Ninja scroll

Ninja Scroll (original title 獣兵衛忍風帖, Jūbei ninpūchō) is a cartoon film Japan board, written and carried out by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, left in 1993.

Synopsis

A village is devastated by an epidemic of plague. The Ninja Kagero escort a troop of soldiers sent to inquire but quickly exterminated by Tessaï, one of the 8 demons of Kimon. Kagero is saved in extremis death by the intervention of Jubei Kibagami. This last, solitary Rônin, is constrained by Dakuan, a government official, to fight each of the 8 demons of Kimon with the assistance of Kagero. Jubei realizes gradually that their chief is not other than his worst enemy, Himuro Genma which has as a intention seizing the power in Japan…

Characters

Equip with Dakuan

Jubei Kibagami : wandering samurai

arms: katana (a transparent bond enables him to take it again in hand where that it is, and the handle contains some metal darts).
to be able: no particular capacity (very powerful techniques with the katana).

Dakuan : monk traveller, spy of the government Tokugawa

weapons: iron stick decorated with rings (able to lengthen), shuriken poisoned.
to be able: technique of disappearance (camouflage).

Kagero : woman ninja koga of the clan Mushizuki

weapons: spur cutter, sharp bar.
to be able: its body is poisoned (to come into contact with its skin can be mortal).

Demons of Kimon

Tessaï : alive giant in the forest

arms: giant blade with two points that it launches and which returns to him to the manner of a boomerang.
to be able: its body can overlap with a layer of stone which resists all the attacks.

Benisato : queen of the snakes

arms: katana.
capacities: direct an army of snakes to the puncture mortal; change skin in order to escape its enemy.

Mushizo : Master of the wasps

weapons: launch with a double point, oral dart, shakens.
to be able: direct a cloud of wasps which live in a hive grafted on its back.

Ututsu Mujuru : samurai plugs

arms: katana.
capacities: as a blind man, it has a hyper-developed hearing; it can release a light plugging with the blade of its saber.

Shijima : ninja of the shades

weapons: metal claws connected to a chain and propelled by a mechanism, shakens.
capacities: able to hide in the shades; create a multitude of fictitious doubles of itself; can hypnotize a woman after having penetrated it (!).

Note:

Yuminaru : right-hand man of Genma

weapons: shakens.
to be able: makes use of an quasi-invisible wire to catch the neck of its adversary and to send an electric shock mortal to him (this wire also enables him to communicate remotely with its fellow-members).

Zakuro : expert in explosives

weapons: shakens.
to be able: use an extremely explosive powder to change bodies (human or animal) of bombs devastators.

Himuro Genma : supreme leader of the demons of Kimon

arms: metal arm, useful for the attack as for defense.
capacities: change its face into that of no matter whom; able to regenerate a wound, even mortal (it is completely immortal).

Analyzes

Critical reception

Data sheet

Title: Ninja Scroll
American Title: Ninja Scroll or Jubei Ninpocho: The Wind Chronicles Ninja (literal translation of the Japanese title)
original Title: 獣兵衛忍風帖, Jūbei ninpūchō
Realization: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Scenario/Original History: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
original Design of the characters: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Design of the characters: Yutaka Minowa
Storyboard : artistic Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Director: Hiromasa Ogura
Directing of animation: Yutaka Minowa
Directing photographer: Hitoshi Yamaguchi
Music: Kaoru Wada
Production: Shigeki Komatsu, Haruo Sai, Masaki Sawanobori for Madhouse/Movic Inc./Tôhô/JVC
Country of origin: Japan
Kind: action
Lasted: 94 minutes
Coming out date: June 5th 1993 (Japan), December 6th 1996 (), 1996 (Europe)
Public: interdict with less than 16 years in France

Distribution

Takeshi Aono : Dakuan (voice in original version)
Emi Shinohara: Kagero (voice in original version)
Kōichi Yamadera: Kibagami Jubei (voice in original version)
Norio Wakamoto: Utsutsu Mujuurou (voice in original version)
Toshihiko Seki: Yurimaru (voice in original version)

Around film

Ninja Scroll is a homage to the series of Ninpōchō (news putting in scene ninjas) of Futaro Yamada. A manga (Basilisk) was also inspired by this news.

Jubei of animates really existed. Kawajiri took as a starting point Jūbei Mitsuyoshi Yagyū (1606-1645), a samuraï considered as the best sabror of all times in Japan.

the first edition of film, with format VHS, was a censured version. It was necessary to await the diffusion of film on Canal + and its edition DVD to note that the film is actually much more extreme than the truncated version let appear.

Continuation

Makai Tenshō: Jigoku-hen was renamed in the USA Ninja Resurrection: The Return off Jubei the February 27th 1998 in order to make pass animates it like a continuation of Ninja Scroll . Impression reinforced by the very similar jacket of Ninja Resurrection with that of sound " aîné". Although without any bond scenaristic and produced by two distinct studios, the 2 animate divide nevertheless disconcerting common points: their hero is called both Jubei and must fight against 8 demons or the presence of a kind of sword-boomerang.

Ninja Scroll inspired an animated series of 13 episodes Ninja Scroll: The Series by the Studio Madhouse, diffused starting from the October 10th 2003 at the United States and exit in France at Kaze. In the tread, a new film “Jūbei ninpūchō 2” (“Ninja scroll 2”) always under the direction of Kawajiri was announced in 2004 by Madhouse to celebrate the 10 years of the first shutter without a coming out date being really fixed.

In September 2006, Wildstorm lance the Comic Ninja Scroll writes by J. Torres and divided into 5 parts. Complete volume gathering the 5 parts of the comic, leaves the July 25th 2007.

Distinctions

Citizen' S Award of the International Yubari Fantastic Film Festival in 1993.

External bonds

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