something to note. They used the same dubbing used on the VHS copy I owned years ago that was put out by Manga Video but given the quality of the dubbing I don’t mind. Seeing this film after so many years was an absolute blast. I’ll admit there is a lot of animation shortcutting but the film holds up both in look and in story. In my short list of must own Anime films Ninja Scroll is near the top.

Terrific blu-ray of one of Manga's greatest film releases. Have owned this in a variety of formats over the years (starting with the original MANV vhs release) and can say without hesitation that the visual and audio quality is the best I have ever seen. One other thing to note, is that this is that unlike the original Manga DVD release, this (along with the 10th anniversary DVD release) is complete uncut, with all previous edits by the BBFC waived. So a chance to enjoy it in the ultimate presentation right here. I wish Manga would revisit more older releases from their back catalogue on blu-ray. Would be amazing to see titles like Venus Wars given the same treatment.

Arrived almost 5 days early, well packaged and worked great! There's even extra features in the dvd! I haven't watched this movie for probably close to 17 years because it's been a nightmare to find but now I have it on dvd I've got nostalgia sitting in my dvd stand.

Love, love, love ninja scroll and its in my top 10 animes easy. I was thrilled when I heard Ninja Scroll was being released on blu-ray and the steel case presentation is wonderful. If your a fan of anime and you've never heard of Ninja Scroll then shame on you and watch it right away! Good story, plenty of over the top action and swordplay with a good amount of gore involved. Wonderful animation and one of the best animes to come from Yoshiaki Kawajiri.

The product arrived on time and in tact. Looked good. Put the disc in my blu Ray player, it appears but doesn’t play. Took the disc out put it in my 4K blu Ray player, again, icon appears, but disc doesn’t play. Took it out of my 4K player and put it in my PS4 pro, again, icon appears, but movie doesn’t play. So everything looks good (disc, case, insert) but the disc itself doesn’t play, I don’t know if it’s defective or incompatible but either way I’m super disappointed because this , out of all the movies I just ordered (which were about 10-12) was the one I REALLY wanted to see.

Quite simply one of the best anime of all time. I have owned this on VHS, DVD and now on Blu-Ray and I must say if your a fan it is well worth updating your collection. Picture and sound quality is absolutely top notch. If you have not seen this and your partial to anime this is well worth a look, but to give fair warning this is nothing like Pokemon or dragon ball z, this is adult only anime. Heavy content of sex and violence makes this definitely not for children. For fans of anime from the late 80's and the 90's will know that over the top sex scenes and ultra-violence were a big part of anime from that era. Although I realise just how silly some of it can be I must admit it is what I enjoy about it and ninja scroll offers some of the best action anime can offer. A true classic of the genre.