Ninja Scroll The Series

Dragon Stone

Review by Matthew Anderson

13 Episode TV Series

Company: Urban Vision

Running Time: 90 minutes (4 episodes)

Region: 1

Rated: R for action, nudity, and violence)

EXTERNAL EXAM

Jubei Kibagami is a swordsman for hire. Traveling around from village to village, he helps those who are in need, usually at a price.

While sleeping in the forest, he is awakened by a fierce battle between the Kimon Ninja and the Hiruko Clan. It seems that the object of the fight is the Dragon Stone. If the stone is joined with the Light Maiden, a magical treasure will be revealed.

The beautiful Lady Shigure is the Light Maiden the two clans are searching for. The Kimon attack her village, and kill everyone there. Forced to set out on her own, she encounters Dakuan, a government spy and traveling rogue called Tsubute.

Now, Jubei has been hired by Dakuan to protect Shigure from both the Kimon and the Hiruko. Hopefully, Jubei will survive to tell the tale.

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: The video is very well done. There is some slight wrinkling of the video, but you only notice it if you go looking for it, or hit pause. No color bleeds or overblasts to be noticed.

AUDIO: The English 5.1 and 2.0 are both well done, and are louder than the Japanese 2.0. Still, the sound on all three is excellent, each with a full sound stage to keep things bumping.

EDITS: Clean open animation was used while the Japanese closing credits have been overlaid with English credits. Episode titles have been changed as well. The "next episode" segments are missing.

EXTRAS: We have a multi-angle storyboard to feature comparison on key scenes. Promotional trailers, interviews with musicians Kitaro and Peter "Peas" McEvilley, an large art gallery, and a 2 minute "Creating the Cover" short.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: There is not a really in-depth plot here. It's a typical gun for hire story we have seen before. However, Toshiki Inoue truly understands the spirit of the movie. His team of writers have given us plenty of breath taking action, witty dialogue, and an interesting mystery to figure out.

ACTING: The Japanese is quite bit better than the English version. Like Rurouni Kenshin, their reactions are more appropriate in the original language.

I prefer Rikiya Koyama's Jubei to Dave Rasner. Maybe it's the writing, but Dave Rasner just isn't as funny. His one liners come off a little too stilted. I will say, It's easier to understand Dwight Shultz as Dakuan than his Japanese counterpart, and the Japanese actor lines are subtitled!

FAN SERVICE: Well, there is, but not in any way I would find titillating. With the exception of Dakuan, Jubei, and the Kimon, there are no real in jokes or references to the movie. The exception would be the split in Jubei's hat.

FINAL EXAM

Anyone who has seen the original movie remembers how cool it was. The battles were awesome, the dialogue was snappy, and the animation was beautiful. If you were not a fan of Yoshiaki Kawajiri before "Ninja Scroll", you were by the end. It truly represented what we had come to expect from the genre.

When the announcement was made about Ninja Scroll, The TV Series, everyone was excited. Okay, so Kawajiri wasn't writing it, but Madhouse was doing the animation, so, it was a 50/50 chance that it would rock.

After watching the first four episodes, one word can sum up this series.

Damn!

Each episode is like watching a mini Ninja Scroll movie. There is more action, more quips, and more freaky monsters than the entire movie combined. I could go on and on how cool this show is, but I think you can get the gist.

In case you were wondering, this is not the sequel to Ninja Scroll, or Ninja Resurrection, as some has hypothesized. Like many anime, the TV series varies from its movie roots. This is not to say that this is a bad thing. By making this an original story, you don't have to waste time trying to figure out how it all ties in. You can jump in, new or old, and go with it.

The animation is solid, but nothing fantastic. It's pretty typical of most broadcast anime. I do get the feeling that some of Madhouse's work on "Alexander" spilled over to Ninja Scroll. The way some of the characters look and how they move would fit right in.

Those expecting the visceral thrills of the movie might be disappointed. The blood, guts, rampant nudity, and explicit sex scenes seen in the movie have been toned down. Fortunately, the series was broadcast on WowWow (satellite television), so they had a bit more leeway than say Fuji television. Still, not a show for kids.

It's interesting how this series is also a parable about technology vs. nature, and mans relation to this fight. There is the Kimon clan, most of it's members have some sort of mechanical or artificial enhancement done to them. On the other side is Hiruko with their powers rooted in nature. In the middle is the humans, using both nature and steel to defeat their enemies. I am sure that who ever solves the mystery of the Dragon Stone will determine the fate of nature vs. machine.

The music by Kitaro is as beautiful as Peter "Peas" McEvilley is strong. While McEvilley's techno/rock fusion was a bit disconcerting at first, it didn't take long for me to get into it. I was impressed at how he incorporated Kitaro's Jubei/Shigure coda's into his music. The two of them elevate Ninja Scroll's music from typical "synthesizer" music.

The DVD looks good, with no technical issues to be noted. The extras are interesting, but watching someone make the cover for the DVD is not high on my "cool extras" list.

Simply put, Ninja Scroll: The Series is one awesome anime. This is one disc that will be in my DVD player for a long time!

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