Ninja Scroll, the 1994 feature anime movie, takes place during the time of feudal Japan, where the samurai and ninja warrior reined supreme. The story follows the adventures of a wandering ninja named Jubei Kibagami, and a female ninja counterpart, Kagero. Not long into the film, Jubei is poisoned by, and therefore forced into helping, a small, crazed Buddhist monk named Dakuan (later we learn he is actually a government spy). Basically, the story boils down to Jubei and Kagero helping this crazy little monk fellow hunt out and kill the Devils of Kimon so that they may find the gold mines the Tokugawa are searching for. Dakuan, being a spy for the Tokugawa shogunate, uses Jubei and Kagero to fight off the Devils of Kimon while he conducts the main investigation on his own. However, during these battles with the Devils, Kagero is abducted by the Devil, Shijima. Shijima posses Kagero, and forces her to fight Jubei when he arrives to rescue her. Jubei, however, quickly disposes of Shijima. Once the group is reunited, they attempt to stop the remaining Devils of Kimon from transporting the gold via ship to the Shogun of the Dark, but in their attempts Kagero is fatally wounded. (oh no!) Jubei quickly rushes to her side to hold her in her last moments of life. Kagero, in her few final moments, confesses her love to Jubei, the two kiss (curing Jubei’s poison), and she then passes away. Enraged, Jubei hacks and slashes through the enemy forces, boarding the ship before it departs. Dakuan also makes it on to the ship, and overhears Toyotomi retainer and Gemma discussing their true intentions for the gold. The Toyotomi explains the plans to use the gold to purchase advanced weapons from Spain, while Gemma on the other hand, plans to use the gold for himself to raise the ultimate ninja army. Gemma then kills the Toyotami retainer, and takes control of the ship. Meanwhile, Jubei and Dakuan are in the hold of the ship, and in a battle with Zakuro, set the ship aflame. Gemma confronts Jubei, and the two have a final clash. In an ironic turn of events (as it so commonly happens in anime), Gemma falls into a pool of molten gold, and dies. Jubei and Dakuan manage to escape the ship before it sinks completely, thus ending their epic journey.Friday, January 27, 2012
Coats; Ninja Scroll
Ninja Scroll, the 1994 feature anime movie, takes place during the time of feudal Japan, where the samurai and ninja warrior reined supreme. The story follows the adventures of a wandering ninja named Jubei Kibagami, and a female ninja counterpart, Kagero. Not long into the film, Jubei is poisoned by, and therefore forced into helping, a small, crazed Buddhist monk named Dakuan (later we learn he is actually a government spy). Basically, the story boils down to Jubei and Kagero helping this crazy little monk fellow hunt out and kill the Devils of Kimon so that they may find the gold mines the Tokugawa are searching for. Dakuan, being a spy for the Tokugawa shogunate, uses Jubei and Kagero to fight off the Devils of Kimon while he conducts the main investigation on his own. However, during these battles with the Devils, Kagero is abducted by the Devil, Shijima. Shijima posses Kagero, and forces her to fight Jubei when he arrives to rescue her. Jubei, however, quickly disposes of Shijima. Once the group is reunited, they attempt to stop the remaining Devils of Kimon from transporting the gold via ship to the Shogun of the Dark, but in their attempts Kagero is fatally wounded. (oh no!) Jubei quickly rushes to her side to hold her in her last moments of life. Kagero, in her few final moments, confesses her love to Jubei, the two kiss (curing Jubei’s poison), and she then passes away. Enraged, Jubei hacks and slashes through the enemy forces, boarding the ship before it departs. Dakuan also makes it on to the ship, and overhears Toyotomi retainer and Gemma discussing their true intentions for the gold. The Toyotomi explains the plans to use the gold to purchase advanced weapons from Spain, while Gemma on the other hand, plans to use the gold for himself to raise the ultimate ninja army. Gemma then kills the Toyotami retainer, and takes control of the ship. Meanwhile, Jubei and Dakuan are in the hold of the ship, and in a battle with Zakuro, set the ship aflame. Gemma confronts Jubei, and the two have a final clash. In an ironic turn of events (as it so commonly happens in anime), Gemma falls into a pool of molten gold, and dies. Jubei and Dakuan manage to escape the ship before it sinks completely, thus ending their epic journey.
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Dear Austin,
ReplyDeleteGreat commentary on the film Ninja Scroll! I applaud your efforts in recognizing the essence and overall point of the film. I also liked how you laid out the plot line for your audience in an easy to understand and interesting way. The interesting part about the movie was the fact that the demons represented different parts of the human psyche and I am glad you touched on that. Your uses of parenthesis were very humorous and I enjoy your style of writing immensely. It brightened my day and it was a pleasure to read it. The idea about Kagero having poison in her blood, making it impossible for her to be in love also blew my mind. The ideal in itself about living with out love is something that can be applied to real life. It’s a sad thing to think about but the way the movie addressed it was perfect.
Love, Neil